Confusion
“I know what we can do!” you said before whispering to your guards. You grabbed a pint of ale and ran out onto the stage, just as the stranger finished his speech. You took over the lectern and began to speak as the applause died down.
“And with that! My people! We party!” you raise your glass, the lip spilling over, and the crowd began to scream and cheer as your court tapped humongous kegs of ale. Chaos began to ensue as bards poured onto the stage, playing on their lutes and drums wonderful tunes and traditional music. The ale poured and their feet stomped in pleasure as they celebrated another festive treat from the royals.
“Wait what?” the mysterious foxtaur’s red fur bristled in confusion.
“Just as we planned! A great celebration in commemoration of our hard work!” you wrapped your arm around him, keeping the young man close to you as you watched his every move. From this distance, the crystal gems on his doublet seemed much more dull than earlier. Watching his eyes, you could see the shaking pupils scanning across the crowd, as you once did, looking for something that he could not seem to find.
In a panic, he darted off the stage, and you followed close behind him. Your guards trailed behind you, exchanging whispers as you watched the stranger’s actions closely.
“Should we continue, princess?” they asked. You gave a subtle nod, and began waving your arms and shouting to get the charismatic young man’s attention.
“Hey! Where are you going!” you yelled in his direction. He stopped a few feet ahead of you and let you catch up.
“Uhh. I just had to check something.” He sounded nervous, and it seemed as if your plan was going quite well.
“Will you be alright? Why don’t you come sit down?” you said, and without waiting, you led him to your bedchambers. “One moment, let me bring some ale for a toast!” you said before leaving him in the room by himself.
You knew well, that in the high tower of your chambers there was no escape from any window, and with your guards at the doors just outside, it was obvious to you that for the stranger, it was no escape.
The advisors neared you and began to whisper.
“We have caught the outliers in the crowd. It looked as though they were nearing some sort of overtaking of the kingdom. We are glad we figured this out soon enough.” you nodded, feeling proud of yourself for what you had accomplished.
“Nice, how can we reconcile this with the people?” you asked.
“It wouldn’t be hard. We can easily say it was staged for this purpose.” your advisor replied.
“Great idea.” you said. “Now for the last thing.” you mentioned, as you lined up your guards along the doorway. With a heavy foot, their thunderous kick knocked the huge wooden door to your chambers off its hinges, pouring into the room as they trampled your beautiful textile flooring.
“The act is up!” you shouted as tens of spears pointed towards the slinky young fox taur. “We know who you are.” he raised his hands, and his shaking body stood completely still.
“Aaahh..” he sighed in anger and frustration.
“Don’t even try explaining yourself, fool!” the guards said as they began to shackle his hands and feet. You felt in the pit of your stomach that you had finally done the right thing, after so many lies, the karmic scale seemed to be finally balancing out for you.
The following day, you had your court give an announcement of your stunning win against the thieve’s guilds. Your people were a bit confused and taken aback about your methodology, yet they were absolutely fine with what you had to do to serve justice. They were still quite confused about your invention, but the public thought nothing more about it as the time passed.
Shortly after, you were rewarded with one of the highest honors in your kingdom, and with that, you received a gift, even more mysterious than the stranger which led to your celebration.
Streamers flew, and extravagant goods were served at your coronation, and when you rose to power thereafter, you spent some time looking over all of the gifted goods you received that night. The mysterious gift compelled you the most; it drew you to it as you unwrapped the golden decorative laces on the box.
Its contents glowed brighter than the sun when you opened it, and the silky linen within was folded beautifully within the sturdy wooden box. Your eyes shone, reflecting the beautiful fabrics, and without hesitation, you began to dress yourself in the godly fabrics. Smooth and cool, they slid over your fur, nearly consuming you within its confines as you unbunched the threads along your limbs. It didn’t take long for the tingling to spread through your body as your mind began to fill with the memories of the next adventure which awaits you.
Written by Driftingdragon on 01 November 2020
The end (for now)