Queen Cinder sat on her throne as the entire room was filled with nothing but anticipation as the sunlight cast through the stained-glass window from above, casting an array of colors down onto the place while also granting warmth to it.
Her two beloved children stood on her opposite side while the cruel advisor with his golden cup smirked with a faint hint of sadness at what was about to unfold before their very own eyes, taking amusement at this event like no other.
Across her, each guard holding their halberd stood together in line by line as they faced another group standing near the entrance. Cinder's victory is at hand, for this is the moment her desires will be fulfilled by seeing her lover once more.
It was only a matter of time before she could get her hands on the holy man. The many fun things she will do will be a delightful experience for her and her children, who stood by her side, smiling deviously with wicked intent, eagerly to see their guest arrive in mere seconds.
"You seem really eager, milady," Greed remarked while taking a sip from his beverage as the wine tasted rich with sweetness that he loved the most. "I can't wait to make him all yours, isn't that right?" Chuckling afterwards, licking the remnants of the drink off his own lips.
She only glanced at him, giving a cold glare in silence, for she holds no emotion whatsoever. "Don't ever think about speaking unless spoken too," she warned sternly with a clear threat laced in her own words, not wanting anyone to ruin this beautiful reunion.
Instead of fear, he laughed mockingly at this. How foolish she is in trying to intimidate him like that, but it's quite understandable as her ego and pride have gotten the best of her. "Is that supposed to scare me?" He snickered, "Oh, please, your nothing more than a spoiled brat who is crying over her favorite toy being stolen away from her," taunting the queen as if to test her limits.
A knife then appeared near his throat. "I would prefer if you were more polite, piggy," Prince Leon remarked with slight annoyance in his eyes while also pressing the dagger against his skin, "or else I will cut that filthy tongue of yours," and the blade dug deeper into the fat man's neck as if to tease the very idea of slitting it.
Glaring at the boy with his eyes filled with unspoken rage, Greed said no more as he returned to drinking his wine. The atmosphere in the chamber thickened after their short argument; it became almost suffocating to endure despite not being physically able to breathe.
"A troublesome boy, you have milady," smirking once more, he raised the glass. "He's a lot like you; vicious and aggressive, very much like a feral animal on leash," staring at the mother of these evil children, "have you raised them right, or perhaps they have become rebellious to their parent?" The advisor teased at this thought.
Lady Kayo laughed at this hilarious scene. "This is really entertaining to watch," she exclaimed. "I wish the knife would just gut you right there and then!" She called out towards the boy, "Seeing his innards spilling out from that pig will be quite a sight, wouldn't you agree, little brother?"
Nodding in agreement, Leon grinned ear to ear. "Very much so, my dear sister," he said in delight. "May I please? May I, mother?!" Asking desperately at the queen with childlike innocence like a hungry beggar needing food to fill his own stomach, "Can I?! Can I?!" He asked once more in an impatient and overly enthusiastic manner.
Frowning at their demands, she had always wanted to remove that ugly smile plastered on the fat pig's face, but knowing how useful Greed is in terms of political purposes, along with having good connections in regards to her personal economy and military power, he is a man of many uses.
Thus she denied her own children the privilege of killing him despite how much Cinder wants to make it happen: "As much as I want to see his innards spread out of this room and his stupid face displayed as decoration, unfortunately I cannot afford to lose a valuable asset as him," explaining her own decision.
Prince Leon huffed angrily in disappointment, removing his knife as the prime minister giggled at this obvious victory he had been expecting. "I am so proud of you," Greed mocked sarcastically in a spiteful manner, finding the whole thing amusing for him.
"Shut it, you fatso!" The prince spat angrily, "It's not over; I'm going to stab you once this is over and hang your corpse on my walls!" Promising the crime in question, "When the time comes, I'll make sure to make you suffer until the end," he swore with venom in every word.
"Hahahaha! Look at you acting so tough!" He laughed heartily at the child's attempt at a threat: "If you ever managed to kill me, I'd be surprised," grinning as the humor he found was ever more hilarious than he thought it would be. "I know you can't because you can't do anything without mommy's permission!"
Even Kayo laughed along with him: "This is so entertaining to watch!" Commenting on the humorous scene, "Are you sure you're not acting your age, Leon?" She jested with cruel intention, not caring about her little brother's feelings.
Cinder stared boredom ahead as her children and the prime minister conversed with each other like petty students gossiping amongst themselves. The noise was becoming a headache, and she almost lost it until a miracle happened before them.
Finally, he has arrived!
Smiling lustfully, she watched the door open themselves as many of her soldiers held her new prisoners, and standing in front of her was none other than Seth. "Release him!" Cinder quickly said, drooling with desire at the sight of the handsome man.
The soldiers around him complied while his friends were still being held by the armored men, unable to break away while Solomon's sword was confiscated as he continued to scream with anger, "I WILL KILL YOU!" Veins popping all over his own face at being handled like a mere bag of potatoes, "JUST GET OFF ME, YOU SHITS!" Spat violently at them.
And his efforts to escape were rewarded with a hit in the back of his head by an armored fist: "Stand down, you brat!" One of them said, annoyed at this boy's persistence, "There's no escaping this fate for you and your friends." He answered without hint of remorse.
Bruno, with his wrists being held by the knight, looked down in shame for having brought this upon themselves. Having regrets about ever doing something like this again, I ask, "What have I done?" He said it under his breath, regretting every second of it.
