( Your replies are alright. I'll try to lengthen mine a little, to better match yours, instead. I haven't tried long responses before. )
The magician continued to toil, trying his hardest to make his king happy, but not the slightest was emanating from him. Agape was ultimately displeasured by him. The magician announced his final trick, with his most proud tone. Even that sounded weak. He pulled his hat off, and tens of doves flew out of it. "It wasn't good enough, magician, please leave me." Agape groaned. The magician, in his sorrows, kindly bowed and left Agape's presence.
He blew a little air out of himself, and sunk deeper into the chair. "What's wrong with this blasted kingdom? Everyone is boring, nothing is attractive anymore." He complained. He rose from the throne, and hobbled towards a stained glass window. The castle seemed to be adorned with those. "Ugly. So pitiful. I hate this place." He whined. He thought of his second meal that day, and paused. "But I get free things. It's all heaven and no hell for me." He cheered. A dry smile took to his face.
Athilos watched carefully as the man left his throne. This man showed no empathy whatsoever, he found quite pitiful. Never before had he seen someone so self-absorbed, unconcerned, so… narcissistic. It angered him quite a lot. A huff of air escaped his nose, one only audible to him.
He walked over to the now vacant throne and sat himself in it. It was a vaguely familiar feeling. His memories flashed in and out. They were there, then they weren't. His royal guard, loyal to him to his last breaths. What a shame it was that he never told them goodbye. He shook his head gently, his braid swaying side-to-side slightly. He didn't wish to think about that, he was haunting himself. It wasn't close to pleasant.
He refocused on the king. His ghastly blue eyes widened in shock as he did so. He saw a smile on that man's face, and for what? He was simply looking through a window. Athilos found it quite outraging. That poor magician had given his act his all just for this king to be amused by nothing than his own thoughts?
"Blasphemy!" he yelled to himself, "Complete and utter rubbish! How can this fool live with himself?"
Agape ran a lazy hand through his hair. He wanted to walk around the lame kingdom that he claimed. He slowly moved towards the exit of the throne room, more focused on the kingdom's main tavern than even the castle itself. A more subtle, hidden smile kept itself on his face as he continued going on. His eyes rested half-open. He was tired, so tired of ruling with this much effort. "My father put too much into this place. I don't see what drew the man to love a kingdom such as this." He thought, aloud. He kept his own, and finally made it out of that forsaken room.
As he continued down a long hallway, guards lined the walls, and the walls were filled with paintings. These were of past leaders, past things that were admired by old rulers. He passed his parents, keeping his head raised high. He passed even more people that he cared nothing about, useless beings they were. He saw how beautiful the countryside was, how beautiful the town was, and it sickened him. "Perfection is overrrated." He complained. All of these glorious scenes made him sick.
Athilos listened to the king as he traveled on through the hallways. He found himself quite disgusted by the attitude of this so-called monarch. This man acted more like a whiny child than he did a king. It was maddening, to say the least. Athilos was very upset by Agape's remarks of the previous king's love of the kingdom. He couldn't help but wonder to himself how someone could care so little about their home. Something that others had put their all into just to make it great. It's almost as if the work that was done, the effort put in, the blood and tears shed… like it was all to spoil a rotten child.
Athilos looked around at the kingdom that he had loved when he was alive. He smiled sadly at each painting that they passed. His smile only shrinking some when he saw one of himself. He didn't expect it, for the Acker family was hated to their shallow bones by the Crestor family. The smile faded not in discontent, but in confusion. It was quite an odd thing in his opinion.
As he passed the countryside along next to Agape, he smiled brightly. He remembered running around the place when he was younger, nothing but a mere commoner as everyone was in his childhood. It was peaceful and bright. That is, until his parents decided they wanted more power, but Athilos decided not to dwell too much on the past, for he was in the present now. He looked at the kind new faces and the not-so-kind was, appreciating both in their own right. He had missed this place. The place of his childhood. It was a place that meant everything and more to him. He smiled again until three words registered in his head. The three words of the king.
