Ch 48 The Plots of Princes: Part 3

The morning could not come soon enough. Almost as soon as the light began to show through my window, I heard a knock on the door. I did not verbally answer. I walked up and opened it myself.

"Good morning, Lake."

It was Cazthil.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday. I truly thought there was a connection and I acted on my own desires without considering your own. Please do not think badly of me."

Too late. I already know your intentions. I held back my disgust at his shit apology.

"That's okay. Sometimes desire can overtake you. I know this from experience."

"Thank you for your understanding. With that out of the way, have you thought about my job offer?"

"I have. I want several things to happen."

"May I come in? I would rather discuss this in a more private setting."

I opened the door to let him in. He turned to his guard and grabbed two mugs filled with drink before he entered.

"I have one for you. The finest alcoholic beverage made only by the best in Oddasa."

He held one out before moving further in. I waved it off.

"I don't drink in the mornings."

I could tell he was pissed. I could also tell that he was dumber than he looked and acted. He placed the other drink down on a desk and sat in a chair nearby. I closed the door.

"Come and sit. I..."

"I'm fine here. One of the things I want is for us to just be acquaintances. Not business partners or friends."

He seemed taken aback by my boldness. I was not mincing words.

"I want my human friends freed. If the slaver gets here before it is done, I want them hidden or the slaver delayed. I want Wab and Riksa released from any plots of the royals."

I've seen too many movies to know that that last line leaves a loophole.

"I want Malfigi released into Wab's care. If he is harmed, I will come back for your head."

Cazthil's eyes narrowed. He was not fond of threats.

"Lastly, I want the slaves in the basement freed."

"Humph. You know that can't be done."

He shrugged in the confidence of his answer.

"I know. I don't mean free from the slave seal, I want them to be out of their cages. I don't expect you to erase slavery, I want you to outlaw slavery as a treatment. Individuals with a slave seal should be treated like anyone without. I want the mark to mean nothing other than a mark."

"Wh... Heh, That's... Unreasonable. The people won't just accept that. Many slaves are workers, they are a long-term investment. Some owners can barely afford to feed them, let alone afford to pay a worker in place of a lost slave."

"You want to be King, don't you? You can figure it out."

I opened the door and began to leave.

"It's not that simple!"

He was beginning to sound worried. I closed the door behind me and walked up to him. I was inches from his face. He had placed his drink down next to "mine." I picked up mine and poured some into his while he concentrated on my face.

"I guess I will just have to take your brother's offer if you can't deliver."

He stood up.

"What?!"

"If you don't want to comply with my demands, then I will go to the next lizard that will. I will speak to your brother after the meeting with the King. All you have to do is tell me to kill the King and you will get your end, while I will get my end of the bargain."

I turned around and left the room. He had nothing else to say.

I returned to the cells with Butkis and the rest. I told them about my plan. They were all confidant in my idea.

Berry was happy to see me. He gave me a hug through the bars. I think he bent the bars a little... and broke some of my ribs. He gave me another thumbs up before I left to go further down the cell block.

Riksa was not here. She must have gotten an order of some kind. I hope it's not something stressful or unpleasant. I returned to my room next to Arthand's. I was happy that Cazthil had not stayed. I waited a couple of hours before I was summoned to the King's court.

I entered. The King was centered near the back of a grand room. Many polished silvers were visible as trim for accessories, furniture and decorations. Beyond the silver trim, everything was either wood, cobblestone, or dried mud surface. There were guards spaced out around the edges of the room. There were rows of long benches along the left and right sides of the room. It reminded me of a courtroom or church from Earth.

Arthand was standing just off to the right of the King. Cazthil was on the front bench to my left. He looked more than bothered. Angry and something else. He was continuously shifting in place.

I reached the front of the pathway before the King. This was my first time seeing him. He wore clothes of silver designs and a beautiful tapestry. He wore many forms of jewelry made of silver and embedded with emeralds and topaz. His scale coloring was a deep forest green with a hint of thin black stripes. He was the largest lizard I have seen by far. No muscle, he was round, fat. His stomach was engorged. his limbs were round at the base and tapered off to thin extremities. His neck was the same, round at the base and thin at the top. His head showed no signs of inflation. He looked like a cartoon character. I was almost surprised that he was not chowing down while all this was going on.

