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Fill: The Prince 2c/?

[anonymous]

“Recently, I stumbled upon an island far away from this place. The island is ridden with volcanoes. Danger, at every step.” A woman gasps, and Erik turns to her. “And what do I find? Demons!” A child claps her hands over her eyes, as if she’s seeing what he’s describing.

Erik turns back to Matyas and Janos. He waits until silence has fallen. When he speaks, the audience clings to his every word, but Janos crosses his arms, unconvinced. “One demon, I confess. The minute I saw it, I captured it with my bare hands. It was speedy. And smart, like you or me. But it wasn’t human, that much was certain. The thing was red, from head to toe, with a tail like the Devil. Its pointed ears were keen and often heard me before I could even get a glimpse, but with persistence and a bit of cleverness, I came out victorious. The demon was conquered.” He pauses again, and Janos imagines if he reached out, he would be able to touch the anticipation with the tip of his finger.

Erik locks eyes with Janos, and smiles slowly, showing all of his teeth. “And I have brought it to you.”

- - -

Finally, Janos feels a touch of the anticipation that the audience was feeling. Can Erik really be telling the truth? He certainly has his attention now.

“Your Majesty… may I?” Erik asks, gesturing behind him, supposedly where the “demon” is being kept. Even though his tone is humble, Erik must know he has everyone by the hook, judging by his sly smile. Matyas heartily agrees.

Erik snaps his fingers and immediately the hall’s doors are thrown wide open. Everyone turns. A shiver runs down the entire length of Janos’ body when he sees that Erik wasn’t lying.

Two burly men are dragging a thrashing man inside, each holding one of his arms, even though the man’s wrists are bound together behind his back. He’s wearing nothing except for a tattered piece of cloth he could barely call trousers. But it’s clear the man is no ordinary being-he’s red, just as Erik said. His skin is like the color of blood from a fresh wound, blossoming across severed flesh. He looks feral and is practically snarling. His long, forked tail whips back and forth.

Janos dimly registers that Erik is speaking. “You see this beast? Truly it is horrible to behold.” At this, the audience, initially shocked into silence, bursts into action and begins vocalizing their disgust as well as shying away from the man. One person even spits at him.

It’s degrading. Janos can’t help but feel for the man. When Janos finds Dietrich in the crowd, it comforts him to know that Dietrich is neither shying away nor yelling cutting remarks at the stranger. He looks as disgusted by the reaction of the crowd as Janos feels.

The men roughly throw the demon forward onto his knees in front of Matyas and Janos. The cat turns to Janos and meows, pityingly, as if saying, Stolen and given to strangers, like me. Janos smiles sadly and pets the cat from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.

The demon is hunched forward. Up close, Janos notices that there is a spiked collar around his neck. He wonders why-it’s not general custom to collar slaves.

Erik places a boot on the man’s back and pushes hard, forcing his face to the ground. “You will bow before royalty, demon,” Erik hisses. Janos expects the man to lash out again, like he did at first, but now he remains still and pliant. No resistance anymore.

For some reason, Janos feels disappointed by this. What are you doing? Don’t give in! he wants to shout.