A Fallen King

Death and Fate

Unlike most people who had experienced a loved one dying in their sleep; my death was not at all peaceful. In fact, I barely even saw it coming...and when I realized that I was dead, I became rather emotional, which was unlikely for someone of my status or caliber. It was the complete opposite of peaceful... My death was a gruesome, terrifying, and distasteful act that had sent shockwaves throughout Orken once the truth had been spread about.

Prior to my death, I had done a lot for the castle in general. I remodeled it, sending out new carpeting and new walls. The very last thing I had done was grow out flowers and vines and decorate the outside in them. From outside, it was a pretty sight that hid the monsters and abuse from within. I had finished remodeling when my death had occurred...

Remember when I said my family wasn't a fan of my rule? Well, out of everyone, Hortensia's hatred was the least of my worries. It was my nephew, Friedrich, that I became the most afraid of...he had become violent towards his mother and sister, and became hellbent on becoming king of Orken, which I did not approve of. I guess that is what fueled the fire to make him do something so evil that even I shudder to tell you what had happened that fateful night...

That night, after a battle, as I lay there in bed napping, I succumbed into a deep sleep. I barely felt anything, nor could I hear any noise. It was probably the best sleep I have ever gotten in years... but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end...that sleep didn't last very long...

I could hear slight footsteps near where I was sleeping; and with my eyes still closed, I could hear heavy breathing near my body. This was enough to wake me up from my slumber, and delirious, I thought that it was Hortensia coming to belittle me once more. My eyes blinked twice as I rolled over to the shadowy figure hovering above me. My voice sounded groggy, as I had just gotten up from a well-rested slumber.

"Hor...Hortensia, what on Earth do you think you -"

Before I could even finish my question, I heard no voice but rather a slicing noise. I felt drowsy and could hear the sound of what I thought was a water geyser in the room. I looked down in horror to realize that the sound had come from my own body, as I could see my blood quickly seep from my own neck. A long sword was what had caused the injury, and furiously, I had tried to fight it off from my neck, but to no avail. As the assailant finally pushed the sword away from my neck, my blood was quickly flooding out from my body. I grabbed one of my gaunted hands to stop the bleeding, but before I could lay the cold, clashing golden gauntlet upon my tender neck, I heard a slicing noise pierce through my soul, my flesh making a squelching, eerie noise. I never knew what happened after that, as I had blacked out. Or so I thought I did...

When I finally came to, I was out of bed, which was odd, considering I had taken a nap hours earlier. I was lying on the floor of my bedroom, feeling as drowsy as before. Moaning in pain, I sat up, grabbing my head in irritation. I had no idea why, but I had such a terrible headache. When I lay down, I didn't even have a headache, which was odd. While moaning, I slowly tried to stand up, my body trying to slip out from under me due to my drowsiness. Soon enough, I had come to my feet, and as I did, I heard a low, deep, echoing voice come from behind me.

"HELLO."

I turned back around to see a giant, looming figure over my head. My estimation was that it was 9 feet tall, maybe more. It had on a giant black robe, with skeletal hands protruding from the robe's sleeves. One hand was holding a giant scythe made of bone. Deeply infuriated, by how I had been addressed by the figure (people usually called me "your majesty" or "King Valence", it didn't matter which one they used, for it was all the same to me), I slowly turned my body towards the tall, shadowy figure.

"Hello? HELLO?!?!? I *am* king, mark you."

"WAS, YOUR MAJESTY."

'Was?' What did that mean? I opened my mouth to ask a question, but out of the corners of my ears, I heard a scream. And it wasn't a normal scream...it was a blood curdling scream, a scream that only a person would make if they had experienced a murder. I had to move my body more slowly now. This took much more mental effort than being asleep. As I turned around, I saw exactly what the explanation was that I "was" king...