"What do you want, human?"

I was instantly holding back laughter. He sounded like he just inhaled helium.

"Sorry, Just a moment."

He made a large inhale and coughed loudly to his side. A large snot rocket launched from his throat onto the floor opposite Arthand.

"That's better."

His voice cleared up some. He sounded more normal. Still slightly odd for his size. A nude dwarf slave came from behind a doorway on the left, hidden behind a guard. A picture-perfect dwarf from fantasy lore. She was short, stalky and built. Dirty but semi taken care of. Either dirty or black shoulder-length hair, I could not tell which. She was not on the verge of starving like the rest below. She cleaned up the mess that the King left on the floor. As she turned to leave, I saw her eyes stop on me for just a moment. In the minute amount of time that she looked at me, I could see the void of life in her eyes. She knew nothing beyond being a slave.

I was going to leave discussions of slavery with the new King, but I will bring it up with this one after my friends. Maybe he could be convinced.

I bowed.

"Your majesty. I have but a few questions. Firstly, some of my personal friends have been acquired and are being held in the cells below. They..."

"Yes, my new pets. What about them?"

"As I was saying... They are neutral traders. They bring things from far lands to sell and trade with. The other lands are quite familiar with this custom and would never lock them up like this. I would request that you free them, return their things and let them on their way."

"Suggest? I am the King here. That sounded more like an order. Why should I do such a thing? Humans are rare. If you were not the new Master, I would have made you my slave, too."

"I give no orders to you. I am requesting permission to free them as the Master. I would take that as a personal favor. One that I may be able to return someday."

He began rubbing a ring on his left hand. He was pondering.

"A favor from the Master..."

He squinted his eyes at me.

"I'll release three of them. I still want one for my collection."

"I can't agree to that. It's all of them or no favor."

"Then, I guess I get no favor and you get no friends. Discussion over."

I was about to speak up when a guard nearly smacked me in the face with the flat side of a spear. I backed off just enough to avoid being hit. I was barely able to see Arthand whispering into his father's ear. I could hear the King mumbling and "Hmm"-ing. The guard began to push me back.

"Hold. Human, Come here."

The guard backed away and opened the way for me to move forward. I got a few feet away from the large lizard King before I stopped. He began to speak quietly.

"I heard something interesting. Stand over by Arthand for now."

I nodded and took my place next to Arthand.

"Cazthil, My son. Come to the front."

He began to look even more awkward. He stood up squirming. He walked over to the front of the room. He began to go past where I was before I was called closer when a guard stopped him.

"That's close enough. I have a hypothetical question for you, Cazthil."

He was surprised to have been stopped where he was.

"What... Ngh. What is the meaning of this, father? Why am being stopped here, as though I am some commoner and not your son?"

He was trying so hard to hide the fact that he was drugged with his own aphrodisiac. His hands kept wandering. Feeling the clothing he wore. The scales on his skin. His own hand. His face.

"Is there something wrong, Cazthil?"

"N... No. I saw Arthand whispering to you. Since when do... do you listen to that weak-willed imbecile?"

"Since he is the one who does not go off and play with Night Cactus. Oh, the troubles of a King. No daughters and not one, but two sons. To my woe, one does whatever he wants and the other hardly speaks up for himself. Neither are Kingly traits."

The King put his face into his palm.

"To my hypothetical. What If I said that Arthand would be next in line for the seat of the King, not you?"

"No... You can't."

He was too distracted to get angry. He was obsessed with feeling all over his body.

Arthand leaned over and began to whisper into my ear.

"This isn't normal. Did you do something to him?"

I whispered back.

"He tried to drug me with a drink. I gave him a taste of his own medicine, so to speak."

Cazthil began to shudder and dropped to his knees. He tried his best to hide it but it was obvious what happened.

"This is embarrassing, Cazthil. Just leave. Maybe Arthand 'would' be better on the seat of the King."

"NO!"

He struggled to stand. He used the nearby guard to brace himself.

"LAKE! DO IT!"

I had many eyes on me. I stood still with an unassuming look.

"Do what?"

His eyes grew wide with worry.

"DO IT! KILL HIM!"

