"You are free to go." The words had come to him from the darkness and Lytio doubted his ears.
They must be hearing things wrong, or were they?
That voice was unmistakeably the King's and there was no one else in the whole of Ignas that wore the kind of mask he wore to cover the monster that he truly was.
Something he had failed terribly to do.
Some could still see him for what he was and Lytio was amongst those that refused to be fooled by whatever illusion he wanted to create with the ceremony and inviting all the village heads.
Lytio was no fool.
If he was such a saint, he wouldn't need to pick up a bride every year. Besides, where were the other brides, and if this was just a way to pick the future Queen, what had he done to the rest that failed his test? Fed them to his dragon or fed on them like the monster that he was.
He was no idiot.
His Bell wasn't safe with him.
She wasn't safe here!
Lytio had been awake for a while. When he had first woken up, the darkness, the putrid smell of the dungeon, and the aura of everything blank and lacking life, that hung in the air, had given him a welcoming kiss.
He hadn't minded all that though. Asides from the fact that his now dry pants had contributed to the smell, Lytio was just grateful to be alive. He had time to wonder why though and he had come to one conclusion, his Bell had saved him.
He didn't know how she did it and he couldn't figure it out but his Bell must have fought tooth and nail against this monster, for his freedom.
He had been confused by how she had reacted to him but now he was sure she was only pretending. That slap had not been intentional, it had been to confuse the Dragon King about her feelings and to pull him away from harm's way.
Bell and making sacrifices, she would give up on her feelings of true love for him, just to save his life.
By Ignas, what had she promised to give up in exchange for this? Something more than what the awful monster must have forcefully taken away from her by now, most certainly.
There was no way he would stand idly by and watch that happen!
Not anymore!
"How is she?" He asked, not bothering to move even after the dungeon bars had been flung open for him to walk away.
His question was met with silence.
"I will leave. Just let me see her, let me talk to her." His voice had shaken at the last part, his mask slipped before he quickly put it back on. "She will want to hear from me personally and see that I am alright."
Was she dead? Had he killed her because he discovered that she was still in love with him? Oh no, had he brought death upon his Bell?
His heart was starting to fill with a river of sadness and he shook his head, banishing the thought of her dying.
He would never be able to live with that.
What if his attack had killed her?!
He felt the air suddenly start deserting him.
When he got no response, he pressured, holding on to his masked emotions to find out what was really going on.
If he appeared too vulnerable, this monster would torture him and enjoy it.
"I told you that I am the only one she desires. She had risked everything to save me. I want to see her---"
"She pitied you that your life has been," he paused, saying the next words with emphasis. "Ruined."
Lytio's courage fell from him and the invisible mask he had been hiding behind for so long started to slip again, but this time he wasn't trying to grab it back on, he didn't have the strength to. The form foundation he had built all his hopes on shattered like broken pieces of glass, by just one word.
Pity.
Pity?
Why would she feel that?
Of all the emotions he would want her to feel for him, pity wasn't it.
He frowned, angry.
"Why would she pity me? You are lying, she loves me!"
A scoff slipped past the King's mask and the action as little as it was had made Lytio jump back in fear.
He mumbled to himself, holding back his tears, trying hard to hold unto his feeble belief.
"She loves me. I connected it in my head and it all makes sense. She never stopped loving me."
"She did, then she started pitying you."
He shook his head in denial.
Eli should be sick of him by now but something about watching him crumble felt so satisfying.
He hadn't even been this moved when his friend was set ablaze right in front of bim.
He had been shaken, truthfully, but this was different.
This was a fight struggling with consuming defeat.
It was good to see it from him.
"She knows everything. Even the ones you tried your hardest to hide."
Lytio looked up at him quizzically, pulling himself inwardly. The King was still outside his dungeon, but his presence felt consuming.
It felt like he had stepped in and commanded his space to his will.
He gulped in fear.
He was a Village Head, he should be braver than this but he wasn't.
Not in front of the King.
"For example, your father."
She knew?
He bit his lips and the tears streamed down his cheeks, as he slipped to the floor, sitting, his fingers buried into his hair, his gaze fixed on the ground that he could hardly see in the darkness.
"So, what she feels for you, boy, is pity. Do not be mistaken." He folded his arms across him, his frame more intimidating to Lytio who had along the line, raised his head, that he let out a shaky breath as the shadow of the King was cast upon him.
He felt small and vulnerable.
The King could get rid of him with a simple snap of his fingers or even a flick of it, now that he knew what he had done, it would be easier.
Bell would never support a murderer.
This King was a monster!
He felt angry, he felt sad, he felt torn.
"I was dru---" he started to say to support himself, feeling the consuming urge to clear his reputation, but the King cut him off sharply.
"Now, I will not repeat myself. You are free to go, follow this guard and he will take you to a carriage that will take you home. Your wife and your stepbrother are waiting."
Lytio's face fell in between his open palms.
She knew everything.
His Bell.
Maybe the monster was right. Maybe it was pity.
"Or you can stay and be my prisoner, and I promise I will end your misery as swiftly as a blade moves."