Magnifico

Ruined

Lucas and Sun arrived at the palace that evening as requested by King Zulu. When they came in, Sun couldn’t recognize who Kylian was because he has never seen him before but he knows much about his kingdom meanwhile Lucas recognized him but wondered what he was doing in Quinax alone.

“King Kylian, what are you doing here?” Lucas asked immediately he recognized it was Kylian.

“Oh... Ummmm. The dessert is delicious. Good foods are made in Quinax you know? Want a bite?” Kylian said as he presents a chicken to Lucas to eat.

Lucas felt a little bit embarrassed and he suspected that all was not well with Kylian.

“Kylian, what happened to you? You seem to have changed, what’s the matter?” Zulu asked. Kylian paused, looked up, directly into Zulu's eyes, with his spoon still in his mouth. He looked down and swallowed the food he had already wanted to eat and said “You want to know what changed me? Alright, I will tell you. My kingdom was attacked and nothing, absolutely nothing was left behind. I watched people I cared about die and I couldn’t do anything, families we're lost, friends were killed. I watched helplessly and couldn't do anything whereas I am a king of my kingdom. what type of King am I? These people don't truly deserve me. If only the truce had worked, this wouldn’t have happened. But Zulu vehemently refused.”

King Zulu pitied him and wished he had done something but he couldn’t have done anything. Zulu immediately sat on a chair while Lucas and Sun remained standing. Lucas saw as Zulu bowed his head and looked as though he was full of regrets. He knew that was the best time to support his king.

“Please, this isn’t Zulu's fault. Please, don’t blame this on king Zulu or anybody else. There was no way we could have helped you, everyone was being careful because you don’t know or really can tell who was next to be attacked.” Lucas quickly replied.

“Of course, why should I blame anyone else?” Kylian laughed.

“I blame myself, I blame myself fully and I have learned my lessons, a very big lesson you know..” Kylian laughed again and continued eating his dessert.

He sounded bittered and resentful, he was covering it by forcing a smile on his face. Nobody could understand the pain he was passing through, he was so mad but didn’t just want it to be noticeable.

“I’m so sorry Kylian.” Zulu apologized.

“You don’t have to be Zulu, c'mon. You don’t have to apologize” Kylian said as he finishes his dessert and poured water in a cup.

“Please, who led the attack on your Kingdom? Sun asked after being silent for a while. King Kylian looked at him and took the cup of water and drank it. He belched and looked at Sun again and said “It was the beast called Magnifico. He led the army of Alaphas against my kingdom three days ago and laid a siege outside our fort. He managed to fight his way through after we suffered heavy bombardment from the firepower and military types of equipment they came with”

“Magnifico?” Zulu said as if he was pinched.

“Yes, Magnifico. I didn’t see their king but I guessed maybe he didn’t come with them or maybe he didn’t show himself" Kylian said.

“When you mean their king, you mean King Jonas?” Lucas inquired.

“I suppose, yes. I was confused when he told me to bring him their prisoner that was hidden in my Kingdom. From what he said, I understood he was searching for King Jonas but what I don’t understand is how their king will be in my Kingdom or what made them think he was in my Kingdom, or why he would even be in my Kingdom In the first place. It mind-bogglingly confused me but what I understood was that it was all an organized plot by King Jonas and his beast to destroy my kingdom and rule over it. They wanted to find an excuse to attack my Kingdom and they succeeded, yes they did..” Kylian said.

Zulu, Sun, and Lucas looked at each other, even though nobody talked to each other but they have used eye contact to pass information across the room. They knew he had thought wrong and imagined how it would look like if they tell king Kylian that the 'beast owner', Jonas, was in their kingdom all these while and also fighting on their side. King Zulu looked at Lucas and frowned his face as he tilted his face to the right, asking for Lucas' opinion.

Lucas who was standing in a position Kylian can’t see clearly unless he turns around, standing just at Kylian's back, raised his two hands secretly in a little slow fashion mode and made his face appear like he wasn’t too sure of what to say and was indirectly giving the king a sign. Without saying a word, Lucas has indirectly told the King to do whatever he wants, and Sun was busy watching but was also gazing at Kylian so that he doesn’t turn around and look back and mistakenly see the body language of king Zulu and Lucas.

“Well, em. The king of Alaphas didn’t come to Azmak with the beast.” Zulu said.

“How did you know that?” Kylian asked.