"What? Kill who? Why?"

"KILL MY FATHER, YOU IDIOT! I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! YOU GET YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN AND I GET MY END OF THE BARGAIN!"

The guards instantly reacted to Cazthil and me.

"I only said you would get your end if you told me to kill him. I never said I would kill him."

He was pinned to the ground by several guards.

"What were all those demands for, then?"

"Just unreasonable demands with no fair trade intended."

The King stood and waved away the guards that were approaching me.

"Cazthil. If I had heard it come from your brother or a stranger, I would not have believed it. The fact that it came from your own mouth... You are banished."

"What?! You can't do that! I am your son! I AM THE NEXT KING!"

"Not anymore. You have three days to get out of these lands. You will be branded a traitor. If you are seen after three days, you will be subject to the whims of whoever finds you."

Cazthil fought against the guards as best he could. It wasn't much considering the Night Cactus was still in his system.

"Arthand tells me that you, Lake, were an intended accomplice in his plot. Why did you betray him? Why did you tell Arthand and in turn allow Arthand to tell me? If you had went along with his plot, I am sure that you could have easily killed me with your power."

"Cazthil was trying to drug me, use me, and tried to seduce me for his own needs. I was not interested in complying with that kind of individual. Besides, I was not the only..."

My mind woke up. I remembered the lizard-woman, she was not seen. Maybe she is here now. I strained my eyes around the environment.

"Is there something wrong?"

I saw it! Ever so gentle movement where there should be none. I was about to move between it and the King when its movement became obvious. She was running.

I wasn't sure if I could get her proper if she decided to dodge. I grabbed a spear out of a guard's hand and swung it side to side in her direction. I'm sure everyone in the room thought I looked stupid.

I panicked and began to use Mother's power. Time felt like it slowed down. I know I didn't get her. She jumped. She was about to go right over me. I bent my knees and put power behind them. I leaped straight up, like a rocket. My head hit her dead center in her stomach. We kept going up. I used too much power. Her body slammed into the ceiling.

I saw her red de-phasing legs go limp and heard a cough before a gasp for air. As we began to fall, I pressed away from the ceiling with my hands, toward the closest wall. I bounced back down to a point just in front of where she would fall. Time seemed to return to normal. I watched as the female lizard landed on the floor from twenty or so feet above. I removed a blade that was hidden between her hand and her body.

I pointed at her.

"Cazthil's accomplice, if not the instigator to his actions."

Everyone in the room was stunned at what they saw. The lizard-woman was still conscious. She braced one hand on the floor to raise her head and torso. Her mouth was dripping blood.

"How..."

"That late-night snack you had from the ceiling yesterday. That was a friend of mine."

Her eyes tried to go wide in surprise. Her intentions fell short as I watched her pupils roll up into the back of her head and she lost consciousness.

I felt a weird sensation above my head. I ducked and backed away from whoever was behind me. The King was there. His hand was above my height and two fingers pressed together as though he was pinching something. I reached up and found my kitsune ears. I had forgotten about those.

Fuck. I keep relying on Mother's power. I'm sorry, yet again.

"Are you human or not? I thought kitsune were only female."

The King asked me. As he spoke, his guards began to pick the lizard up off of the floor. She was in a small but, growing pool of her own blood. They took her away.

"I am human. I was blessed by a kitsune."

"I was under the impression that you had drunk of the potion of Rage. Was that a lie?"

"No. Both are true. The power I gained from the kitsune is easy to use. My other powers are difficult and dangerous to use. The extra fox parts are a side effect of using the kitsune's power."

"Hmm. Arthand."

The King turned to his remaining son.

"I suppose this means that you are truly going to be the one next in line for my seat."

"I don't want it. If it means turning into someone who can just kill a wife and mother for her good intentions, then..."

"Son. It wasn't that simple. Come with me to my room. I want to tell you more about her."

He took Arthand's shoulder with his arm. Before he got far, he stopped and turned back to me.

"For your service to the King. I will release your friends and give their things back."

He looked to the nearest guard and ordered him to release them. I followed that guard to the cells. He collected a ring of keys from behind a hidden spot in the wall at the front of the cellblock. We were just in time, the slaver was setting up in front of the cell.

