The minute he laid his eyes upon the petrified form of the princess of Fynn, the dark knight Leon knew he had to possess her. He also knew that this would not be an easy task. The destruction of his Dreadnaught had to have enraged his Emperor, and since Leon had been there and had failed to stop Firion and his friends, this was hardly the most opportune moment to ask a boon of the dread ruler of Palamecia.
Even so, as he knelt before the Emperor's throne, enduring the cruel man's questioning into the destruction of his prized airship, he could scarcely take his eyes of the stony form of the princess Hilda placed behind the throne. She was reputed to be a bastion of strength for any and all who opposed the Palamecian empire, the guiding light of the rebel army. And now here she was, indistinguishable from any of the other statues on display here in the coliseum. A symbol, that's all she was now, but not of rebellion. The Emperor had turned her into a symbol of futility for any who dared oppose Matteus's ambitions.
Leon had to take it away from him.
"Caught your eye, has she?" the cool, measured voice of the Emperor asked, snapping Leon out of his reverie.
"I was merely curious, my lord." the dark knight replied, trying to make his answer sound as natural as possible. "You made it clear to us aboard the Dreadnaught that you wanted her alive, but I didn't think this was what you had in mind for the princess."
"A temporary measure only." Matteus said, casting his disdainful gaze back over his shoulder. "While it is true that I did want her alive, it was not necessary to listen to her meaningless talk."
Leon was pleased that his helmet concealed his face, as it hid the contemptuous sneer he levelled at the Emperor. The towering arrogance of the man set Leon's teeth on edge. He knew better than to ever show any open sign of this attitude to Matteus. Leon's own dark powers had grown considerably, but he was still far surpassed by the arcane might of the Palamecian Emperor. So it was with a deference that he did not feel at all that he asked, "Then, what will be her fate, my lord?"
Mattues made a thoughtful noise as he rose from his throne. "A simple execution is of course out of the question." he spoke as he walked a measured step around his petrified captive. "That would be perfectly acceptable for the garden variety rebel, but this particular rebel has been the most annoying insect of them all, save perhaps your erstwhile stepbrother."
"Firion is no brother of mine." Leon retorted fiercely, his voice as cold as the Emperor's own. "He is my enemy now, no more than that. And the next time we meet, I'll make him pay for destroying my airship."
Matteus paused in his examination of Hilda's granite visage to glare down at the kneeling dark knight. "Your airship?"
Sucking a breath through his clenched teeth, Leon quickly lowered his head. "Forgive me, my lord, I... I was caught up in my anger."
His excuse sounded very lame in his own ears, and when it was met my a frosty silence, he felt fear start to tie his guts into a knot. He dared not rise his head until he heard the Emperor's voice, which came in a lighter tone than Leon had been fearing. "I suppose it is only natural for you to feel that way, dark knight. After all, you were its acting commander, and you were the one responsible for its completion."
His arrogance shone through even when he spoke words of understanding. At the moment, though, Leon was simply grateful to escape the wrath his slip of the tongue could have brought down upon him. "Thank you, my lord."
"And the princess here shares in the responsibility for its destruction." The Emperor continued, brandishing his sceptre at Hilda's stone face. "My predecessors, I am sure, would be content merely to shatter this woman, and take what fleeting satisfaction such a simple act would bring them. But I am a man of profound vision." he declared, tossing his cape back with a flourish as he turned his back to Hilda. "So she has been a symbol for those meddlesome insects who dare to oppose me, now shall she be a tool to be used to complete their extermination."
Emperor Matteus alighted himself upon his throne. "There shall be a great tournament, my dark knight, held here in my Colosseum. The men most loyal to me across the world, and those among the darker planes who acknowledge my rule, shall be invited to attend, and to compete for a very unique prize. One that shall never again be offered."
With a start, Leon said, "The princess. You mean to offer the princess to the winner."
The Emperor nodded. "Very perceptive, dark knight. A fitting reward for those who prove their worth to me, wouldn't you say?"
"A very generous prize, my lord." Leon granted. "However, if I may be so bold, there is a chance that whomever wins might prefer a flesh and blood woman rather than a stone one."
"I am prepared to let the winner decide that." Matteus replied, a sinister smile on his fair face. "She is, after all, only a trophy to be won now. I will shape her as the champion chooses, so long as his choice appeals to me."
