As the messenger entered the royal debriefing room his worst fears were confirmed. The king was sitting across the room with his usual murderous glare but his demeanor seemed somehow darker than usual. Crossing the room quickly and keeping mind of the armed guards in every corner of the room the Jack Rabbit kneeled in his front of his King.
Fighting to keep his voice from trembling he addressed his king without looking upwards "My lord I have returned to you bringing news of the runaway." The king made a dismissive motion towards one of the guards and they each turned and trooped out of the room. Shocked the Jack Rabbit stole a glance at the guards as they marched out and closed the huge obsidian doors behind them.
He turned quickly at the sound of his king's voice. "You seem frightened. Are you planning to hide something from me?" Cringing at the sound of his king's voice the frightened hare looked up into his eyes and replied "No My Lord." It was the only thinkable answer.
Taking the quick glance upwards as a chance to survey his surroundings he used his skills as a tracker to absorb as much information about his environment as he could in that brief moment in time. The walls were black made from some kind of rare mineral, covered in exotic paintings and looked as if they'd been cleaned recently, the whole floor was covered in very soft fur, and the desk that he was currently kneeling in front of was made from ornately carved bone. Bone that the newest King of Mobius was absently tapping his fingers on.
That brought the terrified hare to the king himself. A surprisingly small hedgehog, the king had quills that grew upwards as if gravity didn't apply to them, unusually dark fur and eyes that seemed to glow white with no visible pupils. In fact as the hare studied his Lord's face it occurred to him that the king's fur seemed to have darkened since his last visit from dark navy blue to a near jet black shade. Gulping quickly and looking away he decided now was not the best time to ask the King if he had dyed his fur.
Without breaking eye contact with the hare the dark furred hedgehog stood up, walked around the desk and put a hand on his shoulder. "Make Your Report." The hare took a deep breath and proceeded as ordered "I followed the runaway as I was instructed to, he traveled to a village that is a couple of days away from here on foot, the village elders knew him and welcomed him with open arms. He was sent as a spy as the elders of the village don't trust your leadership. Wondering how his report was being taken he added "I wasn't spotted, covered my tracks, and mapped out the village."
The king studied his messenger wondering if the hare really thought him to be that stupid. Leaning so close that they were almost nose to nose, he stared into the hare's eyes and asked him in a voice barely above a whisper "Did you see any another runaways there?"
The hare attempted to break eye contact with his king only to discover that he was now being restrained. Realizing that telling a lie would only make his death certain he choked out the truth "They were all there."
Turning away from the hare temporarily the king was happy to hear that his plan was working. Every servant that he had allowed to escape settled in the same village. I village that would soon have an uprising. He could hardly wait. How would he handle the unruly villagers? Several ideal arrangements were already coming to his mind.
Confusion temporarily filled his mind. Were these thoughts his own? Shaking his head to clear it he managed his first smile in days. It was nice to have the opportunity to make a decision with other's lives. It was a decision he was only going to get to make more often now that he was King. The mere idea of the power he controlled was enough to send him into a state of Euphoria. Ruler over the planet of Mobius with no one to second guess his ideas! He could finally act on his whims and desires without fear, it was a dream come true.
The hare had been watching his king carefully during the last minute and had bit back a scream when he smiled. For his king's smile had revealed a mouthful of long sharp, slender fangs, like nothing that belonged on a hedgehog..no like nothing that belonged on a living creature! The hair on the back of the hare's neck began to stand up when he realized that he had seen the inside of the king's mouth before…just last week and he hadn't had teeth that looked even remotely like that.
Doing his best to hide his terror he meet the Lord of Mobius' eyes as the king turned once again to look at him. His fur was undeniably darker the hare realized and he was still smiling. This time when he leaned into the hare's face it was his teeth that the hare were more concerned about watching rather than his eyes. What was going on with him to make him change like that? The hare wondered to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted by the doors behind him opening abruptly. He turned and looked at who was entering hoping that his debriefing session was over. Alas, it was not to be for Fleetway entered looking directly at him. The rabbit realized with a jolt that Fleetway had once been his greatest fear but that it was now the creature behind him that he was now convinced was not a hedgehog at all but merely something else masquerading as one.
