Chapter Eight: The First Kill
Lotor dreaded the party that was to come. He did not think the day could get worse. His father had not one replacement for him, but two. He had already humiliated himself before Allura. Lotor was miserable when he was handed a costume picked out by Allura. He looked at the flimsy material and cringed. At home, the warriors wore real armor. He would be laughed at if his father's men saw him in this ridiculous outfit. Relax; he told himself, there was no one here to see the girl's debasement of his social position.
Allura came in. She was the last person he wanted to see – but she was filled with excitement. It was as if she had forgotten what took place between them that afternoon. If a Drule had been with him they would have been in meditation contemplating what they had seen: but here she was acting like nothing had happened. She had a dark blue dress with a voluminous skirt. Her hair was up in a bun and she wore a tiara with a red stone. Her mother had let her put on some lip gloss. Her lips shined and her eyes were sparkling. She looked like a fragile doll. Lotor smiled and clapped as she spun around for him. Perhaps, she was correct; laughter and play were the best ways to fight the melancholy of his soul.
"You look handsome." She crooned as she placed a stupid helmet on his head. He groaned as she smoothed his hair back. He grabbed her hand and instinctively pulled away. She frowned as he had let her touch it earlier. It was softer than silk and she wanted to pet him. He frowned and held unto her hands and pulled her close.
"You made a deal. You are supposed to kiss me." Lotor teased.
"It is not proper. We are not married." Allura's voice was filled with challenge but she was smiling. He sensed her playfulness and gave her a small smirk.
"We can pretend we are at my father's court. We will stand before the Great King and I will give you a bracelet that would bind you to me. I would finish the ceremony." He leaned over. She giggled and closed her eyes. He lightly kissed her on the lips. It tickled.
"I have kissed Allura. Allura is mine." He whispered to her as he let her go. The kiss should have meant nothing. It was no more than a childish game between them. It was the most innocent kiss that the prince would ever give. It demanded nothing and expected nothing in return. It should have been nothing but instead it made his whole world crash around him. Lotor felt Allura's heart flutter with exquisite happiness. He savored this emotion, having never experienced anything so grand, and placed it before it could dissipate. He was floating in its simple purity. It had been Allura's and he had stolen it. The memory of that fleeting moment would devastate his soul for the rest of his days.
"I guess that makes you my boyfriend now." She laughed causing the spell to break.
"I assure you a boyfriend is a very human concept." He drew himself away. He was trembling. He needed to meditate but there was no time for that.
He had always hated court events. A child of his age should have been in the back rooms of a harem but his father had none to speak of. More than not, the servants brought him to them. Many times, as the guests became more inebriated, he had been forgotten. He had seen horrible things. Even filed away, the feelings that the images fostered were dangerous. The drunkenness of his father's warriors often led to cruelty even if the evening was supposed to be jovial in nature. Some nameless slave would be executed for spilling a drink or refusing to bed an officer. And no matter what the reason for the celebration, more unfortunates were tossed into the Arena too be hacked to death by a robeast. The worse part of it all, much to Lotor's disgust, was at times the scenes had excited him. The smell of fear, if not invoking the lust that he had seen on the face of the men, had whetted his appetite for the kill. These were the feelings that he feared the most. It was a part of him that was growing stronger every day. He wondered if this mad lust for these sensations would become a permanent fixture of his being.
Yet, her she was. She lived a life unknown to harsh words or fists. She still believed in shining knights and fairy tale princesses. Where, with a promise of a kiss, a beast could be transformed into a handsome prince. It was ironic that the humans celebrated a holiday of fearsome evil creatures kept at bay with a piece of candy. On his world, the beasts required more powerful deterrents, such as a lazon whip. It was as if Arus was making mockery of the reality that Korrinoth lived. He understood why his father wanted to conquer such a world that made amusement out of his. There was nothing remotely comical about monsters, he thought, as he looked in the mirror. He lived among them. In all truth, he wagered, if he survived to maturity, he would eventually be molded into the worst sort. The idea pleased him as that man would not be the sobbing child he saw in the meadow that day.
The evening had started out pleasant enough. He had begged candy of these humans and was content that he had collected a large share for Allura. He had gotten used to the stares of the other party guests as he made his way through the crowded halls. He was already plotting how to keep their haul from her Nanny who would be searching all of his hiding places for the haul. He had a wonderful image of the rotund woman sitting on the pile of candy and stuffing their haul into her mouth which brought a smile to his lips. He could already see the young princess begging him for his share of the sweets.