He turned his head in utter shock, his ghostly jaw hanging open like some sort of shelving system. He was in total disbelief as to how someone could say such a thing. "Perfection is underrated"? Why, those were the most ignorant words Athilos had ever heard. He crossed his arm, a thing invisible to the living at the moment, and invisible to the dead that could see through his velvet robe.
"You're overrated," he mumbled, his cheeks puffing up like a child.
Agape snorted, and turned away from the paintings. "Drab wall coloration, and such hazy decor. I should seek to remove this hallway of its distractions." He said. He continued on for a few more steps before completely groaning. He thought that the castle was too big, he despised having to walk everywhere, but no one wanted to carry him through the castle. He was losing a lot of followers, and he seemed like he didn't have much support anymore. The only loyalties he still had were only through fear and doubt, and nothing more.
He approached a guard, and grabbed the bottom of their helmet. He pulled them down to his level, and looked them straight in the eye. "Do you, sir, still remain loyal to me? Would you still die for your gracious king?" He asked. The guard began with a stutter. "O-Of course I do, your m-majesty." He stumbled, which wasn't too good for him. "Would you speak clearly for your king?" He asked, more intently. "Of course." He replied, as straightforwardly as he could. "Good." Agape purred, as he went on his way. He was only about five more minutes away from the castle's nearest exit.
Athilos crossed his arms and deflated his cheeks, a quiet 'whooshing' sound escaping them. He found this king to be insufferable, to say the least. He seemed to do nothing but complain, insult, and nitpick. He wanted so badly to pull the king straight out of his trousers and hang him up for public display. Oh, how he would have loved to… if it weren't cruel. He didn't wish to be cruel, he just wished for Agape to understand. To understand what an injustice he was doing to the lovely kingdom at his feet. To learn to love people and all of their flaws, to love the sun and all of her stars.
( Can I just say that you really, really write well? )
Agape finally made it out of the prison-like castle. Its walls stared at him from behind, hiding joy in their crevasses. They were proud for the king's departure, and celebrated in silence. A dark shadow, however, fell on the king. "Why don't I like the kingdom?" Agape muttered, only to feel shocked soon after. He'd not said anything like that before, not ever. He scowled at his feet. "It's because father made it too perfect and everyone loved him." he reasoned with himself. It wasn't actually a reason at all, just a placebo blame.
(O-oh, thanks.)
Athilos looked at Agape in pity. He saw the scowled that the king was giving his own shoes. It was truly saddening. He wanted so badly to speak to the male he floated above, but not everyone's all that fond of ghosts. He decided to speak softly to the king, but not make himself visible. He only wanted to give Agape guidance, not to tear him down.
"Oh, Agape," he whispered, "they'll love you too, if only you change." He sincerely wished for Agape to hear him, to listen to his words, but he knew that this king probably wouldn't. He'd probably be too over his head to even think about it. It made Athilos ever-so-slightly disappointed. He had only wanted for Agape the things that he had never himself received. Love, compassion, kindness from the kingdom. He never got it, but that was only because people aren't always all that willing to conform to one person's will. There was always bound to be some revolt, big or small.
Agape paused at the words that he had heard. His eyes darted around the outdoors, looking for a face that had the bravery to say such a thing. No guards were outdoors, especially here, and it confused him. A lot. "Excuse me? Show yourself. I won't have anybody here making comments like that without looking me in the eyes." He demanded. He wondered how that someone knew who he was, it scared him a little bit. Only silence seemed to come back, he was too impatient to wait.
He continued towards the gates that guarded his castle. He looked warily around, paranoid that someone might happen to jump out from thin air at him. He knew he wasn't alone, but he also knew he was vulnerable. A shiver ran down his spine. he brought his mind to the appearance of the ground. "The g-grass is beautiful," He muttered, as if it could scare the supposed other away.
Athilos placed a disappointed yet interested hand on his chin. He hadn't meant to scare the king, but at least he was heard. It made him happy. Seeing that he hadn't spoken to someone in over a decade, he wasn't quite sure how loud he was supposed to, so that was a great first attempt. And even though he knew his words were being heard, he decided to speak no more and just follow Agape on his voyage. Although, he was quite curious as to where the king was going.
