Chapter 25

King Zedekiel's eyes went cold. For him, the murder of his father and brother was still fresh. He could remember opening a box, the size of a big treasure chest, the humans sent them as a gift for peace, to find his father and brother's severed heads. Their faces frozen in horror and anguish, lifeless eyes staring back at him. The pain he felt at that moment was unimaginable.

His fingers twitched, tiny sparks of silver dangerously dancing around the tips, showing his lack of control on his emotions.

Rage and hatred stirred within him like a tremendous tornado. All he wanted was to strike down the dancer. How could he? What was he trying to gain by reminding them of that horrible day? It felt like a hot searing slap to his face. Like rubbing salt on an open wound. Who could be so heartless?

He was about to raise his hand when he felt a warm hand encase his own. He turned to find his mother slowly shaking her head. "Stay calm" she said to him telepathically. "I think I understand what he's trying to tell us"

"But mother-"

She gave him a stern look and he sighed. "Fine"

Thus, the masked dancer danced freely, unaware of the King's murderous intent.

Although the people of Netheridge were sad, they were also somewhat happy to find that their dance wasn't lost. Some people still held it dear to their hearts. A lot of them couldn't help but cry. How they missed their late King and Prince.

Of course, the person dancing didn't know of any of this. He was just enjoying himself, giddy on the fact that since he started dancing, his beloved had not taken his eyes off him. Not even for a second!

Prince Ron screamed with joy in his heart. Heavens bless the royal cotourier who made his costume in such a short time. Heavens bless his grandfather for all the disguises he passed down to him but above all, heavens bless his great grandmother who taught him this dance and the song before she passed away.

Look at how smitten Zedekiel was! His great grandmother has indirectly helped him with his love life. He'd definitely visit her grave more and speak to her more.

Right when he thought he had no talents, he remembered the dance. But, it wasn't something he could perform without disguising himself. His grandmother had told him to keep it a secret. Letting people know would cost him his life. But he wasn't really bothered for he was very sure that the people of Netheridge wouldn't know the dance. How could they? His great grandmother lived in Ashenmore while Netheridge is deep within the mountains of the North. Almost secluded. There's no way they would know the dance.

The music slowed and Prince Ron followed the rhythm, making small turns and twists. His robes fluttered like a small bird's wings and as the music died, he ended it with a gentle graceful bow.

The hall erupted in cheerful screams. Everyone clapped, hooted and whistled in joy and tears of happiness. The Queen mother stood up while clapping and wiping her tears with the back of her hand which caused everyone else to stand up including the King.

Prince Ron received the biggest and loudest cheers of all, together with a standing ovation. He was grinning from ear to ear under his veil. Now, even if he doesn't win, he was content. At least he gave a good show.

The Queen mother raised a hand and the hall quieted down. She sat back and everyone took their seats. "Tell us, what is your name?" she said to the masked dancer.

Ron paled. He hadn't thought of a name for himself. He wasn't expecting them to be so moved that they would ask for it. Well, its a good thing he's pretending to be dumb.

The announcer walked towards him and held out a paper, a feather, and a bottle of ink. Ron grumbled in his heart. What kind of announcer was this? He outght to kick his ass!

Ah Ron cursed his alow brain. He should have pretended to be uneducated too. He desperately racked his brain, eyes darting from one thing to another and they settled a little girl patting her cat gently on the head. He quickly scribbled down the word; 'Pat'.

The announcer gazed at the wiggly handwriting and frowned but then shrugged. Strange name but who cares. He announced; "Queen Mother, his name is Rat"

Everyone "...."

Ron wanted to strangle the announcer. How could he read the first one right but read his name wrong?! Injustice!

Queen mother smiled, "Well...er, Rat, thank you for that spectacular performance. It's been years since we've last performed it as I'm sure you know"

The Prince didn't know. In fact, he was confused. They knew the dance?!

He blanched. Does that mean his life was in danger?!

The Queen mother continued; "At first, I thought you were mocking us but then, I thought about it. That incident must have been painful for you as it was for us. How could you possibly want to hurt us? I now understand that you just wanted to remind us of the good times we had. I think, what you were trying to tell us is that we should let go of the past and focus on the present and future. Is it not?"

The confused prince slowly nodded. He had no idea what was going on or what she was talking about but he would agree to anything that let him keep his head right where it belonged.

Princess Rose was as confused as him. What were they talking about? What incident? But the Queen mother didn't elaborate in fear of revealing their identity. She was sure that her people understood.

"Now" she continued with a dazzling smile. "I believe that we already have a winner. Right everyone?"

The crowd cheered; "Yes! Yes!"

"The masked dancer!"

"Rat! The masked dancer!"

And so, they continued to shout "Rat! Rat! Rat!"

Prince Ron's brow twitched. He really wanted to strangle the announcer. How could he mistake the letter P for the letter R? One has a single leg and the other has two legs! Even a baby could tell them apart!

Princess Mariel, Prince Ludiciel and the twins also agreed. For the first time since the incident, they weren't filled with hatred or anger when they remembered it. Instead, they just felt sad as they recalled good memories of their King and brother. It wasn't too painful anymore. They felt that this man called Rat really deserves to win.

The announcer glanced at the Queen mother and she nodded. He opened his mouth and shouted; "The winner is, the masked dancer, Rat!"

The hall erupted in another wave of cheers and screams, almost deafening. It made Prince Ron's annoyance of being called a rat, dissipate like smoke.

Every contestant didn't care about losing. All except Princess Rose and she was green with envy. What was so special about his dance? She felt her voice was a hundred times better! Well, she'd just have to work harder to gain the King's affection.

King Zedekiel rose from his seat and the hall went silent instantly. His cold violet eyes were pinned on Ron. "You have been declared the winner" he said in his deep voice. "What is your wish?"

The announcer handed prince Ron the paper and feather again. He huffed and tried to make his handwriting clearer so that there would be no mistakes. If the announcer made a mistake with his wish, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself from strangling the annoying man.

He finished and handed the paper back. The announcer felt a bit happy that the words were a lot bigger and clearer. He read out; "My wish, is for his Majesty to dance with me"

Pin drop silence.

The hall was so quiet that one couldn't even hear the sounds of their own breathing. In fact, they were hoping their racing hearts couldn't be heard.

Was this dumb man courting death?! Daring to ask for a dance with the King! He really was tired of living.