Simon was following the king in the corridor, his head lowered. The man, with an ever-so-kind look on his face, was smiling at the servants and exchanging a few gentle words with the people he was passing by. He looked like the perfect monarch, a kind and loving king with youthful looks and shiny blonde hair. However, after passing through a hallway, when nobody was looking, his voice came out dry and venomous.

  “You know, I always liked you Simon. You represent everything I admire in a knight : Compassion, strength, and loyalty. I considered you my strongest supporter and my most treasured friend.”

  The commander didn’t answer, keeping his head lowered as he clenched his fists. They continued walking for a while before the king spoke again.

  “I’ve been so kind to you, so why are you betraying me ?”

  “I didn’t betray you, your majesty, I am upholding the history and the values of your kingdom by helping the Shaman who saved us all.”

  “Oh please, you know that’s false.”

  The king turned to him with a vicious smile.

  “You know he isn’t the Shaman.”

  Simon clenched his jaw but managed to answer.

  “He repaired the first artefact and can manipute the flow at will, so I believe he is the Shaman.”

  “Don’t lie, I heard he can’t even take proper care of himself, he doesn’t sleep nor eat, and he is so skinny a bit of wind could knock him down.”

  The knight’s pupils twitched.

  ‘How much does he know ? How many reports did he receive ?’

  Thankfully, the king didn’t seem to know that Thomas had improved a lot in a small amount of time, and he was now the most powerful person in the country. The monarch walked to Simon, gently stroking his cheek. It made him feel sick. Before he would have been proud of receiving the king’s attention, but ever since meeting Thomas, something about this touch felt nauseating.

  “You still have the choice to follow me, you know. It would be bad if I were to lose a talented person like you.”

  Then he walked away towards the entrance of the castle. Simon stayed frozen in pce for a few minutes, trying to get rid of the disgusting feeling, then promptly followed after him.

  ‘Thomas is strong, he can defend himself. The king won’t be able to touch him. Everything will be alright.’

  He soon arrived at the door and walked outside on top of the stairs, pcing himself at his rightful pce, behind the king who was looking at his dark expression with an amused look.

  “You will soon see who you should side with.”

  At that moment, a splendid carriage decorated with gold ornaments turned the corner and advanced towards them, stopping in front of the stairs. The king was smiling wide, looking at the windows hopping to see the rumored Shaman. However, for some reason, the gss was dark and nothing could be seen from outside. Soon, the door opened and the servants at the front row screamed in terror. The monarch contorted his body to catch a glimpse.

  “What’s happen…”

  Before he could finish his sentence, he froze at the sight that was unfolding before him. When the door to the carriage opened, a puddle of blood flew out, dripping on the ground like a waterfall. The whole pce started to smell like blood, even though they were outside. Then two small feet exited the carriage. They belonged to a small boy with pink hair, however it was soiled with red liquid. Soon, another one with purple hair followed him. Those were the infamous twins, familiars of the Shaman, rulers of the underground of the capital, as well as masters of the kingdom’s economy. The king knew them well, but today they seemed foreign. Their faces were grim, pale, soiled with blood, and their eyes were filled with terror.

  The king started to shake without noticing it. Those two nightmares, the unwavering sharks who ruled the country alongside him, those terrifying beings, they seemed out of their minds. What was able to put them in this state ?

  ‘Did I misjudge the Shaman ? No, surely all of this is an act…’

  He turned to Simon, but the knight didn’t seem surprised. He looked terrified and filled with worry, but not surprised. It didn’t make any sense. Soon, a feeling of anxiety took over the king, like the certitude that he was about to die. He promptly turned back to the carriage, and noticed a dark silhouette coming out. It was very hard to make out what it was, it seemed so twisted and deformed. When finally it came into the light, the king felt like he was about to wet himself. It was a very tall man, so skinny that he seemed made of bones. His clothes were unfamiliar, made with fabrics he had never seen and didn’t seem to belong to this world. His pants were rge, full of chains and metal parts with multiple pockets, and he had a thin shirt covered with an equally massive vest decorated with motifs that shone in the dark. His whole outfit was as bck as his long hair, with two strands free at the front on each side of his pale face, while the rest was tied at the back in massive buns decorated with the same glow in the dark motifs as his vest.

  But most of all, this man was dripping blood all over, covered in it as if he had taken a bath. One servant fainted on the spot. It wasn’t just his appearance that was terrifying, there was a dangerous aura around this man, and his hollow eyes exuded a certain pressure that nobody could withstand.

  “Did I scare you ? Sorry, I forgot to clean up.”

  The Shaman nonchantly flicked his fingers, and immediately the blood disappeared in a pink smoke, as if it was a dream. The king felt his knees become weak.

  ‘What the fuck is that ? Did I misjudge him ? No, I’m sure the reports said he was frail and scared, it doesn’t make any sense ! Was he hiding his power ?’

  The man’s eyes scanned the audience, the two twins pced on his side with their heads lowered. They looked like hostages.

  “That’s quite the welcome committee. Which of you is the current king ?”

  The monarch seemed to wake up from his torpor and smiled wide, walking towards the Shaman.

  “It’s me. Nice to meet you, dear Shaman !”

  The king tried to reach for his hand but Thomas dodged by twisting his waist.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  The monarch’s eyebrow twitched.

  ‘What’s his deal ? He doesn’t want to even touch me ? But I’m being so nice ! Anyway, Shamans are gay, right ? I should try to cozy up to him, he won’t be able to resist my charm.’

  The king got even closer, grabbing Thomas’ arms and pressing himself against him.

  “I’m so happy to…”

  Before he could even finish his sentence, the Shaman emotionlessly took his own arm and ripped it off, leaving nothing in the hands of the king except a dead piece of flesh. The monarch looked at it, unable to comprehend what had just happened, as blood was flowing on him and soiling his regal outfit.

  “What…”

  He slowly raised his head to meet Thomas’ empty gaze. The slim man was looking at him with disgust slightly hidden behind indifference.

  “I don’t like your manners.”

  That’s when the monarch understood and screamed in horror, throwing the severed arm to the ground. Thomas sighed and with a pink light, his limb was regrown and his clothes mended as if nothing had happened.

  “A king should accommodate his guests, not annoy them. You have a strange sense of hospitality.”

  Wings sprouted from his back, and Thomas flew over the stairs and the screaming servants, nding at the very top in front of Simon.

  “Hi.”

  The knight was shaking slightly, his face a mixture of worry and relief.

  “Hi…”

  Thomas turned to look one st time at the king, drenched in blood, frozen in fear and confusion, then shifted his attention back on Simon.

  “The king needs to change, so I will start with repairing the artifact. Could you guide me, commander ?”

  The knight turned around to hide his flushing face and shaky hands.

  “Alright Shaman, I will guide you.”

  And they entered the castle. After a few steps in the hallway under the curious eyes of the servants, Simon heard a voice inside his head.

  “You don’t look well. Has he been troubling you ?”

  The knight looked around him but nobody was reacting. He seemed to be the only one who could hear. So he whispered softly, knowing that Thomas could hear.

  “No, it’s alright. But you should have cleaned him up like you did with the carriage. Why did you leave him drenched in blood ? It will create a bad impression of you on the people…”

  “I don’t care. I don’t like him. He was rude.”

  Simon nodded. Trying to seduce Thomas was a lost cause and something nobody should do since it would make the Shaman uncomfortable.

  “And you looked like you didn’t want him around, so I helped.”

  The commander was grateful that he was walking in front, so that Thomas could not see his red face.

  AmbreaTaddy