Chapter 2: Lancelot

The very ruler of the Kingdom has called for Catherine and her sons.

 Chapter 2: Lancelot

2 years later

The King of the Golden Kingdom, Lancelot sat in an unfamiliar hall. He had short black hair that was barely below his ear. His eyes were crimson. He wore a black suit and cape. The king was undeniably attractive, however, his horrific deeds are quick to make most fear him rather than love him. The hall in which he sat in was built to mimic his Throne Room within the Golden Palace but it wasn’t as beautiful. The room he stood in was heavily ornamented but not to the point in which it would be extreme. While there were gold decoration pieces it still felt as if it was being used in moderation. 4 Silver pillars were on both sides of the entrance. The center part of the ceiling was open. At the end of the hall stood a golden seat upon which the king currently sat.

2 guards stood at his side, weapons drawn. The guard on his left was covered in dark armor from head to toe. From his visor a red glow could be seen and his hands gave off a dark mist. He held a black sword with a red line going down the middle. The guard on his right wore a black hooded robe that covered most of his body. Most of his facial features were hidden but he had a large beard that was easily seen. In his hand was a white staff.

“How long will Phoenix keep me waiting? Didn’t I send him 10 minutes ago?”

Lancelot asked impatiently.

“Pardon me my lord but the Slave Quarters are rather far from this area. We would not want their filth to be anywhere close to you.”

His court mage said. When he heard these words spoken he felt as if he had been defied greatly.

“The Slave Quarters are supposed to be as clean as every other part of the Kingdom! I won’t tolerate a single place where disgusting insects could live within my glorious domain! I thought that was already handed out to everyone! If you tell me that there is a single person that did not obey that command, I WILL kill them.”

The king stated this with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“The order has been given to all. But no area much less the Slave Quarters, are as clean as the areas in which you are to reside.”

The door opened. And through the doors walked Jonathan Phoenix with the 3 slaves Lancelot was most interested in, Catherine and her 2 sons, Leonard and Joseph. Suddenly chains of fire wrapped around the ankles of Catherine and her children. They screamed in pain. The chains were held by their owner.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Phoenix!”

Catherine shouted.

“I’m simply binding you in the chains that you should’ve been bound in long ago.”

“Now, now, Jonathan that’s not necessary. What can they possibly do in my presence, another thing, who asked you to bind them in those chains, because I sure as hell didn’t.”

The king spoke with a grin. Lancelot was not angered, no, he was annoyed, just annoyed that his loyal subject would do something he was not told to.

“Forgive me my king but they are simply too dangerous. I do not doubt you are more powerful nor do I doubt that whatever decision you make is undeniably the correct one b-

Lancelot rose from his chair swiftly.

“If my decisions are always right then you will release them from their chains.”

There was a hint of malice within his tone.

“Do not force me to bind you as well. Even though your screams would be enjoyable I’d rather not wound a loyal subject such as yourself.”

Said loyal subject let go of the chains, destroying them. The slaves were still injured though and stayed on their knees. Lancelot sat back down on his seat.

“Jonathan, you have my permission to leave.”

The Phoenix did so.

“Rise.”

Lancelot commanded.

“That’s a little difficult considering the fact that your dog just burnt our feet!”

“Ah yes, sorry about that. Priest, go heal them.”

The man tapped his staff on the ground and a blue light enveloped the wounded. The 3 slaves stood up and faced the king.

“I never thought that the man who calls himself the Herald of Darkness would ever have a mage versed in the ways of Light.”

“Catherine, you and I both know that Magic is not inherently evil or good. It is a power that is to be used and nothing more. What I expected you to be more surprised by is that he can heal, are you not going to ask at what cost?”

“True but Light Magic does make one lean towards the extreme of justice. And yes, I am going to ask what he pays to heal.”

“Well, he sacrifices his own life force, he decays each time, but my gift has given him eternal youth. Now, back to the matter at hand, as to how he possesses 2 types of magic but isn’t seemingly leaning on the side of light. If one has both Light and Dark they will either get torn between both extremes or the powers that they wield shall have no effect on their mental status, as is the case with my Court Mage here. Meaning that my Court Mage simply was evil himself instead of being corrupted by the power he holds.”

“That is interesting. Do you have the power to give your subjects Dark Magic?”

Catherine inquired curiously.

“Indeed, as a Herald of Darkness or, as some others would call me, an anomaly, I have the ability to give others a fraction of my power. Now that I have answered your question you must answer some of mine. That sounds fair does it not?”

The king spoke with a voice that was elegant and beautiful, though Catherine still felt it was slightly annoying.

“Yeah, more or less.”

“To start off with I would like to know if you think that evil has any purpose. Do you think it is useful in any way?”

Catherine looked baffled for a few moments before bursting out in laughter.

“Did you really bring me here just to talk about something like that? Come on what happened to executing me?”

“Oh don’t worry. That will happen, eventually. First let’s just continue on with our little chat. Answer the question.”

The last sentence was said with authority. Catherine opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

“Of course evil has no purpose! It’s simply something that shouldn’t exist!”

