Royal Devils

Possible scene #2

It was dark when Claire walked across the courtyard. The only light available was from the moon, she paused as she reached the charred room in which she had endured hours of mind numbing lessons. Madam Clarke's body was at the foot of the black board; half scrawled across the board was the start of tomorrow's lesson;

The proper etiquette for a...

Even although it hadn't been finished Claire knew well enough what should have been on the board, 'the proper etiquette for a prospective monarch'. The remains of the chalk lay scattered by her head. Claire turned away, no longer able to look at the disaster she had wrought. Her sadness and grief soon turned to rage. He stood against the wall next to her, his horns glistening in the dim moonlight. On his face sat a smug grin.

"You bastard! Why did you do this?" even in the dark his quizzical almost comical expression was visible.

"Why? Whatever do you mean my dear princess? Did I not do what you asked of me?" tears had begun to sting at Claire's eyes.

"I did not ask for this." Her voice was strained and despairing but Aceli just stood there, coolly observing.

"Admittedly not this specifically no, however with such a vague request I had to improvise" Claire stood, gawping at his unmoving figure.

"I asked only to be relinquished of my duties!" Aceli responded with an annoyed flick of his tail. He pushed himself off of the wall and towered above Claire.

"Oh my pampered little princess," the cool malice in his voice caused Claire to cower, "you wanted free of your responsibilities but you made it clear that abdication was not an option and that your brother could not be made ruler in your place. That left me with a dilemma, firstly I could kill you but that causes me a bunch of issues not only the fact that your brother may take up the throne. Leaving that I could kill him instead but then we have the first issue of you taking the throne. The only other option would be to end the glen family line even if only on the surface."

Aghast Claire tried to retort, "That did not mean you had to kill everyone."

This seemed to anger Aceli who glared at her and growled, "Of course it did, how else could I fulfil all your conditions. My magic is practical I cannot change the past and future I can only affect things that are here and tangible."

To this Claire had no response and stood silently like a scolded child. In reality that was all she was, twenty years of training to rule a nation and yet she could not face her own actions. Silence hung in the air, punctuated by the rustling of owls hooting and crickets chirping. Almost inaudibly Claire whispered into the air. Of course with his enhanced hearing Aceli heard every word perfectly yet he still asked, "I am truly sorry princess but I could not make out what it was you said."

Claire lowered her head as he smirked at her, "I am sorry, you were right." A light chuckle filled the air as Claire felt tears roll down her face. Aceli's anger had dissipated and he returned to lounging against eh wall. A sly grin crossed his face as he watched Claire cry and scream, the smell of burnt flesh hung in the air and everywhere the ground was charred. Through the chaos, the moon shone illuminating the vast expanse surrounding them. Like this Aceli was content, here he was happy.