CHAPTER 007
1123 Words
“Ssshhhhhhhhh”
Adam shushed Friday the goblin as they sneaked through the city in the dead of the night. Anyways, midnight in Schumcastle was never silent, it only pretended to be.
Adam slided noiselessly like a cat while Friday padded behind him, bare footed, like boots were an abomination.
Princess Hilda’s chamber was warm and candlelit even in sleep. She lay curled beneath silk sheets, hair loose, lips parted slightly as if mid-question.
Adam stopped and stayed for a moment too long.
“We’re not here to admire the sleeping beauty,” Friday whispered impatiently.
“I know.”
The golden lantern which Zooro had gifted her rested beside the bed, its surface gleaming faintly like it was breathing.
“That thing shouldn’t glow.” Adam observed.
“Rich people like glowing things.” Friday the goblin muttered.
They slipped back toward the corridor, but behind them, the lantern trembled and a low hum filled the room.
Then thick golden vapour poured from the lantern, slow and deliberate, curling like a living thing. It drifted toward Hilda’s face and she inhaled.
Her brow twitched once then she lay still.
Meanwhile, Adam and Friday had reached the reservoir chamber, a secret place in the city everyone pretended didn’t exist.
This is it.
Steel pipes, crystal basins, and water so clear it looked unreal.
“Finally, my sister’s going to live.”
“AFTER I MIGHT HAVE PUT A BULLET IN YOU BOTH.”
Adam and Friday turned to see Zooro pointing a shotgun at them.
They've been bursted.
“Damn!”
Friday cursed and reached for his blade but alarms screamed alive, tearing through the night as soldiers poured in.
“Arrest them.”
Emperor Snotlehon commanded, emerging from the shadow with royal robes dragging behind him like judgment.
“Bind him, both of them.”
Adam struggled, but only as a man, not a god. Soso stood nearby, unsure of what to feel.
As they were hauled down the corridor, Adam looked once toward the reservoir, water shimmering just out of reach and for the first time since Gamoth, he became hopeless.
And somewhere above, Princess Hilda slept on, breathing gold.
Morning came to Whumcastle like a liar with good manners and the court gathered early. Elites dressed too carefully, soldiers stood too straight and everyone else knew something was wrong, but no one could point at it without risking a finger.
Adam was dragged in to face Emperor Snotlehon who sat rigidly, the way lawyers sit before passing death sentences.
Zooro stood near the steps with folded hands and a polite smile like a child who just did something good and was patiently waiting for accolades.
“Commander Adam,” Snotlehon said at last, voice thick with restrained anger. “You stand accused of treachery, attempted theft, and breaking of allegiance.”
“Guilty or not guilty!”
“Guilty.”
Zooro raised a finger gently. “If I may, Your Majesty.”
Snotlehon frowned. “This is not your…”
“Excuse me, Snotlehon.”
The room went stilled and everyone paused.
“Zooro, what did you just call me?”
Zooro turned and soldiers, his soldiers, stepped forward, seizing the Emperor. Everyone gasped.
“What is this?” Snotlehon roared, struggling. “Take your filthy hands off me!”
I knew it, Zooro was a traitor. A Conny ass traitor. Adam grinned.
Zooro patted the Emperor lightly. “You were never meant to rule past today.”
“So that’s why you needed me bound.” Adam asked, still handcuffed.
“You were an inconvenience… gods always are.”
“I'll make you pay for this.”
“How” Zooro laughed. “I'm not the one in chains.”
Adam’s blood surged, his birthmark glowed brightly and the air around him shifted. His power returned.
But before he could step forward, Princess Hilda moved; walked straight past her father, straight past the chaos, and straight into Zooro's arms.
Unfuckingbelievable… Adam!
She smiled and kissed Zooro twice, mmuah!… mmuah!
The court froze, Adam paused, Snotlehon’s voice broke. “Hilda…?”
She turned, eyes dreamy and unfocused like someone who has been hypronized “Father, please don’t shout, it frightens him.”
“Hilda… what are you doing?” Adam was bewilded but she didn’t look at him, rather she clutched Zooro’s arm instead.
“The lantern worked perfectly.” Zooro rested a hand on Hilda’s waist with practiced ease.
“What lantern?”
“The gift,” Zooro said pleasantly. “Golden, elegant and poisonous.”
Murmurs exploded among the elites.
“The vapour,” Zooro continued, addressing the court like a lecture hall. “Inhaled during sleep is a love toxin refined from old god-root. It is Irreversible.”
“Irreversible?”
“Yes, Adam.”
Hilda leaned into him. “I don’t know why I love him,” she said softly, almost apologetically. “But I do.”
Snotlehon screamed. “You monster!”
“Language, Emperor. Or… former Emperor.”
Adam stepped forward, power humming. “Release her.”
“I can’t. Only a sacrifice can.”
The hall leaned inward, gossipy.
“The descendant of a god must sacrifice himself.” Zooro replied.
All eyes turned to Adam; even Snotlehon.
“Wait… what?” Adam laughed bitterly. “So now I’m useful again.”
Hilda finally looked at him in confusion. “Adam… why does everyone keep staring at you like that?”
Suddenly, the doors burst open and Prince Eric strolled in with a dusty smile.
“Did I miss the tragedy?” he asked.
Soso crossed the hall in three furious steps and slapped him so hard his head snapped sideways.
“You bastard,” she hissed.
Eric rubbed his cheek. “Missed you too?”
Adam’s voice was deadly calm. “Where is the water?”
“Gone.”
“Gone, to where?”
“I traded it with wanderes of the hill,” Eric said lightly. “Good deal, really.”
“That water was for my sister.”
Eric met his eyes. “And I thank you for making it possible for me to steal it. Besides, it's not my fault that you trusted me.”
Emperor Snotlehon, now in cuffs, shot Adam a bitter look. “Adam, I didn't know you were like this.”
Adam was dragged past, Snotlehon was hauled away next, shouting curses that no longer mattered.
“By right of conquest and consent,” Zooro raised his hands in declaration. “Whumcastle is mine.”
“Ours.” Eric lifted his glass.
The court did not cheer, but no one resisted.
Whumcastle had fallen; and it had done so politely, without the shed of blood.
- Writer
