Mister Thirteen

~The Serpent Queen~

"Hmph," Malcolm grunted with a smirk,"your right, I suppose."

Malcolm had noticed the slight wavers in Cecilia's mostly stony expression, though for the most part she remained composed. And he was growing bored, to his slight disappointment, having wanted to see her crack just once more for him. Though he hadn't gotten the red-faced fit of a reaction that he desired, he knew he had somewhat cut her to the quick. He also knew that the forced composure was rather trying on her as well, which he could settle for.

Might as well head on up, he thought, I'll grant her a parting gift of a little peace prior to her death.

Malcolm uncrossed his arms and shuffled his feet slightly. With a slight though mocking nod and a partial bow, he said,"Well Cousin Cecilia, disgraced and former Princess of Alvion, I cannot say it has been a pleasure. May the headsman's axe be dull and jagged, and may you forever burn in the black fires of The Void. Farewell."

He turned to leave but caught himself just before leaving the view of the cell door,"Oh, by the way, the castle chef wished to serve you a final luncheon before your death. A grand feast of a variety of foods, sweet pastries, and fine wine. I of course denied his request. No sense in wasting good food on the dead, much less a traitor."

With a cold smile, Malcolm departed from Cecilia's presence, his fine boots clicking on the stone floor as he left. What sounded like a short chuckling could be heard as his footsteps faded away.

~The Serpent Queen~

Right, I'll surprise you then.

~The Serpent Queen~

My next post will have Malcolm departing. After your responsing post I'll leap ahead to the rescue scene, just prior to the execution, assuming your ready for that.

If you'd like, I can spoiler and elaborate how the rescue will be done.

~The Serpent Queen~

Hmph, thought Malcolm,someone's rather resilient today.

Malcolm was rather disappointed at Cecilia's currently neutral disposition. He had hoped to get one final rouse out of her before her execution and passing on from this world. Over time, Cecilia had conditioned herself to withstand his bullying and wicked sense of humor, which had grown to annoy him in the later years. How he missed the way in days past that she would become fitful and angry, and even tearful at times, over some of his devious and sinister antics. Malcolm didn't let his disappointment show, he would not give her that final satisfaction of besting him in the end, of rising above his treatment of her.

Still, Malcolm knew there was no point in further pushing Cecilia. He had played his trump card too early it seemed, which was mocking her father. She undoubtedly knew that he was just seeking a reaction from her, and he saw little point in "hammering the wall" as the commoners said.

Still, might as well get in another jab or two before my departure. He thought.

"You know Cecilia," he began,"I do regret in a sense that you must die today. Notice that I said 'in a sense'. True, you are a treacherous, smug, homely, thrice-cursed harpy, conceived by union of a foolish codger and a shriveled strumpet of a woman. But, little cousin, I do think I'll miss you at times.
I'll miss pissing in your bathwater, beaning you with rocks, and burning your favorite books, just to name a few. Oh, the times we had, you overacting to my jokes and whining to your knock-kneed father, begging him to make your auntie thrash me when we were children. So many memories."

Satisfied with his final assault, Malcolm held back from departing, standing still, arms still crossed, grinning smugly as he awaited a reaction from Cecilia.

~The Serpent Queen~

Malcolm's smug smile widened slightly into a narrow grin, the dimples aside his mouth deepening as he leered at his cousin, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well," he said,"I came to bid my farewell to you, as I won't have the chance come this afternoon. Mother is looking to have your execution proceed swiftly and without unnecessary ceremony. I'm told it'll be a simple process, you'll walk to the block, hear your final sentence before the entire public of Dalhorst, and then, well..."

He made a downward hacking motion with his left hand, his cruel grin holding true as he did so. He raised his hand back upward, crossing his arms again as he gazed upon his cousin. The young girl whom he once envied as the heir to the throne of Alvion, whom he regularly bullied and tormented, mainly out of self-denied jealousy and bitterness, now stood behind bars before him. So many times he had looked upon her here in the dungeon, malnourished and frail, ragged and unwashed, and each time the vindictive joy seemed to grow within Malcolm, and today, it was at it's peak. Oh how he would savor watching her head roll across the block, an absolutely delicious sight to come.

