Rhian x Reader | King and Queen

Part 1

You are stood in a row with the rest of the prisoners on the gallows, shaking at the fear of what is going to happen. You're so anxious about the rope feeling tighter and tighter around your neck every second, the trapdoor feeling weaker and like it could break at any second.

Only a few hours earlier, you had been on your way to Jaunt Jolie with the rest of your quest team, only to be captured by the pirates and escorted to the Four Point where you would meet your death.

You suddenly see people appear on the stage: Sophie, Agatha and...the Snake. The Snake.

The Snake's gaze sweeps across the crowd of people who had gathered in fear. "For years you thought your pen told the truth."he said. "The pen of Good and Evil. The pen whose stories you have believed without any doubt. And what does that pen tell you now? It tells you that I am the one who attacks your kingdoms. It tells you that I am the enemy, that I am evil. " He pauses. "But what if I tell you everything you think is truth is lies?" he offers, his eyes still scanning the crowd as if expecting somebody.

You feel yourself growing more and more scared, the rope around your neck rubbing and feeling like it's getting even tighter by the second. The Snake's speech has left everyone lost for words, only a low hum is made by the crowd, and the people have stopped their shouting.

"You won't believe me, of course." the Snake continues, "No one will. Not even your greatest heroes." He says, eyeing Sophie and Agatha. "You think only a Lion can save you. A Lion that you call Tedros, the so-called King of Camelot. You wait for him to answer your prayers, yet here we are on the Lion's land...with the Lion's princess...with the Lion's friends...with the rulers who call on the Lion to lead...everyone but the Lion himself. He stays in his castle like a coward while your kingdoms burn." The Snake shouts. "Say it with me. Cowardly. Little. Lion."

At first the crowd seems reluctant to repeat it, to go against Arthur's son like that, but soon, ripples of the phrase bounce around and eventually, everyone is chanting. The noise fills your ears and you try to block it out, but you have to close your eyes to try and think of something else. Anything else.

"Let's play a little game." The Snake says, the small eels of his suit (you think they are called scims) forming a pack of cards. He turns to Sophie and Agatha, who both looked equally as terrified as the victims in the gallows. "You draw a card, and whoever you pick, their trapdoor drops." the crowd let out a ripple of gasps as well as the people beside you, knowing they could be near to their death. 

You take a deep breath. Agatha and Sophie know what they're doing. Don't they? They can beat him. They can stop the Snake.

"Why are you doing this?" Agatha pleads.

The Snake whispers back to her, barely audible, but you just about catch the words. "Ask my father." and he held out the deck. "Pick." he spat.

You see Agatha reluctantly pick the first card and you see her face drain of colour. 

You suddenly hear the dreaded sound of a trapdoor drop open behind you and you try to turn around but the rope seems to tighten around your neck. Agatha runs over to the victim and grabs their legs, stopping them from falling.

You hear the voice of the person whimpering: Kiko. "Don't leave me." she says to Agatha, who whispers back, "I won't. I promise."

Just as the Snake is about to force Sophie to take another card, you suddenly see a figure galloping in the distance, galloping from the direction of Camelot. Sophie's hand wavers over the card as she looks up in surprise at the valiant boy. The Snake's game seems to halt as he looks on in shock as the person gets closer and closer. Guess the Snake wasn't expecting this visitor. You think to yourself. The figure gets closer and you notice he is wearing a Lion's mask. Tedros. You find yourself realising you are not at all shocked; you knew he would come.

The crowd explodes with cheers of relief that their saviour had finally arrived. Their King had finally arrived.

"This is Camelot's land." he says, dismounting his horse and stepping up on the stage.

"To which I have a rightful claim." the Snake retorted with a malicious grin.

"And what gives you that right?"

"My birth. I am the true heir to Camelot's throne. I am King Arthur's eldest son."

A gasp escapes from your lips. All this time, you and the others had been trying to think of family of King Arthur that could have fooled the Lady of the Lake into kissing them. They had not for one second thought it was another son.

"There is no son but Tedros of Camelot. He is the true king." the Lion stated, trying to leave no room for negotiation, but the Snake once again finds an argument.

"And yet Excalibur remains in the stone. Until I free it, that is. And claim the throne."

"You will never touch Excalibur for as long as I protect it." the Lion says, and at this the Snake pulls a handful of scims from his suit and hurls them at the Lion. Instinctively, almost as if he had practised this, the Lion deflects them with his sword and they aim right back at his opponent, causing the Snake to stumble backwards.

The Lion takes advantage of his move and heads straight for Agatha, burning the scims that held her off of her arms.

"Tedros." she breathes. But as the Lion takes his mask off, you realise there's something wrong.

The boy you see is not Tedros.