"Of course, my lord. But, what did you mean when you said you would use her to destroy the remaining rebels?"
"Hmph. And to think I called you perceptive naught but a moment ago."
"I would never presume to know the fullness of your plans before you lay them out, my lord." Leon replied smoothly.
He was answered by a cold chuckle. "Think about it, Leon. News of my tournament will be spread across the world, and will draw competitors from all walks of life. It is only a matter of time before the rebels learn of it as well." He paused, almost expectantly.
Leon did not keep him waiting long. "They will be coming."
"But of course. Insects cannot function without their queen. They shall have no choice but to come here in a foolish attempt to rescue the woman. No doubt it will be Firion who will come. His success at the Dreadnaught shall embolden him and those who fought alongside him. They will come, and they will be exterminated, and none shall doubt my power ever again. The feeble resistance against me shall be swept away like flotsam on the tides, and my reign shall be eternal."
Leon hated to be near the Emperor when he spoke such. The cold cruelty of his voice clashed with the ambition and lust for power that smoldered in his eyes. Worst of all though was the sense of Matteus' awful power that surrounded him in moments like this. It made Leon realize that as much as his own power had grown, he wasn't even close to the Emperor.
Yet.
Waiting long enough to make sure Matteus was finished, Leon leaned forward. "My lord, I would ask your leave to participate in your tournament."
"Oh?" the Emperor said slowly. "I would have thought you would wish to avenge your failure when Firion arrives, rather than involve yourself in this contest."
"I know well enough to assume that if you plan to lure the rebels here, you plan to have something ready to pit against them. And I think you would have told me by now if it was going to be me."
The Emperor slowly nodded. "You still have not explained your request, dark knight."
Leon clenched his armored hand. "Ever since I joined your forces and too up this black sword, my powers have grown beyond anything I ever imagined I would achieve in my old life. But in all that time, I've never had a chance to prove my power to the world." The elite dark knight's face slipped into the bitter self-mocking mask he had seen all too frequently in the mirror. "This tournament is that chance. My sword will carve through anyone I come against. The people will never fear me as they do you, but they will respect me."
The dread Emperor of Palamecia rested his slender chin against the back of his pale hand, his chilling eyes appraising the warrior of darkness kneeling below him. "In allowing your participation, I shall have to avail the opportunity to all dark knights who serve me."
Grimly, Leon answered, "So much the better."
That answer brought a smile to Matteus' face. "Very well."
"Thank you, my master." the dark knight intoned as he bowed his head. "You will see first hand just how powerful I have become." He kept the petrified princess just at the edge of his vision. And when it's over, you will belong to me.
The tournament did not go entirely as the Emperor had planned. Firion and his friends had indeed made the presence felt after the first round of the tournament, and Matteus had unleashed his monstrous behemoth upon them. Which the rebel band had proceeded to defeat. Weakened by this gruesome battle, however, the rebels had been overwhelmed by the Emperor's personal guard. Matteus had decided to delay his chastisement of the captive rebels until the tournament was finished. The dark knight corps believed this was for the purpose of devising some inconceivably horrible fate for the rebels. Some of them even felt slightly sorry for the poor sots, thinking it would have been better for them to have perished fighting the behemoth. The worst a creature like that can do is kill you.
This opinion was not shared by Leon. His mind was set solely on victory. He knew just what he wanted the captive princesses' fate to be, and nothing and no one would distract him from his goal or keep him from it.
And so it came to pass. Human and monster alike fell before Leon's shadowy blade. The last man to stand against him was one of his fellow dark knights, an older man, one who refused to accept that he was no longer in his prime. Just as he would not accept any quarter from any younger opponent. Leon had not offered any when he cut the man down and claimed his victory, the most powerful man in the Empire save only for the Emperor himself.
That accolade brought a measure of satisfaction to Leon's darkened heart, but it was not enough. He craved something more. And so the Emperor guided him through the dark corridors of the colosseum, to where his true prize lay waiting for him to claim. He could have declared his desires out on the colosseum floor, but this part of his victory, he wanted to keep private for now. The fact that the Emperor was here with him didn't really matter to Leon. In fact, the idea of him watching as Leon took Hilda for his own made Leon smile behind his mask.