"I must say Cecilia," Malcolm said,"in the end, everything will work out for the best. My mother will rule unchallenged as the rightful and deserving Queen of Alvion, and I will inherit from her a mighty nation, rivaled by none and respected by all. And as for you, you will get to join your father in The Void, as a plaything of Baraxis for all of eternity."

Malcolm snickered cruelly and obnoxiously before continuing,"I'm not sure where they'll bury you. As a dishonored member of the Alderton bloodline, probably in the lower depths of the royal crypt. Personally, I think they should grind you into chow for the royal hounds, but that's not my call."

~The Serpent Queen~

A sound suddenly echoed down the long prison hallway, the sound of of an iron door opening and closing; the latch turning, the door squeaking open, and the iron door slamming shut. One might say it was more of a brief chorus of sounds rather than a single sound. The opening and closing of the prison door was immediately followed by the clopping sound of boots on the stone floor, walking at a rather quick pace.

Cecelia was the only prisoner in her block currently, and the time of morning and the fact it was only one person approaching her cell indicated it was the jailer, more than likely bringing her food for the morning. But no, it was not he. As the footsteps drew near, a familiar yet unwelcome voice called out, the words echoing in the prison hallway.

"Good morning, little cousin."

No sooner had these words been spoken than the man behind the voice revealed himself, now standing before the iron door that sealed Princess Cecilia within her cell. It was Cecilia's cruel and twisted cousin, Malcolm Alderton, her aunts son, fathered by her late husband Ambrose, who perished when Malcolm was only two by the bite of a snake that had somehow entered the bed chambers of he and wife Malva. The snake mysteriously ignoring the now Queen and biting only her husband.

Malcolm stood before the imprisoned Cecilia arrogantly, as he had many times in the last five years, gloating and taunting her and mocking her misfortune.
He wore a simple red tunic with red and white striped sleeves, brown formal trousers, and shiny black boots with prominent gold buckles. At his side hung his sword, which was more of a decoration than a weapon, as he had never used or even practiced with it, using it as nothing more than a tool to cruelly stick into servants or peasants that got in his way.
His hair was combed over and neatly rested on his head. He smiled at Cecilia with that wretched, arrogant close-mouthed smile, one eyebrow arched dramatically and his cheeks riveted by deep dimples.

He spoke again,"Oh, and I nearly forgot; happy birthday as well."

~The Serpent Queen~

@beccablob

Let's communicate here within the OOC henceforth, if that's alright with you.

You did read that last PM I sent you, yes?
Your writing is swell, dont change a thing.

~The Serpent Queen~

KING WILLIAM ALDERTON OF ALVION

+

Alvion's strong yet justly ruling king. The oldest of two siblings, the elder son of the late King Randall Alderton and direct heir to the throne. King William is a well tempered man who rules his people firmly, yet not unkindly, and seeks to aid his subjects and protect the realm whenever need be. Unlike most before him, King William wedded later in life, and his daughter was born when he was near to his fiftieth year. His wife, Alyssia, died in childbirth, yet instead of resenting his daughter like many a man would, King William adored her as his wife's gift to he and his people, and declared her the heir to Alvion, much to his sister Malva's embitterment and loathing.

The King raised his daughter in a balanced manner of fatherly pampering, higher education, and the traditions of courtship. He ensured his daughter had the best of everything, from the finest clothing to the best tutors.

A diverse man, William Alderton is a lover of sport, literature, politics, horseback riding, and grand parties. Despite his interests and hobbies, he always puts the welfare of his people and the strength of his land first.

No kingdom could ask for a better king and no child for a better father.

MALVA ALDERTON

+

The younger sister of King William. Even as a child, Malva was vindictive and mean-spirited, which matured into scheming and cold as she grew from girl to woman. Malva has always been deeply jealous of her brother's birthright, a jealousy that has festered into near-hatred for him and his young daughter, her niece.
Where most see William as a fair and jolly King, Malva sees her brother as a softhearted fool, unfit and too weak to rule a nation as great as Alvion.
In her mind, a kingdom is to be ruled by might, by a strong leader with grand armies and loyal followers, not by cutting deals with nobles and playing games with the peasants. The iron fist is stronger than the gentle, and weak, hand in her mind.

