"You were arrested for murder. Of course not." He answered shortly. "I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation your in. Either that or there really is no brain in that thick skull of yours."
Rurik shrugged. "That's fair." A long silence dragged out between them, only the sound of their footsteps on the stone tile filling the hall. Rurik spoke up. "I didn't kill them just because I wanted too, Cut. They hurt me. I know they hurt you too."
The dark-boned skeleton glared at him. "That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you killed them in the first place, and you need to be punished."
Rurik did his best not to sigh. Instead, he nodded shortly and kept walking. He didn't know why he'd even tried to get through to his half-brother anyway. They were getting closer to the front of the castle and the throne room, he could feel it. He'd gained energy sensitivity from his father, and he could sense a positive aura growing stronger the closer they got. As they turned the last corner, they were stopped by someone unexpected. Another skeleton, tall but shorter than Rurik, wearing a regal golden scarf and bright white and gold cap. He and Rurik locked eyes for a moment before Papercut spoke up.
"Ah, Prince Palette, what a pleasant surprise. I thought you left for a hunting patrol at dawn?" Papercut said, dipping his head respectfully. Palette smiled at him.
"I did, we returned about an hour ago. Who's this?" He asked, gesturing in Rurik's direction. Papercut hesitated.
"Rurik Roller." Palette's happy demeanor dropped slightly. Everyone had heard of the murder, after all. "He's being taken to receive his sentence at the moment."
Rurik smirked. He wasn't going to let his pride drop, even if he was going to be sentenced to death. He made a game of it, seeing how many people he could make uncomfortable before the inevitable. If he could score a point on the prince himself, it would be a major ego boost for him. Palette nodded shortly with a quiet response that Rurik didn't hear and they walked away. As they entered the large room, Rurik was pushed forward.
The ceilings were high, with lanterns hanging wherever they were within reach from the ground. There was a large mural on one of the walls, showing an image of one of the forests that he vaguely recognized as the Dhruv Woods, an area recognized for its beauty throughout the kingdom. He spotted the two cloaked figures before even addressing the monarchs in front of him. One wore white and the other wore black, yet they both had short red scarves wrapped around their necks. They stood at the edge of the room. Rurik locked eyes with one of them, the one with the black cloak and smirked. They looked away immediately.
"Rurik Roller." He turned to face the voice addressing him. The king himself, a tall skeleton with black stains on his face. Ink. "You're being charged with first degree murder of Chalk and Marvul Rolle-"
"Guilty." Rurik said without hesitation. "I'm guilty."
A long silence fell on the room. Just like that? He admitted it already? Rurik just stared him down, refusing to break eye contact. He was intimidating, to say the least. After about 30 seconds of awkward silence, another spoke up. The source of the positive aura that Rurik had sensed. Dream.
"... Thank you for your honesty." They said hesitantly, and looked over at Ink as a indication to speak.
"Three weeks from now, 5:00 in the afternoon, you'll be lead to the gallows. We appreciate the cooperation."
---
Two weeks, five days left
The cloaked skeletons Rurik had spotted worked in the dungeons. Well, at least the one with the black cloak did. Rurik had seen them occasionally, sweeping, delivering rations, taking role. They looked young, probably a year or two younger than him, but he didn't pay too much attention to them otherwise. That was until they asked him a question he didn't expect.
-
"What?" Rurik said, confused.
"Why'd you do it?" The cloaked skeleton asked him, still focusing on sweeping. "Y'know, kill them. Your parents."
Rurik watched them curiously. "What's it to you?" They just shrugged.
"I feel like everyone has their side to a story, even if it doesn't justify their actions." They responded. "And I'm just curious."
Rurik shrugged. He had no reason not to tell them, and it was the most social interaction he'd had in a while. "They were abusive. Verbally and physically, but mostly mentally. They tormented me for years and I wanted payback."
The other nodded and considered this. "Sounds like they had it coming, then. I mean, murder was a bit extreme, sure, but I guess that's on them for making you.. well, unhinged I guess."
Rurik almost laughed. "I guess so. That's the question; is it nature to blame or is it nurture? Is the teacher to blame or is the learner? Y'know?"
They turned to him with a subtle smile. "Yeah... you're the first person willing to talk with me in..." they stopped for a moment. "About a month. I've tried to talk with the rest of the prisoners so they don't go insane, but none of them have responded. Except you."
Rurik blinked. "Really? Huh. That's a little strange... your pretty easy to talk too... I guess you already know my name, huh... what's yours?"
They hesitated. "I... My name is Lotus."
----
Word count: 1584
👏long👏bulidup
Part 2 is coming real soon uwu
-Your Parental Unit, LeFriendlyBoi
Trust - Lourik (Fell!Poth) (1)
Start from the beginning