Leonard shouted. Catherine put her arm in front of the boy.

“Leonard, try not to talk right now. We have no idea what he’ll do if he gets an answer he does not enjoy.”

“What gave you that notion? That answer from Leonard has confirmed something for me. He will either grow up to be a useful pawn or at least serve to be amusing at times if nothing else. Other than that, I don’t see him being particularly useful or clever.”

Leonard sneered at the man for that remark.

“Evil has a purpose.”

Catherine replied to his question, answering seriously.

“Hoh, would you care to elaborate?”

Lancelot asked in an amused tone.

“Allow me to quote my father. “We would not understand the value of day without the night, the value of clear skies without rain or snow, the value of peace without suffering.” Evil exists to accentuate good.”

“That’s a PERFECT answer. Or well, MOSTLY perfect. I'd like to add that good also exists to accentuate evil but still, great answer. Now tell me, approximately how many years will it take Leonard and Joseph to escape?”

“Let’s see…about 18 years.”

The 2 boys looked at their mother in surprise.

“M-mom what are you doing?”

Joseph asked.

“What does it look like? I’m answering his question.”

“18 years huh?”

The king mused.

“Could you explain why it would take that amount of time?”

Lancelot inquired.

“For Leonard to create a big enough armory in secret it should take him 2 years. 1 year for creating all the equipment and another year for finding a suitable place to store said equipment. If Joseph keeps making steady progress with his Alchemy he should be able to create the explosives he needs in…uh 5 years. By that time both of them should have basically mastered their magecraft. While they would be short on mana and their accuracy would probably need some work they would know the full extent of their power, maybe.”

“What of the other 13 years you say they would need?”

“Well in those 13 years they will spend time gaining connections, improving their mana levels, coming up with strategies to defeat the more powerful guards and of course training in order to reach the level of strength they need to defeat the aforementioned guards. Getting out is one thing, surviving outside is another. They won’t be able to escape the city unless you want them to and that is unlikely. So, it isn’t that they really need 18 years to escape but they need 18 years to be able to escape and SURVIVE. I won’t even try to guess what it is you might do once they escape or before for that matter.”

“Have you told them of these plans?”

“I told them the entire plan every night for 2 years. If they don’t have every detail memorized by now I would be disappointed.”

“Good, good, I look forward to fighting them for the Throne.”

“FOR THE THRONE?! Hold the f**k up. W-what are you planning, Lancelot!?”

“A king such as me craves entertainment. I’ve been closely observing what it is you have done in your life and the progress your sons have made. They both possess the same spark that you do.”

“Spark… what spark are you talking about?”

Lancelot chuckled.

“Catherine, don’t play dumb with me. I know everything you know, and so should your children.”

Catherine remained silent.

“Oh, you didn’t tell them, did you? Fine, I’ll explain it. I’ll tell you what spark I’m talking about! The spark of a hero of course if that was not obvious enough! I plan on making Leonard and Joseph the greatest heroes this world could’ve ever hoped for! “Why?” you may ask. The answer is simple, for my amusement! Alternative answer is “CAUSE I CAN!” But just because I plan on making them heroes doesn’t mean that I intend to lose. There are always times in which the hero fails and the villain wins, no matter how few of them there are.”

As the king finished his sentence he tilted his head to the left in order to dodge an arrow. A group of 20 soldiers burst through the doors, clad in armor, weapons drawn.

“Oh, what the f**k?”

Lancelot exclaimed, somewhat annoyed but mostly baffled.

“This shall be the end of you, Tyrant!”

A soldier shouted. Lancelot stood from his seat, laughing.

“Is something we said funny?!”

Another soldier asked.

“Where do I even start? Let’s see-

In an instant Lancelot, sword in hand cut off the heads of 2 soldiers.

-Everything about that statement, was laughable.”

The Tyrant king slashed the soldier that spoke first across the chest with a sadistic smile.

“Sorry to say but you’re the ones that’ll die today.”

The remaining 17 started shaking in fear at the speed and strength of the king.

“If you lay down your weapons and beg for your lives then I will be willing to forgive you. I am a rather generous king.”

He spoke covered in blood with the same grin as before.

“NEVER!”

A soldier from the group shouted. Seeing one of their allies stand against this tyrant gave them the courage to do so. Their swords rose.

“Ah well, more fun for me.”

Lancelot’s grin grew wider. A soldier ran at him from the side. Lancelot swept his legs and stabbed him. His movements were far more elegant and smooth compared to his first 2 attacks. He attacked and dodged the soldiers while laughing. In only a few moments only 7 of the remaining had already been cut down. As blood sprayed upon him the king looked more and more like a demon. He grew more excited by the second even though the battle was short. The soldiers were reduced to a mere 2. They attempted to retreat but it was far too late for that now. Sending 20 soldiers to challenge the king was a fool’s errand. He cut off their heads in one quick strike.