"The King has ordered their freedom, your services are not needed at this time."

The guard informed the slaver. He was annoyed and began collecting his things while mumbling.

"LAKE! Did you do it! Are we free?"

Jezzy called out.

"Yes, you are all free and you are supposed to get your stuff back too."

The guard opened the gate to Jezzy and Jazzy. They both leaped into my arms at the same time. They did not let go. Berry and Butkis were now free too. Berry wandered over and picked up all three of us in one hug. He was more gentle than last time, probably because his sisters were in his arms now.

Berry put the girls and me down. Butkis was next to me.

"It seems you saved us this time, Lake. I don't know how to repay you."

"Eh. What are friends for?"

I nudged Butkis in the arm with my elbow.

"Well, now that you are free, where will you go?"

"I was thinking of going to Ula Thyfe."

"Is that a new place?"

"That is the elf capital city, to the west."

I had no idea. No one had ever mentioned the name to me before.

"Really? I have no idea if she would go back there or not but, if you run into a guard named Estheria, she is a friend of mine. Say hi to her for me."

"I will. One question though. How do we get out of these lands without getting attacked again?"

Butkis shifted to one side to look past me and at the guard behind.

"We will give you an escort to the edge of our lands."

"Ah. Good. Seems all is in order. I would like to go take inventory to make sure nothing is missing."

The guard turned and began to walk out. Butkis, Berry and Jazzy followed. Jazzy turned to find her sister still next to me.

"Are you coming Jezzy?"

"I think I will stay with Lake for a while."

"Okay, have fun."

Jazzy winked mischievously before turning away.

"What are you going to do now, Lake?"

"I have no idea. My wife was here before. She isn't now. I don't know where she went."

"You... Have a wife?"

"Yeah. Two actually."

"Two? I guess I can see why."

She mumbled that last part.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Do you have a room you are staying in? Can we go there for a little while?"

"Yeah. I suppose we could do that."

I showed her to the room I was using next to Arthand's. She ran up to the bed and laid face down on it. She was still wearing the rags from her cell. I began to search the drawers in the room to see if they had some decent clothing for her.

I didn't get very far before something soft hit me in the back of the head. I grabbed it and got a good look. It was the upper rag from her two-piece set. She was topless.

"Lake. Have you ever given your wives a massage?"

"Nothing like the one you gave me in Bastion. I don't know how to do those properly. I just kinda know the motions."

"Come here, I'll teach you."

I turned around. Her breasts were buried in the bedsheets along the right side of the bed. I walked up to her and she began telling me where and how to start. How to find knots and kneed them out. Rhythmic motions to relax the client. She taught me for about an hour.

"Wow, Lake. If you wanted to, you could be a professional in the field."

"Not if you hadn't taught me."

"Hah. Charmer."

She moved her head to look at me and let it rest on the bed again. She just stared with a grateful look in her eyes.

"Can you get my left shoulder?"

"Sure."

I reached over and began to shift the skin around her shoulder. I was off balance and she knew it. I couldn't react fast enough to her movement. She suddenly rotated her body and pulled me along with her. Her bare chest was against my shirt. Her lips pressed against mine.

She was sneaky but, I didn't mind.

I began to pull away, she pulled me back to her. When our kiss finally broke, she was out of breath. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Lake..."

"Yeah?"

"What if I said... I wanted to m..."

The door swung open. Jazzy walked in with fancy new clothes on. We both sat up fast while Jezzy covered her chest with a pillow that was behind her.

"You bitch!"

Jazzy called out playfully with a smile.

"I would say let me in on some of that but, Butkis is ready to leave. I just came to fetch you."

Jazzy strode up to me like she had some authority over me. She gently slapped my left cheek. She then leaned in on my right side where Jezzy could not see and began to whisper.

"Bad boy. You are supposed to let me in on the fun, too."

Jazzy grabbed my face from below my chin and moved my face to hers for a quick kiss.

"Lets go Jezzy. We have some clothes in the carriage."

"Let me say goodbye to Lake. I'll be out in a moment."

Jazzy let out an annoyed sigh before she reached the door. I turned my attention back to Jezzy. She had a shy look on her face before she looked up in alarm. She threw her pillow toward the door.

