While I followed my escorts on our way to King’s quarters a dozen pairs of eyes regarded me with curiosity. They peered around the corners of walls or from deep within dark rooms, because my presence could not go by unnoticed. Perhaps it was the smell that drew them in, the musk of someone unfamiliar, catching their attention like misplaced items in a private room. I wondered if they’d ever met someone from outside this place. There were ratmen and lizardmen, and who knows what else living in these tunnels, but they were locked away behind a gate in these remote tunnels. It might be that I’m the first stranger they meet.

Although, it felt strange to refer to myself as a stranger inside this castle. Rather, I would think that they, in fact, were strangers.

I would like that, but this place was more foreign to me than I’d like to admit. Wider ground; it was undeniable that King had branched out his kingdom with more hallways and rooms. Taller ceilings; the tunnels had felt more cramped before I was… misplaced. At this moment, the castle seemed to have expanded to such a size that mother would have been able to walk around freely.

Who knows what would have happened if mother was able to just walk away from us. We’d never have known a parents' love, its sacrifice for our care.

We’d arrived.

The little ones, possibly a Bart, pointed their stone spears at a black wall within the stone wall, as if someone had painted a cave’s entrance. It put a smile on my face. If there was any doubt, it was now gone. This was King.

I knocked on the dark shadows and they produced a muted, thudding sound at the collision with my knuckles. A slit cut through the middle and, at the middle point of this line, invisible ropes appeared to pull the shadows aside, draping them like curtains. As I walked through, I sought to run my claws over the fabric, but it turned to smoke between my fingers.

The crevice led to another tunnel, a shorter one that glowed green on the other side. And beyond the other side I found a throne room. The ground had been carved into a brick pattern, and once you entered the room, you stepped upon a long, rolled out carpet strung together of and with mother's coarse fur. The space was so large that it felt like breathing an entirely different air, like hearing an unheard sound as my heart beat into a nearly imperceivable echo. And in the middle of the room, at the end of the carpet, stood a stone mockery of a throne; a misshapen cup to hold in place and bear the near liquid form of King.

He had changed.

His teeth had grown too large for his mouth. It seemed as if someone had inserted swords under his lips, and told him to smile. His body had grown to a hulking size of twice what he was before, and the fat was so bulbous that his limbs seemed to have disappeared, paling in proportion. He bathed in the green light of the stone strung up behind him as the blubber was held in place by slabs of stone protruding from his noble seat to keep him sitting upright, and tails strung around the foot of this stone cup.

The swords rang as they scratched against each other once he opened his mouth. It didn’t look like he was speaking, but from the back of his throat escaped a deep, screeching sound, echoing through the domed space.

‘Approach.’

Step by step, I drew closer, drawn in by the green glow caressing his shape in unnatural ways, only to flinch back at the screeching.

‘It has been a long time, Anite, welcome back.’

‘Yes, thank you, you look… well.’

‘The kingdom has prospered in your absence. How do you find its changes?’

‘It’s umh… you hired new people?’

At close, it really struck me just how massive King had become. Size alone, he’d become half the size of mother. Even his gaze felt heavy, and dared not look into the four beady eyes hidden below the fur.

‘You could say that. I’ve come upon a boon, a divine gift. You are aware of the trinity, aren’t you. The other little rats aren’t, but you… yes, you remember; the Trinity. They gave meaning to everything. They found me as I traversed a path of madness and slaughter, they whisked me away and showed me I had a purpose in this world, a true purpose. Bless Gloria, every day, spread her words and wisdoms and protect the realm against the filthy pagans that would dare corrupt our holy civilization.’

‘That’s nice, but I just came home from a long journey, and I hoped for something more enervating. It’s short notice, but maybe a little party?’

‘You were always like that. Following your own path, no sense for decorum. Yet, you also carried the words of our gods, carried out their deliverance to the nonbelievers. But they are no more. No wonder Ashe never reached out to you. She was not there. It makes so much sense, why it hurt every moment, why the emptiness persevered no matter what I did. We were weakened and divided, and someone had to bear the fate of humanity, carry the torch to guide them. We needed a god. Tell me, old friend, what would you do in my situation?’

‘I don’t know what you’re saying, King. What do I know about being a ruler? I’m a knight, here to protect all of you, to keep you safe from any harm you couldn’t face alone, so we can keep enjoying Bart’s cooking, and Clementine’s bad poetry, so Amethyst can teach Brynn how to speak like a lady, and Tess can force Belial to join us for dinner. That’s what I realized on my journey, that we really love each other, and I want to wake up to that… every day.’

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

A hush settled in the large room as the echo died down, with unsettling quiet and uncertainty. I looked up at King, and saw the green light refracting through four streams of tears rolling down his fur.

‘I knew you’d see it my way. What a salvation. Kneel, Anite, and close your eyes. I know that you’re looking for your friends, but they’re not here right now. I can use my magic to send you to them, but for it to work you need to trust me’

It took the wind out of me. My breath quivered in surprise. A worry had creeped up on me unnoticed, and was washed away by King’s assurance. As the echo died down again, I kneeled down and closed my eyes. Thank you, King. You’ve lifted the pressure of my heart with those words. Across my cheeks burned the warmest smile I ever remember smiling.