As if reading his mind the King glanced from the messenger to Fleetway visibly puzzled and then shrugged. "I decided that Fleetway should finish your interview. He's much better equipped morally to handle you than I don't you think?" The king then left him in the room with Fleetway. Alone.
The hare had a few seconds to place what else was different about his king as he left the room and quickly pinned it down. It was his voice it now had an odd whispering quality to it. Was that even the same hedgehog? The hare had no more time to deliberate on it as Fleetway started questioning him.
The king headed straight to his Royal Bedchamber upon leaving the messenger in the room with Fleetway. Lack of sleep and severe pain were trying his nerves. As soon as he reached his bedchamber he ordered the guards to get a servant to bring up some food. The pain was only increasing now that he had skipped breakfast.
By the time that the servant had arrived he was visibly shaking, eyes closed, half curled into a ball on the floor, with his quills poking in different directions. Stunned the servant looked to the guards for direction only to see that they had already left the room and closed the door. Quietly placing the food on the King's nightstand she turned to leave only to hesitate. She decided to check on the king because if something were to happen and she didn't report it everyone would assume that she had poisoned his food and she would consequently be executed.
Studying him as she approached she almost jumped back upon seeing his cringe. Those teeth couldn't possibly be natural. She tentatively reached out and touched the skin on his cheek only to pull back upon contact for it was burning hot. A gasp escaped her lips and she instinctively scrambled backwards as what appeared to be smoke started rising from his skin.
The gasp turned into a low wail of terror when she realized that it wasn't smoke at all but a black aura beginning to rise from the trembling figure in front of her. Now genuinely terrified she backed all the way across the room and watched from what she hoped was a safe distance. She wondered if she could escape without being blamed for whatever was about to happen.
As she watched he started crying softly and talking to himself. Eyes squeezed shut, and trembling violently he was obviously in very extreme pain. Turning away from the horrifying scene in front of her the servant hugged her knees, closed her eyes, and did her best to ignore the cries of pain emanating from the creature behind her.
When they finally did stop she was afraid to look. She felt a cold hand on her shoulder a second before being spun around. She was now looking into the King's eyes. For a split second she wondered if she had truly witnessed the spectacle she thought she had and then she realized that he was surrounded by a blackish bluish aura. Stammering through tears of terror she stumbled through her sentence "Sii-r or L-or—Kin- your food Is at your bedside."
He simply looked back at her and grinned revealing a smile from her worst nightmares. When she cried out he placed a finger on her lips while shushing her "sssshhh." The sound made her imagine a very large snake sliding across velvet, fear kept her from crying out. Slowly removing his finger he turned and looked into her eyes. As she stared back she got the sensation that he looking directly into her soul.
"What do you want from me?" She asked him dreading the response. He simply tilted his head to the side and replied as if it were obvious "I want your life." She opened her mouth to scream only to realize that no sound was coming out. He smiled yet again. "I will have it. Your resistance is futile. Come quietly and I'll make it painless." "You can call me Death for the rest of your brief existence as I am going to kill you."
Staring into his eyes she screamed and started pleading for mercy that simply wasn't there. The guards standing outside completely ignored her cries, their only duty was to ensure the king's happiness and safety. What he did to his servants was none of their business. The youngest guard turned to the window and watched the sun set. Hearing the servant's pleas get louder and more desperate he wished for earplugs as it was going to be a very long night.
On the other side of the palace Rose showered, and changed into her pajamas mentally reviewing what she had learned during her first day at the palace Never ride a dragon if you don't know it's master and that Fleetway was unpredictable. Snuggling peacefully down in her bed she let herself dream freely of what lessons the next day may bring.