The princesses' cell was removed from the main body of the dungeon, so the sounds of other captives being absent from the area did not surprise Leon. What did surprise him was the nearly total silence. Save the odd drop of water, the rustling of the Emperor's cloak and the footfalls of the two men, the air was dead silent. He knew that Matteus had restored Hilda to the flesh before the games began, and while the princess may have possessed more decorum and dignity than the average prisoner, Leon would have expected to hear something from her cell. He couldn't even hear breathing.
When the dark knight finally saw her, she was reclined on the narrow cot that served as a bed, her chest barely rising and falling. It was her eyes though that explained her silence, Leon noticed as he took a look at them as they stared blankly at the stone ceiling above. The distant, empty look in her grey eyes was like those of the villages of Bofsk had been while they were under Leon's hypnotic spell. The Emperor must have put her in a trance, Leon thought. Apart from himself, he didn't know of any other in the empire that had that sort of power. Even his fellow dark knights did not share that ability. That explained why there were no guards in sight as well. With Hilda mesmerized, their presence was not required.
"You are perhaps wondering why I simply did not leave your prize set in stone?" The Emperor inquired. "You will recall, the choice of how they wished to claim their prize is one I was prepared to leave up to the eventual winner. And by that, it seems I mean you." he added, smiling his poisonous smile at Leon.
"But why hypnotize her after turning her back?"
"I wasn't about to let the prize be damaged before it could be claimed." Matteus replied callously.
Leon nodded. "So, she'll obey me now?"
"No, not yet." The Emperor replied as he stepped up next to Leon. He then commanded, "Hilda, stand."
"Yes, master." the hypnotized woman answered, her voice as hollow as the look in her eyes. She rose from the cot to stand thoughtless before the two villains.
"This man has won you, and will now decide your new role."
"Yes, master."
"Until I say otherwise, you will obey him as you would obey me."
"Yes, master." There was not even a hint of hesitation or resistance in Hilda's voice. Leon suppressed a shudder at the thought of the Emperor's power brought down upon a human's mind. He wondered if anything of Hilda's mind had survived the spell. Not that he needed her mind, he swiftly reminded himself. He had other plans.
"Your prize is now yours to shape, dark knight Leon." Matteus told him.
"Thank you, my lord." Lacking a key to the cell, and assuming the Emperor was not carrying one since he had not offered, Leon placed his hand on the cell's lock and sent a surge of dark energy into it. The door practically flew open, allowing Leon to enter. The Emperor observed this impatient entry with an icy smile but said nothing.
Just as Matteus had said, Hilda appeared completely undamaged after Leon had given her a once-over. Satisfied in that, he removed his black helmet as he stopped in front of her and tossed it onto the cot Hilda had been lying on. Even though he knew she was entranced by the Emperor's magic, he wanted her to see the face of the man that now owned her.
"First things first." Leon muttered as he pulled the horned headpiece from Hilda's head, casting the jeweled article aside with no more thought than he would give a used tissue. Standing back a step, the dark knight nodded his approval. It was a silly thing anyway, and horns were not his style.
"Now Hilda, put your hands on your hips." he ordered.
"Yes, master."
"No, wait, just your right hand." Leon countermanded as he moved to her left side. Taking hold of her left arm as it fell limp, he raised it until it was high enough to press against her neck. "There, that's better." he muttered to himself, stepping back. "Hold it there."
"Yes, master."
"Now, tilt your head to the left. ... No, that's too much. It's..." Leon frowned in concentration until the words came to him, "Rest your head against your hand, your left hand."
The princess obeyed with another hollow "Yes, master." as Leon spared a glance behind him, making sure the Emperor was still there, still watching. The man could be as quiet as a corpse sometimes. Leon wondered what the arrogant lord of Palamecia would think of what Leon was about to order.
"Now Hilda. Smile." The dark knight smiled himself at the order, a bitter expression devoid of anything benign. "Smile for me. I am the brave knight that has saved you from certain death. Smile for your hero."
The entranced princess utters one more "Yes, master." before the smile spread across her face. It was the kind of smile a woman gives the hero returning from war, perhaps even a lover. The princess was a beautiful woman, and wearing a smile like that, she was truly a sight to behold.
Leon revelled in that smile for just a moment, ordering "Perfect, hold that pose. Don't answer me anymore either, not unless I tell you to, just hold that pose." But something had caught his attention. Her voice had not changed and she had obeyed him as automatically as she had up to this point, but there had been something in her eye. A tiny little quiver, a momentary glint, but it had been there.
