Approach Father
You continue to see it’s one of the family taurs from earlier, upon squinting your eye, your pupils adjusted to the dim light of the catacombs underneath the palace. A large strong figure fills the doorway, his muscles filtering thin beams of light between the spaces of his muscles. His large bushy tail flicked behind him as the profile of his figure was backlit through the nearby doorway. Your ears perk up, something wasn’t right.
After a moment of silently listening, you begin to pick up on a second voice, one unfamiliar to you, for some reason you catch a foreign voice speaking, someone you don’t recognize. Their high pitched slithery voice sounded almost snake like as they spoke to your father, your heart beat out of your chest as you tried to pick up on what they were saying.
“Get the.. Be sure to not…. REMEMBER” You’re not too sure about this, but for some reason you feel as if this could be something dangerous just waiting to happen. You try to figure out their plan, you begin by sitting and listening a little bit more information about what you’re hearing. Keen ears tune in on your father’s voice, though you jump in from the middle of the sentence, you can just barely understand what the two are talking about.
“Unless you can actually help our kingdom, I don’t believe that you would be actually of help, therefore I’m going to have to refuse your offer today. I’m so sorry” what could your father have been talking about? You try to remember, but to no avail, it seemed as if there was nothing of dire need that needed to be addressed within the kingdom to as far as you understand. You begin to feel confused, lost, and being overcome by the urge to take matters into your own hands, giving yourself another moment to listen to what they were saying.
“Well you see my king, there isn’t much of an ultimatum for you at this point, you’re in a tough position, and it’s either try or die.. And my king, we definitely don’t want you dying on us do we.” the ominous tone in his voice rubbed you the wrong way, your fur bristled in rage as you listened to this man disrespecting your father. A heavy ball of ice felt as if it was forming in your stomach, and you could no longer control your actions.
You stepped out of the shadows and into the light to greet the two figures. The king’s friend jumped, though he himself remained still and stoic as usual.
“Princess? What are you doing here?” His eyes darted around in his head, almost as if he was looking straight through you. You step forward out of the darkness to face the king, his eyes widened as he looked over at his friend once more, before fully turning his body to address you. “I thought you needed to get ready for the ball tonight?” he said, confused, as he shot quick glances over at the individual he was talking to.
The other person was a much older and heavier hare taur. Their auburn fur was a rusty red hue, which blended well with the dimly lit fires in the corners of the claustrophobic room. You couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable when you met eyes with them. His greasy fur spread wide in an obnoxious smile, revealing his jagged yellow teeth; his breath was the worst part of it all. You were able to smell the rancid smell of death as he cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“Well my liege, I must now take my leave.” He bowed humbly to your father, his muscular frame stood stalwart and unmoving as he was addressed. “I will see to it that our tasks are taken care of on my part.” His piercing green eyes glanced over at you, as he rose from his submissive position, before turning around swiftly in the dark corridor, and walking down the continuing hallway. His padded paws beat gently against the acoustic cobblestone underneath until the sound slowly trailed off into nothing.
Standing in the silence with your father, you are almost at a loss for words, something doesn’t seem to settle well in your stomach, and a chill begins to wash over you. That hare, talking with your father seemed as if he had something else planned for the king, and your entire family. The dark lurching feeling began to overtake your entire body, a cold lump of ice began to form in your stomach as you bring your hands in front of you to fidget. The words were just on the tip of your tongue as you looked at him and began to speak.
Written by Driftingdragon on 10 March 2020