As the holy man laid his eyes on the queen, his heart and soul became troubled by what she had become. He knew the cheerful girl Seth had once known turned into such a brutal ruler of her people. However, part of him still believes there is still good in her.
Rowing of knights in line at his left and right, with their halberds pointing upwards as they remained stationary, he breathed in the stale air before exhaling it out slowly in order to calm himself down. "Cinder," he said in a sad tone, taking his first step in the throne room.
Just as he was taking one step forward, the rows of knights suddenly bent one knee down before their heads looked up at the ceiling above and began to worship him. "Lord, Lord! Hail to his majesty, our Lord of Lords, God the Almighty!" They announced, much to the rest of their confusion, "The Son of God, praise unto the King of Kings, for salvation is at hand!" They spoke in union, lifting their voices loud enough for everyone to hear.
Everyone became perplexed except Seth, as even the prime minister thought of this joke: "What is the meaning of this?!" Greed was questioned loudly, causing all the knights who worshiped Seth to suddenly stand up with confusion all over them.
A nearby knight turned his head to answer his inquiry, "We apologize, prime minister, but it appears something took control of us." The response caused interest to everyone involved; however, the queen herself didn't care about any of this, for her eyes were focused on the approaching Seth.
The Queen's daughter hummed with interest, finding the knight's answer interesting for her to ponder about: "A strange occurrence, wouldn't you say?" Kayo commented, raising an eyebrow at the display before her. "One minute they were on their knees, and the next, they are now standing with a look of confusion on their faces," she stated as the group of knights proceeded to converse about this phenomenon.
Prince Leon agreed with his sister's words, "I wonder who or what could have caused it," adding his own remark on the situation while wondering if that could have been the holy man, "perhaps..." Narrowing his eyes on Seth, he quietly mused on this. "I have a feeling we will soon find out the truth in this matter," he finished, voicing out his thoughts.
Their focus shifted to the man that now stood in front of Cinder. "It has been awhile, Cinder," Seth greeted his childhood friend as the surrounding soldiers took notice of this. "I hope you've been well since last time we met," causing her to blush heavily at this response.
Shiver ran through her spine at the sight of this man; her dreams have finally come true. "I love you," she said, causing many eyebrows to rise while her children and the prime minister sighed at this predictable behavior of her usual antics.
Laughing softly at this, "I believe you have mistaken your love for obsession." Shaking his head, he sighed in resignation. "What you are feeling isn't love but lust," he pointed out to the woman. "To love is to respect oneself and others, not for one's selfish desire to be filled." He spoke the truth, but Cinder couldn't or simply wouldn't listen.
Seeing this as rejection, "are you saying that you don't love me?" Her eyes widening at this prospect: "Tell me that isn't true!" She begged with tears coming out of her eyes as Seth stared at her with sadness in his eyes, "TELL ME!" She screeched at the holy man, hoping he would take it back.
Closing his eyes, tears stream down his own cheeks. "I do not love you," he revealed, breaking her heart in twain with these simple words, "nor will I ever love you," and it's finally set in stone for Cinder that Seth doesn't have the same feelings she has for him.
"How can I love you if you let the darkness consume your own soul and allow it to taint your very heart?" Unable to look at her any longer, he averted his gaze elsewhere while her sorrow turned to anger. "But if you're willing to turn away your sins and repent, then we can start over again and begin anew," he offered while praying in hopes she would accept the offer.
But she didn't. "Start over?" Baring her teeth with anger, she stood up from her throne and said, "What do you mean start over?!" She shouted in rage, "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU?!" Pacing herself around in front of him, she said, "IT TOOK ME YEARS UPON YEARS OF HUNTING FOR YOU, AND YOU SAY WE SHOULD START OVER LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED?!"
"Cinder, it's never—"
Stopping in her tracks, she turned and moved towards him before their faces were close enough. "Can't you see how much I love you?!" Voicing her frustrations in regards to the holy man, "don't you understand how lonely I was when you disappeared out of nowhere!?" Tears cascading down her own cheeks, "How sad I was after you left to kill that evil magician who calls him The Dark Lord?!" Many whispers around them rose after hearing the last sentence.
"Could it be him?"
"It can't be; I thought they were dead ever since King Midas summoned them from their worlds."
"That must be the man who killed him!"
His silence was met with a slap in the face by the queen herself: "HOW DARE YOU TURN YOUR HEAD AWAY FROM ME AFTER EVERYTHING THAT I'VE DONE FOR YOU?!" She screamed at him with all of her might, "IF YOU CAN'T LOVE ME, THEN NO ONE WILL!"
"Guards!" She ordered, "Arrest him and bring his friends to the dungeon for their execution!" The queen declared with such force that it seemed impossible to go against her demands as they nodded at this. Immediately, they apprehended the holy man like before, while Cyan, Solana, and Gus could only feel disgusted at their own actions.
"I don't want to die!" Bruno rapidly breathes, the guilt and anxiety building up to an unbearable degree while his chest tightens itself as if someone's hand were squeezing it. "I don't want to die!" He shouted, but no one cared about his pleas: "PLEASE, DON'T MAKE ME DIE!"
Genno looked away at this despair plaguing the entire throne room. He had wished that he could have found a way to escape with his friends, but in this situation, such a thing is impossible, for there is no hope in sight for them.
