The
Wings of Freedom
The prince was unceremoniously
thrown forcefully into the cell. Turning over on the ground, he looked
back at the two guards who had ‘escorted’ him to the chamber.
Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed
the bars and hissed, “You will pay for this. You, your families, your
goddamn pets … I’ll strangle them with my bare hands!”
The face of one of the guards went
bright red. He stepped forward, only to be held back by the
other.
"He’s not worth it." She
hissed in his ear. "He’ll feel the headsman’s axe tomorrow
anyway."
The offended guard glared angrily at
the jailed prince for a moment longer before turning away and heading for the
door, the other guard following suite a moment later.
"I’ll make everyone you even
cared for pay in blood!" The prince screamed as she closed the heavy iron
door.
His only answer was a series of
heavy clicks followed as numerous deadbolts slid into place, securing the
prince in the cell.
Still fuming, the prince looked at
his surroundings. The cell was essentially a heavy iron cage in the
center of a small room with metal walls. There were no windows, no doors
save the one, and a small vent to allow the circulation of air.
"Okay, okay." He murmured,
massaging his temples. "This isn’t a problem. They’ll
come to get me once they realize what happened. I just need to
wait."
He spent the next few hours brooding
on his cot, imagining all the horrible and foul things he’d do to the people
who wronged him. Not just the guards, mind; the prince had a sharp mind
and a perfect memory; every person who wronged him from the jester who dared to
make a joke about the prince to the King of the miserable little keep in which
he was now imprisoned would feel his wrath.
As the hours of night began to wane,
the prince felt a slow desperation begin to seep though him. Where were
they? They were supposed to be watching over him. They were
supposed to be helping him.
His ear twitched as one of the
deadbolts slid back into place with a loud thunk.
"Finally!" He exclaimed,
clambering to his feet and moving as close to the door as his cell
allowed. "It’s about damn time!"
One by one, the deadbolts slid back
into place. As the door finally opened with a loud creak, the muffled
sound of conversation from the other side became clear.
"Chinese? We haven’t had
chinese in awhile." Said the first man to enter, a thin fellow in a white
robe.
A dark-skinned woman with a guitar
slung over her shoulder stepped into the room behind the robed man. “I
dunno, Jay. The last time we had chinese, I was sick for a week.
How about Sushi?”
"Come on, Melody; we do sushi
on Friday, and it’s only Wednesday. How about Mexican? Some nachos
would be killer right now."
"Hmm." The woman
scratched her chin as she considered.
The Prince screamed, “Where the hell
have you two been, you incompetent buffoons? You’re supposed to be
keeping me safe, not disappearing when the palace guards start chasing me!”
"Geez, man." Said the
robed man. "Chill out already."
"Chill out? They’re going
to execute me! Do you know what that means? They’re going to kill
me!"
"Well, yeah, man! You
tried to force yourself on that poor girl; even if she wasn’t a princess, you’d
be in some serious trouble."
"She was promised to me!"
The prince said defiantly. "That makes her my property, and I can do
whatever I damn please with her!"
There was a definite drop in the
room temperature at the prince’s comment. Melody opened her mouth only to
be interrupted by Jay snapping his fingers.
"Italian!" He said as
though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "There’s a great
little bistro I used to visit in New York that makes a great meatball
calzone!"
The prince stood dumbfounded, which
gave Melody enough time to say, “Oh, that sounds good, but those things run
right through me. Maybe a sub sandwich?”
"I’m going to be killed in a
couple of hours!" The prince screamed. "Stop talking about
food!"
"Well, we’re hungry!"
Melody snapped. "It hasn’t been easy keeping an eye on you for the
past few weeks."
Jay nodded at the prince, adding,
“You are a bit of a prat.”
"Excuse me?" The prince
was livid. "It isn’t for sub-creatures like you to question the
bloodline of kings."
"Sub-creatures?!" Melody
said, outraged. "We are Dreamers of the Elsewhere Incorporate.
We can twist reality into whatever shape we need."
"And you have to do what I
say." There was an air of smugness about the prince as he continued,
"That’s what you said, right? You’re here to make sure I’m right
where I’m supposed to be."
Jay scratched his bearded
chin. “That is what I said.”
"And my proper place is on the
throne! I am the last heir to King Jonas, not that low-born thug
Matthaius. As such, I demand you get me out of here and help me deal with
that horrible whelp."
