In Exchange for Magic

"What is he doing? What is he doing?" the girl hissed in an impossible whisper. "I can not believe this!"

I watched in silent horror as Ez spread his arms wide, showing no weapons, and stepped into the room and toward the King. The throne room was adorned with many portraits of superior-looking men with ruby-encrusted swords or golden sabers. The king currently sitting on the giant throne paled slightly in comparison to the bold and majestic-looking leaders of the past.

The slightly plump King Richard was menacing, yes... But in the way that an adult was menacing to a small child. The size and the power were there, but there was no real fire in the heart. His intimidation was almost entirely smoke and mirrors, I thought to myself frantically. It seemed as if there was no real threat. It seemed as if you could somehow look behind the curtain, there would only be a small man with a microphone. The King's bushy brown mustache twitched in delight.

"Ezekiel Sullivan," he commented, surprise flashing across his face. The amusement. Then malice. "I have been waiting so long to speak to you face to face."
Ez bowed slightly. "Well, you better hurry up and start speaking. If I'm not mistaken, that man over there is about to pee his pants."

He pointed to the skinny man, who opened his mouth hotly to protest - but then realized that he had been bouncing on the balls of his feet in sick anticipation.

The King shifted in his enormous throne. "Are you not afraid of death?"
"No... No, I'm not. Spiders, though... Spiders are another story."
"Now, that can't possibly be true," The King hissed, his own fears and insecurities showing through his pale blue eyes. "Everyone is afraid of death!"
"So many legs," Ez mumbled, pretending to be lost in thought. "And all of them so wiggly."
"Why did you come here?" The King growled, not entertained or distracted by Ez's game. "Why come to the castle? Why walk into certain downfall?"

Ez thought about the King's questions for a moment.

"Because, by turning myself in," he admitted. "I can save the ones that I love."

The King let out a short, bark of a laugh, and everyone followed suit - laughing louder and longer than what seemed natural. The mirth stopped with a wave of the King's hand.

"Love?" King Richard scoffed. "You cannot love! You've been running - don't deny it; my sources are the Shades themselves. You have been running like a child," he spat. "You have had no time for love."
"I beg to differ," Ez replied calmly.

The King, now thouroughly bored and quite annoyed, gave a sharp nod to the skinny man who seemed to be his right-hand.

He grinned as he butted Ez in the back of the knees with his staff. Ez bit his lips to avoid crying out when he fell into a kneeling position, his kneecaps slapping the stone floor with a crack.

"Watch the rib!" he shouted, but was slapped sharply across the face to prevent any further outcry.

"I was going to keep talking to you, Half-Breed." The King sniffs and looks arrogantly away. "But you've tried my patience and, quite frankly, I'm ready - Stop him!"

Ez had wobbled, reeling from the pain in his rib, his knees, and his head. He'd pitched forward, before drawing a hand out to stop his fall. The King, in his nervousness, had mistaken it for an escape attempt.

"Bind his hands," The King ordered, looking at the scowling Ez uneasily.

Two men rushed out with thick rope and quickly tied Ez's hands without any protest from him. He closed his eyes as the next order was given.

"Draw your swords."

The elf girl couldn't seem to take it any more.

"I can't stand this," she muttered - more to herself than to me.

The small alcove where we were positioned allowed her just enough room to turn around and start crawling madly back the other way. I opened my mouth to urge her to come back... But her whisper echoed through the vent:

"Stay there. No matter what, don't scream."

I bit down on my tongue to keep from yelling at her. How dare she leave me here? How dare she leave Ez?

I forgot about her, though, when I saw what was going on in the throne room. Every man had his sword drawn, ready to leap into action should Ez decide he doesn't want to be so docile. Then, the King's sidekick stepped forward. The skinny man had the flat edge of his sword pressed against his nose. He wore a dark grin.

Ez had begun sweating. He shook his moist bangs from his face and looked up at the man approaching him with all the courage he could muster.

"I'm not afraid of you," Ez told him defiantly.
"I know," the man replied. "But you're eyes reveal that you're very much afraid of my sword."

"Stop playing with your food," the King barked. "I've waited seventeen years to get this filthy Half-Breed, and I can't wait for you to finish your little conversation!"

Upon the direct order, the skinny man reared his sword. I pressed my hands to my mouth, trying to suppress the scream bubbling up from deep within my stomach.

But the skinny man's lunge fell short, as he was distracted by the double doors to the throne room. They'd been flung open with such force, that the handles had knocked holes into the walls.

The small window of the throne room that I could see from the vent didn't include the doorway, so I couldn't see who was entering... But I didn't have to.

"Excuse me," she piped pleasantly, throwing her sheet of blonde hair over her shoulder with a quick toss of her head. "I think I'm lost... Do any of you know where the bathroom is?"

The men stood in silence as the elf girl entered the room. I could see that she concealed something behind her back, but it didn't register until she accidentally dropped a marble that she'd been holding. The round ball clicked across the floor, bouncing until it finally stopped at the Kings feet.

"What is she-" one of the King's men began to say, but he was cut short when he received what must have been a marble going fifty to the temple. His eyes crossed and he dropped to the floor, a rosy bruise rising to the surface of his skin.

Chaos broke loose. I screamed, even though I'd been warned against it. It didn't matter, though, because everyone was screaming. The elf girl kept lobbing marbles at the guards, who dropped like flies.

Ez slammed himself to the ground, trying to remain out of everyone's vision and, thus, their thoughts. But out of sight doesn't exactly equal out of mind. Several King's men rushed as Ez, swords drawn, trying to fulfill the King's orders to finish him off. They were each instantly brought down by the elf girl.

Metal clanged on metal as swords were flung around in the panic. One by one, the guards hit the ground, clutching large lumps on their heads.

"Marbles?!" Ez shouted over the din. "You're knocking them out with marbles?"
"Decorative stones, actually," the girl replied conversationally as she whipped another two. "They were in the fountain in the bathroom."

Ez winced as the skinny man whined in panic and jumped over him to get behind the throne for protection.

"Yeah, that's right!" the girl spat. "I lied! I know exactly where the bathroom is!"

I screamed again, which went ignored. But this time I screamed in warning. A guard who'd been knocked down by the elf girl had shakily recovered. He staggered to his feet and lunged towards the elf girl.

She cried out, trying to notch another rock. The man full out football tackled her and her head slammed into the floor, snapping back up in a sharp motion. I gasped and dug my fingernails into my lips to keep from screaming again. Immediately, every guard that could still move leapt up from the floor and ran for the duo. In a matter of seconds, they were being held back by a number of kingsmen who were determined not to underestimate them.

I could distinctly see raised pink lumps on the guards' heads where they'd been hit by the elf girl's rocks. She struggled against them and tried to scratch their already hurting faces. It wasn't long, though, before her hands were bound as well. Ez didn't struggle, he just sweated and sucked in his breath every time his broken rib was jostled.

"I"m growing tired of this," the King drawled, pretending to pout. His eyes were alight with something twisted and excited. "I had such a nice speech planned... But now I feel as if the party's been rained on."

I didn't realize I was crying until a tear dripped off my chin and onto my finger. I stared in open horror through the slits of the air vent.

"Kill them," the King ordered.