May 31, 2015

In Which Willott's Loyalties Come to Light

April 14, 1192

"I'm not leaving without my children!" The queen dug her heels into the ground as Willott shut the castle door, no mind to the hem of her gown and the dirt beneath it. The king had barged into the study mere minutes ago with a grip on the queen's arm, demanding that Willott clear the servants from the halls while he personally escorted his wife to the convent. Willott had obeyed that order, though he hadn't seen the point of it--enough had overheard him screaming about the truth about their youngest, enough had heard about another man's bastard growing in the queen's womb.

King Ietrin was a proud man. But his pride was that of a usurper, not that of a king, fragile and easily insulted rather than confident and dignified. It blinded him rather than strengthened him. What should have been armor was a self-inflicted wound.

"You'll be damned lucky if I let you see any of them again! I've half a mind to send them all to the far corners of the world purely out of spite for you--and don't think that excludes your bastard. And as soon as I've taken all you hold dear, I'll divorce you for a queen who will give me a son and banish you from this kingdom!"

"A queen who will give you a son! I told you: it's you who can't give her a son! If I managed three children with you, I must be the most fertile women who ever lived!"

"Silence! How can I trust the girls are even mine?"

Anyone who'd ever seen Princess Medea's eyes knew the answer to that. The queen had another answer. "Because I've only ever been with another man once. How does that feel, Ietrin? Just once with another man was enough for another child!"

Privately, Willott liked the fact--and he'd tell the queen that later.

But, rather than whatever curse the king replied with, his ear was drawn more keenly to a steady beating of the wind, which brought his eye to a shadow in the clouds. "Your majesties..."

"Never call her that again, Lowan!" the king snapped. "This whore is no 'majesty' of yours! Now, if she won't go willingly, fetch some guards to make her!"

"Not without Gennie and Hollie!"

A panicked scream rang from the streets outside the walls. The black shadow swooped downward. Something in its grasp glinted.

"Don't think I won't sell the both of them at auction!"

More screams. More beating.

"I'll sell them both, and Medea too! They can rot in a harem for all I--"

The sun went black. And Willott's true loyalties came to light.

"My lady!"

He pulled her back just in time to spare her the worst of the splatter.

Neither of them were spared the sight.

NEXT CHAPTER:

13 comments:

Van said...

April 14th was Laralita's birthday. It is also Fred's. Interesting.

Ren said...

Literally unlurking to say ANGRY DRAGONS BE PRAISED.

Today is a most glorious day.

Van said...

Welcome! :)

Heehee... I enjoyed my weekend away, but it was even sweeter knowing that I'd get to kill Ietrin once I got back. :D

Anonymous said...

Pfff! XD
Thanks, that really brightened my day.
I was expecting something truly bad - at best maybe Octavius finally snapping and killing Ietrin - but at least that way nobody's to blame.

Ann said...

YES!!!! Oh, YEEEEEEEEEEEEES!! One order of anvil. XD Sign here, please?
*tests hyena vice* No king, no king, lalala lala la.
Perhaps it's wrong to be so happy about the death of anyone, even a pixel character, but.... it feels so GOOD! ^^ (pity there weren't any pictures though... mwahaha)

I hope they make a dancefloor of his grave. I could name a couple people who'd dearly like a jig. ^^
A pity Anna is so far away, though perhaps the Mardalieths might make a state visit, accompanying Mona to the funeral of her 'dear brother'... (Even though that would probably bring all kinds of complications and role switches and stuff.

Anyway...
Long live the present and future Queens of Naroni!!

katdelval said...

Mahahahahahaha!!! Loved it.

Orilon said...

It appears that the dragon has finally stopped dismembering Deian to drop an anvil on Ietrin.
I feel bad for laughing at the way he died, but I am glad that he did die.

Winter said...

YES!!!!

The perfect death for such a cruel person! He brought that anvil on himself with every unhinged, unfiltered word he uttered. Ietrin could have been a much better person and king, but he had rotted on the inside over the years. He deserved what he got, and I'm glad Jeda has no questions about the monster being good and dead after all of this. I'm also delighted that Ietrin's yelling let everyone know he and his slow swimmers had been cuckolded (particularly fair when you consider Jeda knew Ietrin's mistresses by name!)

Very much looking forward to seeing whose head is the next to wear a crown! :D

Van said...

Mimus: Oh, you are most welcome! I'm sure Octavius frequently daydreams about killing Ietrin, but yeah... no messy murder trials this way.

Ann: Anvil received. :) I opted against pictures because... well, lazy.

Alas, Ietrin will be buried in the royal crypt. But I'm sure Laralita, at least, will take no issue with anyone dancing in the proximity of her remains if the cause of their glee is the death of Ietrin. (For the record, Searle Minara used his powers of being Searle Minara to make sure that both Laralita and her son Oswald got their proper places in there.)

I don't know if Mona or Anna will make it to the funeral, but suffice to say, neither of them will be very choked up about this.

Katdelval: XD XD XD

Orilon: Well, I'm not sorry that anyone laughed. XD I know you're in a place where you could probably use a good laugh, so I'm happy to supply.

Winter: Ietrin did bring this on himself. He let the power get to his head and it warped the rest of him. Sad, but there's no doubt about him deserving it. And nope--while I'm sure Jeda would rather she didn't witness this, this won't leave much room for doubt.

(And it's nice to think that everyone knows that! XD Hopefully they won't give Jeda too much grief, though I'm sure her family will squash anyone who does.)

Ekho said...

He so deserved this, really, perfect way to finish him! Although my evil side would have liked to see him live long enough to watch Medea take over as queen and gain the love and loyalty he never had. Like how Zuko's dad got to live (in prison) to see him become firelord!
I really hope Hollie isn't too confused about all this!

Van said...

Thanks! XD

It would have been nice, for sure. Though... maybe Ietrin's personal hell will include an overhead view of Dea's coronation? ;)

We'll be seeing Hollie in a couple of posts. It won't be her POV, but the focus will still be on her.

S.B. said...

OK I wanted to catch up a little further before I stopped but...YES YES YES!! And I hope Jed and Willott bottle that splatter and sell it as sauce for various animal kibble. I did not like Ietrin.

Van said...

Ietrin will not be missed by characters or readers. I'm sure whoever got stuck cleaning up the splatter had fun figuring out the best way to dispose of it. :D