The dark knight was amazed. "You're still in there, aren't you." he breathed, taking a step forward. "Amazing. Even here, in this dungeon, all alone and helpless, with the Emperor's own magic upon your mind, you still try to resist us." Leon chuckled quietly as he shook his head. "Forget it. No one's coming to save you this time, your highness. Firion's already tried and he failed, miserably. Oh, but don't worry." he said quickly, clasping Hilda's face gently. "You won't share whatever fate his will be. I'm going to keep you safe. In fact, you might actually live forever."
Having been commanded to hold her pose, Hilda did not reply.
With a short, ugly laugh, the dark knight released Hilda's face and stepped back, turning to face his master. "My lord, for my prize to be complete, I must ask you a question." The Emperor inclined his head thoughtfully. "I have seen your power turn the living to stone. Are other materials possible?"
Leon wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a flash of genuine curiousity on the Emperor's face. "What did you have in mind?"
"Gold." the dark knight replied, his eyes alight. "This is the trophy that befits my victory: the rebel princess cast in gold. A glorious symbol of my power, of my triumph. A symbol that no one can deny. Simple stone is not enough, my lord. Man, monster and devil alike have fallen before my might. I wish my victory to be immortalized in gold. Men will fear my name when they hear it now, but let them see a sign of my power in the golden image of Hilda of Fynn, forever!"
For a moment, the Emperor merely stood silent before his empassioned warrior, before a frosty smile appeared on his lips. "Such spirit. I don't believe I've ever heard you speak in tones so passionate before. What you ask would be impossible for nearly any other you could ask." His smile became an arrogant smirk. "But not for me."
Leon grinned with anticipation, then prudently vacated the cell. He didn't want to get caught up in Matteus' spell.
Once Leon was clear, the Emperor waved his sceptre before him, tracing a pattern in the air as he spoke an incantation in the demonic tongue. A circular disc of magical energy spun into existence on the floor before the Emperor. With a quick flick of his sceptre, the blue and yellow disc shot forward, stopping beneath the hypnotized princess.
The change began at the tips of Hilda's fingers and toes, flesh transmuting to metal with an unearthly light and a sound that would give decent people nightmares. To Leon, it sounded like nothing more than pure triumph. The golden sheen spread up Hilda's legs and arms, transforming both fabric and flesh. The process was not fast, and had Hilda not been held in an enthralled silence, surely she would have been screaming. At least until the Emperor's magic changed his bosom as well, stilling the faint rise and fall of her chest beneath yellow gold. Last to succumb to the fel transformation was Hilda's head, and for a fleeting moment, Leon thought he saw another one of those glimmers in Hilda's eyes, one last flicker of impotent resistance against the dread pair. Then the gold spread over her eyes, locking them open forever more in an auric stare.
The dark knight Leon could no longer contain his pointed smile as Matteus' magic circle faded. He'd actually done it. The Emperor had changed Hilda not to simple stone as he had before, but into a statue of glorious gold. His statue of glorious gold, Leon reminded himself as he leered at his prize. "She's perfect." he breathed.
"And she is yours." Matteus added, turning back the way they had come. "Do with it what you will." he said dryly as he walked away from his warrior.
If Leon felt any annoyance at the Emperor for not offering him any way to transport this new statue of his, it certainly didn't show as he reentered the cell, slowly walking around the now-golden form of the princess Hilda. He turned one circle around the petrified woman and stopped in front of her, drinking in the sight. "There'll be more like you, you know." he said at last, the smile on his face laced with now-undisguised ambition. "Well, maybe not exactly like you, but you'll be the first of the symbols of my power. And you'll always be special to me." he says, almost gently as he lays his armored hand on Hilda's golden cheek. "I'll display you prominently, maybe even right next to my throne. Haha, my eternal golden queen!" An ugly laugh emerges from him as he throws his head back.
The dark knight, swept up in the emotional wave, went on, starting to pace about the cell. "And I will have a throne room, you know. Maybe the Emperor's own, or maybe my own somewhere else, somewhere around the snow, I've always liked the snow. Maybe... maybe even Fynn! You'd like that, wouldn't you? A long-awaited homecoming. And you'd even get to see your home free of Matteus's reign!" With a sinister grin, he adds, "Just not free of mine."