“Because he was in Quinax and still is,” Zulu answered.

“What do you mean he is in Quinax?” Kylian asked.

“That’s a long story but Jonas is no longer the king of Alaphas, the king of Alaphas now is Magnifico. Three days ago we knew that your Kingdom was about to be attacked and that Magnifico would leave for Azmak so we seized the opportunity to steal something from him While he is away.” Zulu said.

“Wait, did you just say you knew my Kingdom would be attacked?” Kylian asked as he looked at Zulu as though he was confused. Zulu knew he needed to clarify this statement because he didn’t want Kylian to think he had anything to do with the attack or he had anything to benefit from it.

“Not like we knew beforehand that Azmak would be attacked but we got a secret message from Alaphas that Azmak would be attacked just a night before Magnifico left. We couldn’t foil the attack and we couldn’t send a warning message to your Kingdom because it was already too late. We had to use that rare opportunity for something else” Zulu explained further.

“You said you stole something from Magnifico while he was away, what was that?” Kylian asked. Lucas cleared his throat and Sun looked at him, using body language, they were contemplating if it was the right thing to do; to tell Kylian about the scroll but they had no choice but to tell him because he has already lost a lot. At least he needed to be told something that would comfort him in his present predicament.

“We took a scroll from Magnifico. A scroll we all believe would contain knowledge that may help us kill him once and for all.” Zulu said.

“A scroll? Hahaha. That would end him? That’s funny you know. How can a scroll end Magnifico? Does it make sense? Sorry, I mean no disrespect but it doesn’t ring well in my brain, King Zulu” Kylian laughed and argued.

“The scroll is no ordinary scroll. It contains some secret to a passage of dark powers. This scroll has made Magnifico stronger and tougher. This scroll has contributed one way or the other to the destruction of so many kingdoms. It helped Magnifico destroy Azmak, destroy Zuix, destroy Dreeks, and many more to come. And you are laughing about it?” Zulu asked.

“Oh… It’s more serious than I think. So with this scroll, you hold the key to so many things unimaginable?” Kylian asked.

“So many things unimaginably bad, yes,” Sun replied.

“I see, now I understand.”

Kylian started pondering his thoughts on what he was just told and nodding his head continuously while the King took off his Royal cloak and kept it just behind him, on a chair. Kylian was shown the scroll because they wanted him to believe with his own eyes without any atom doubt left. A soldier was summoned by King Zulu to show Kylian where his quarters are and where he would keep his belongings. When Kylian left the room, Lucas and Sun came closer to the king and wanted to have a quick discussion about Kylian.

“My King, Kylian doesn’t seem to look okay. From the way he speaks, he blames us for what happened to his kingdom” Lucas said with a low voice and Sun nodded his head.

“Mhh hmm. And he is in shock too” Sun added.

“I know, but I couldn’t have turned down the request in his letter. Kylian is a good person who wanted the best for everyone” Zulu said.

“Yes. He is but, what could we have done? If we had agreed to his request, would it have stopped Magnifico from attacking Azmak? It would have been collateral damage on both sides and we can’t afford to lose our soldiers to any Kingdom recklessly.” Sun said.

“Something worries me. Azmak is known for her strong and big army. Their defeat was so simple and fast and it makes us look as though we are not prepared enough.” Lucas said.

The statement Lucas made worried the King and worried Sun too. The king imagined himself in Kylian's shoes, he imagined himself in someone else’s kingdom crying and seeking for refuge. He wondered where he would go; not like he had strong allies or he had agreed to many requests from different kingdoms seeking to be their ally. Zulu knows that if what happened to Kylian had happened to him instead, he may not survive it. He may probably die out of a heart attack or overthinking. He imagined a world without Lucas and General Sun by his side, he couldn’t just bear it.

“what I don’t understand is, why would he take the risk of coming to Quinax when there are other kingdoms that is closer to him he would have gone to,” Sun asked.

“We would ask the same for Jonas. Everyone is coming to Quinax these days, maybe because they think Quinax is a haven.” Zulu said.

“Haven because we haven’t been attacked yet,” Lucas said.

“I hope we don’t get attacked anytime soon. Sun, when do you think would be the best time to go to Sytrits? Zulu asked. Sun didn’t answer the question hastily, he paused and thought of what to tell the King. “Sytrits?” Sun asked himself, he wasn’t so sure if he was prepared and ready to go but he had to give the king an answer.