"Hey, Lake!"

I looked back to find Jazzy had pulled her pants down and fully exposed her butt. She spanked her butt once before she disappeared from view.

"That sister of yours. What will you do?"

I teased Jezzy.

"I know. She is a handful. Lake, If you had to choose, would you prefer me or my sister."

"That's easy. Your sister..."

I paused. Jezzy looked down.

"...is too much. I think you are more my speed."

"UH! You bastard! You made me think..."

She reached for the other pillow behind her. She swung it in my direction. I caught it and threw it out of reach.

"Oops. Looks like you only have those pillows left to smother me with."

I looked at her exposed chest. She chuckled.

"Maybe next time. I should get moving. I wish I could stay with you but, we just don't function well if one of us is missing."

"Oh. Before you distracted me with lessons, I think I found something that might look good on you."

I moved over to the drawer that was still open. I pulled out a dress of a light seafoam color. I wouldn't think that this color looked good but, this dress did. I held it out for her.

"Think this will fit?"

She tried it on.

"Beautiful."

"You think?"

"Definitely. Spin around for me once or twice."

She complied with my suggestion. The dress was amazing on her.

"That should make your sister jealous."

She laughed and ran up to me for a hug.

"I'm going to miss you Lake... It seems like you are always there for us when we need you most."

"That's my line."

"Psh. What did you need us for?"

"I needed to see that you were all okay. I missed my friends."

I think she was holding back on crying.

She pulled away without letting me see her face. She got to the doorway, still looking away from me.

"Next time, I want to finish asking you that question that got interrupted."

"I'll hold you to it."

She disappeared from view. I waited a few moments before I left my room. It felt like a void without Jezzy in here. I didn't want to be in that room anymore.

Arthand appeared around a hall corner. I'm guessing he was headed to his room. He looked... content?

"Hey, Arthand. How are things?"

"Oh. Lake. Well, my dad told me quite a bit that I didn't know. I don't know if it was all true but, I don't think of him the same as I did before. Where are your friends?"

"They just left. I wanted to see them off but, they were in a hurry."

"Here, I can show you something you might like."

I followed him up some stairs to an outdoor garden. maybe three stories up.

"This is beautiful."

"Yeah, but come over here."

He caught my interest. He moved an old rock that looks like it had been sitting there for years without contact.

"Ah... A slide."

"Yes, it is not that impressive. It is what is at the bottom that you might like. Go on."

I was hesitant but I eventually took his advice. It was dark and covered. I could not see the bottom. I sat down and scooched off the edge into the dark. It was actually fun. I had not been on a slide since my teens or maybe early twenties.

I began to see a crack of light ahead. It was getting close fast. I began to brace for impact by pulling my knees up and holding my feet forward to take the impact. I hit the wall hard.

The wall had moved enough to allow me to roll through the, now open entrance. I'm pretty sure I had a couple of broken bones though. I was out on the street. I guess this was an emergency exit in case the castle was under siege. Who would want to break bones to get out?

"Lake!"

Arthand came cautiously walking out of the open doorway.

"Are you alright? I forgot you don't have a tail. There is a rail above that is supposed to be used for grabbing with a tail to slow the descent."

"Yeah, I don't have one of those at the moment."

I saw a carriage covered in guards begin to pass by. I looked at what was next, It was Butkis's carriage following.

I used my explosive healing to finish off my restoration. I stood to wave as they went by. Butkis was in front controlling the horses. He stood and bowed.

"I, Sir Butkis the Third, promise that I shall find some way to repay you for your deed this day."

Berry had opened the door and was waving. He shifted to a thumbs up.

Jazzy was leaning halfway out of the window to wave.

Jezzy was nowhere to be seen. Was she too embarrassed to say goodbye after that tearful farewell? The carriage was now past me.

Almost as if to spite my assumption, I began to see her climbing on top of the carriage from the opposite side. She stood tall and shouted.

"DEFINITELY NEXT TIME, LAKE! BYE!"

"Next time?"

Asked Arthand.

Before I could answer, She lifted up her dress for a moment, high enough to show that she was not wearing anything underneath.

"Ah... Are humans always so promiscuous?"

"Not all of them."