Throne of the Beasts ✔️

Dead

My hands and feet were bound behind me, and I was suspended in the air by chains attached to the walls to either side of me. I still struggled with the after affects of whatever Biming had done to me, as numbness still radiated throughout my body.

The walls were made of stone, and it appeared that I was underground, because of the dirt floor and ladder going up through a trapdoor. Water dripped in a rhythmic beat on my neck.

The door creaked open, and heavy footsteps made their way down an towards me. I moved my eyes to see who it was. Biming stood with his hands behind his back, a small smile gracing his features; almost as a hunter would after killing some large or rare animal. I quickly looked away as his gaze met mine. "Let me go," I uttered, almost not understandably since my tongue flopped numbly in my mouth, making my words slur.

"Why?" He breathed in an alluring tone. "I have the queen- my queen- in my grasp. For what reason would I have to waste that chance?" I grimaced at him, leaning towards him. "Because you aren't the king and never will be." I spat at him.

He frowned, but continued. "Besides, when Stuainia is mine, the people will need some kind of public figure they recognize, that being you." He poked my nose and smiled widely, almost as if waiting for my response. "This pathetic camp will never beat the army. Your men are weak and so are you."

His smile left him, but soon reemerged as a small smirk tugging at his lips. "We'll see about that." His eyes were calculating something in that mind of his, and I was terrified as to what. He looked back up at me, smiling. He placed his hand under my chin and made me look at him, which I despised. "In fact, come with me." He ordered, pulling a lever on the wall. The restraints gave out, and I fell to the ground. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me up the ladder, and out through an unfamiliar building. It was dark, the only lights being the moon, the dim and spare torches, and a blinding white light from the shaman's hut.

He rang the bell hanging beside the door, and we waited a few moments before the door opened, revealing Caroline, looking tired. Behind her was a waist-height Turi, sound asleep in the corner, and a man tied up in the opposite corner. I gulped as when she met my eyes she smiled. "Caroline, do you have a moment?" Biming asked, walking inside. She nodded, and asked a follow up question, "Would you mind showing Eliza what we've been working on?"

She laughed a bit, and replied, "I would be happy to." She kicked the sleeping man in the gut, and muttered to him, "Get up." He groaned, sloppily sitting up. A small mouse climbed out of his pocket, and Caroline immediately grabbed it, squeezing inhumanely in her fingers.

She held it down to a wood block, and grabbed a small knife. The man put two and two together, and started yelling. "No! Don't do it, I beg you!" She drew back, smiling, and stabbed the rodent in the neck. He slumped over, the last traces of life slipping away.

She picked the mouse up by the tail and held it over a bowl. Droplets of blood spilled into the container, and she threw the dead mouse on the floor so she could add a few mystery ingredients, making it a thick, crimson liquid. She lifted the dead man's chin and dumped the entirety of the substance down his throat.

After a moment, he coughed up a few drops of the solution, and sat up. Like magic, his hair went from a ginger orange to stark white, and his pupils faded away to show only white. He was shaking violently, and barely mustered out a, "Wh, what did you do to me?"

"Made you better." She chirped, untying him. He shook his head and didn't move. After what seemed to be consideration, he screamed, "Witch! You're a damned witch I tell you!" He turned to me and continued. "Run! You don't know what they can do!" Biming swiftly knocked him out cold, but I took his advice and bolted out as fast as possible.

Biming grabbed my ankle, and a realization hit me. "You! You're the evil king from the prophecy, not Henry!" He chuckled as he pulled me closer. "It took you long enough, Eliza." It was like a nightmare. Without warning, he snapped my ankle with unmatched strength, and lifted me up by it. Pain surged through my body like a tidal wave, and a loud scream escaped my lips.

He put me on my one good foot and faced me towards him. "Listen. This won't be too painful, I promise." He smirked, running a stray thumb down the scar on my eye, simultaneously wiping a tear. "No! I don't want to die!" I choked, spitting in his face.

"It won't even be for that long. Now, all I need is your owl," he mused, and looked up. "Ah. There he is." He began calling him, but I broke away, yelling at him. Alfred landed on my shoulder regardless. Biming grabbed his throat, and he let out a soft call.

He dragged me and him back into the hut, where Caroline waited patiently. "Finally," she sighed. "No! Please!" I replied, struggling against his grip.

Biming gave Alfred to her, whispering in her ear. "Do it quickly." She nodded, and grabbed another knife. I reached for her to at least stall the process, but Biming grabbed her hand and shoved it in between his head and shoulders.

My vision went hazy as a dull pain spread throughout my being. I fell to the floor, and let my eyes drift shut, and the feeling of numbness washes over me.