A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter here, gettin' our second antagonist who is much more interesting than Cartman pft

Enjoy~

His chin rested within the palm of his plump hand, amber eyes watching listlessly as the carriage rolled on. He hated traveling. Three days of being cooped up in this death box was simply beyond irritating. He could see his palace off in the distance and sighed in relief, far past the point of ready to get this journey over with. He mindlessly flicked a speck of lint from his robes, eyes sliding over to the man sitting across from him engrossed in yet another book.

"Keep that scowl up and it'll be permanently stuck there," Garrison commented dryly, not so much as breaking from turning his page.

The king scoffed, "Please. Were there any truth in that wives tale, I would've had it stuck for years."

He shrugged listlessly, "I suppose that's true." He finally glanced up at Eric once more staring out the window irritably. "The fuck's wrong with you?" he questioned. "You got what you wanted."

"Hm," he mused. "I suppose. Some of it, anyway."

The man smirked knowingly, putting his book down and folding his hands atop his lap. "Were you disappointed that Kyle's not as 'savage' as you convinced yourself he was?"

The brunette sputtered, "No! I wasn't thinking about that stupid piece of Jersian shit!"

"Uh huh," he crossed his arms and legs, bouncing his dangling foot. "You know you've always been shit at lying, right?"

He cocked his brow, "Then how did I convince those stupid elves to take in a human?"

"Dumb luck," he scoffed. "You took advantage of a race of good people, great on ya, Eric." The king flipped him off and he snorted, shaking his head. "Come on, somethin's eating at ya."

He twisted his lips and sighed irritably, "Kahl just had to remind me that I set him up for success if people actually accept him and Kendra together."

Garrison snorted, "Ah, because they're gonna be married and you're not?"

He shrugged dismissively, "I mean, it's fine. I don't particularly want to share my kingdom anyway. Besides, not having to take someone else's dumb feelings into consideration is a nice perk."

"Hm, but not having a lineage isn't," he pointed out.

Cartman forced the victorious smirk off his face and cleared his throat. "Well, that's someone else's problem when I'm dead and gone," he said dryly. He brushed hair out of his eyes and yawned, "Kahl thinks having a wife of all things will put him ahead of me royally."

He cocked his brow, "It will." The king looked at him and narrowed his eyes and the man shrugged. "Two monarchs are better than one, Eric. Not to mention taking some responsibilities off your shoulders. That's probably why your mom died so young," he said wistfully. "Too much for one person to handle."

Eric held back yet another smirk and sighed, "Yes well, my mother didn't know how to get things done like I do."

"You mean didn't want to declare war at every transgression," he rolled his eyes.

His eyes sparkled deviously, "Gotta show that you're the one in charge." The man shook his head and Eric narrowed his eyes. "Kupa Keep needs to remind the lands that we're the top of the food chain."

"We're not," he scoffed. "Hell, if anything, Larnion is closer to being supreme since they have The Stick, but since they only keep it hidden and don't utilize it, everyone has equal rule. You know this, Eric, it was day friggin' one of your training."

"Well I'd like to see a better future for our people," he deadpanned. "On top of the map where we belong."

Garrison just sighed, both of them glancing to the door as the carriage halted. It opened, both of them squinting at the sunlight exploding within the box. "We're here, Your Majesty," a guard informed them.

"Fuckin' finally," he groaned, getting up and heading outside, standing and stretching his legs as he let out a long yawn. "Fuckin' Drows living in the middle of fucking nowhere."

"And yet you still think they're too close to us," Garrison scoffed, standing beside him and cracking his neck.

"Watch yourself," he warned the duke. "I'll be in my chambers."

"What a shock," the man muttered, shaking his head and helping the guards beginning to unload the carriage.

Eric regained his strong stride, guards hurrying to open the back doors of the palace and watching him step through without so much as a glance to the both of them. The Wizard King kept his head high, hearing each nervous greeting as he passed servants and smirking to himself. It was good to be king.

He glanced at a large portrait in the hallway, depicting a woman with kind brown eyes and the soft, flowing hair to match. He paused for a brief moment, letting his stare linger in her own and sighing tiredly. A part of him couldn't help but miss her. The way she quietly encouraged him to be the best at whatever he did. How she coddled and praised him, how she bragged of how wonderful of a king he would make someday. He smirked to himself. How very right his mother had been. Shame she couldn't see it.

