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 Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 10:50 pm
The king had struck not only at the knight's insecurities. He had struck a nerve with the mechanic. "Y-Your Highness. When I found Mr. Nesdin, he had no memory of his past. The demon that had him under their control was using your war with the White Kingdom to keep themselves living. The deaths & wounds of your people were keeping them fed." he explained, getting slightly braver than before.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:01 pm
The King looked surprised at this, and looked at Arron with a questioning glance.
"What are you talking about? This slave was at the hands of someone with that kind of goal? How would something like the death of our people give strength to another?" He grinned again, "that makes absolutely no sense! Are you just trying to make it seem like a pitiable slave was important enough to warrant forced capture and subjugation? That somehow it wasn't his own fault for allowing his capture? You honestly expect us to believe something so ridiculous?"Talbot frowned, looking defeated.
"It's... my fault. I was weak. The death of your people falls entirely on my shoulders..." he spoke quietly, the words from earlier still stinging him deeply.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:22 pm
Arron felt challenged & he was not about to back down against the king. He took off the helmet, & the chest plate. "Yes I do because, I have the scars to prove it. I was stabbed in the chest & was in the hospital for a few weeks." he said tugging down his vest & collar to reveal the scar that the Mistress had left, "Talbot cleaved the demon into pieces. They knew what the peace treaty was. From appearances, Talbot w-was not the first to be enslaved by that demon. My companion here has more honor than most I have met in both kingdoms." The mechanic's stammering had stopped. He was standing up for the knight.
"...You're going to get us thrown in the dungeon Boyo..." he heard his counterpart say.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:34 pm
The King and Queen met eyes again, then grinned at the same time. It appeared that they were on the same wave-length. They faced the two before them once again, and then the Queen spoke.
"I do not believe that this slave is who you claim him to be." she said."Nor do I. But there's a simple way of testing this." The King added with a delighted smile. He folded his arms across his chest.
"You will do battle with some of my strongest warriors. Prove to me that you can hold your own as a true knight. And as you seem so sure that he'll succeed, you can be his final challenger, outsider. If he succeeds in forcing my warriors; and his own companion, to their knees, I will sign the treaty."Talbot's eyes widened, but he looked to Arron.
"I... will agree with these terms if you will..." he said. He was not told to kill his opponents, but merely to send them to their knees, so he had no problem fighting Arron if that were he case.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:42 pm
Arron had had enough of royalty to last him a lifetime. "Your terms have been accepted." he said glancing at his friend.
"I don't know whether this is good or worse than the dungeon. You're such an idiot!" yelled the counterpart.
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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:49 pm
"And if you manage to survive once you've failed, you'll be our personal slave. Then, not even the outsider will be able to save you." The Queen announced, almost positive that Talbot would fail.The King laughed, running his hand through his hair.
"You've got a cruel mind, my dear." he chuckled, though not denying that part of the deal."Ah... understood..." Talbot replied, a little thrown off by this added rule. He would not object, however. If he were to fail, there would be nothing left for him. Succeeding was all that was on his mind. Failure to him meant that he deserved nothing better than the life of a slave.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:02 am
Arron remained silent. If his friend failed the test, he would make sure he would not be a slave.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:11 am
"Excellent. Then tomorrow morning, you die, or become a slave to us. For now, it's late. We'll allow you to stay in the dungeon until then. It's quite empty, and I'm sure a slave is used to such an atmosphere. You'll feel in your element." The King stated.
Guards opened the doors behind the two, and approached Arron and Talbot."Very well. I will gladly defeat your warriors if it means future peace. Thank you, your majesties." Talbot said, lowering his head respectively one last time before turning and nodding at the two guards, and then looking to Arron. The confidence on his face had returned. He wasn't beaten yet, so there was no way he would succumb to sadness.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:24 am
Arron smiled at his friend as he waited to be led away by the guards.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:58 am
The two were led down into the dungeon, and locked in separate cells, but left unchained. The dungeon was dark, and empty, made entirely of black rock and black iron for bars. There were few windows, and no beds or means for sleeping. It was a quiet, desolate place. Talbot took a seat on the floor, leaning so that his back touched the wall. He looked beside him at Arron, who was in the cell directly to his left.
"So.. this is it then. My final chance. I'm sure if I can get the signatures of the King and Queen here, my own King and Queen will be forced to sign out of obligation." he said, though his voice was a little shaky and hardly convincing of any confidence.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:02 am
The mechanic had sprawled out on the stone floor, his arm used as a pillow. He looked over at the knight. "Y-You'll m-make it. You'll win. I-I know you w-will." he said giving Talbot a reassuring flash of teeth, "...Also I-I'm sorry I-I spoke out back th-there..."
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:09 am
"Ah, to be honest... I'm glad you did. It seems I still have a long way to go before I can separate myself from my life as a slave. Even now, it seems as though I'll be pulled back." Talbot stated, looking away and pulling his knees closer to his chest with a sigh.
"It's difficult to stay brave with such obstacles, but I'll do my very best. It helps that I have you by my side, even though we'll have to do battle."
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:30 am
There was a silence for a few minutes. Finally Arron said, "T-Tenin la z-zen. It's a-a saying from my home st-star system. It-It means 'Friends make faces'. Y-Your friends help y-you bring out-out the best in you. Also... y-you're t-totally going to-to beat me... I-I don't know how-how to use a-a sword very well..."
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:30 am
"I like that saying, And yes, I totally will." Talbot responded in a matter-of-fact manner before smiling gently.
"You may be one of my dearest friends, but I am going to destroy you in battle. No doubt about it." he hardly sounded sincere as he said so, but he was mostly saying it to lighten the mood anyway.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:37 am
What Talbot had said worked, causing Arron to chuckle. "J-Just don't beat me too hard... If m-my body starts to-to crystallize, then j-just knock me out. I-I don't want to-to go nuts to-to where he-he can't take over." he explained.
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