That boy is bad

And honestly

He's a wolf in disguise

But I can't stop staring in those devil eyes.

Lady GaGa – Monster


Chapter 2 – Welcoming

"I see we are blessed with the mighty Industrialist's presence yet again."

"Oh my, mon cheri, if I knew that the great Hero Queen herself was going to start dishing out compliments to me, but a humble servant of Albion, I may have been enticed to return from my little excursion sooner to be showered in her kind words and bathed in her radiant existence."

Reaver smirked up at the Queen, wearing his usual white suit edged with the luscious fur of a once magnificent yet unknown beast, mostly likely killed from the fiend's own weapon which was the Dragonstomper .48. The weapon could be seen now, peeking out from its strap cage on one of Reaver's toned and elongated thighs. Rim marks from his apparently freshly worn goggles could be faintly seen fading from the corners of his eyes, with the said black tinted goggles now perched onto his the top hat watching the scene between the monarch and tycoon like the eyes of Skorm.

With a nod of her royal head, Scarlet threw her demand into the silenced void between them, stating "you may speak."

"My sweet Hero Queen Scarlet, I have heard of your great conquest in my absence and I am here, my dear, to repent my dreadfully mannered leave before, I quote, 'the greatest, most magnificent and most'" – a pause for mounting anticipation – "'glorious achievement,' under our beautiful and tempting young monarch, to which nothing has quite been seen before since the old Hero King Sparrow departed from our world."

Here, for theatrics, Reaver crossed himself with the free gloved hand that was not tapping the polished cane on the marbled black and white floor for added emphasis.

The crowd around the show that Reaver was putting on simply held their breath in wait for the Hero Queen's response. Reaver was baiting Scarlet using sarcasm, irony and mention of her late father, whom her relationship with had been strained and plagued with arguments from the time Scarlet could talk.

Scarlet, however, remained impartial to his tone and comments, and could even be accused of being bored of the antics playing out before her by the nonchalant look on her face and relaxed body language. Her once peeked curiosity was heading for a cliff dive.

Clearly noting the Queen's unamused and uninterested stance towards his advances, the factory tyrant pushed his annoyances at her reactions away and continued with his speech, still holding hope to see a faint crimson blush creep across Scarlet's beautiful and prominent features and spread down to where his eyes held the view of her full and appealing bosom from his flattery.

"I have devised a master plan, ma douce, that I believe one as clearly robust and intelligent as you can appreciate, to once again fill the royal coffers and restore stability to the land after your mighty showdown with the Crawler. My! Ladies and gentlemen, we are blessed to have such a beautiful, smart and alluring monarch watch over us all and care for our safety. The Hero Que-"

"What is the plan Reaver?"

Foiled again by the tantalising Queen, Reaver felt his stride of flattery falter for a split second before regaining his elegant composure whilst also flashing the crowd a heart melting smile that many whores and noble women alike would count as the most striking sight in the world. Smoothing back his flopping chocolate fringe from his chiselled face, Reaver began approaching the throne holding out to the Queen yet another piece of parchment.

Tyrannical hand brushed with tyrannical hand and Scarlet did not meet Reaver's eyes as he pulled away. Frowning inwardly somewhat, Reaver stood perplexed at the cool distance of his monarch. Usually so forthcoming with his plans and succumbing to his ever existent flattery, it would be so that the rose in the jar was now indeed shielded to the outside world. This was not exactly the welcome that the great ex-pirate turned industrialist had in mind when returning to the apple in had not yet had a bit out of. How very disappointing.

"Court dismissed."

The throne room began to wash away the previous crowd and left Reaver stood still in his spot like a stuck piece of driftwood. The Queen had not made a verdict and had not even unrolled the parchment for her piercing scarlet eyes to be cast upon the proposition.

Reaver had once arguably considered himself the architect to the Queen's design for an Albion they so wished for together, but her demeanour today during his brief court session screamed at him that she was no longer interested in his ideas, maybe as far stretching to that she was no longer interested in being the ruler of Albion.

Bowing extravagantly, Reaver ran his eyes to the throne to see Scarlet's face once more before his departure, but was met with only the shine spilling out of the glass stained windows blinding him. Whispering profanities under his breath, Reaver pulled the Dragonstomper out of its strap and shot the young boy the Queen had previously been observing in the foot, shooting off the one of the boy's toes with precision that only a Hero of Skill would have been able to muster, coaxing a shriek from the boy's cherub mouth.

'How rude,' Reaver thought to himself.