Love, Distrust, and Fairy Dust

The Kings Challenge

"Your sword?"

"I do not need corpses, I need minions. This is the first step of the Inquisition, if the palace guard, our strongest warriors, defeat me then the Inquisition is over before it can really start and I will pursue other means. This is the only chance the kingdom has against the Inquisition and I will give them their ritual. If they can't, well then the Inquisition will have its first army."

If he was anything, he was fair. This is the weakest the king would be and this is when the palace guard would have the best chance of stopping him. He was giving himself an out, and if he was going to win he was going to have to give his best and better. The Queen watched her lover. He may have stripped off his jacket, but he donned the heavy burden of an Inquisition.

The King turned slightly so that his wife could see the confidence in his eye and a flash of the smirk he stole from Jacob. It was the smirk of a Pirate King and had no place on the face of a Benevolent and guileless Ruler. King Inquisitor Mordred was no such man anymore, his name in the Red Book was evidence enough for that. He turned back to the Queen and barked at him to escort him to the mess hall.

Moments later, Mordred stood outside the doors of the mess hall with both of his private guard. The first had escorted him, the second stood by the door.

"Have you positively confirmed that all of the palace guard are in that room?" Mordred asked the second.

"Yes, Sire. They are all accounted for and awaiting your explicit instruction." The guard who was waiting by the door saluted.

"Good, nobody is to pass through these doors until my business is finished, do you both understand." Mordred cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck.

The guards answered in the affirmative, but Mordred stared them down for an uncomfortable moment illustrating his seriousness. When he felt the guards had felt enough of his stare, he nodded to them and entered the mess hall still brandishing Jacob's smirk and black eye.

There was an audible and tangible change when The King Inquisitor entered the mess hall and locked the doors behind him. The palace guard waited amongst the long wood tables that stretched through the long hall. Some were sitting, expecting a longer wait, others speculated on why they had all been gathered, and some even feared the darker consequences of the sudden gathering.

A palpable power washed over room when the doors closed behind the King. A spell that locked everyone in until the kings say so, and one that blocked all noises and communication from escaping the room.

The palace guard all wore their full armored uniform and weapons as required at a kings summoning. They all stood at attention and saluted him, awaiting his instruction. However, the sight of a bruise on his face sent mixed emotions through the crowd. It excited and terrified the three hundred fairies of the palace guard that the King should summon them under such conditions and arrive with an injury. An injury they were supposed to protect him from.

The King said nothing. He paced back and forth as if counting them, weighing their worth with his steely glare. By the time he spoke, the evil smirk that grew on his face disturbed them more than the mysterious injury.

"You are the Best." The King began, his voice boomed so that no one could mistake his words. "You are the best of the best, each of you has been hand selected to be a member of the palace guard. You have come from every walk of life a fairy can walk and have taken up an honor as high as the nobility of knights. Some have even laid low the title of knight to join this brotherhood. I stand before you today to enact one of your most sacred duties as protectors of the realm."

The King paused and looked at each one he could see with a piercing gaze that could shake the confidence of all but the most disciplined knight.

"I have stained the Red Book with my name in my blood. I have taken up the mantel of the King Inquisitor as of this morning. I Challenge you, the royal palace guard, the only beings that stand in the way of the inquisition. You stand in my way. Today we will observe the Kings Challenge Ritual as I, your King Inquisitor, test my will against the strength of the people. Today, there can be only two outcomes. The first, is my success and the Inquisition shall be fully enacted. After which you will submit your absolute fealty to me or perish. The second, in the case of my defeat I shall either perish or revoke the title of Inquisitor forever with its failure on my head."

The King saw the shock and compassion in the eyes of the palace guards, many he had hand selected and pulled out of poverty for this honor. They were hesitant.

"Remember, it is your duty to defeat me! You are honor bound to stop the Inquisition, otherwise many will die in its wake. In my wake. I shall fight you as I am, what say you!"

A long moment passed, finally one guard approached and kneeled before the king. "My liege, I offer you my armor and my shield, in this fight and I shall battle naked in your stead."

Such was the loyalty of his guard.

"I refuse your offer. I shall fight as I am so that none may question my honor or strength. I am your king, I am power incarnate!" King Hadrians replied without even looking at the guard.

"Then accept my sword, its strength can only make yours shine brighter." The guard undid his belt and held his scabbard and sword up to his king.

"I refuse your offer. By the end of the day you will feel the strength of my arm, and none may say that I won by the strength of my sword only. Nay, I shall defeat you as your king, no more, no less." King Hadrians looked at the low ranking member of the Palace Guard. One of the lowest among the highest. He was no man of title or rank outside the guard or even within it. Many of the guard captains stood by with a wide array of curious looks, everywhere from embarrassment to pride.

The guard stood up and threw his sword away from him. He removed his helmet, and began unclipping his armor until he stood before the king in only the linen clothes he wore to keep the armor from chaffing. "Then I stand before the King Inquisitor as a member of the Palace Guard, no more, no less. I will pit my person against the King in the most pure form with nothing between us." The lowly Guardsman met the king's eyes in honor and defiance.

The room followed his example and removed their weapons and armor.

The single guard stood defiantly in front of the King and grinned, "What do you have to say about that?"

The king waited until the last shred of armor fell to the ground before he responded. "I think you should have kept your helmet on." The king grabbed the head of the guard in front of him and rammed his forehead into the guard's nose. The guard was sent reeling from his broken nose and two more guards appeared behind him, one to catch him and one to deliver a counter attack. The later spun over his companions and tried to clip the king in the face with his boot. The king caught the guard's leg and flung him into the crowd of charging guardsmen.

Thus, the will of the King stood against the strength of his kingdom.