Rampart gritted his teeth as Nereus slowly spun Queen Reka's cage, his hungry eyes examining her at every angle. The wasp queen had long been thought dead by the rebels, her hive fallen several months ago by the guard. Rampart didn't know her very well personally, but her name was affixed with the other legends of the Rebellion. To think, this whole time such a hero to their cause was being held captive by a man who would treat her as a toy in a child's hand. The veil between realities could barely keep Ramparts rage from lashing out at the Erlking.
"Let me out of the Gray," Rampart barked. "I can't let this kind of depravity to continue."
Aldul remained still.
"I said let me out, damn you!" Rampart allowed his rage to boil over at the jinn.
"You talked me into coming here with the expectations of releasing your captain, and we have done that," Aldul said. "I never agreed to proceeding through the castle, freeing everyone being held captive unjustly. I'm already stretching what the jinn had authorized me to do here."
Rampart moved closer to jinn, ready to argue. But the calm hand of Ozil grasped his shoulder. "I appreciate what you've done, Aldul," the captain said. "And I wouldn't ask you to commit to a prison riot, or assassination attempt. But if you could merely distract Nereus for a while, Rampart and I can do the rest."
Aldul watched as the Erlking tapped menacingly on the cage bars. "Well, I suppose I did come here to deliver a message to the king, hadn't planned on doing it in this setting, but why the hell not, it may prove amusing." The jinn moved behind Nereus. "I will leave the veil open for you when we leave, but without my presence here to maintain the opening, it will close within a few minutes. Work fast, if you aren't able to return to the Gray before Nereus returns, I'm not sure I will be able to save you."
The fae nodded.
Aldul moved behind Nereus' chaise lounge as the king licked honey from his fingers. The jinn materialized in his smoky form and cleared his throat, causing the Erlking to jump up in alarm.
"Sorry," Aldul said. "Didn't mean to interrupt... whatever this is. There are few ways to emerge from the Gray without startle—"
"—GET OUT!" Nereus snapped. "How dare you enter the Erlking's presence unannounced and uncalled!"
"Ah yes, I do apologize for arriving without warning. However, I thought with the strained relationship between the fae and jinn, it would be a wiser course of action not to draw attention to my presence in your court. Wouldn't want rumors spreading throughout your land, especially with the turmoil it currently finds itself in."
Nereus scurried to the side table where his mask lay. He scrambled with the leather straps as if caught naked. "You shouldn't be in this land at all, jinn. Nevertheless in my castle, or my private chambers."
"Private chambers?" Aldul said, eyeing the queen in her cage who returned his gaze with a suspicious look. "Yes, I would say this doesn't appear to be a room I'd find myself invited to."
"Watch your tongue," Nereus fastened the last strap of his mask and turned to face Aldul. "You may feel safe inside your precious Gray, but rest assured I've fought many jinn during the war, and I have my ways of hurting you."
Aldul smiled. "I mean no disrespect, and I'm certainly not here looking to fight you. But I would like to remind you of the fragile peace between our two people, and that attacking a delegate of the jinn could lead to further hostility between our races. Seeing as you're struggling with your own people at the moment, I would think you would wish to avoid that possibility at any cost."
Nereus's nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed. The mark beneath his mask flared from the thoughts he envisioned. He winced, but his rage burned brighter than the mark.
Aldul clasped his hands behind him, unconcerned with the Erlking's anger. "I was sent to deliver a message from the jinn leadership. If you would allow me to do so, then my business with you will be concluded and you will be free of me."
Nereus clenched his teeth and moved within a few inches of the jinn's smokey face. "Outside," he growled and walked through the intangible being. Nereus stomped to the door and flung it open. Aldul followed him, but before the door fully closed behind him, he made a subtle gesture to open the veil for the two fae to mount their rescue. Just before the door latched the jinn saw Rampart and Ozil leap from the Gray. So far, everything was going as they had hoped.
