122 Mortal Danger (1/2)
Tawo's plan had already been a success, beyond his own belief. After his request for an audience, he had first been asked to wait for a while. At that point, he had begun to doubt himself. Had he been discovered? Would the empty hallway the warriors had led him to be the last place he would ever see? However, it hadn't been long until another warrior had called upon him, to be led to a meeting with Corcopaca Titu Pluritac, the new King of the South. In the end, the king's warriors didn't even search him for weapons before they let him enter the king's private study. No one showed any amount of precaution towards him.
*Of course they wouldn't,* Tawo thought. These powerful warriors, so convinced of their own superiority, would never expect an ordinary peasant, an uncultivated mortal no less, to know his way around anything more dangerous than a hoe, let alone have the audacity to bring anything pointier than a spoon to the king's banquet. Never would they expect a simple commoner to plan a lord's assassination.
No matter what reason the guards had for their negligence, now he was here, right in front of the new lord of Saniya. From the expensive drapes behind King Corco, he could feel the lord's status and ambition. Stitched with a map of the entire south, an object that would be considered illegal almost anywhere else in Medala was hung up in the room like an ornament, to show off the lands the king would consider his own. From Corco's arrogance, plain in his view, Tawo's eyes went down, over the desk between him and his goal, to the man whose own future would decide his fate.
*Much smaller than I thought,* Tawo mused. However, he shouldn't have been surprised. Despite the king's reputation as the man who defeated King Pacha in a duel, his cousin Sawo had cursed the 'dwarf-king' often enough to reveal the truth of the lord's diminutive stature. In addition, the cheap bronze crown on his head was just as described, while the king's sharp, angular face with the deep-seated eyes did much to add gravitas to his appearance.
Although the distance between the empty seat intended for Tawo and the king's own position was larger than necessary for a conversation, this much security was as good as nothing at all, at least for a trained warrior like Tawo. Even more surprising, there were no further guards besides the ones outside the door, and there was no tension in the king's body, as if he didn't so much as consider a possible attack from his guest. Greedy, and confident to the point of arrogance, even more characteristics Sawo had described the 'haughty brat' with.
”So you are here to thank this king for your invitation,” King Corco began, in an unusually conversational tone. ”In that case you should be quick, servant. I need to be back at the banquet of lords soon.”
”Of course, great King Corcopaca. This commoner will not bother great king for too much longer.”
With a shallow smile and a deep bow, Tawo did his best to placate the pompous lord, before he took a seat on his chair before him. When his face came back up, he found the king stare at him, without a word. Against his better judgment, he began to feel nervous. Desperate to hide his emotions, Tawo began to rub his hands on the expensive, upholstered armrest, eager to wipe away the drops of sweat he could feel escape through his skin. Even though he had lost a lot of weight during the harsh labor of the past two seasons, he was still too fat, and it only made his transpiration worse. Even then, he could feel a cold shiver run down his spine as he looked deep into the king's iron stare, sucked in by the intense focus of the man before him.
”Village Chief!” he heard a shout.
”Excuse me?” Ripped from his dream-like state, Tawo realized that he was drenched in sweat. By now he understood that any attempts at murder would be nowhere near as easy as he might have thought. No, this man here was dangerous, and even with good preparation he wouldn't be an easy foe to take down.
”Your name was Iqtana Asto, was it?” Patient, the king repeated his question to his absent-minded guest.
The answer was easy. It was so simple. Tawo knew what he had to do, he had planned it for so long. And yet here he sat, frozen in shock, and stared down his opposite once more. No matter how perfect everything seemed, something was off, that much Tawo's gut told him. Even worse, he knew that everything would hinge on this next, crucial moment. If he succeeded, his cousin could return back to Saniya and they could rebuild their lives. If he failed, his own life would end here, and Sawo would become an outlaw, his future uncertain.
”It was Iqtana Asto, is that not correct?” the king repeated.
With enlarged eyes, Tawo gripped his armrest even harder, every joint in his body numbed and stiff. Without a way out, the warrior's mind stopped. Thus he followed his instincts and did what he had been prepared to do all along.
”No, King Corcopaca. It is not,” a hollow voice forced itself out of Tawo's throat.
Both eyebrows raised, the king shifted in his seat. Even then, Tawo was still stiff as if he had been chained in place.
*No reaction,* he thought, confronted with the unwavering grandeur of the ruler before him. Still, he chose to continue, for now there was no way back.
”My name is Tawo d'Ichilia, cousin of Sawo d'Ichilia, former administrator of Saniya, and this servant has come to make an offer to the King of the South.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tawo's entire body slumped down in his chair, his chains lifted. Only now did he realize how much his wrists hurt from arching them down in the tension. No matter what would happen from here, he had made his decision, and given destiny out of his hands. Now his life would be in the hands of King Corcopaca instead. However, no matter what reaction he had expected from the king, he was still surprised, in more ways than one. In response to Tawo's stunning declaration, the king indeed looked surprised, but he stared straight past Tawo, towards a partition in the back of the room.
”See, what did I tell you? No threat at all,” a young voice, full of confidence and strength, came from behind the wooden boards.
”King Corco, we cannot be rash. For now, we should-”
”Ah, let's just get on with it. I trust in Ronnie's judgment, so we shouldn't waste too much time.” When a woman's soprano tried to interrupt the man, her words were cut short, before the divider was pulled to the side, to reveal a short warrior with a chubby face and shoulder-length, brown hair, together with an elegant beauty. Behind them were several lounge chairs the two must have come from.
Before Tawo could even react to the strange new arrivals, he heard a rustling sound, and then footsteps, as men burst out of the drapes positioned all throughout the room. Within moments, he found himself surrounded by warriors, held in his seat with intense force. Even if he had ever planned to kill the king, by now he would be powerless.
Although he thought he had gone past fear already, he learned how easy it was for a man to change his opinion on matters of the heart. Now he knew that the king had never been helpless. Now he knew that any attempt at the king's life would have only ended his own, while it would have been no more than a footnote in the king's day. With tears in his eyes, Tawo turned back to King Corco, who still sat at his desk without movement.
”Please, King Corcopaca. At least do this servant the honor to hear his plea!” he called in desperation.
Again the king shifted in his seat, but this time he didn't appear intrigued. Rather, he seemed uncomfortable.
”No worries, no one will kill you. The warriors will just search you for weapons. We'll have to be careful, especially considering your family name.”
With confident strides, the short man from behind the partition walked past Tawo and towards the king, who stood without hesitation and took off his crown. The king's insignia held in his trembling hands, he bowed as he held it out to the short warrior.
”It's fine, Quato,” he said, as he plopped himself down in the king's seat and answered the 'king's' devotion with a lazy wave of his hand. ”Just put the thing wherever. I'm not gonna wear it in the banquet hall anyways and this here shouldn't take much longer.”