The End of The Beginning

    Maeve had never been one for standing still. After literal centuries of being caged away, too weak to move, standing in one place for too long made the half-fizzy anxious. But for the first time in a long time, she found herself unable to move. She stood stock still in the center of a grandiose room she had wandered into after the king had been taken away. Faint murmurs of shouting remained in the background, but it wasn't as if she was listening to them in the first place. No, she was too enraptured by the center  of the room, where high on the wall lay an intricate stained glass portrait...of her parents. 

    She scoffed at the thought, correcting herself quickly. Those were not her parents, just the couple this corrupt kingdom had made them out to be: perfect, and happy, and all the things that made her heart lurch in her chest because she knew their story was anything but all those joyous intricacies.

    And yet, despite her disgust, she remained rooted to her spot; the multi-colored light of her parents washing over Maeve's figure, and creating a long shadow behind where she stood. 

    The irony was not lost on her.

    However, her moment alone lasted only so long, before one of her soldiers rushed in, grave news already radiating off his expression. Maeve quirked a brow at him as he caught his breath, waiting for him to say what she already knew was coming. 

    "My Lady," He huffed, standing straight before bowing. "I bring news..."

    Oh lord, she did not have the patience for this. "Well? Spit it out then." 

    "I...my lady, the Tech King, he's been restored to his normal self." 

    There it was. She knew to expect it, but she had to give the peachy princess some credit, her timing was quick. Maeve gave a single breathy chuckle, looking to her feet before meeting the soldier's eyes. "Alright then. Is that all?" 

    Her response obviously took him aback, the man's stance faltering; but she never wavered. "Forgive me, but," he sputtered on, "What do we do about it?" 

    They never did see the bigger picture, did they? Maeve couldn't help but smirk at the thought; no one ever did see things the way she did. No matter, she still had a question to answer, and a following to lead. And so she turned, looking up at the elegant glass portrait that so perfectly captured everything she hated about this place, and spoke.

    "Nothing. Let them come," 

    She didn't need to turn around to know the look on his face would be one of shock. No, they never did understand. 

    It was never about the crown, never about power. All this chaos, all the destruction and agony thrust upon Bath, it was never about the heirarchy. No, this was about the truth. Nothing ever quite caused as much chaos as the truth. And so Maeve grinned, eyes glinting with satisfaction. 

    "We got what we came here for." 

    _________________________________________

    On the outskirts of Bath lay a forest. Nondescript in it's surroundings, not particularly beautiful, though certainly not barren in it's landscape. A place no one would particularly care about, but a perfect vantage point to see the entire kingdom in all it's chaos. Chaos, the shadowy figure using the vantage point now noticed, was dying down significantly. The shouts that had earlier echoed across the expanse of trashed homes and ruined canals had now faded to calls of confusion, and broadcasts from strange floating machines of some sort that all relayed the same message: "Stay calm, help is coming." 

    The figure grimaced at the sight, the sun now setting behind the horizon and not doing much to his advantage. He had been down there earlier, he had been at the head of his people as they were freed from their hell hole, and he had watched in satisfaction as the kingdom that had produced nothing but pain for him fell from it's perfection. 

    It was only fitting, for a King. 

    But at some point in the turmoil, he noticed a change in the strange army his daughter had somehow managed to recruit. No longer did they obey the orders of her soldiers. Instead they wove through the shocked crowd, trying to help them, and restraining the mist folk that grew violent. 

    It was at this point that he knew he had to slip away. The plan may have succeeded, but he would not become subject to that torture again. Never again. Part of him knew his daughter would be confused, perhaps even angry at his retreat; after all, he had been the one to feed the message of revenge to her for all those years. It was for her own good. For all of them. 

    But despite his daughter's insistence on unity, he had to preserve himself above all. And so he had fled, slinking out of the reaches of the newly motivated guards of Bath, and into the outskirts of the forest he once called home. 

    His last glance of Bath would have almost been poetic, were it not accompanied by the chilling sound of a voice so riddled with self-satisfied venom, he could practically hear the grin of the figure behind him.

    "Nox...it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

    The king gritted his teeth and turned to face the cunning snake of a creature, eyes narrowing at the sight of his form. The creature was tall, though not quite as tall as the king himself. He almost resembled a lizard, scales covering his body, teeth that drew to a point, and a long tail covered with sharp spines at the end of it. His long hair fell behind his pointed ears, and only drew more attention to his eyes, which held pupils that resembled that of a goat. Utterly disturbing. 

"Anok. What are you doing here?" He spoke, words laced with all the hatred he felt for the beast in front of him.

    Anok gasped, placing a hand to his heart and mocking pain in his expression. "Why Noxxy, i'm hurt!" The beast drew forward, raising a brow and circling his way around the King. "You act as if you're not happy to see me." 

    "I'm not." Nox emphasized, uncomfortable with the way his unwanted companion seemed to be invading his personal space; sizing up the King and grinning deviously all the while. 

    The creature only managed to hold a pout for about two seconds before his poisonous grin found it's way back on his visage. "Oh come now, Noxxy that's all in the past! It's been centuries!" He waggled his brows, the slits of his pupils narrowing in amusement. "Literally!"

    And yet, the grimace remained on the Mist King's face, no amusement evident in his voice as he spoke. "Get to the point, Anok. You and I both know you didn't come here to play catch up."

    "Ooo my my, aren't we a clever one?"

    "Don't..."

    "Well," Anok spoke, practically slithering his way to the King's side, glancing over at the sight of Bath before smirking up at his colleague. "I have...a proposition...for you." 

    Nox's blood ran cold at his words, snarling and turning to walk into the woods. "Not interested. I know where that would get me." 

    The beast called after him, "I see! You know I completely understand...it's just, you know, I couldn't help but think you would want to hear about say...your wife?" 

    Nox stopped dead in his tracks, heart seeming to stop momentarily as he slowly turned to face Anok. "What did you say?"

    "Oh yes, Nox. I have information on your precious Penelope..." He hummed sadly "Oh but we don't have a deal to make, so, i'm afraid i'll just have to keep it to myself. So sad...Ta ta now!" Anok turned on his heel, but didn't have to wait long for what he wanted.

    "Wait!" 

    "Yeeees?"

    Nox swallowed thickly, clenching his fists, before making his decision. "What...what do you want?" Anok only grew a sadistic smile, beckoning for Nox to follow him into the darkness of the woods.

    "Come with me...i'll tell you everything."