The two walked in silence through the hall and winding staircases. They passed several castle guards on their way. The jinn gathered looks of surprise and anger from them, but Nereus had no reason to be concerned with them knowing of Aldul's presence. No guard under his command would ever consider leaking information of what they saw within the castle walls. Enough examples had been made to ensure that.
Nereus led them to the great hall. Large stone pillars lined the walkway, and a long blue carpet led to the throne where guards waited like statues. Ornate stained-glass windows decorated the walls, their colors dulled under the starless night.
Nereus climbed the stairs to his throne, a large sharply angled chair with the appearance of ice. He sat cross legged with his robes draped across the armrests. "This is where I talk to delegates from foreign lands, jinn." He snarled. "In the name of peace, I will forgive the disrespect you showed earlier. But hear me when I say, approach me again in the same manner, and no threat will keep me from ripping the blood from your body."
The Erlking sat with confidence, and the aggravation he showed down in the dungeon faded away. This was where he had threatened countless people who had always bowed to him in the end. Here he had homefield advantage, and no one could touch him.
"Of course," Aldul dropped his head. "Next time I will make sure word is sent of my arrival."
"See that you do," Nereus sneered. "Now, say what you came to say and be gone."
"Certainly, my lord, I have come with good news for your kingdom."
Nereus leaned forward.
"Due to recent events, the jinn have decided to no longer hold the treaty requirements outlined by the now disgraced Talock. Meaning, your highness, we will no longer expect you to ban your people from breeding with other races."
The guards shifted in their stance, the soft clank from their armor movement cut through the silence like a knife. Nereus's color drained momentarily from his face, then grew darker than ever before. The light seeping from under his masked pulsed, causing him to wince from pain.
"Give us the room!" he barked at his guards; his eyes locked on Aldul. The sentries quickly clambered out into the hall as if their lives depended on it. And with the Erlking's current mood, they might have. "What are you talking about, jinn? Is this a joke of some kind?"
"No, no joke. We have reevaluated the treaty and found it overly harsh. Thus, no longer felt it necessary to hold you to it." Aldul did his best to produce a polite smile. "And you don't have to keep referring to me as 'jinn,' my name is Aldul."
Nereus lunged to his feet. "I don't give a hot orc shit what your name is! What makes you think the jinn have any right to tell me, the king of this land, what laws I enforce upon my people!"
Aldul stretched his arms to his sides. "None. What you decide to put into law is your own decision. However, we can state whether or not we will require it in the name of keeping the treaty, which we no longer will." He clasped his smoky hands in front of his stomach. "We thought it would please your highness. The jinn are aware of your dwindling numbers, we thought you would jump at the chance to—"
"I just fought a war with my own people for this treaty," Nereus spat. "And now at the end of it, you come to my castle, unannounced, and uninvited, to tell me it is for nothing, then expect me to be pleased?"
Aldul looked around to make sure the hall was emptied. "Are you really going to stand there, king of the fae, and tell me your sole reason for fighting these rebels was due to your respect for our treaty? I might not have been at the signing, but word among my colleagues is you signed the document quicker than a dog would snatch scraps dropped on the floor. Almost would make one think you were happy to subjugate your people and use the evil jinn as an excuse to hold your boot on their necks."
Nereus narrowed his eyes. Even though Aldul couldn't fully materialize in the fae dimension, he could still sense the moister in the air thickening as the Erlking's power flexed. "I see you feel comfortable speaking freely before me, jinn. You have quite a pair, I'll give you that."
Aldul shrugged. "I just grow tired of the pseudo politeness required of diplomats. It's a silly game we play in order to seem respectful, but since it's just you and me here, I feel it would be a waste of time to dance around the subject, don't you?"