Allura brought him to a courtyard where many of the children played in the dark. The lights from the Castle cast faint shadows around the giggling children who were chasing each other. The coolness of the breeze was refreshing. Not far away, he could smell burnt wood and hear a bonfire crackling. His senses were luxuriating in the joy of the moment. Until, someone yanked his hair very hard. He turned around expecting it to be Allura, all ready planning to admonish her and threatening to withhold his loot. She was the only one who he had even allowed to touch his royal person and even that he did begrudgingly. It was not Allura.
"Yeah, it's real." The boy snarled to his companions. Lotor's arm lunged up to smack the hand away. He was surrounded by four boys dressed in Galactic Alliance costumes. He put them in their mid teens.
"Allura, is this the Drule pet that your father keeps locked up?" Allura was pushing against the boy who stood firm. He was the tallest and the biggest in the group. He was close to six measures and overweight. He was a known bully. She had asked her father not to invite him but her father pointed out that he belonged to a powerful family. King Alfor would not disappoint the Duke by leaving their family off the list. It was rare that children were allowed to court events.
"Philos, leave him be." She yelled into his face. The boy did not back down.
"So Drule, I hear your father swam upstream to meet your mother." The boy hissed as he swatted away the boy's helmet. Lotor stood motionless. Allura cringed as the boys grew closer. Two grabbed his arms and pulled them back while another came from behind and pulled his hair, forcing his head back Allura, along with the other children, stood there shocked. Lotor did not even struggle though he seemed uncomfortable. "My father told me that she refused to fuck his ugly ass anymore and that is why he killed her. Is that true?" Lotor said nothing, but Allura could see the rage building up in him. His eyes got the faintest tinge of orange when he was really mad and they were well beyond that shade.
"Maybe he can't speak Arussian yet." Philos said to his cohorts. "Look how pretty he is….for a Drule. Are we even sure that he is a boy? " Philos whispered in his ear as he landed the first blow into Lotor's stomach. Lotor looked at the boy as if deciding what to do. Allura watched him bite his lower lip a sure sign that he was thinking it through. "See, everyone. Drules aren't as tough as people say. This one doesn't even fight back. My father keeps telling the king that they are weak and we should join the Galactic Alliance." Philos finished off his pronouncement by spitting in Lotor's face.
Lotor stared at the much older boy who stood a full head taller than Lotor. Lotor sucked back in the air and shook off what pain he felt. The blow had knocked the wind out of him but he had felt far worse.
"Philos, I will only say this once. I am an imperial prince of the Drule Supremacy and this is an act of both sacrilege and suicide. Unhand me and I will show you and your friends mercy." Lotor said with a measured calm. Philos blinked, unsure of what to do as his peers cheered him on. By then, some adult voices were heard approaching but it was too late to stop the unfolding events. Allura stood behind Philos trying to drag him away. She looked at Lotor. He was no longer there, replaced by a more savage creature that had started to struggle a bit. The creature growled and bared its sharp canines. Lotor commanded Allura to move away with a level of seriousness that frightened her. His hair had become unraveled and flew madly about as the others restrained him.
"Can you believe this idiot? What could this pipsquek do to me?" Philos picked up his chin. Hisnails digging deep enough thas tAllura saw pinpricks of blood. "Prince Lotor, son of the Great King Zarkon, say that humans are better than Drules." Lotor responded with a growl.
The next hit went straight into Lotor's nose and she was sure she heard him howl in pain. His eyes seemed to be deepening in color, trying desperately to match the blood that poured down his face. They glittered in the moonlight, full of rage. It was the last time Philos touched him. In the darkness, she heard their screams as the boys fell. It happened so fast that none could stop the carnage. She heard the snap of bones and the cries for mercy. She heard Philos beg only to be followed by a sick crunching sound. Some of the boys ran, but he easily caught them in the dark. The next screams were not from the children but from the adults who looked on. Philos lie there like a broken doll. The Drule stood over him with blood gushing from his face. His eyes were now a shade of dark orange, turning redder by the moment as the crowd gathered close. Allura heard a woman scream as she ran to the lifeless body of her son. His neck had been snapped and his head just hung to the side.
Other children ran to their parents. The floodlights soon came on as the adults looked in horror at the crumbled mess before them. The three surviving boys were all screaming in excruciating pain or passed out. Legs and arms were in unnatural positions. Bones protruded through ripped flesh, jagged and uneven. And there was blood, small streams intermingling and joining into pools. Lotor heard the sirens in the background as he was escorted into a back room. He did not understand why the adults looked at him in horror. These were noble's sons. They had attacked first. Certainly a few broken bones should not matter much? There were four of them. The odds had been in their favor. It had not been his fault that they were so badly trained. His only consolation was the he had heard Allura coming to his defense, albeit through her sobs. He had scared her, and for that, he felt some remorse.
