FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE by S. K. Ng Page B

and the sick, we want not of such burden,” ordered the king as he grabbed the queen and engaged her in a session of passionate kissing.
         “Understood, King Fangstrike. I’ll bring back only the youngest, healthiest and finest of specimens,” replied Battlelord Constrictor.
     
         The king hardly noticed the battlelord’s reply for he was too preoccupied with his passion for the queen. The other battlelords broke into a buzz of conversation with regards to the raid. Some of the battlelords offered Battlelord Constrictor advice on how the raid should be carried out or how to improve the plan he already had in mind.
     
         A messenger entered the throne room, approached the king and bowed.
          “What do you want, messenger !? ” asked King Fangstrike while still passionately engaging his queen in an oral display of affection.
          “I have a vital message for you, King Fangstrike,” answered the messenger.
          “Go away, I’m busy ! ” said the king in between the smooches.
          “King Fangstrike, this message is in regards to that special issue that you had commanded me to bring to your attention,” insisted the messenger.
          “Ahhh ! Business ! Excuse me, darling, I’ll be back soon,” said the king to his queen apologetically.
         The king motioned for the messenger to approach the throne. The messenger delivered a sealed note into the king’s hand and then bowed and left the throne room.
     
         King Fangstrike opened the sealed note and read its content. Then he got off his throne and marched out of the room immediately. In a secluded section of the castle, he pressed a secret panel and the door to a hidden room opened. He entered the dimly lit room.  A mysterious figure dressed in elegant clothes emerged from the shadows and stood facing him. King Fangstrike stared at the cold, emotionless golden mask of his elegantly dressed visitor with blank expression.
         “All is going according to plan, I presume ? ” asked the visitor.
     
         Immediately, a dagger’s tip was pressed into the visitor’s neck, deep enough to draw fine droplets of blood but not enough to end his life.
          “Who are you to speak to me in such a way, traitor !? ” cautioned the king, pressing the dagger a little bit deeper.
         “I am the man who is going to give you Eastern Falls with all of its riches, resources and slaves ,” said the masked figure.
         “Never speak to me in this manner again, Destiny !   The next time you speak to me in such a tone, I’ll have my men rip out your intestines and let you bleed to death in a slow, painful manner. Your presence here is hardly welcomed, and I’ve serious doubts that you can do as you’ve claimed. Destiny, huh ! Even this name that you’ve chosen sounds egotistical and fraudulent to me ! And what’s your obsession with wearing silk shirts, are you some kind of transvestite or something ? ” expressed King Fangstrike angrily.
     
         The elegantly dressed gentleman grabbed King Fangstrike’s dagger hand with his own and pressed the blade deeper into his throat
         “I am not fraudulent and I am not a transvestite ! However, I am egotistical, but I am rightly and deservingly so ! So kill me then ! Press the dagger all the way in ! ” he challenged.
     
         The king hesitated. Finally, he withdrew the dagger.
         “You will not kill me, because I am the only one who can give you Eastern Falls; and without that province, you will never have enough food, products and slaves that you need to strengthen this wasted land you call your kingdom. Forget not who I am, and forget not of my influence and power. Eastern Falls will be yours, as per our agreement.  And I am not one of your brainless apes, King Fangstrike, it would serve you well to remember that. And you will remember to address me as Lord Destiny,” reminded the elegantly dressed