[RPG] [Atamara] The Mad King

[zmobiebob]

Clutching his crown to his head (as if a strong breeze might blow it off)
with one hand, Gauihu rode through the dark streets, his side aching. His
men were with him, of course, and on the way he would cast dark looks at the
local peasants. They looked darkly back at him.

"Halt!" he cried at once, stopping. He pointed to a group of twenty
peasants. "These are rebels. Kill them all!"

With his order shouted, the Royal Guard set to work. A few escaped in time,
and a few attempted but were cut down. By the end there were 16 bodies
bloodying the street.

The king rode along. After a few hours he came to the place: his wife's
headquarters. There were banners of both his and her house adorning. His
chance to get some fresh air had really improved his mood.

He smiled as he saw Armitage III. "Ah, my wife... my queen!" And he reached
to embrace her...



--



When Gauihu reached for her, she slapped his hands away from her body. The
looked in her face show how truely mad she was.

"You toad! You are destroying this world. You are destroying everything I
lived for!" she looked away. "You have destroy hope and future for our
children."

She wanted to pull her sword, but couldn't.

"My family has dissolved our marriage, and are now planning on sending
Isthar to end your madness."

She looked back toward him. She wanted to run her hand over his face one
last time, but couldn't. "*Run! run for your life!"*

--



Gauihu's look of vague confusion solidified slowly into one of cold rage. He
glared at where she had slapped him. He sneered, lifting his lips in a feral
grin. "So," he said, and his voice was full of contained but understated
energy. "You are against me, too. Another betrayal, another sickly coward
betrayer."

Suddenly he slapped her, hard, on the face, and grabbed her right arm with
his left hand. He shook her, once, vigorously. "Where are they? WHERE ARE MY
CHILDREN?"

--



Armitage wrestled to try to free herself from his grasp. She kicked for his
knees and looked at him when he made his statement.

"They are safe, and away from your insanity!" she kicked at him. "They will
be free to grow up, and learn to do what right. I will not allow them to be
inflected by your insanity."

* *

*--*



He shook her again, annoyed that she struggled against him. He shoved her
hard, knocking her back a few feet and almost making her topple to the
ground. Gauihu stood there, his chest heaving.

"So you'll have a time to poison them against me, too? To turn them against
their own father, two more little packages of betrayal?"

He seemed to calm down quickly, his breaths slowing. Never a particularly
athletic man, he was also never out of shape, and his intensity seemed to
give him an energy that clung desperately to him just as he clung
desperately still to power. He paced back and forth, back and forth, and
then stopped.

He smiled at her, as if nothing had happened. "No mattter, my love. I'll
have them eliminated just as I have all the rest. Their innocence won't save
them."

And now he made a low choking sound, unidentifiable at first for its rarity,
and then she knew he was actually laughing at her. "Innocence never saved
anyone. Just ask Spiritmonger! Ask him!" His insane laughter grew to an
uproarious, malicious sound which seemed to beat upon her in ways that his
open hand could never have hurt so much.



--



While Gauihu was choking or laughing she quickly roll over and crawl a foot
or two before jumping up in a full run. She had to make it to Amz to warn
her to take the children out of town as fast as possible.

As she neared the corner of the building she could heard Gauihu screaming as
he started to follow her.



--



He screamed for what seemed like ages. At first there were words; angry,
vile insults. But they quickly became formless noise, an enraged, primal
scream.

Eventually he stopped. Already, his Royal Guards had followed him out,
making sure that no more assassins were coming for their mark, feeling
confused about the general situation but wise enough not to look their king
in the eye or inquire too deeply about his issues.

He didn't chase the Queen for very long. His side still ached from the
poison of Enthar's blade. *And besides*, he realized with a sheepish smile,
*I'm the King. Kings don't run. It just isn't done.*

But they did pace. He paced back and forth some more, breathing in the cool
night air.

Riverholm City at night looked peaceful, but deceptively so. The shops were
all emptied, the mills too, even the Dragon Reborn. The market places would
not be open tomorrow, the bustle of townies on their ordinary business would
not happen. Trade was at a stand-still. Manufactories were closed. Fields
were unattended.

Frightened peasants - Pantheists, many of them, who'd seen their local
temple burned to the ground and their main priest arrested - hid away from
view, dreading the time when Islanders, or Secessionists, or Rebels, or
Darkans or Mad Kings would come to ravage the already-ravaged region.

Still, where he walked, there were people, here and there. They were down in
spirits, clearly. But they bowed humbly when he passed. Gauihu was pleased
at such symbols as this; signs that, as he was still King, things were still
going his way.

*Well, those kids aren't going to grow up too quickly,* he reasoned calmly.
*I suppose they can be dealt with later.*

With that, he turned around and strode back into the old palace of Riverholm.
He had a few things to attend to. *Kingdoms don't run themselves, after all.
*

* *

--



Amz was angry.