Coran appeared out of nowhere and hurried the boy away from the chaotic scene. In the distance, Lotor could already hear the wail of ambulances coming to fetch the dead and injured. Coran had shoved him in a chair. The man had his back against the wall and his arms crossed. Lotor looked at him and sensed the self-satisfaction of one who felt as if they had been proven correct. Lotor was not looking at the man. He was wondering if his actions had been inappropriate or excessive. This would require a great deal meditation. He sat and tried to place all the emotions of the day.
Unfortunately, they had not been sorted out. In the morning, he had been filled with fear over the announcement of Zarkon's grandsons. In the afternoon, he had been overwhelmed by his grief and loneliness. That evening, he savored the exquisite pleasure of the small kiss and the joy in Allura's face as they collected the sweets. He winced when remembering the humiliation of these weak human children touching his hair; his connection to the greatest Drule Empress that ever reigned. They then added insults by comparing his brilliant father to a mindless animal. His mother was talked of as if she was just his father's whore whom the Great King had casually disposed of when she was of no use to him anymore.
Lotor had shown great restraint. He had not touched a single one of them. It was they that had landed the first blow on Lotor, a prince of the Drule Supremacy and the son of the Demon King. They were madmen to do so and he had given them a chance to rethink their actions. He had offered them mercy as a good prince should. He had let the foolish human land the first blow. He took it well without complaint; after all, it had felt nothing like a warmaster's blow. They, who should be bowing down to their Drule superiors, dared to mar his flesh. They had answered his attack with only sobs and no threats of vengeance – how could they ever keep the Drules at bay. They deserved to be overrun by his kind. No, his actions were not inappropriate. Even killing all of them would not have been deemed excessive.
"I was worried about the Drule in you, but it seems that it is the Wyvern that calls to your soul. What is it like to call the bloodlust at will? Or is that just another misguided myth? The Korronnites would destroy you if they had seen that." Coran hissed. The man leaned in and he felt a hard pressure on his shoulders. He wondered if he could take Coran if he had to, the man would be more of a challenge than an unprepared teenager but now his blood was boiling.
"Sir, my people would know the difference between what was appropriate and what was bloodlust; if it was bloodlust they would have all died. I offered him a truce, he refused." Lotor answered in a cool, confident voice that shook Coran.
"You overestimate your people. They would be scared of what you just did, that was no warmaster's training. You just killed someone. Doesn't this even register in your thick skull? Do you not understand what you did was wrong?" Coran grabbed his chin and forced him to look up into his smoldering eyes. The Duke of Deryon, the father of the dead youth, would be all over King Alfor for this.
"We have different definitions for your concepts of right and wrong. Philos's death does mean something to me. It was my first sentient kill and it was totally unsatisfying." Lotor answered with a quiet certainty.
"He wasn't going to kill you." Coran muttered back.
"Really, on Korrinoth we would have called that an assassination attempt. Children kill children there." Lotor retorted.
"I am well aware of what goes on in Drule society but we are not on Korrinoth and Drule customs do not apply here." Coran stiffly answered back. "You will pay for what you did. Think about it, Prince Lotor, you have caused the first interspecies homicide on Arus"
"How much lazon do you think will it will cost for this to go away? " Lotor said with a smile.
"Lazon…a child is dead. What kind of people do you think we are?" Coran grabbed the boy and shook him. He raised a hand to strike the child when he heard voices coming loser.
"You are humans. Not that we have established that, it only remains to set a price. Without exception, every human has their price. The parents will settle. And honestly, how much is a dead child worth? Even I, a crown prince, am easily replaced." Lotor answered innocently enough.
Lotor heard parents yelling outside demanding justice for their fallen children. The door opened and King Alfor and Queen Alanna entered. His face brightened when the queen asked him to look at her. She would understand. Instead he was met by a stony glare. He felt her bafflement and despair and cringed. King Alfor's countenance was no better. He had displeased the king which would anger his father. No matter if his actions were appropriate or not, he would be made to feel discipline. He did what he had always done in the face of an angry king.
Lotor fell to his knees and made submission. Coran's eyes grew wide in astonishment knowing well the meaning of such an act for a Drule royal. This act, however, was not comprehended by the king and queen. Lotor looked up and saw no change in their demeanor. He had humbled himself for no gain and this angered him.
"Lotor, the boys were severely injured and Philos is dead." Queen Alanna finally said. Her voice was shaking and her eyes were brimming with tears.