He made way through the winding corridors, coming to the ornate golden decoration of his door and shoving it open. He yawned again, taking his crown from atop his head and setting it on his dresser, running his fingers through his hair and scratching at his scalp. He needed a bath and a meal. He knew the kitchen would be frantically preparing him something now that he'd returned and he smiled fondly, glad to be back in home territory. He didn't have smiling and happy servants parading around doing fuck all. He had a clean cut system, one that people who worked for him feared. They knew punishment was always on the table, and King Eric was far from being lenient for people slacking in peasant work. He stretched his arms up, his spine popping and echoing in the large space marred by his contented sigh.

"Trip was enjoyable, then?" a voice smooth as oil perched the air.

He whipped around, seeing a dark haired figure leaning against the opposite wall, smiling at him with a fanged grin. Ruby eyes shone with mischief as he stared at the heavyweight. Cartman scoffed, "Fuck off, Damien. I just got home."

"I'm more than aware," he purred, moving across the floor fluidly as smoke in long, elegant strides towards his bed. He sighed, falling back and propping himself with his hands, crossing his legs as he watched the monarch. "Well? Care to let me in?"

He rolled his eyes, "It went just fucking fine, you freak."

Pointed ears perked in attention. "Oh? Just fine?"

Eric sighed irritably, turning and staring at the elf across the room from him. He narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly like Damien, never had. But he was a necessity to his plans that couldn't be avoided. "Are you wanting me to tell you of my entire trip?" he demanded.

"No," he shrugged. "Only what pertains to me," he tongued over his fangs. "Tell me, how did things go with 'Kendra'?" he air-quoted.

"Just fine," he cocked his brow superiorly and leaned back against his dresser, the oak moving back just a bit with his weight. "He's set to marry."

"Good for him," he grinned. "Hopefully he can keep his charms up with the Drows."

He nodded, "Hopefully. If he wants his sister to be safe, he fucking will."

"Hm," the elf perched a brow in amusement. "Cruel, Your Majesty."

Cartman smirked, "No other way to be, is there?"

He let out a dark chuckle that sent a chill down the monarch's spine. "Indeed," he agreed. "Now..." his eyes alit with a devilish gleam of hunger. "What of our little prince?"

He rolled his eyes, "He's still fucking annoying as shit."

"How so?"

The king waved his hands around dramatically, "Still Mr. Vice and Virtue. Thinks he's better than any human."

"Any human? Or...just yourself?" he challenged, pointing at him with a long, clawed finger.

He scowled, "Well he's always thought that like the fucking idiot he is."

"How did he take our little arrangement?" he asked, swinging his foot mindlessly as he watched the glutton with a heightened curiosity.

Eric grinned, "He's furious. It's fantastic." That look of anger and defeat in Kyle's eyes was prominent even under his heightened elegance. No amount of training could have prepared anyone for such a shock announcement, and the redhead was of no exception. The king indulged himself in a smile, wondering with a twisting stomach of glee if Kyle had cried about it. If he was lost, and knew how very trapped he was in Cartman's game. It was downright orgasmic in its own right.

"Hm," Damien hummed, nodding his head slowly. "He's certainly not the so-called 'ugly' boy of your youth, is he?"

Cartman shot his head up and narrowed his eyes. "How the fuck did you-"

"You think I haven't seen him myself?" he grinned deviously, flicking his hand up in a quick motion. Cartman watched in interest as a smoky portal appeared before him out of thin air, seeing Kyle talking to Kendra, pointing to a book as she watched him, enthralled in his conversation. Damien smirked, "They sure know how to grow 'em in Larnion," he commented casually.

The king crossed his arms and huffed, "If you could see, why the fuck did you need me to tell you how it went?"

"I like to hear my information straight from the pig's mouth," he shrugged, ignoring Cartman's furious growl and looking back at the redhead as he laughed at something Kendra wrote for him. "He seems to be adjusting to Kenneth quite well," he observed.

Eric walked over to see the vision better, glaring at the two of them casually talking, leaned in close to each other. "Well, that's no fucking fun," he scoffed.

"Isn't this what we want?" Damien questioned. "For them to get along and Kenneth to get the information we need?"

He pouted, "Well I wanted Kahl to suffer at least a little."

"Oh, he is," he relayed, tonguing over his lips. "He's going to have to lose his little fuckbuddy with this arrangement before long."

Cartman jerked back in shock. "Fuckbuddy? Who?"

Damien's lips curled into a cruel grin, "Our prim little prince has been spreading his legs for his ranger for years."

The brunette blinked before breaking into hysteric laughter, clutching at his stomach. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Are you fucking serious?!" he cackled.