“Oh… I have thought about it. I think in the next four days, we will move” Sun answered.

“I think three would be better or possibly two days, please. We don’t have much time” Zulu said.

“Okay, my King. I will prepare as soon as possible.” Sun said..

“Thank you Sun,” Zulu said.

Lucas suggested that Sun would go to Sytrits with Jonas because he assumed Jonas knows more than anyone in Quinax concerning Sytrits even more than him though he only heard of Sytrits through rumours but has never witnessed or seen it before... King Zulu agreed with what Lucas suggested and he also assumed it would be the best thing to do even though he never wanted Jonas to participate deeply in anything that concerns his kingdom but he had no choice but to leave all things to the law of nature.

Jonas was lying in his room, not too far from Sun's quarters. It was a hot afternoon when he had a knock on his door. When he opened the door, he saw a woman, should be in her early thirties, wearing a milky long dress, tying a scarf around her head and carrying a tray, inside the tray was a cup of tea.

“May I come in?” the woman asked.

“Yes, please. Come on in.” Jonas replied.

“Thank you,” she said as she comes in carrying her tray. She continued “My name is Elizabeth and I was sent by the General to give you this tea to drink. He said you are going to enjoy it because you are so in love with tea made in Quinax,” she said as she forces smile on her face. Jonas knew he never liked tea nor has he ever told Sun that he likes tea. He has always been someone that drinks a lot and enjoys good music with a fine woman back in Alaphas but he didn’t remember telling anyone he likes tea. He knew something was wrong somewhere and thought that it won’t be safe to drink the tea until he confirms if truly Sun sent the tea to him to drink. But how could he possibly avoid drinking this tea and still make Elizabeth believe he drank the tea.

“wow!!! I’m so happy. Tea is just my best,” Jonas said as he takes the tray from her. He wanted to reaffirm himself that he wasn’t mistaken and that is why he said tea was his best to know what she would say.

“Yes, that is exactly what the General said. I guess it's your hobby,” Elizabeth said as she smiles again. Jonas wanted to keep the atmosphere friendly and also looking for ways that would help him avoid drinking the tea.

“Yes. Having hobbies are good. Sometimes it helps us and sometimes it doesn’t” Jonas said. Everyone paused and Elizabeth looked at him with a mean face and Jonas steadied his look too and suddenly, Elizabeth busted out laughing and Jonas did the same too. Jonas brought the cup close to his mouth to drink it while Elizabeth was watching closely and he stopped and said “Did you include honey in this?”

“No, I didn’t. Should I do that for you?” she asked.

“No. No. I have some. I’m coming, let me do that myself,” Jonas said. He went inside his inner room, quickly flushed out the tea from the cup, poured it inside a bowl and washed it, and also brought out another liquid, probably honey, and poured it inside the cup to replace the tea. He came outside the main room with the cup and was also smiling as nothing happened. Elizabeth saw him coming out too but didn’t think of anything or suspected anything because Jonas didn’t waste much time inside his inner room. Jonas saw she was watching and he drank the whole honey inside the cup and smiled.

“Your tea is delicious. I will come around some time to drink again. Where do you stay if I may ask?” Jonas asked?

“Oh! I find it fascinating that you like it, I will appreciate if you come around and have more next time if you can. If you want to find me, you can find me in the General’s quarters.” She said.

“Nice... What’s your name again?” Jonas asked.

“My name is Elizabeth" she grinned.

“Elizabeth, it’s nice meeting you. Greet the General for me, tell him I will come around.”

Elizabeth atood up and headed for the door, she turned around while she was at the door, looked at Jonas, and gave him a devilish smile. Jonas pretended like he noticed nothing and waved at her and asked her to jam the door on her way out. Jonas quickly went to his inner room and brought out the bowl he poured the tea into to his main room where he could see what is inside because of the light thrown at the room by the two large windows at both ends of the room. When he checked properly, he noticed that there was a scent of wolfsbane in the tea. He knew immediately that the lady that just left the room wanted to poison him to death but what he doesn’t know is; why and who? What’s her reason and who might have sent her? Was it the king? Or was it General Sun? Jonas remembered that he told General Sun that he doesn’t like drinking tea so the General wouldn’t be so foolish to use a means or method that is quite obvious to be noticed against him. At least if he wanted to kill him, he can just do that or find a reasonable accusation that would be quite convincing, the King wouldn’t mind to sentence him immediately.