Malva is a very intelligent woman, an academic who has a deep interest in military history, politics-by-sword, and harsher philosophy. She supposedly also dabbles in alchemy, though this has never been proven.

Malva has always been very cold and distant to her niece, hardly showing her any civility. On birthdays, it's always the most useless or dullest gifts, on the daily basis, little to no casual conversation or auntly love.

MALCOLM ALDERTON

+

The son of Malva Alderton and her late husband, whom passed away when Malcolm was only two. Malva's husband was found dead in his bed chambers one morning, the bite of a snake on his left thigh. Malva herself was unharmed, and though seemingly grief stricken at the time, recovered from his untimely death rather quickly. A grim joke amongst the commoners and the castle servants was that the harpy Malva venomously bit him herself. This lead to many referring to her as Malva the Serpent, and later, the Serpent Queen.

Malcolm is much like his mother, and in some cases he is very much unlike her as well.
Though cruel, cold, and somewhat scheming, he is also quite foolish, clumsy, and wasteful. Prior to Malva's rise to power, Malcolm did little more than abuse and torment the servants and peasants, sleep around with local prostitutes, and spend his money on drink and dream dust.

After his mother's rise to Queenship, Malcolm still continues his old habits, though he conceals them better and does them less frequently. He mostly now rubs elbows and politics with Alvionish nobles and politicians, conducts half-hearted diplomacy with foreigners, and does his best to keep up appearances, though to little avail.
There's a reason that Malva's top advisors and supporters keep a close watch on him.

Even as a boy Malcolm was mean and rather odd.
If he wasn't peeping through noblewomen's windows he was playing cruel pranks on his cousin Cecilia.
Be it pelting her with rocks in the gardens, burning her favorite books, or drawing unflattering images of her in charcoal on the castle walls. Malcolm in fact never liked his uncle, which was a somewhat mutual disposition, which is why Malcolm wept not when he witnessed the King die before him.

~The Serpent Queen~

RESERVED

~The Serpent Queen~

~THE SERPENT QUEEN~

__________________________________________________________________________

Darkness has shrouded the Kingdom of Alvion, the wicked Serpent Queen, Malva Alderton, rules the kingdom with an iron fist of tyranny and oppression.
After the murder of her brother, King William Alderton, the Serpent Queen claimed the throne illegitimately from the King's daughter, Princess Cecilia Alderton, and immediately had the young princess jailed under false pretenses of plotting against the Queen.

The young Princess Cecilia has spent the last five years locked away in the dungeon of Proud Spire Castle, a prisoner in her own home, where she awaits the day of her execution, on her twentieth birthday.

For so long she has rotted away like a common criminal as the days and months turned to years, her young life passing her by in a dungeon. All while her cruel, scheming aunt has ruled and sat on a throne that was promised to Cecilia as a swaddling babe by her father as he looked upon her, eyes tearful.

And now the day has come, as the sun rises on a new day, it heralds the twentieth birthday of Princess Cecilia Alderton, the day she was born, and the day she will die by the headsman's axe.

CHAPTER 1: UNBOUND

It was the early days of summer, and yet the dungeon of Proud Spire Castle was still haunted by an unfriendly chill. The cold, wet, dank prison had held criminal elements of all sorts through the past decades; thieves, assassins, bandit leaders, corrupt politicians, spies, and so forth. This was the first time in recent memory had the stone belly of the prison held a princess of the noble Alderton bloodline, the rulers of Alvion for over two centuries now.

For five years now, Princess Cecilia Alderton had been locked away in a gloomy cell the size of a small bedroom. It had a small bed that resembled a large trough, which was filled with hay and ragged cloth. A large bucket sat near the window, a crude and unsanitary latrine. Then there was the window, covered by four thick iron bars. The quaint window looked out into the prison yard, where the Princess Cecilia would be executed in several hours, at noon exactly. The whole of the castle and all of Dalhorst city would be flocked around and about the prison yard to watch as the daughter of the late King William was publicly beheaded for treason against Queen Malva Alderton, her aunt, the Serpent Queen. A truly gruesome and tragic sight for many to behold.

One under serving for one such as Princess Cecilia, a young girl, trapped in the schemes of her power hungry aunt.