"Very," he chuckled. "And it gets better," he purred.

"Oh?" he asked, hands nearly trembling in excitement at the prospect of gaining more of an edge in the overall game.

Those rubies flickered up to meet his grinning stare. "His ranger is in love with him," he shrugged casually. "When little Kyle breaks them off, it'll break his heart."

His smile dropped a bit in disappointment. "Oh. Well, I don't really give two fucks about his fucking ranger's feelings."

He wagged his bony finger in the air. "Ahp ahp ahp, you don't seem to comprehend the bigger picture, Your Majesty. This is going to be a wonderful part of our little game." Cartman raised his brow skeptically and Damien chuckled. "Little Prince breaks off with the ranger. The ranger as his main guard is crushed. His defenses are lowered. Little Prince is ripe for the taking with little to no chance of opposition in the way," he grinned deviously.

Cartman blinked, breaking into a matching smile. "Good point," he nodded. He looked back over to Kyle and Kendra and raised his brow. "So, what's your endgame here?"

"Sorry?" he asked, not breaking from the vision before him.

"The fuck are you wanting Kahl for?"

Those brimming eyes met his once again, a moment of silence drifting between them. "Is it really of such concern?" he finally asked innocently. "If I give you what you want in the end, do my motives really hold such bearing on what you do?"

He scoffed, "I'm fucking curious, so fucking sue me."

Damien smacked his lips disinterestedly and shrugged, "Curiosity is for elves. You humans do nothing but fuck things up when you wonder." He flickered his eyes back over to Kyle who was pouting and blushing as Kendra was laughing yet again. "He has his purpose," he murmured before waving the vision away and hopping to his feet. He looked over at the baffled monarch and smirked, "Problem, Your Majesty?"

"I don't enjoy being kept out of the loop by my associates," he said lowly, crossing his arms.

"No," he snapped with a glare, the king recoiling a bit in shock at the sudden shift in demeanor. "You are my associate," he reminded him darkly. "Without me, you wouldn't be able to do a damn thing."

Cartman straightened back up and scowled, "I would've figured something out."

Damien scoffed derisively. "Except for one tiny problem, King boy: A human cannot wield the full potential of The Stick," he reminded him in a hiss. "You can access a fraction of its power, but I can bring it all out."

"A fraction is all I need," he replied snobbishly.

He quirked his brow, "Not for the amount of power that you're wanting to hold in your fat little fingers. You need me far more than I need you."

"If it wasn't for me getting Kinny in there, then you wouldn't have a prayer!" he snapped.

"Oh?" he challenged, crossing his arms and bouncing his leg a bit. "You think that I couldn't have done it on my own? Wrong," he said sharply. "You're just taking the time span down a notch. You're nothing but a convenience on my end."

Cartman scowled, "Kinny is the one who can find out where The Stick is!"

"You think I couldn't just take the Little Prince and ransom him for it?" he smirked. "This just helps eliminate the chance of an armada coming after me."

"Why would you ransom him if you want to keep him?" he blinked.

"Who said I'd give him back?" he smirked. Cartman shifted a bit and glared as Damien let out a silky, demonic laugh from the back of his throat. "That's one thing humans and dark elves hold so beautifully in common:" he purred. "We don't play fair."

"And that's why we win," Cartman finished smugly, feeling more at ease with the familiar chilled darkness settled back upon the elf.

He tongued over his fangs and nodded, "Precisely. Now, I expect you to keep me updated on events, yes?" he questioned.

Eric rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'll keep you in the damn loop. Kinny's supposed to be updating me every week."

"Excellent," he nodded in approval. "Oh, and do inform me of any information regarding my little redhead, hm?"

Cartman raised his brow warily at his tone but nodded in agreement. "If I learn anything, I guess."

"Good. I'll see you around, Your Majesty," he smirked, Eric watching as he sunk into the ground, a thin layer of smoke rising from his descent and dissipating into the air. He stared at the wine-colored carpeting for a good few moments before raising his eyes back to look at the setting sun glistening through the window. He smiled to himself, huffing out a small laugh. For an elf, Damien was at the very least tolerable in the monarch's eyes, even despite his little recalcitrant attitude. He bit his lip eagerly, his anticipation mounting for what laid ahead of the both of them. Damien's plans for himself, he had little interest in, but for his own...He took a deep, satisfactory breath, amber eyes practically fluttering. He just couldn't wait.

A/N: Because political plots are always exciting, right? RIGHT?! Right.

Thanks for R&Ring!