Faceclaim (ONC 2022, Completed, Shortlisted)

Excerpt #5

Shedding the capybara fur, I stand up. I'm in the catacombs below the castle. I grab my golden sword, which somehow traveled with me even in animal form. And so did my clothes. Not sure how that happened.

Magic, I guess. Better now to dwell on it. Magic always seems to be the answer these days.

There is no one around. No guards or soldiers to stop me. Perhaps they weren't expecting the leader of the rebellion to turn into a capybara and enter the castle from below. I don't really blame them. I was taken by surprise by this twist as well.

The stones are cold under my feet. Apparently, my shoes didn't come with me. Not sure why the spell extended to clothes and swords, but no shoes. Who knows? Certainly not me. The more I find out about this word, the less I feel like I know.

And now, I'm tasked with taking down the tyrant king and taking his throne.

Take it for myself. That last part hasn't been said outright, but it's been implied.

Prince Ramon will be King Ramon. The thought is mind-boggling.

But there is no turning back now. I need to take kill King Wallace, the man who has been terrorizing the kingdom for the last twenty years. The man who was the reason for my parents'--well, adopted parents, I know that now, as the former king José and his mistress Elena were my real parents--early demise.

***

"Why the fuck haven't we heard any of this backstory before?" he yelled to no one because his hand wasn't on the walkie-talkie button. He knew better than to share his real opinions about this story with its author. "This king..." Daniel looked down at the paper to remember the name of the supposed tyrant king ", Wallace, is supposed to be the main obstacle, and he hasn't even been mentioned by name before."

Still shaking his head, he took a deep breath and continued to read, even as every terrible word felt like a knife to his creative brain.

***

I take the steps of the stairs two at a time. I fly like a frolicking capybara on its way to a bath.

All the king's men must be on the walls, defending the castle from my armies. I can hear canon balls raining down and arrows being shot. They're too distracted to notice me running toward the throne room.

The room is still plated in gold and decorated with red curtains and carpets. The colors of my family. The family that had ruled the kingdom for years before King Wallace came around. My father was a beloved king. Wallace is not.

"Prince Ramon?" a gravelly voice asks as my eyes trail the ornate room, which is starting to fall into ruins. The king hasn't been good at upkeep at the castle.

"King Wallace;" I reply, my head snapping to face the aging king. The man who once threw my father--who I never knew--into the moat of the castle.

"I knew you would come," the king continues, stifling a cough. "I knew you would come to kill me. You know I sent you away when you were just a baby. I couldn't bear to kill you. Even though I knew you would be back."

He takes a dramatic pause as I stare intently at the old man, who apparently saved my life once.

"I knew you would be back to kill me, Ramon;" he continues in an ominous tone.

Slowly, I cross the gap between us with my sword raised in the air. I aim it at the king's throat.

"You will regret this," are the king's last words before the metal pierces his skin in a cascade of blood. "Because now, she'll get her wish."

Drops of blood run across my face. I pant. What do I do now? Minutes, maybe hours pass. I have no concept of time anymore. All I know is that I just killed the king.

A sound turns my eyes toward the entrance to the throne room. Someone is there. It is

***

"What the fuck?" Daniel screamed. This time, his finger was on the walkie-talkie button. "It just ends like that?"

"Well..." came from the other side, in a tone that was more hesitant than usual. "The story isn't finished yet."

Author's Note: I apologize that the Prince Ramon parts of this story are so badly planned. I guess it kinda fits with how outrageously bad it's supposed to be though.

And I kind of want to go back and add Daniel's commentary within the excerpts now (like it's done here). Would that work? I just like having him react to the story :)