The King and The Hangman (part 2)

King Heliranneran of the Last Kingdom steeled himself to listen to Steven the Hangman's argument, which was blunt and short. Steven basically repeated the logic of Prince Melkos..and seemed annoyed at having to do so.

[Part 1 of this story is here ]

The Hangman could march to the edge of the mountain range, at the far, far end of his own lands, and move against the tyrant with arms in a year. That would give his foe the time to gain in strength to the point that victory would be against the odds. That would also give the tyrant time to control the valleys which gave access to the Last Kingdom on that side of the range. By allowing Steven's army the pass, he could engage the tyrant within a month, greatly encouraging the odds of hanging the bloody man. The kings and lords of the land of the other side of the range were doing the historically stupid and historically typical job of appeasing, betraying each other, and hoping that the tyrant would bypass them. They would not deal with the threat the tyrant presented... Steven would end this threat for his own people first, then for the idiots on the other side of the range, and for the Fay. He would then march home and set his own lands in the order he wanted.

Although the King's nerves were close to the edge, there was nothing in Seven's speech to aggravate the situation further. After all, the King expected a lack of couth on any Man's part. That Steven did not seek to inflame the Court was like a calming breeze over the waves of his tenseness.

It was not Steven's fault that said wind turned into a tempest...a tidal wave of discord.

The King felt the entrance of his daughter. Elspeniantha, the Heir of Fay, and sadly known as the Dark Night of the Court, had come to listen to the petition. Where the Faerie were tall, she was short, to the point of being the height of a Man's woman. Her body was full and voluptuous, compared to the slim curves of her peers. And she was not called the Dark Night for the fall of her hair, which was blacker than the deep night and contrasted to the silver norm of the People, but for her lust. She had been banished several times for her willful actions, but that never seemed to slow her down and she was always on the verge of yet another banishment.

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Lara the Elf by Roboman28

It was not that the Fay were shy about sex, and a certain amount of non-marital sex was expected for a Person. That was the Bond of Flesh, and it was traditional that a Fay enjoyed that bond at least four times over the course of life: at the coming of age, on the eve of marriage, and upon the death of a parent. The Bond of Hearts was preferable for most Fay, intimacy within marriage. For the nobles, the Bond of House replaced the Bond of Hearts for the most part, although a highborn Faerie could keep a true love under the Bond of Hearts and maintain a marriage under the Bond of House. For though the Fay had an innate feeling of each other, stronger within blood ties, a formal and complex system of rules was necessary to maintain cordiality and order within the People.

The Dark Night chose her own pleasure over those rules, and several times, it seemed to her father, that she had created situations in which she could make that choice. Her mother had been a lustful woman, but had always remained within the bounds that made Faerie society a pleasant existence for it's People.

As she entered, it was that lust that created the tidal wave that swamped her father's control. Even if it weren't for his family connection to her being, you could smell her excitement. The women of the people had very natural bodies, but were able to exert control of that...when they wished. He damned her, and double damned her when he realized her eyes were focused on this Man interloper.

The King triple damned his daughter when he noticed that Steven, who had shown no interest at all in the beauty of the Court of the People, had an obvious response to the attraction of his daughter. True, he was cool about it, but there was no mistaking the surprise lust in his eyes.

It was this tidal wave of emotion that led the King to change the tone of his response. He had planned a cheerful (appearing) delay in answer. This would allow the Court to hear his own opinion and put in their analysis. He was sure that they would grudgingly agree with his own cautious approval of the plan.

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less. Via Wikimedia Commons

Instead he was curt and insulting:
When you can take your eyes off the Heir to the People, Human, I can tell you that we are in no temperament to agree to an army marching through our lands. If you cannot control your impatience to kill your enemy, then leave. If you wish to hear the answer to your request, we will consult our Wisdom and let you know within a week

The Hangman's answer to that was much more forceful than a Lord of the Fay would have made in the same situation. The voice was cold and contemptuous in it's reason:
I did not come for the hand of an elfmaid, your lordship. I came to kill my, and your, enemy, even if you will not admit that

You speak of killing as if is a bad thing to do. So let me tell you what you should have known from history. While the elves played with harps and sang pretty songs to each other, the swords of man ran havoc through the elf lands

Any single elf is taller and stronger than any single man, yet men's armies tore through the elves like teeth chewing bread. And though it was the swords of man that killed elf after elf, it was also the swords of man that gave the elves the chance to run away

When Felstoy Elfbane conquered the Harmony Lands , it was a human king that stopped him, not an elflord. That king lost his own lands and his own life in that war, but if you tell me the elves would have lived through Felstoy's pograms or been able to run to the Last Kingdom otherwise, we both will know you for a liar

I will wait for your answer, your lordship, but I will remind you that I hang tyrants, not elves. You can trust a tyrant will not take your lands or kill your people if YOU want to, but I will always set my army against them. Always. I do not have that trust

With that, Steven the Hangman turned his heel and left the Court. Prince Melkos made the minimum courtesies as hurriedly and as best he could, and followed. Istanniath, the Cousin of the Court charged with hospitality for foreign dignitaries chased after them.

King Heliranneran was paralyzed with anger. To be spoken to like that in his own Court, with the disgusting use of the “Elf” word...A Lord of this Court would have been stripped of his rank. Yet the King knew that there was more than enough truth in Steven's words to forestall any action at the moment. Perhaps not in the insulting interpretation or insinuation of the facts, but the People were the People, not a race of killers.

So the King sat in indecision. Steven's argument for getting through the pass was right. The Minister of Spies had given a report that assured that as a certainty. This insult in his own Court was also a fact, and the members of the Court were bewailing him with that now...as if that were the most important consideration, The King fought through his own anger, and then controlled the Court.
We will discuss Steven the Hangman's proposal. The sooner we make our decision, the sooner he will be gone

If only his beloved Elspeniantha had controlled herself. She was the Heart of his Soul, yet sometimes it seemed as if she was motivated more by trouble than by physical fulfillment. It was hard to determine, even if it always seemed to be sex. It was heartbreak to banish her every time, but he would once again have to make a ruling based on her actions in coming to Court now.

The he picked up another undercurrent of unease in the Court. Istanniath was not the only one to have chased after Steven.

Damn her!

Next time, if you though the negotiations were hostile before...farmers' daughters have NOTHING on Kings' daughters