So many things can happen in a single moment.

I flinched as an explosive sound detonated behind me, rupturing through my disced ears, and a muted, high pitched squeak reverberated through the chamber.

‘Windpull!!’

My body shook as a dozen hands pulled me into the air. I opened my eyes to see the hands didn’t exist, although I had certainly left the ground, and was pulled back at frightening velocity. Before me raged tendrils of shadow, chasing behind my flying shape, attempting to grasp at my ankles. They appeared aggressive, and I instinctively pulled my legs to my chest.

Meanwhile, I soared through the sky, further and further, until a soft pillow-like feeling slapped into my back, and I landed with my feet on the stone ground.

There was a soft light coming from a large hole in the wall, littered with gravel and debris, and I looked around to find the little girl rat with the white rose thorns around her head, standing in the opening, looking tensely at the shadowy behemoth.

‘So you reveal yourself?’ Screeched King, his roar deafening. The tendrils had ceased their chase and his eyes burned dangerously beyond the shadows before his voice resonated through our souls. ‘Murder from the Nimbus Shroud.’ The words rang through me. From below his royal cup rose a dense cloud of shadow which began to lift the enormous body out of his throne into the air, carrying him like a flying carpet. King himself flew into our direction, a large jaw loomed above, filled with blades, veiled in shadow, and from its misty hulk spawned dozens of black ravens, their beaks gleaming like iron spearheads.

We jumped through the hole and ran, ran, ran along the gray walls, shoving aside shocked little rats as we made it through the hallway. The ravens pursued, steadily gaining on us with every beat of their ephemeral wings. We could nearly jump out of range when the first birds struck down, their beaks penetrating into the stone on our coattails.

The girl jumped around, her black fur moving like a shadow itself, and she squealed.

‘Stone sealing!!’

At her command, the stone ceilings around us reached out for each other to conjoin in a solid barricade, an impenetrable wall, blocking off the deadly crows behind it. Except for one. In between me and the fresh wall, the girl and the shadow were on a collision course. She was just a second too late, and now it would kill her. Her reflexes were too slow to dodge, too young to withstand the trauma the bird would inflict as it passed through her frail stomach.

I wouldn’t be a knight if I let that happen.

'Crossbow.'

I reached out my arm at the apparition, and from the floor below shot up a short quarrel of stone with enough force to drill into the ceiling above, piercing through the shadow, blowing it away like smoke.

She fell on the ground, looking at the dissipating tendrils of black. I ran to help the girl up. Her breath seemed to catch and she looked at me with big eyes before she shook herself.

‘We have to get out of this place.’ She said. ‘He will break through this any second. He’ll slaughter us both.’

‘My friend, he’s still in the castle. I can’t leave him behind.’

‘I know where your friends are. I can bring you to them, but you have to follow me now.’

The words rung through my brain, leaving me with a stunned feeling in my head.

She started running and I followed her. Why did I do that? What about Gharava? Who was this girl, and why did she save me? It occurred to me that she couldn’t have known I needed saving. As far as I knew, King intended to help me, bringing my family back to me. He cried for me, but he tried to kill me. And the girl… she was on the other side of a wall. How could she have known?

A deep rumbling sound boomed behind us, as if something massive was slamming into the stone wall and was rapidly cracking through.

The girl took us through the hallways, so many hallways, until we made it to the gate. She held up her hand and twisted it around, the earth in front of her followed to create a cylindrical opening just wide enough for us to leap through to the sound of screeching rage in the distance.

---

We ran and we ran. It took me no time before I remembered where she was taking me. This was the direction of the lake. The tunnels flashed by in a gray melange as the sunstones were setting, and by the time we reached the lake, it was nighttime.

The lake itself laid serenely still, emitting a cold that was palpable. within its depths, a soft light burned cooly, covering the ceiling in a fluid, blue light.

‘The last time I was here, I was banished, actually. I don’t know if I should enter this room.’

‘Don’t worry,’ she said, ‘I’ll protect you.’ And I’ll have to admit, that gave me butterflies. I don’t think anyone’s ever talked to me like that.

‘You will?’

‘The other rats fear what lives here, and they stay just long enough to collect water. It’s the perfect hiding place.’ She said, continuing to head forward.

She led me through the room, around a large wall, into a hidden cavern.

Inside the cavern sat another small rat, and next to it sat Belial, weathered and thin. His eyes were red. His right arm was missing its hand. He looked at me and shook, tears began to flow with an uncontrolled sob before he jumped at me, and embraced me, so tight. I ran my fingers through his fur, telling him it’s alright.

I pushed him softly away to look him in the eye, my small piece of home.

‘I’m so sorry, Anite, it’s not my fault. I swear it. I didn’t do it. It’s not my fault.’

‘I know.’ I said, and turned towards the girl with rose thorns around her head. ‘Who in Ashe’s name are you?’

‘The large beast we faced was not King. He’s taken over the kingdom. When the imposter called you in, I knew I had to move fast. I was laying low to find the right time to strike, but I knew he would kill you. They call me Arthur, but in reality I’m King. The true King.’