ALTGS 22

Lord had decided to work in the end.

Signing papers, reading reports, studying more books about how to be a good king.

He was almost done with the books. He knew how to systematically be a “good king”. How to manage a country theoretically. Just as long as there was food and water, then people would remain peaceful.

Except that wasn’t wholly true.

The books he read on the histories of other kingdoms as well as this one did not solely put the blame of revolts and wars on the lack of food alone. It was a significant factor, but not the only one. There had always been previous grudges of the people held against the Crown. With a sigh, Lord put the book down. Philosophies of a good ruler.

But he did not feel the need to be a good leader.

Why should he be good to people who he does not know, nor care for whatsoever? He could not converse with the humans. Their intrinsic fear of him was so potent, it clamped their mouths shut, and their bodies often succumbed to stress well before they could even grow accustomed to him. In other words, human beings were very useless to him.

If that were the case, why did he become the King of a human country?

Lord thought as he lay back in his chair. It was supposed to be grand for a human being. Because of his size, however, it was much less spectacular. But it was comfortable. That he could say with confidence. Slumping into the cushioned softness of the chair, he knitted his fingers together.

It had grown dark, and there was a light drizzle outside. The window had to be closed. He would rather it be open, really.

Why did I become the king of a human country?

Very uncharacteristically, he narrowed his eyes in thought. He still remembered that day. The day he descended in from the sky and took the head of his predecessor. He had planned to kill everyone in that room swiftly and then finish the rest of the city that very night. But someone had stopped him.

A little woman.

The only human to fall to her knees and raise her arms.

She had made him a king.

But at the end of the day he was the one that accepted. Otherwise, he would have continued with his plan and quickly finished it up. Well, what was he to do? It was a situation unlike any he had ever encountered before. It was the very first time he had spoken to a human being.

No.

It was the first time a human being had spoken to him.

And even after, she continued to speak to him. If he were to ask her something, she would respond. She could look right into his eyes and speak. Even though he could hear the frantic drumming of her heart, and the trembling of her knees, she still spoke. Oh, no. She had gotten better at managing the fear as of recent. Now her knees didn’t tremble. And her heart wasn’t as fraught. Just her jaw.

But the fact still remained that she could speak to him.

Lord’s mind fell silent for a bit, then he raised his hand to his face. His left hand.

Today, he had touched a living human.

He had never touched one before. Well, no, that wasn’t correct. He’d touched one before, but it hadn’t been pleasant at all. The skin had been slick with sweat. He’d never really wanted to touch them when they were in a state of fear. Their skin was clammy and cold and they apparently sweated a lot when they were scared. Oh, there had been a smell too. Nedrie told him that sometimes, humans could get so scared they lost control of basic functions. Like their bowels.

And the screaming. It really irritated his ears.

But that had not been the case this time round.

Slowly, he folded all his fingers save for his index finger.

Her skin had been smooth and plump. Soft.

Warm.

Yes. Humans were warm. Much warmer than he was. His demons had told him this, but it was an experience he had never really gotten. It had been for a very brief moment, but it was a texture vastly different from any he had experienced. Just his index finger had gently prodded that cheek. He dared not do more than that, lest she break down in a panic. Probably. No, most definitely.

He didn’t want that, no. Not at all.

But...

Lord’s eyebrows furrowed as he sat up. Something had just occurred to him.

She was looking right at him then. Into his eyes. He remembered staring right at hers as well. Big, bright yellow orbs. They were always sharp and cognizant of the area. But right then, they had been wide with wonder.

She had seen something in him that had distracted her from Primal Fear.

Something that he had.

Blinking, he turned to the door, where she had been standing hours earlier.

There was a way.

A way to alleviate her Primal Fear.