For a moment, Nereus responded with silence. But in a move that surprised Aldul, the Erlking smiled. "Very well, candid speaking it is," he said in a dark tone, stepping closer to hover over the jinn. "Let me guess, the opinion of the jinn have lessened of late, hasn't it? It was no secret, many of the races didn't approve of the regulations your implemented over the fae after the war. The rebels here villainized me over the events with the half fae two years ago, but that's not how the other species viewed the events, was it?" Nereus smirked and looked down his nose. "No, they saw a king being forced to turn on his own people in order to stay in the guidelines of the treaty your kind forced us to sign. And I'm sure it didn't matter to them just how many jinn agreed with the documents or not, you're all as guilty as Talock was in their eyes. Now you come here expecting me to believe the jinn leadership has sent you here with this message of 'good tiding' out of compassion for the fae people? Ha! I see it for what it is, nothing more than an attempt to swing the public opinion, and others will see through it as well."
"I don't deny there's been pressure on us to change the requirements we've put on the fae people," Aldul said. "The angels have never approved of it and have breathed down our necks ever since the signing. And after your attempted genocide of the half fae, that pressure has only intensified. It's left us with no option than to step back from the situation. Bottom line is, if you wish to keep imposing the ban on procreation with other races, then the fault will be on your shoulders, and yours alone. The jinn will no longer be your patsy."
Nereus growled through bared teeth. He spun on his heel and plopped back onto his throne. "I think not. The ban will continue, and the jinn won't say a word. For if you do, I'll be forced to go to the other races and convince them this conversation never took place. Have you ever tried to match a fae in a war of words? I'll convince them you came here to threaten me into remaining silent on the issue. After all these years of your regulations on my people, do you think any of them will believe you over me, especially considering your people's history? I'll have them eating out of the palm of my hand till I find a new ally. You made your bed jinn, now you have to lay in it."
The green and gold smoke Aldul was composed of burned brighter. "If you continue the ban under our name, the jinn leadership will become involved in this conflict."
"Then a new war between our people will commence!"
"An empty threat. You can't declare war on my people for the same reason you didn't attack me down in your little dungeon of cruel and inhumane iniquities. If you did you'd find yourself in a battle you couldn't win. This war-torn land is too weak for another war."
The Erlking's laugh echoed down the great hall. "Listen here demon, I will not bargain, I will not surrender, I WILL NOT bow to the likes of you." A devilish smirk spread across his face. "There was a time I genuinely loved this land and its people, that's why I've worked so hard to try to keep its purity whole. But what have I gotten for bringing peace to this land? Villainized. My name dragged through the mud by a group of weak-minded peasants that can't comprehend the complexity of what I was trying to do. So, I'm done trying to play nice, my enemies will bow at my feet, and I will accomplish that in whatever way necessary. Go ahead, attack us. Storm our realm. I'll see that every village burns, that every fae lay dead in front of your forces before I surrender. And when the smoke clears the other races will ban together and put an end to you. Because if I can't beat you by force, I'll damn sure drag you to oblivion with me."
The full madness of the Erlking displayed before Aldul was worse than he could have imagined. If the king was truly ready to sacrifice his people in order to maintain power, and Aldul believed him when he said he would, then there would be no negotiation. For when reason was absent, so was hope.
The doors at the end of the hall flew open with a loud thud. A guard ran in so fast he stumbled over the blue carpet. "My lord, I have urgent..."
Nereus gestured and picked the guard up by his wings, with a sharp yank of the hand the guard flew through the air past the pillars and landed hard where Aldul floated. He skidded to a stop when his helmet connected with the bottom stairwell.
"I had asked for the room!" Nereus bellowed. "You dare interrupt your king without being summoned?"
"My apologies my lord, please, I beg mercy," the guard said as he scrambled to his knees. "But I bring word from the prison. Ozil and the Queen Reka have escaped their cells. I was told to tell you immediately."
Nereus's fiery eyes turned to Aldul with suspicion. No accusation needed to be made, because as they locked eyes the Erlking knew somehow, the jinn was involved. And since words were no longer needed between the two, Aldul simply smiled and disappeared back fully within the Gray, leaving the king screaming at his guards.