Intrigue

The King looked at me expectantly. Clearly he was curious to my reply as well.

I wasn't prepared for this! My speciality was knowing all the P*kemon names, not giving military advice!

I looked between them, not sure what to say. I tried to remember some cool lines from an anime that I could say. Aha!

I put on a confident smirk and said, "You expect me to say it so easily?"

Lionel looked puzzled, "Huh?"

My confidence wavered at the King's stern expression.

(C'mon Ethan, this is your speciality!)

I got up from the table and started pacing the room, acting like I was deep in thought.

Lionel asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

I shook my head, "What do you think?"

Lionel replied, "Don't answer a question with a question!"

I stopped dramatically and turned to him, "The answer to your question..." I paused.

Lionel looked at me expectantly, "Yes?"

I turned my head back to the wall. Unfortunately, there wasn't a window to look through. So it looked like I was just staring at a stone wall.

Regardless, I wasn't going to let that stop me! I said, "...will be revealed in due time."

Lionel smacked his forehead with his palm, "Father, this boy is obviously some kind of idiot. We shouldn't allow him to hold a stick, much less command an army!"

I turned back to him in indignation, "Hey!"

He glared, "Do not speak!"

Stubbornly I replied, "Don't tell me what to do!"

Lionel turned to the King. But the King was not moving. His eyes were glazed over and looked distant. The spark of energy that was in him was no longer there. He laid like a doll on the chair.

"Father? Father!" Lionel screamed. He held onto his father's body and shook him. But it didn't respond.

Lionel yelled, "Rafael, what are you standing there for?! Get the healers!"

But Rafael didn't make a move. He was staring straight at Lionel and his father, not saying a word.

All the color drained from Lionel's face. He looked at Rafael disbelievingly, "You... you did this?!"

I snapped my neck to look at Rafael. Oh no. If he was planning on getting rid of the King, there was no way he would spare the Prince or the (supposedly) genius tactician in the room.

However, his posture was stiff. His face was stony and lacked any emotion whatsoever. The scariest part were his eyes.

Previously, the violet of his eyes came off as beautiful. Now, they were terrifying. Along with violet were a mixture of every shade of the rainbow, swirling and moving around in horrifying patterns.

It was disgusting and repulsive, yet fascinating . I couldn't look away.

Before I could do anything, Rafael calmly walked up to us. He said, "Do you know how long I have served here?"

I gulped, "No."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lionel make his way to the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He swore and kicked the door, but to no avail.

Rafael's face inched closer to me, instantly getting my attention. Unlike previously, I didn't experience any attraction. Just utter fear.

Rafael continued, "Four hundred years."

My eyes widened, "F-four hundred?"

"That's right. That's how long my blood bound me to this place. Living with no freedom, no choice." He said with a flat voice.

Lionel swore and ran up to Rafael and grabbed him by the collar, "You idiot! Do you realize what you've done?!"

Rafael still looked unperturbed, "It doesn't matter. This life has no meaning."

Something about this was very wrong. He wasn't talking like a human. No, he talked like those "Text-to-speech" programs. They spoke human words, but it sounded like a poor imitation of human speech.

My arms were shivering and my palms were sweaty. I ignored the signs that this was a bad idea. I stepped up to Rafael and asked, "What is your opinion of the King?"

Lionel looked at me as if I was insane. Rafael replied, "I don't have an opinion. He must be killed."

As soon as I heard it, I knew it was a lie. From the moment I met him, I knew for certain that Rafael was loyal. His loyalty to the King wasn't an act. Because when I looked in their eyes, I could see through any lie.

...

...

...

FLASHBACK (Ethan Age: 6)

I held Mom's hand as we walked to the playground. Dad hadn't been back in the house for days, which made her even more upset.

I wanted to cheer her up, so I said, "Mommy! Look here!"

I pointed to a bunch of wildflowers. "Look! Aren't they pretty!"

Mom smiled weakly and ruffled my hair, "Yes they are, honey."

I pouted and asked, "Why aren't you happy?"

She laughed, "You've always been able to see through me."

I smiled widely, "Now you're happy!"

She smiled again. This time, it was a real smile. She crouched down next to me and took both of my hands in hers. She looked deeply in my eyes and said, "Ethan. You need to know something."

Eyes wide, I asked, "What is it?"

"Make sure you know when someone is lying. That alone will save you far more times than any weapon ever could."

I blinked at her and said, "Okay Mom, can we go play on the see-saw now?"

She laughed and said, "Of course, honey."

....

....

...

At the time, I was just a kid and had no idea what it meant. But I'd kept her words to heart, and eventually I learnt how to do what she said.

I looked back at the situation. Oh shoot! While I was having a deep personal moment, looks like Lionel was pinned to the wall by Rafael.

Lionel gasped, "Are... you... done...?!" He choked out the words, his voice filled with pain.

Crap. It didn't matter if I could tell he was lying or not. A weapon would've been way more useful in this situation! I took a deep breath and looked around for something to use. Anything.

I saw some ceramic plates which would've been great to throw at him. But come on! I was squeamish about killing a spider, how could I do it to a human!

Lionel struggled for air, "Kfh..."

In my haste, I ran up to Rafael and grabbed his collar. He coldly turned his face to me but didn't release his grip on Lionel.

Okay... desperate measures.

I grabbed Rafael's face. It took all my willpower to ignore the swirling colors in his eyes. I pulled his face toward mine...

And kissed him.