"Your Highness, their actions were inappropriate. They attacked me with no cause. I showed great discipline but they continued their assault." Lotor carefully responded. Coran was smiling at the boy He was well aware of the meaning behind the young prince's words. He could have tried to interpret the prince's words for the king. If Allura's facts were accurate, he could have made the king see the great insult that had been made to the Drule prince but he kept it to himself. Lotor could sense the officer's growing amusement as the scene unfolded. He was confused as why the man would take such great pleasure in him shaming himself before the king.
"Prince Lotor, I do not know where we stand after today. But consider yourself confined to your room. You are under house arrest." Lotor got up and bowed. He looked at Coran and shook his head. He was about to say something and then decided it was best to remain quiet. Whatever this was, it was not discipline. Was this human king so weak that he could not discipline a small child? This king would be laughed at in his father's court.
"As you will, King Alfor." Coran escorted him to his rooms. For three days, his meals were delivered but they were returned uneaten. Allura heard the repetitive mantra as she walked past his door. She was hurried along by Nanny. On the fourth day, Lotor returned to the real world. He took his meals and turned on the television. The media was rife with the story. Philos was dead and another boy had nerve damge in his leg. Lotor had regretted that. He had only meant to kill Philos. He may have been too harsh on the others. The noble families of the boy wanted him charged as an adult. He saw a video of Borak's arrival. He watched another of the child's funeral. More clips showed some protests in the streets. The people carried anti-Drule signs. Lotor watched, with some amusement, Borak make a statement claiming that his people understood the anger that the Arussians felt for the prince and that his people were also saddened by these turn of events. At least, he thought, his father had decided to do something about this. He had wondered if he was going to just sit her and rot. His father could have gotten rid of him for good.
Lotor could only imagine what was really going on behind the scenes. He knew that somewhere Borak was laying down what would happen under Drule Law if anything befell the Great King's son. Unknown to the humans, the prince predicted, certain edicts may have already been enacted. This was now a matter for the Supreme Council to debate. He wondered how long they were going to keep his father, their greatest warmaster, on a leash.
The humans, he knew were going to far this time. They were detaining a Drule imperial prince against his will and for no cause under the Drule's Laws. The fact that they were meaningless on Arus was a moot point. The protection of the Laws applied to every acknowledged Drule, even a hybrid like himself. The humans had denied him a right to counsel. At his age; he should have been returned to his father for discipline since he was assaulted first. Technically, the boys' families could not claim the right of vengeance since they attacked first. If the boy's father felt vengeance was to be had he had the right to ask the Emperor to call Zarkon into the Arena. Zeppo would probably deny it but the thought amused Lotor to no end. None of these things were done. Instead, he sat in a room and stared at there four walls for a month wondering when he was going home to face his father's wrath.
Four weeks passed before King Alfor summoned him to his study. Again he expected blows but he was greeted by the soft voice of the king.
"The affair has been concluded. Magistrate Borak is a very persuasive man.." He hesitated then continued.
"All that is left is for you to make a formal apology to the families and to go home." The king was unnerved at the amber eyes that fell upon him. They were defiant..
"How much lazon is my father sending to make this disappear?" The boy curtly asked.
"2,000 standard units to be divided by the families." King Alfor replied. He did not know why he answered the particulars to Lotor, he was only a child. In truth, the question surprised him. The boy's tone had demanded the information, and for whatever reason, the king offered it up.
"They settled too low. My school received 10,000 units annually for the bother of keeping me away from the court. I am a bit insulted that father got off so cheap." King Alfor was startled by the boy's arrogance.
"This is a serious matter. It has been ruled that it was self-defense but you killed a child nonetheless. Some of our people wanted to try you as an adult. You should be grateful that it ends here. My people were offended by your behavior. It could have destroyed the trade agreements." The king snapped back.
"You are worrying about mere trade agreements. Are you forgetting that your subjects assaulted an imperial prince? And then you locked him away, forbidding him to speak to anyone. My people will be more than just offended. Not one of the boy's has come to apologize to me. That is the way it is with humans, strike first and then claim innocence. Did anyone ask me if Philos's blow hurt or if I felt threatened when I was constrained by his fellows? No magistrate has come to take my statement. Should I feel remorse for defending myself?" Lotor fumed back.
"You should feel sorrow for taking the boy's life." King Alfor calmly stated.
"He insulted my family. He struck me. He spit in my face. He touched my hair. It was my right to take his life for that sacrilege for his actions. But do not think I have not meditated on his death, I have. My first kill should have been a worthy opponent, not some poorly trained child." Lotor answered in a smug tone that King Alfor was not used to.
"You are allowed to go free because of my generosity." King Alfor stated.