The bodies of the dead around him were mangled and barely recognizable. Limbs were scattered across the floor as was the entrails of the soldiers. A gruesome sight that caused Leonard and Joseph to be frozen in fear as Catherine attempted to comfort them. She wished to shield their eyes but the king’s guards would not allow such a thing. They had to see the king in all his glory. Lancelot laughed once more after looking around him.

“That was fun. Please make sure that this is all cleaned up. I still have one last target.”

Lancelot ordered as the blood disappeared off of him.

“Who would that be my king?”

“The Archer that almost shot my head. He must be killed by my hands. To try assassinating a king requires bravery.”

“Your majesty but there is no place that the arrow could’ve entered from.”

“You’re right about that. Then we’re dealing with an Essence User. Damn, that’s annoying. Scour the kingdom. Find that Archer by any means necessary. And keep doing so until I give you the order to stop even if that order doesn’t come for 20 years!”

“As you desire!”

His guards ran out of the room at amazing speeds. Catherine looked at Lancelot as he began wiping the blood off of his face.

“Does this mean we get an extra day?”

Catherine inquired.

“Hmmm, I suppose it does. Prepare yourself for tomorrow. I want a glorious fight.”

“I plan on giving you one that you and everyone else in this kingdom will never forget.”

The king laughed.

“I look forward to it already. Now get back to your cells. Phoenix escort… wait a minute…WHERE THE HELL IS PHOENIX?!”

“Did you forget that you gave him permission to leave your majesty?”

Catherine spoke with a smile.

“Ah, I did do that didn’t I? Ah whatever you can go on your own. I have other things to do.”

The slaves excused themselves. Catherine shielded Leonard’s and Joseph’s eyes as they walked past the dead bodies. The second they left the doors slammed shut and the bodies were burnt by red flame. Lancelot walked to the center of the hallway, directly under the opening. A tendril of dark energy emerged from his hand. 

He used it to swing to the roof. He did not have a full view of the Kingdom but he could see a decent amount of it. The most prominent structure he saw was his palace, sitting at the peak of the Mountain of Gold. He smiled at the sight of it. The king broke out if full sprint towards the mountain swinging from rooftop to rooftop with his tendril. While it did leave holes in the buildings as it pierced into the walls or ceilings in order to latch onto them none would have the courage to say such a thing to his face save for either fools or the rebels.

Halfway he decided to land on the streets. The king stood within a marketplace. A nearby stall selling apples caught his eye. He walked up to it and grabbed an apple before tossing a gold coin to the seller. He continued on towards his palace. He took a bite of the apple and savored the taste.

“Why is this apple so good? That’s not right. Magically enhanced? Eh, possible, but I doubt it.”

He thought aloud as he walked along the streets.

The people noticed that the king was walking among them and suddenly all activity in the marketplace stopped as they bowed to him. A smile grew on Lancelot’s face.

“As much as I love having people kneel before me I think it would be in everyone’s best interests if you carried on with your business.”

As he looked around one person caught his attention. His free hand curled into a fist as he stared at the person. It was a woman, a woman that he gave a specific order to, an order that has now been disobeyed. She had long brown hair reaching her back and orange eyes. He ran up to her and grabbed her hand. He began leading her out of the crowd.

“Hey, wait! I was buying something! I can’t just waste their time without paying them something.”

“That is irrelevant compared to what you have just done!”

“And what would that be?!”

“We’ll continue this conversation once we’re in the palace!”

Once they arrived within Lancelot’s private chambers the 2 spoke.

“I told you to stay in the palace. I won't let you compromise your safety like this any longer.”

The woman observed him and noticed something peculiar, a stain of blood.

“You killed again didn’t you?”

 She asked, now with a somber tone.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It has to do with my safety. You killed them, you laughed at them, you mocked them, and you wished for them to suffer, isn’t that right?”

She approached him, her tone now having a hint of anger.

“Yeah, that’s true, but that has nothing to do with you! You want me to feel guilty, I know you do, but do you honestly believe I’d let someone or something hurt you?”

Lancelot said, full of confidence in his statement.

“Yes.”

Lancelot was not taken aback, he did not feel betrayed, not hurt even. He felt glad.

“Hah, good, then you’re not as naïve as others would believe you to be. Just don’t leave the palace, not until I’m certain it’s safe, please.”

Ava sighed.

“What other choice do I have, when you’re on the verge of begging? I can’t let a great king fall to his knees. After all, I know you truly do care about others, no matter how much you deny it.”

“Yeah right, as if that’s possible. But if you truly wish to believe that, I won’t stop you.”

He knew the words she spoke was true, but he could not accept them, simply due to the fact that his urge to indulge himself in pleasures was far greater than his want to do any form of good. And that, to him, was the same as not wishing to do any good at all. No, it was worse.

“But remember this, Lancelot. If tragedy befalls the kingdom, I shall go, I shall help the people.”

Lancelot smiled lightly.

“Good, that’s what I’d expect from you. Oh and don’t worry, I’ll also act like myself, without rage, only protection.”

End of Chapter 2

Author's Note

This is a little bit of a step down from Chapter 1. But goddamn I love Lancelot's character in basically every possible way. Tell me if you feel the same.