The Precept

The Precept: Chapter 2 - The Feast

Chapter 2 - The Feast

I sat at the dining table amongst the joyous guests, beside 'King Frederic'.

Everybody was celebrating the event, talking to one another and laughing exuberantly.

I kept staring at the plate of roast goose in front of me, not daring to spare a glance at the guests, nor my 'King'. I wasn't in the mood of feasting, and I was certainly not in the mood of celebrating. I was drawn from my distant state by a resonant voice.

"Are you hungry, my Princess?"

I shook my head, continuing to stare at my plate.

"It is impolite to not properly reply to your King." He warned, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Please accept my apology, oh-your-humble, courageous, all-mighty majesty." I replied coldly, raising my head to glare at him, in hopes of concealing my fear.

His eyes darkened, and he frowned.

"I think you have forgotten your manners, Princess." Frederic frowned.

"You have no power to teach me those manners, my King." I retorted.

Frederic ignored me, and from my peripheral vision I could see him smirk ever-so-slightly.

What was he hiding from me?

"Send in the Jester, our princess is in low spirits tonight!" King Frederic boomed, making the guests cheer.

My eyes widened; we did not have a Jester.

A pair of guards entered immediately, dragging a poorly man dressed in variegated, tawdry clothes. His face was pallid, and he seemed to be trembling in fear.

"Come on now, we can't keep our tedious princess waiting! Dance!" He roared, making the guests laugh even more.

The man began to dance, yet he kept stumbling and tripping on his saggy clothes, falling onto the ground seconds after he finally managed to get up.

Bruised and covered in sweat, the poor man continued to dance, fall, rise, and dance once again. This process continued to repeat over-and-over again, forming an incessant pattern I couldn't handle any longer.

"No! Stop!" Tears formed in my blue eyes as I ran to the indisposed man who collapsed on the floor.

I leaned over him, gently touching his forehead.

"Where did you find him?" I whispered, using my red dress to wipe off his sweat and tears.

"It does not matter! That vagrant's duty was to please the princess, yet he had only brought sorrow to her soul! Take him away, and punish this scum!" He sneered, looking at the unconscious man before me as if he were a dungeon rat.

"No! Please, he didn't do any wrong! Release him, and that shall please me!" I cried, gripping the man in my arms to keep the guards from taking him away.

"Nonsense! It should be taught a lesson!"

The guards managed to pull the man away from me. Hopeless, I threw myself onto the marble floor and began to sob.

2. His Majesty cannot punish, lynch, or kill anybody during his Rule.

I immediately stopped, realising what crime Frederic had just committed.

"Guards! Take him away! He has disobeyed the Precept! It clearly stated that 'His Majesty cannot punish, lynch, or kill anybody during his rule'!" I exclaimed, a small smile forming on my face soaked with tears.

I glanced at the guards, noticing that they were looking at me with nothing but a mixture of pity and amusement.

A low chuckle echoed through the room.

"Such a naïve little princess," He smirked, "Do you consider me as a fool?"

"What...?" I muttered, looking at the guards to whom I once entrusted my life.

"Actually, I am not transgressing The Precept, for it states that 'His Majesty cannot punish, lynch, or kill anybody during his Rule'. I, His Majesty, am not punishing, lynching, nor killing anybody. The guards are, actually." He reasoned, flashing a devious smile at me.

I couldn't believe my ears; he tricked me. He tricked all of us.

"Auntie Betty!" I pleaded, once I spotted my Aunt standing nearby, "Help me!"

My heart sank as I noticed the woman's plump lips twist into an impious smile.

No.

She was on his side as well.

My heart sank as reprimanding laughter filled my ears.

Frederic walked up to me, snickering at the look of surprise on my face. He extended his hand towards me, and bowed.

"Join me, my dear princess, and rule the Kingdom beside me."

"Never! You all betrayed my father, and you shall pay greatly for your treachery! Just wait until he returns, and you shall cower beneath him!" I screamed.

The laughter didn't stop.

"I don't know how you'll do that, sweetheart. He's long gone." Auntie Bettie hissed.

Gone?

No, this couldn't be.

The whole world began to spin around me, and the thunderous laughter seemed to be small and distant.

I sprinted out of the dining hall, not daring to look back.

I felt the cold air on my face as I exited the castle, and the rain drenching my skin. My feet seemed to be controlled by an invisible force as I ran towards the forest.

The tree branches clawed and slashed at me, tearing through my red dress and my skin.

I would find my Father's trusted supporters. I would avenge my Father's death.

I would take my kingdom back.