The Fate of Malice

Chapter Four: Duty Calls Us All

A few days later, Arnold woke up groggy from the heavy drinking he had been doing since the disappearance of his mother's ring. The midday sun shone through his opened curtains, and he covered his face with the palms of his hands to shield his eyes from the brightness. He could smell the fragrance of bacon and eggs not far from where he sat in the middle of his bed. Peaking through a crack between his fingers, he saw a plate piled with food on the nightstand next to his bed. His belly growled in protest of having not eaten in a day or possibly more, his mind was too fuzzy to remember right now.

Arnold slowly scooted himself to the edge of his bed and grabbed the plate of food. He walked out onto his open balcony, which hung from the edge of the castle to outlook the countryside behind it. He tossed the food onto the ground far below and smirked as he watched the wasted food fall and scatter into the landscaping. 

Bacon hung from branches on the bushes, and eggs littered the colorful wildflowers, creating an interesting display to the groundskeepers who happened to be attending the flowerbed currently. They looked up and seen the king, who wore an unapologetic look. He then gave them a slight wave and shrug as he turned his back to them.

The servants inside, who were always awaiting his orders, bowed as he entered his room once again. Arnold grabbed an apple off the table in the middle of his bedroom and looked at it intensely. It appeared to have had a bite taken out of one of its sides. Suddenly, an image flashed into his memory, remembering that he had seen an apple such as this one, in a recent encounter.

It belonged to her. That inferior beast of beauty that had stolen from right under his nose. He had seen her eat an apple that looked just like this one when they had sat on the pier together. Had she stolen the ring already by that point?

"Malice," he hissed under his breath. The king twisted his body and threw the apple as hard as he could at the nearest servant. It left the servant gasping for air, as they leaned over and grabbed their neck in reaction to the sudden impact of the apple onto the front of their throat.

"That bitch was here, in my bedchambers!" He yelled and flipped the entire table over, its contents spilling out onto the floor with a loud crash. All but one of the servants rushed over to quickly pick up the items. Arnold spat on the floor near one of them and chuckled as they flinched but they continued to clean up the mess their king had made.

The doors to his chamber burst open, and Ivor stood there with a condescending look on his face. "Arny..."

"What!?" Arnold demanded loudly, looking at his best friend with a crazed smirk on his face. He threw his arms out in a wide gesture and took a step toward Izor. "Do you have an issue with how your king presents himself?"

Izor took a long look at his king's appearance. The disheveled bedclothes, the way the skin under his eyes sagged, and the tangles in his golden curls that fell over his shoulders gave Arnold the appearance of someone who had not had proper sleep for days. His lack of hygiene was a cause for alarm to anyone's nose, as well.

Izor began to take a small step towards Arnold but stopped when the king held up his hand. "I don't need you, Izor," Arnold said quietly but firmly and looked down at the stone floor at his feet. "It's been 3 whole days, and even you have not found my mother's ring," he said and then met Izor's careful gaze.

The mage took in a sharp take of breath and slowly let it out, no doubt measuring what he would say next. After a few moments of an awkward pause, he opened his mouth to speak. "I came here," he slowly said, while noticing the wicked look in Arnold's eyes, "to inform you that we have a location on the ring."

Arnold's countenance quickly changed to that of both desperation and excitement. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" He said and began to rummage around the room for a change of clothes. "Izor, you mad dog, I just knew you had it in you!"