Hallow King

A Future King for the Future Kingdom

"I am becoming very impatient, Catarina. How long must I continue to dwell in this kingdom, surrounded by so many foul humans roaming aimlessly around like rats?"

"You've just arrived and you're already expecting things to work out the way you want them to? You need to learn how to be patient."

Hallow collapsed on a large armchair, resting his claws on the handles. He tapped the tip of his fingers against the wooden surface, displeasure growing on his face as Cat strolled over towards him and seated herself on his lap. She took out a rolled up manuscript tucked inside a pocket in her dress and laid it out flat before her. With a pensive look, she read over the words she had scribbled on the yellow surface before she arrived to the Kingdom of Faria.

"You need to control yourself and stick to the plan if you want everything to work out."

The king intentionally kicked his knee up, causing the woman to accidentally drop the paper on the floor.

"I know what to do.You have no right to tell your smart, magnificently skilled king how he should act!" Hallow professed loudly, scolding Catarina like a small child. She merely rolled her eyes in return, hopping off and bending down to pick up what she had dropped. 

"You may say that, Hallow, but I see that you have acted like a complete idiot." Cat abruptly shot up, yanking on the stem on top of Hallow's pumpkin head, "Don't think I don't know what you did to that guard."

"What are you hissing about now?" Hallow responded curtly, trying to shake himself free from the unsually strong woman. She wouldn't let him go, however, and instead smacked the side of his face with the rolled up paper repeatedly, "You know it's against the rules to change a human into a monster! Why couldn't you just kill him instead?!"

Hallow managed to break away from the abuse the woman was showering him with, and he pounced on a nearby table, causing the ornaments on top of it to fall to the ground and shatter. "That boy is the idiot for stuffing those cookies down his trap. I merely presented  them to him, and he devoured it willingly." Catarina lunged at the King, but before she could give him a piece of her mind- she suddenly dropped on to the floor in a puff of smoke. Hallow coughed a few times, waving his hand before him to clear out the thick fog that has suddenly come from Catarina's body.

Once he could see again, he bent down, picking up a small, black cat that lay flat on the tiled floor where the woman once stood. It meowed weakly, but still tried to raise up its paw in an attempt to scratch the large pumpkin head before it. "Save your strength, Cat," Hallow whispered in a somber tone, cuddling the limp animal in his arms, "You shouldn't have gotten so feisty, little kitten. You know we're running out of magic." Catarina let out a small whine, peering up at the king with sad, round, bright eyes. He couldn't help but pat the creature's fuzzy head, making sure she was comfortable, "You may think I am an impatient bastard, but you can understand why."

Catarina exhaled tiredly, shutting her eyes as she purred against Hallow's soft touch. He made sure she was fast asleep before setting her down on the armchair he was sitting on. Once he was sure she was fine, he stepped away and marched quietly down an empty hall.

There was no sign of humans running around, nor did he hear Leiah's familiar footsteps. He figured she was still asleep after their sleepover- though he was thoroughly disappointed it didn't last long enough. Leiah complained that she was far too tired to stay awake and ended up drifting away halfway through one of his spooky stories, leaving a bored Hallow all alone.

The silent King roamed the quiet castle, smoothly avoiding things being thrown around by the poltergeists and stepping over large spiders that scrambled past his feet. He hadn't the faintest idea where he was going, but he knew who he wanted to see at that moment. It wasn't Leiah, rather it was his executioner. He had sent him out to torment the locals, but he hadn't come back in hours.

"Graaaaaaaggh," A rotting corpse dragged itself on the shiny floors, rounding a corner and nearly crashing into the Hallow King. It glanced up with pale eyes, growling quietly as it's entrails left a line of thick, black blood behind it. Hallow focused on his citizen, bending down to inspect him closer, "Greetings, my legless friend."

The zombie merely groaned in response, its loose tongue flinging around where its lower jaw was supposed to be. "Cheer up! Soon, you'll be digging into sweet, red nectar along with the others."

The dead human gave a barely visible shrug, but Hallow was still not done with him. "I'm on the search for a very tall skeleton possessing a very large ax. You might have caught a glimpse of him prancing around the little village below?"

Hallow didn't receive an answer until a minute later, when a bony, brown finger was stretched out towards him. He was confused for a moment, but when deep breathing suddenly echoed around, he realized that the corpse wasn't pointing at him, but rather behind him.

The executioner let out an incoherent grumble as he rose up his right hand, revealing a few decapitated heads tied together with rope. Hallow stared at the pale, bluish faces of the humans- frozen in an unending scream of desperation.

"As much as I love your brutality towards the lesser creatures of this world, I am very sorry to say that you must control your deeply admired urge to slaughter the sheep." Hallow exhaled deeply, taking the rope of decapitated delights like it was a greatly anticipated gift. "What sort of king would I be if I discarded the fruit of your labor? These will go well as decorations around the gates! Of course, I'd rather have them as center pieces for my wedding table, but we both know how the oh so delicate bride will react."

The wicked being who was once Tyrell bent down on one knee, bowing towards his one and only King. Hallow peered down at his new ally, watching the gesture with quiet wonder. With a tap of his foot, he began to speak once more, "You were once a waste of space, and now, you are everything one could ever scream about. I feel more than comfortable saying this...," Hallow reached out for the top of his executioner's skull, resting his palm against the hard surface.

"Though you have no memory of your horrible, miserable life before, there is another reason why I summoned you to the garden to be my personal executioner." Hallow straightened up tall, making sure no one like Leiah was around when he spoke the following words. "When the royals pay in blood, and the land is free of filth, I will be alone on the throne. You were the only one who celebrated Halloween along with the princess. Once she is gone, it is only right that you rule by my side."

The seriousness in Hallow's voice vanished as he smacked the top of his companions skull with full force, causing him to nearly collapse on the ground. "What do you say?! Be my future king for my future kingdom. We will have a lot of fun and you will keep me entertained at all hours of the day with your bloody ax and beheadings!" The executioner didn't even show any sign that he was registering what he was just told. Without a word or noise, he gave a single nod. 

Hallow clapped his hands together with a malicious sneer, "Whoever said friends couldn't get married will be ready for a ghastly shock when they see us." Without warning, he hopped into the monster's arms and gave a farewell wave to the zombie still motionless on the floor. 

"Take me to my slumbering beauty. She is awaiting my presence."

The skeleton snarled in approval, marching down the empty halls while cradling the giddy king like a baby.