wind and water

one » the enemy

"State your name, Peasant," the king spat furiously, his eyes narrowing in animosity. The man, his knees trembling and his mouth quivering, broke out in another noisy sob. The king, obviously impatient, bellowed, "BE QUIET!" and almost instantly, the man ceased his wailing.

"M-m-my name is C-C-Cassius, C-Cassius S-Sudbury," he choked out. The queen, with her face stern and her jaw clenched, looked as though she was restraining herself from yelling. Behind their thrones, a roaring orange flame burned in a brick fireplace, casting long shadows on the carpets of the king and queen on their cathedrae.

"Cassius," repeated the king, his hands clutching his knees. The queen, looking impatient, shot a glance over to her husband, her eyes wide and her lips pursed. Her husband ignored her, instead still watching as the paltry man gasped for breaths between hushed whimpers.

"Vain, weak... get down and bow toward your king, you ungrateful scum!"

And he did so, dropping to his knees and lowering his head towards the floor. He then raised himself to face the emperor's, sweat beading on his neck and forehead.

"What did you do? What kind of shame have you brought to the clan?" he barked. The man, unable to talk, let out a choke and wiped his eyes.

"You will respond when your king speaks to you!" shouted the king, and the man withdrew, trembling, "I did-d-d nothing, Your H-Highness."

"Lies!" the man on the throne roared, his voice echoing throughout the dungeon. Behind him, the fire flickered, growing in size, as if it had responded to the king's outcall.

"Now what did you do?" he repeated, his eyes wide as the peasant continued to quiver.

"N-n-nothing, Y-your Highn-n-ness, I s-swear on my life!"

The queen, who had remained silent until then, opened her mouth to speak, "You dirty little man, I -- " but the king had haphazardly waved his hand in her direction, silencing her, and he continued.

"What kind of game do you believe we are playing, you mongrel?" he snarled, his fingers tapping his armrests. He planted his crossed foot on the wood, and it landed with such force, the dungeon walls vibrated. The queen continued to stare at her husband, hatred boiling inside her chest.

With the scroll still in his hand, the emperor lifted it and untied the ribbon, letting the page open and fall into his lap. He read it over multiple times, in the eerie silence of the chamber, then cleared his throat.

"Cassius Sudbury, age... seventeen years, eleven months, twenty-one days... brought forth to the king for..." he began, then lowered the scroll and shifted his gaze back to Cassius. He stared at him lazily, his irises only half visible, and continued his speech, "...relations with the Wind Clan."

The king rolled the paper back up and clutched it tightly with one hand. Then, after mere seconds, there was a burst of orange flame from the emperor's fist, and the parchment was whisked away into the air as a handful of ashes.

Cassius, startled, watched in fear as the cloud of burnt parchment flew over his head, and, in a somewhat graceful manner, drifted right into the fireplace. The king then dropped his fist, and put both palms on his calves, leaning over so his nose was inches from Cassius's.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" the king stewed bitterly, his voice gravelly and sour.

Cassius remained in his knelt position silently, his whole body quaking in fear. As he attempted to form words, the king returned to his upright posture.

"Very well." The king glanced once quickly at his two sentries, who each nodded back at him. The guards quickly paced over to the rug, where Cassius hunched over in shame and guilt, tears dripping onto the carpet. Each of the two armored men grabbed the boy under the arms, lifting him up.

"NO!" screamed Cassius, thrashing his arms and legs as he was propped in a standing position, his chest heaving as he was carried off.

"NO!" he continued, as he was unwillingly led to the large double doors. "YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND LOVE! YOU'RE HEARTLESS!" A smile played on the king's face, and the fire behind him danced almost maliciously.

Cassius continued to scream, his high voice filling the dungeon. The tall oak doors were opened as the three men finally approached, and the watchmen awkwardly shuffled through, with the boy being dragged with them. The doors closed with a final scream, and the chamber was silent yet again.

She had left in a hurry, her long red gown billowing as she swept across the hall, through the tall oak doors, and across the expansive palace. The king, who had risen from his throne and watched his wife dash off, turned away uncaringly to look at the fire behind him. It was growing, now dark red, and spewing yellow sparks onto the carpet. The king, with his half-smile still glued on his face, stomped down from the platform and walked through the tall double doors in the queen's wake.

As the doors closed, the flame in the brick fireplace burned out.

☩ ☩ ☩

"You never let me speak!" the queen suddenly shrieked, slamming a white-knuckled fist on the table. The king, who had been reading a thick, black, leather book hitherto, flashed a glance over at his wife, as she seethed in anger and gritted her teeth.

They were in a wide, windowless chamber with a wall-long bookshelf. Paintings covered the other walls, and a detailed mural looked down upon them from the ceiling.

"What was that?" said the king, his eyes narrowed, but otherwise unsettlingly calm. He had a low, stern voice, with thick black hair and furrowed brows.

"It's always you, making the decisions! I'm the queen! You married into my fa -- !" the queen began to rant, but two different guards, who had been standing poise on either side of the archway that led into the hall, stepped forward. The king raised a hand to them, warding them off, as they had gotten halfway to the queen. With this gesture, the men returned to their positions, gripping the handles of their swords, ready to swing at a moment's notice.

The king's face went scarlet, and he quickly diverted his gaze from the queen, opting to glare once again at the book in his hands.

"Don't ignore me, don't -- " she had started again, walking across the expansive table over to her husband. Before she could continue, the door was pushed open, and both the king and queen looked over to see a man in a dark red coat waltz into the room, with neatly parted white hair and swimming blue eyes.

He stopped abruptly before the king, bowed slightly, and said, in a raspy, aged voice, "They've been summoned, your highness." The monarch looked over his shoulder at the queen, her jaw locked, and back at the white-haired man. With a slight nod, the three officials were escorted by the two guards out the door.

Author's Note: Hehe sorry that took awhile. Aimee and I are slow writers. And school is deciding to be an absolute asswipe. We've already started chapter two, so just hold tight and we'll have it published as soon as possible.

xD Jared