"Horrible?" Melody began
to circle the cage, one finger tapping against the bars. "Let’s talk
about horrible, shall we? The first time we met, you had just tried to
steal the gold from a travelling merchant."
"I am to be king." The
prince said stiffly. "Everything in this realm is mine."
"Next," Melody continued
as though she hadn’t heard him, "You nearly kicked a beggar to death for
the crime of asking for a single coin."
The prince snorted. “I’ve no
time for such scum. If she couldn’t work, she deserved to starve.”
"And the gypsy who gave you a
bad fortune? The child who accidentally splashed mud on you? The
guard who tried to help you up when you slipped? The town crier who had
the misfortune of passing just a little too close to your window? If we
had left you to your own devices, how many of them would you have killed and/or
robbed?"
"You wouldn’t understand.
I will be king! I must act like a king!"
Jay snickered. “I dunno, Mel;
sounds like a king to me.”
"You’re not helping."
Melody told him.
"Neither are you!" The
Prince kicked at his cot. He wanted it to go flying against the cell
walls for dramatic effect, and only ended up with a sore foot when the bolted
down cot didn’t move an inch. "It’s not for you to understand, it’s
not for you to judge."
"He might have a point."
Jay suddenly grinned. "Pizza?"
"FOR GOD’S SAKE!" The
Prince screamed, his voice nearly breaking, "STOP TALKING ABOUT
FOOD! I COMMAND YOU TO GET ME OUT OF THIS CELL AND HELP ME RETAKE THE
THRONE LIKE YOU SAID!"
There was a long pause as the two
Dreamers traded glances.
"Let me tell him." Melody
asked, clasping her hands together. "Please let me tell him."
Jay shrugged and waved at the
Prince. “Be my guest.”
"Thank you." Melody smiled
briefly at her partner before she turned her sights on the prince.
"We didn’t say anything about installing you on the throne."
"Don’t be stupid!" The
prince snapped. "You said you were here to put me where I was
supposed to be!"
"And here you are." Melody
leaned closer to the bars, adding in a softer tone, "In a cell beneath the
true king’s castle, all ready for the chopping block in the morning."
"How dare-"
"I dare because you would have
treated that poor princess like a sex slave until she committed suicide.
I dare because you would’ve murdered innocent people just because you didn’t
like the look of them." She leaned close enough to the bars for the
prince to see the fire in her eyes. "I dare because you would’ve led this
country to war, all to expand your empire."
The prince shrank back from the look
on Melody’s face. “W-what? What are you talking about?”
"I’m talking about the future,
prince." Melody began to circle the cell again. "You see, you
didn’t need us to retake the throne; a sneaky little bugger like you would’ve
found a way. There are always those tempted by power, and they would’ve
helped you kill the true king just for a chance at power. They wouldn’t
have gotten it, of course; you’d have them killed as well just to cover your
tracks. Or maybe because you’re a sadistic little bastard."
"You’d be stopped eventually;
all dictators eventually are, but hundreds of thousands of people would die
because of you. Children who would have grown up to be artists or
storymakers, or maybe even Dreamers, all dead because of one greedy, beastly,
and downright evil little norm." Melody faced the prince again, this
time with a smile on her face that sent chills down the prince’s spine.
"And now none of that is going to happen. The true king will lead
this country into an era of prosperity, all because of us. Job well done,
Jay."
"You too, Melody." Jay
paused. "I’ve got it. Wings-2-Go."
Melody smile became genuine even as
a look of horror spread across the prince’s face. “Ooh, yes. I love
their chicken quesadillas.”
"Then it’s settled!" With
that, Jay approached the door. With a wave of his hand, it swung shut and
the deadbolts slid back into place.
"Nice and secure." Jay
turned back to the prince. "So that’s that. Have a nice life,
kiddo."
"Wait!" The prince said,
grabbing the bars as Jay and Melody approached another door that appeared on a
previously blank piece of wall. "You … you can’t just leave me here
like this!"
"That’s the thing." Melody
said as she followed Jay through the door. Leaning her head outside the
doorway, she smiled at him. "We can."
The door swung shut and vanished,
leaving the prince alone in his cell, unable to appreciate the first rays of
dawn that were slowly shining over the castle. It was just as well; he
would have probably been too busy screaming to enjoy it anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment