The feared Crimson King

34. Hating the enemy

It didn't take long and soon the door to the prison cell was being slammed open and the King himself has never looked so enraged. There were knights behind him, but I'm pretty sure that this was a matter he was going to deal with himself. When I saw the servant boy I had asked for a loaf of bread my breath got caught in my throat. He was probably the one who'd locked me in and I shortly played with the thought that having the dungeon not be guarded was a trick.

The Kings aura was threatening and powerful as his dark silhouette, created from the lit torches in the hallway, starts slowly taking steps downwards towards us. I let go of Parcival who tried to hold me back and get up to speak with the King. My whole body was trembling.

Maybe I can calm him? It may just be our last hope. "Your highness?" He doesn't answer, but I see something flashing in his hand. It's a dagger. My heart is pounding so quickly that I feel nauseous. "Let's talk about this, alright?" I hold my hands out flat to signalize my willingness.

He's on the last step and only about 3 feet away from me. "Sure." The king spits. "Let's talk", he says before he turns his dagger quickly and rams the back end of it against my temple with momentum, pushing me to the side and leaving me crumbling to the floor in pain. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Parcival shouts yanking at his chains loudly.

My world is spinning and the pain pulsating in my head is excruciating. I try not to scream at the pain but it comes out as a 'aargh' sound instead.

I can feel something warm dripping down the side of my head, as I try to sit up.

The King looks down on me and I finally see his eyes clearly. It gives me a short flashback on the first time I saw them. All I saw was hate once again.

"If you lay another hand on her I swear to god I'll make you pay." Parcival threatens, his face turning red from anger, but the King is unfazed. He stares down at me darkly as I see him in double vision trying to calm my breathing. "You ready to talk?!" He shouts at me, turning and walking towards Parcival.

"S-Stop." I whimper at the pain shooting through my head once more.

He picks up Parcival of the ground by his collar and aggressively pushes him against the stone wall behind him, leaning into him and holding the dagger to his throat. Parcival didn't stand a chance, although he was fairly well built the King would outmatch him any day in width and size, not to forget that Parcival is wounded badly.

"I won't be asking twice." The King threatens me, pushing the tip of the knife into Parcivals throat, who'd now turned silent, but who was still visibly shooting daggers at the King with his eyes.

"WHO. ARE. YOU?"
Tears are running down my face as they mix in with my blood. My head feels like it's  exploding.

"The princess." I whisper.

"What?!" The King looks at me like he's about to lose it.

"I'm the princess of Lyria!" I shout at him as his eyes widen and I grip my hurting head quickly. My hand now covered in blood.

"You're-? That's bullshit! Why would the King of Lyria send you here?!"

"Because he believes in the bond." Another wave of pain surges through my head and I cower together shouting in pain.

"Alice!" Parcival shouts while trying to loosen himself from Theodores grip in vain.

"So you're telling me you came into your enemies territory, even as you knew that I'm the damn King?"

„Yes! Like you said I believed in the bond too! Please leave him alone." I beg as I try to keep my vision from going blurry.

The King looks at me, then at my brother and then back at me again. "That depends, Alice -if that's even your fucking name". He takes the dagger off of Parcivals neck and quickly wipes the sweat off his forehead, before placing it back on my brothers  windpipe.

I look at him pleadingly, "Are there any more secrets?! And don't you DARE lie to me again!"

"No!" I cry out. "My name is Alice, Princess of Lyria, but everything else I've told you is true. I'm begging you, if you're mad at me, let it out on me and not on him!" I croak the best I can trying to press down on my wound.

"No, shut up!" Parcival yells at me, who's turned pale from standing up for so long with his body this wounded.

"What kind of sick game is this?!" The King shouts at no one specifically, almost smiling.

He then drops Parcival and heads to the door. I exchange eye contact with my brother quickly as we both don't know what's to come now.

"You there." The King points at a pair of knights. "Lock her up." Is all I hear before he leaves my view, and probably the dungeon. I try to scoot over to Parcival wide eyed as the two knights come into the cell to bring me somewhere else.

He's saying something to me with fear in his eyes but I don't hear it. Everything turns into a long peeping noise as I try to reach my brother before being torn away roughly by four sets of strong arms. I struggle against them but Parcival turns smaller and smaller as they drag me up the stairs. I clamp my eyes shut as my head aches horribly I turn to weak to fight back.