"I am free because you want my planet's lazon, King Alfor… the Generous. Also, I am sure that Borak made it quite clear that if any of your people so much as harmed a hair on my head my father would be wiping your blood off of his sword. Humans think he is called the Demon King because of his looks, I assure you that the title is derived from worse things. As Coran likes to point out to me, my family is of Wyvern blood." Lotor bristled. His eyes seemed to flicker as the tensions rose between the two royals. The king did not fail to notice the implied threats in the boy's voice. They were not idle ones. Alfor was thinking how he can possibly defuse the situation.
"Prince Lotor, I was hoping for more than that when we agreed to let you into our home. We hoped that there could be an understanding between our two people. We want to learn about you as much as we hoped you wanted to learn about us. At least, that is what your father and I discussed when he breached the idea." King Alfor responded softly in hopes of reengaging the boy on a more civil note.
"It seems to me that the required understanding applies only to Drules." Lotor shot back. At times, the king found it hard to believe that a ten year old boy stood in front of him. He argued like a seasoned diplomat.
"That would be unfortunate. Perhaps we can work harder at understanding our neighbors." King Alfor offered.
"Perhaps, in this context, is an ambiguous word." Lotor's voice was clipped. He could feel the anger welling up inside him. He looked for discipline to control it.
"Now, about the apology…" King Alfor continued but Lotor cut him short.
"I do not understand the apology. Did my father ask of it?" Lotor fumed.
"No, he did not." The king answered sullenly. "But it is needed for peace to continue between our two peoples. It would help me better deal with the noble families involved"
""Of course he did not, the offense ws made to him. Who broached the topic of reparations? My father or you?" Lotor demanded.
"My lawyers suggested that it might ease the tension between us. Your father's magistrates agreed." The king answered hesitantly. All of a sudden he sensed his people had made a grave mistake.
"They have reparations – and now they demand that I give apology when they were inappropriate? Your people are mad and you are a fool to support them, though I did expect it." Lotor sighed. King Alfor could swear he heard disappointment in the prince's voice.
"You hurt these families. It is considered the right thing to do." An exasperated King Alfor answered back.
"Why? Is your rule not secure? Do they control their king or does their king control them? These families would have been a source of amusement on my world. Four nobles' sons should have been able to take one child. I could only think that there pride has suffered because their families are embarrassed. We have a saying on Doom – Pride is a luxury for the foolish."
"This is more than just pride. There is a dead child involved. You must apologize so that healing can begin." King Alfor sighed.
"Then there will be no healing. It grieves me to say no since you have been a gracious host, but I will not." Lotor looked at him, the defiance blazing in those alien eyes.
"You must leave Arus immediately." King Alfor dismissed the child.
"With pleasure, My Lord. May I be dismissed?" Lotor threw his hair back in defiance.
"Stay in your quarters. Your kingdom's transport shall be leaving shortly." King Alfor said with great sorrow. The child's death was meaningless to this young prince. Coran had been correct all along. A monster had been sharing his home. Lotor sensed the King's revulsion and placed it. He assumed the king was angry because he had shed blood in his home something he should have been disciplined for. Instead everyone kept blathering on about the dead child. He wanted to feel remorse, for that would have pleased the king, but in his heart there was none. He truly enjoyed the rush of his life when he snapped the boy's neck. It took everything in him to stop when he did, but four dead children would have been excessive.
Looking back, when Lotor was older and wiser and a ruler in his own right, he would pull that day out of his thoughts and reflect upon them. It was the day that he decided that the only way for there to be peace among the Drules and humans was for one of the species "understanding" to become the accepted one. It was fitting that he, being a product of both, would make that decision for all of them. He thought about one of their great texts and bit his lower lip. A human did something no Drule would ever do, betray his chosen master without an open challenge. This man's follower had sold him for 30 talents of silver. He had no idea what a talent was but he knew of silver and gold. For a far smaller amount, when taken as a percentage of his father's almost limitless wealth, King Alfor had sold out the entire human race for nothing.
Lotor knew the reparations would never come. Had King Alfor made the boys apologize to Lotor, his father would have respected the Arussian king for his appropriate actions. He would have had to keep his hand still the king would have shown respect to him and his heir. He would have sent the lazon as a peace offering, far more than what was agreed to. The Law demanded it. Instead, the king had shown himself to be beholden to his nobles. Lotor would tell his father how weak the human king was. Reparations should not have even been discussed let alone an apology. Lotor knew that something was going to have to give for all of this. And in truth, he was glad that he was the child of Zarkon as he went back to his room. Before this was over, the people of Arus would learn to hate his father as much as he did.