"You see, my lovely little trophy, I'm more observant than he thinks I am. I've seen him work his magic, and I know. I know he's hit his prime. His powers can't grow any more. He'd never admit it, you know that as well as I do, he'd never admit THAT. But I see it. He can't hide it from my eyes. But mine?" Slowly, Leon draws forth his sword, licks of black energy casting off from the cold steel. "Oh, mine can." he finishes the thought as he holds his blade up in front of him, watching the darkness dance on the weapon. "And will. My time will come, you'll see."
His head snapped away from his sword towards Hilda, and he reached out his left hand to caress the golden woman's cheek. "You WILL see, won't you? Or can you, can you see in there?" he asks manically, staring into her gold eyes. "I really don't know, but if you can, don't worry. You won't be bored, or scared. No one will hurt you now, no one would DARE. I'll keep you safe, and you'll watch me as I change the world, make things the way I want them to be, the way they SHOULD be. The way I-"
The dark knight's ambitious rambling is interrupted by the sound of something blunt thudding heavily against a body. In the time it took Leon to register that the sound had come from the back of his unprotected head, his consciousness had abandoned him, and he fell face-first to the ground with a heavy clatter of armor.
Since the Princess had been placed in a deep trance, and then left to Leon's whims, the Emperor had not bothered to place guards in this area of the dungeon. This meant that the rebel thief Paul had a very easy time getting in there once he got past the outer security. And with Leon diverted by his diatribe, Paul, who was one of the sneakiest men on the planet anyway, was able to come up behind the dark knight and club him into insensibility with his trusty blackjack.
"Count your blessings I don't like killing, Imperial scum." the thief spits at the now comatose form of Leon on the floor. "Though I suppose I do owe you something." he adds quietly, turning his attention to the golden statue that used to be Hilda. "You could have killed her, or something worse." Paul then pulls a gold needle from one of his belt pouches. "This had better work." he says grimly, glancing down at Leon again briefly. "Or you'll pay." Crossing his fingers, the thief stabs the magical needle in the shoulder of the golden statue.
It was a gamble. Paul knew that the needle would cure normal petrification, but he had no idea if it worked on more exotic kinds of magic, like this. Plus it was the Emperor himself who cast the spell, and no one in the world was more powerful than him. But to Paul's eternal and immediate relief, the statue shimmered with yellow light, and seconds later the gold was replaced by flesh and blood, and the princess breathed again, sagging like a puppet with its strings cut, and Paul was forced to catch her before she fell forward. "Whoa, easy, easy there! I got ya, your Highness."
"Ugh... Paul?" she groaned, coming to her senses. "What... What happened?"
"You've been a guest of the Emperor." the thief answered, helping the woman straighten up. "Him and that loser of a dark knight turned you into a statue. But don't worry." he adds, throwing the princess a cocky grin. "I won't charge you for the gold needle."
Hilda gave the thief a tolerant look. "Your generosity is limitless." Composed now, she took stock of her surroundings. "Still in the arena dungeon, I see. What?" she starts, her eyes falling on Leon's unconscious form.
"Like I said, loser of a dark knight." Leon half explained. "He won't be bothering us anytime soon."
"You didn't...?"
"Naw, just introduced him to my blackjack. I may be a thief, but I'm not a killer." He paused, giving the princess a curious look. "But what do you care? It was this guy's idea to try and make a statue out of you. You should've heard him talk!"
Hilda nodded, gazing at Leon's prone body. "It's just... Somehow, I think he may have saved my life." Paul could only stare blankly as the princess turned her head towards him. "Leave him be. I feel that I owe him at least that much. Let's just leave this place."
"Not without busting Firion out first." Paul countered.
The princess, having started her way out of the cell, stopped in her tracks. "Firion? He came here? He's still alive?"
"Better believe it, your highness. The Emperor's goons did a number on him, but him and his crew are still alive. And I am to keep it way. I owe 'em."
"Then let's find them, immediately." Hilda said with some urgency, not even waiting for Paul before striding through the cell door.
"Hey!" Paul shook his head, amused. 'She doesn't even know where they are. Fine little hero you'd make, princess.' Sparing one last look at Leon, and wondering just what the result will be when he crosses paths with Firion, the master thief turned and chased after the princess Hilda.