The feared Crimson King

11. Intoxication

This is bad. My eyes widen. „What are you planin?!" His points his finger right at my face. I lower my gaze and try to breath evenly. What does he want? I wish more than anything to be alone right now.

„Fuckin answer me!" His fist lands on my the wooden table. I jerk the fork but keep it hidden. I don't even know what I'm doing with it. If I were to hurt him with it he'd have me caught if I try to run. On the other hand having a makeshift weapon makes me feel less vulnerable.

"I'm not planning anything, I swear it." My voice comes out more as a whisper.

I flinch at his touch. He slithers his arm down mine and before I can react he pulls up my hand from under the table with a firm grip, showing the fork I'm desperately clinging on to. How did he see it? He has a sense for danger he's a fighter, I notice that he's observant and alert even in his drunk state.

"Let go," he growls in my ear. I shiver at the stench of alcohol and his warm breath on my neck.

His grip on my wrist tightens quickly and I whimper before dropping the fork on the table.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
But no matter how hard I try my body doesn't comply and silent tears stream down my cheeks.

He doesn't seem to notice but turns my wrist to look at the symbol apparently connecting the two of us.

I hear him grunt and he drops my arm leaving me to rub it hoping to resolve some of the pain.

I hope for him to leave as he starts taking steps away from me but then I see him plop down on my new bed. His legs are still hanging over the side of the bed as he laying on his back and spreads his arms.

"This room is very important to me." He doesn't look at me and I'm not sure if he's even talking to me or just drunkenly rambling to himself.

"When my mother got pregnant, a doctor would stay here in tis room to make sure she's ok, ya know, cause she's pregnant and all."

I don't look at him. Maybe this bizarre situation would have been funny in another life.

"And she preferred to give burth here." His pronunciation is horrid and he slurs as he speaks.

"And when a child was born they would spend a year sleepin in t'is room, so that we'd all be close together as a family."

My crying had subsided, I was now watching the King smile ever so lightly at the ceiling.

"This room is important to me. She also died here." His gaze hardened and filled with sadness. "She didn't survive...,"

"She didn't survive giving birth to Jaxon. And- And I know what you're thinking, but I - I really do try to remind him a lot that that was never his fault." He pauses. "Ever."

In Lyria there were many rumors about how the King and Queen of Walzenor died. One of them being that prince Theodore had craved the power of ruling so much he'd killed his own parents. Another rumor had said the Prince and his little brother were cannibals who'd eaten everyone working in the castle including his parents.

So dumb. I had ever believed these stories but not knowing what had happened over here left room for tales and hearsay's in Lyria.

My lines of thought is broken by a light snoring sound. I glance over and see his breath slowly rising and sinking, simultaneously followed by his snoring.

Rays of sunlight fill the room as it had not even been noon yet. I look at my almost empty plate and then at the fork laying on the table. I reach for it but stop midway.

He's asleep. I could kill him. I could end his evil reign. I could avenge everyone that had fallen at his feet. I take the fork and get up.

Bevor I finish my line of thought I'm standing next to the bed, looking down on his head from above. He looks so peaceful in his sleep.
But he's brutal. A killer and a monster.

I raise the fork. Stabbing his throat with it should work. I focus on his neck which is slowly dropping and rising along with his breathing. It would take just one stab through the windpipe. He would never be able to hurt anyone again.

I drop the fork and start to cry.

What am I doing. I grip my hair and shake my head. Being this close to wanting to take someone's life? What is wrong with me? He's horrible but I'm not better if I were to do this.

Horrified at myself I turn and sit in the corner farthest away from him. I wrap my arm around my knees and slowly weep.

Not long after a servant opens the door, seemingly surprised that the door isn't locked, only to be more surprised by the king snoring away on the pink covers of my bed. He looks at me in confusion but quickly takes the tray of food and mindfully picking up the fork from the floor. He glances at me and leaves quickly after. I don't hear a locking noise but I don't even try to go outside. I had nowhere to run.

I need time to think. Not thinking is what almost made me want to take a life. I start to contemplate but slowly drift in and out of sleep seeing how I hadn't slept last night.

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*Kings POV*

I groan and place my hand on my head, whipping my eye. Everything is spinning, and my head hurts like shit.

I sit up and ponder why my flooring looks different than before. Oh yeah, I moved to the kings chamber, but then again this isn't the kings chambers flooring either. I quickly look up. I'm in the side room. My eyes adjust to the light. It must be dusk because the entire room is lit with orange light of the sun setting.

Wait where's the girl? I look around only to find her rolled up into a ball in the corner farthest away from me. I can't see her face but she seems to be sleeping.