Chapter 111: Chapter 90 – Trapped

Aarav liked to think that he Managed the whole transition with a great deal of dignity and earned the respect of all people around him, like a monarch humouring his subjects and being carried aloft on the shoulders of titans. The reality left Aarav wanting.

 

“Hey! Hey! Where are we going? Where are you taking me! I have a right to know! I know my rights! Hey, put me down, damn it!” Aarav was trying to look everywhere at once, then realised what he was doing in his flustered state and reformed the other two eyes. With the extra perception, the yelling redoubled. “Hey! Are you guys ignoring me!?” Upon reflection, he realised that none of these people was surprised in the least. Someone had been blabbing about a particular talking monster, someone royal in all probability.

 

As he settled, a little, he couldn’t let these couriers get too complacent. Aarav noticed the surroundings. In coming in last night, he had seen precious little of the interior of the palace. Indeed, Aarav had only seen the kitchens, servants' quarters, and Alchemical Lab. It hadn’t been anything to write home about.

 

What he was passing through now was like light to that darkness. The luxury and grandeur he was met with felt genuinely worthy of a monarch. The vast halls and display of wealth was expected and yet breathtaking. All of the various show-pieces had meticulous detail, and wherever he passed close enough to a wall to see, there were even more details to see. Every intricacy had more within it to see until his vision blurred, and he felt dizzy from the multitude of minute details. When viewed from afar, it was still grand and in a more subtle way, allowing one to enjoy the whole instead of the masterful craftsmanship. There were carvings, murals and mosaics and paints everywhere. Walls, ceilings and even floors were covered until its extravagance mimicked the Sistine Chapel from the old world.

 

For a few moments, as they came out of the Alchemical lab and as he had entered his second round of cursing, he was rendered speechless. It was too much to take in all at once. He heard a sigh from his left, it was a distinctly masculine sound, and he smiled slightly. It was nice to know that he could elicit a reaction even in the worst of times. Satisfied with the outcome of his undignified outburst, he was happy to settle on his haunches and panic about what was to come.

 

The hallways were lined with colourful windows with stained glass images and wall-hung tapestries, describing various negotiations, battles, or landscapes. Some seemed to rustle with unseen breezes, and others shone or sparkled with metallic light.

 

The walk that they were taking him seemed to last forever. He had enough time to panic, yell some more, panic again and then think about what type of things he would learn here if he wasn’t killed and then panic one final time before they arrived at a set of double doors. The doors were so large that there was no way they would ever open unless it was with magic or they were perfectly balanced.

 

The surface was a masterpiece, a massive tree with the trunk split vertically through its centre by the doors’ seam. The foliage at the top covered the whole top half with the uppermost leaf tips touching the arched edge. The door was a golden colour, whether bronze or gold or brass. It was hard to tell, maybe none of those, because of how the rising sun hit the doors through the glass windows on either side. The trunk was a deeper version of burnished gold, almost orange, and the leaves glowed like emeralds in the light. Aarav could swear that he saw them wave in an unseen breeze shedding their benign influence over the court. The staggering contrast of leaves, trunk and door brought the colour to life. The Slime just couldn’t stop staring at the image in front of him.

 

But alas, the time was too short. Before beginning to satisfy the unerring need to examine the door, the procession was through and into another chamber more expansive than the first. The same gold and green theme prevailed here, but with the patterns and pedestals directing focus to the throne in its centre. And then, once one's eyes had arrived at that point, the man regally sitting held it.

 

He indeed was a ruler. Perhaps it was the rulers and leader he had seen in the old world, and somehow, they seemed inadequate in the role compared to this man. Here sat a true monarch, one that seemed to have the throne mould to him rather than the other way around. The role fits him incredibly well, and Aarav found himself thinking if this man had the King Class, something similar to provide the regal bearing or was it au natural? Aarav couldn’t figure it out. It seemed intrinsically hard to tell where the man began, and the regality ended.

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A moment before, Aarav recalled himself and confirmed what he had thought all along. It did not matter; the King was evidently, the King. The bearers approached the dais and set the box containing Aarav down. The only people in the room were the King, to Aarav’s surprise, the Queen to his right and an older man that seemed about three steps from collapsing straight into his ready dug grave. The man looked ready to use it.

 

The juxtaposition was alarming, where the King appeared in the prime of his life. This frail man was on his last legs, sallow skin with more folds than smooth bits and jowls jostling for the front like a moshpit at a One Direction concert. Sad they broke up, focus Aarav! He just barely managed to stand as the King did on their approach, and the curve in his spine was so severe that he looked doubled over. In contrast, the King’s back was straight and unyielding. Where the King demanded attention and obedience by the force of his will, this unassuming man radiated quiet wisdom. One could not overlook his shy intellect. And the most striking difference of all, the old one could be called diminutive in the best of situations; against the King? The ruler was at least eight feet tall! He cut an imposing figure without the build but defied words with it.

 

Aarav wanted to tell the man to sit down before his limbs fell off from age. The old man needs to bundle up, and a stiff breeze like what is outside might just grind him to dust and blow him away. Then the walking sack of skin spoke.

 

“Welcome, young traveller. You have come far, have you not?” Two things immediately went through Aarav’s mind. First, because it happened as soon as he spoke, this guy sounds exactly like it expected him to, dusty old, and his voice box is about to turn to dust before me. He was easily the oldest looking person Aarav had ever seen. Ever. The second was when the sentence finished, and Aarav’s brain went into full-blown panic mode. AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!! He knows! How could he possibly know that I came from somewhere else? No, stop it. He could mean that you came from the forest, right? What if he knows, though. I can’t go closer. He will discover me. Aarav started scrambling to get away while trying not to look like he was in full-blown panic mode.  Hard to pull off but something in Aarav felt that he was built for this. His movements did not go unnoticed, but all three just overlooked them and smiled down at the struggling Slime. “Young master, if you wouldn’t mind, we would like to begin.”

 

Just like a slave about to be taken to market, Aarav redoubled his efforts to leave. The dusty old man just smiled at him, a soft look on his otherwise droopy face. “Of course, your eminence! What do you require of your loyal vassal?” Whew, it looks like he might not know. He would have said something immediately if he did…right? You might as well ham it up a bit and see what bites. The kindly man beamed, and I thought I was ugly. No, that’s rude. He seems nice! Aarav vibrated a little.

 

“You are in the presences of King Borowyn, vanquisher of the Mad King and Queen Isabella, his…wife!” The brief pause did not go unnoticed, and the Queen had cut him off with a sharp look. The old man had planned to let slip something else in there other than the simple relationship status. Something was going on with the woman by the King’s side, and he would find out what it was if it killed him!

 

In all likelihood, considering who he was dealing with, he probably would better make sure I write my will with such low life expectancy.

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