The king felt beads of sweat slide feeling relieved that the shadowy mastermind has left, he called for guards to light up the hall. The guards found it strange as the hall was already bright, but they followed the orders and brought dozens of torches and light stones.

“Make sure that that everyone has a light so there is no shadows!” the king hurriedly shouted thinking that if there is not a speck of darkness that he could disrupt the shadows from watching him. The king only needed a minute to purposely stop the summoning, then later he will come up with an excuse why it failed.  He was about to stop the summoning sequence that was prepared when his daughter came back.  The king held his breath wishing that the lights could really dispel darkness. 

“What are you doing father?” she asked cutely, “Guards can you leave? I want to spend some time with father.”

The king nodded his head to the guards that they are dismissed. Even though he dismissed the guards he wished one would stay behind to protect him from his daughter.  The king felt really pitiful that he may really be a coward after living so long.  Why did the fear seem to feel more real as one gets older, is fear tied to wisdom or age?  He swallowed hard as he played with his daughter’s hair. 

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“We don’t like to be betrayed you know? You lived a long life,” she said as her voice went an octave lower sounding familiar and strange to his ears, “It’s too late to stop the summons now!  I will be successful and you don’t need to be alive for the future plans.”

The king wasn’t shocked by the declaration yet he had to ask, “Where did I go wrong?”

The strange voice chuckled responding, “Where did you go wrong with your life? You should know I was never going to let you live even if you did follow orders.”

The king fumed as he really wanted to know why his daughter turned out like this! The king felt the fear disappear slightly as he felt guilty wondering if it was his fault.  His thoughts however wasn’t going to be peaceful musings for long when danger is on his lap.

“Of course, it would be strange if the king suddenly died or disappeared,” the voice ominously resounded in the king’s ears, “But I can’t have you disrupt my plans...”

The king felt like all the blood has left his body feeling the blood thirsty chill in the glittering eyes of his daughter.