It was ironic, being down here in the dungeon.

How many hours had he spent down here when he was the High Mage of Katolis? How many lives had he crushed from this place where he was now imprisoned? It had been slightly improved; the walls and door and even the bars on the door had been fitted with anti-magic seals, probably at the insistence of Callum and his little hell-spawn. Viren shifted, wanting something, anything, to do to pass the time. Had it been hours? Days? He had no way to tell time down here.

Drip.

Water was dripping from the ceiling. He leaned back on the bench, trying to figure out where it was by the sound. It was mind-numbing, but it was something.

Footsteps. There were footsteps approaching the cell.

Ooh, who's coming to see how far I've fallen…?

The door opened and a girl—maybe fifteen—entered. She had long, dark brown hair tied in a braid and striking green eyes. A pair of horns protruded from her head and blue marks were under her eyes. He knew who she was. She didn't even need to open her mouth for him to know. Last time he'd seen her had been when she was five years old, his prisoner in a fortress meant to be his stronghold. A sacrifice for him to become more powerful. And instead she'd been his downfall there, her family—including his own children—risking everything if it meant saving her life.

She resembles her grandmother so much. A pain-in-the-ass obstacle.

"I assume you know why I'm here," she said, her eyes narrowed.

"Revenge on me for what I did to your family."

"No. I'm here for answers." He blinked in confusion.

"Answers to what?"

"Why did you trust Aaravos? How could you do so many horrible things to Uncle Soren and Aunt Claudia? What happened to you?"

Viren sighed.

"You're just like your father, you know. Inquisitive. Never knowing when to shut your mouth."

"I need answers, Viren. You tried to murder my entire family. I've heard stories about how you were once a good man but I've never seen it."

"Oh?"

"When I was a little girl, before you had my parents kidnapped, they told me stories about you. Those stories were warnings about how dangerous you were, stories to keep me in line. But I know that you can't always have been this way. Aunt Claudia stayed with you for so long for a reason."

"She was a good and loyal child, unlike her brother." Sarai took a deep breath, her eyes still defiant.

"I'm going to guess you're not going to tell me anything."

"You're a half-breed. I owe you nothing."

"Right. You owe me nothing. But Aunt Claudia, Uncle Soren, my mother, my father—you owe them everything. Not to mention the dozens of elves and humans who lost their lives in a pointless war you started out of some sick desire to claim power."

"And I still have power."

"No, you don't. I can have your life ended in an instant. All I have to do is give the order."

"I doubt the king will allow that."

"There is no king."

"I see. King Ezran has passed, has he?"

"No. He's married Aunt Aanya, so he's the king of Duren now. He chose me to rule Katolis. I am the queen."

Viren felt his skin prick irritatingly as he grit his teeth. The halfling had achieved what he'd meant to do—become the ruler of Katolis.

"There's no way the people of Katolis accepted a half-breed as their new leader."

"They did. And those who didn't were allowed to leave."

"How?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did they accept you—a half-breed child who was born in Xadia—over me?"

"Well, I simply put the people first and myself second. All it takes to earn their trust and loyalty is having compassion for life, anyone's life. You failed in that regard."

"You're young. You'll make a mistake."

"But then I'll learn. I'll become a better leader. And I'll tell my successors of my mistakes."

Viren shifted uncomfortably.

"So, Queen Sarai, I have a question for you. What are you going to do with me?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question."

"You'd be right. How long do I have?"

"Three days. We need to make arrangements."

"Well, for what it's worth, I still don't believe you have any right to lead this kingdom."

"Neither do you. Goodbye, Viren."

The queen of Katolis exited his cell and Viren was left wondering how he'd fallen so far…

As soon as she'd left the dungeon entirely, Sarai retreated to her bedroom. There, she collapsed on her bed, breathing heavily. The air around Viren had been so thick with dark magic that it had been difficult for her to stomach speaking to him for as little time as she had. She vaguely heard the door open and two sets of footsteps making their way across the floor before she felt two distinct weights land on top of her.

"Agh! Saoirse! Harrow!"

"Mama wants to talk to you!" Saoirse chirped brightly.

"She says it's important," Harrow added quietly.

"And you needed to sit on me to tell me that?"

"It's more fun that way!" Saoirse insisted.

Sometimes it feels like you're still five instead of ten.

"All right."

"She and Papa are in the throne room."

Sarai managed to wiggle out from under her younger siblings and headed out towards the throne room. There, she saw her parents—her most trusted advisors—talking in hushed tones about something she didn't quite catch. Rayla caught sight of her first and rushed over.

"Sarai, did he try anythin'?"

"No, Mom. He was chained the entire time. The only problem was the amount of dark magic in the air. I could barely breathe."

"Going down there alone was dangerous," Callum admonished.

"I know. But you know that dark magic can't hurt me. It can affect my breathing, but that's about it."

"I still worry. Viren is very smart."

"He seems a bit like he's given up, to be honest. All he really did was question how I became queen over him becoming king."

"You'd think that would be obvious," scoffed Rayla, crossing her arms.

"Yes. And now we need to arrange for his execution. There's no other way."

"Right," Soren agreed. "So, how should we do it?"

"I would say draw it out but that doesn't seem like the right thing to do," Claudia spoke up. "If we draw it out, he has a chance to escape."

"Quickly would be best," agreed Sarai. "So a beheading."

The adults in the room nodded in agreement. Death sentences in Katolis were exceedingly rare, even more so since Ezran and now Sarai had taken the throne. Viren was the first person to be executed under her reign and everyone hoped he would also be the last.

On the third day, Viren was led from his cell in magic chains.

A crowd had gathered on the way to the execution block, all of them cheering for his impending death. So many of them had suffered during his short time on the throne or because of the war he'd created in his crusade for power. Most people would have cowered, but he walked with his head held high. He had been in the right, after all, and all their suffering had just served as a way to ensure humanity could and would succeed. It had all been in the name of the greater good.

Then he reached the block and saw the royals of the five human kingdoms waiting there. There were the elven leaders, too, and… Soren and Claudia. Both of them were gazing at him in disgust that he could plainly read. They were fools, however, who had bought into the lies of brainwashed princes and lies of elves who wanted to eradicate humanity.

As he stood there on that final day, watching the crowd as he was bound to the block, he could only think of how he'd been right. Queen Sarai was going to lose, and that much was going to hold true forever. For as long as Aaravos remained free, his vision of a freed humanity could survive.

"Any final words?" Sarai asked him.

"Because of your family, humanity will be exterminated." His voice dripped with venom and she nodded to the executioner.

My spirit will remain. You can count on—

The axe fell and Viren was no more.

A bit of a companion/wish fulfillment piece for all of you. People complained that I didn't have Ezran marry Aanya, so he did. But I'm also subscribing to the school of 'can't be ruler of more than one kingdom at once', so he made sure Sarai was ready to rule before he married Aanya.

This is an alternate timeline to Halfling where the events of 'The Queen's Journey' (sequel that I'm still working on) do not occur.

So long and thanks for all the fish.