As they traveled, to wherever they were going, Athilos kept passing through Agape, something that he was fond of doing. He loved to observe the beating hearts of humans as he phased through them, and seeing the beat slightly quicken as they felt the chill. It was rather fun if you had asked the ghost.
( Oh my God Athilos! Precious. )
Agape shivered as a few, random 'wind chills' passed by. He pressed his lips together, actually thinking before he began to speak again. "You know, you seem to have a handle on the idea of the kind of king you prefer. Please, follow me and at least tell me what you think. I won't order anyone to hurt you." He muttered. He looked down, and yawned.
He continued down the fastest path towards the town. He wouldn't admit it, but the town was at least half-gorgeous. He personally admired the people, and how they were in their own, sort of serene states. Compared to him, they were heavenly. He could see the town from there, but he wasn't quite there yet. Trees surrounded him, and their leaves were falling, gently.
Athilos stopped to think for a moment. He had nothing to be afraid of. Even if Agape ordered people to "hurt him", they would be able to touch him anyway. The idea of them trying was enough to make Athilos laugh. Just imagining them going on some wild goose chase for something they couldn't touch, funny.
He floated back up to Agape with a smile on his pale face. He trailed behind carefully, trying to think up the kindest possible way to say what he was thinking. He slightly parted his lips, a smile still on his face. He closed his eyes in contentment knowing that he had chosen the best words.
"You're rude, picky, whiny, insufferable, hard to please, ungrateful, and all-around terrible as a king," he listed out to the mortal in next to him.
Perfect, he thought, that wasn't too mean at all. He smiled widely, quite proud of his word choice. He believed that he had successfully and clearly delivered the message he was trying to get across.
Agape snorted, a from replacing itself on his face. "So, in retrospect, you wish that I was all around opposite." He summarized Athilos's thoughts as best as he could. "If I were to do that, I feel as if I would lose control of the people. I feel like if I even let myself loosen up one little bit, riots would spark everywhere and my kingdom would lose its powerful state." He groaned. "I don't want to give into weakness. I don't want, for one second, to let myself fall to grace."
He kept nearing the town. People noticed him, then, and began frightfully cleaning things up, and hiding, for that matter. He noticed their fear, their loud cries of warning. It forced him to think. "I don't know you, but you seem to know me and the kingdom. Do they hate me?" Agape asked, with a dry sadness unearthing. It agitated him how they always ran, but he didn't know why.
Athilos looked around at the frightful people of the small town. He never really equated running to hatred so he wasn't quite sure. He couldn't quite say that they liked Agape, but the way that they acted around him didn't scream hate. And do believe, Athilos had seen to whole kingdoms fall due to hatred from the people, it wasn't pretty. He was just glad neither of them was this one. Although, he did watch the fourth king of the kingdom get assassinated.
"No, Agape. They don't hate you," he assured the king, "they just fear to let you down." Athilos began spinning in circles. He realized how that could be a good thing, but in this case, it's quite the opposite. Fear of a ruler is healthy, but this was the kind of fear that caused revolutions, the kind that caused the overthrowing of royalty, the assassination of kings.
"That's a relief." He murmured, with a nervous tone lacing his words. As he made his way, slowly walking around the town, people both stayed absent and completely relinquished themselves to him. "What if I paid you." He began. "What if I could pay you to change their minds about me. You seem like you can do that." He completed his thought. Honestly he didn't even know what he was saying. "I have a lot of currencies, you can choose your preferred one." He muttered.
"If you changed their minds, they wouldn't feel like let downs. They would possibly even feel better about themselves, maybe better about me, too. Come on, show yourself already. I want to know who's advising me." He rambled. He glanced around and noticed no one that appeared to have been speaking to him in the manner of Athilos.
The ghost let out an obviously disappointed sigh. He had no desire, or for that matter use for Agape's money. He was a ghost for crying out loud. What was he going to do with it? Give it to charity?
"I don't want your money, Agape," he spoke, his tone taking on a slightly frustrated twist. "What I want is for you to change. Even if only a little." He flew far in front of Agape and sat among a patch of flowers, the petals shifting slightly as he lowered himself down. He looked around in admiration at Scarlet Pimpernels and Morning Glories surrounded by lush green leaves. He found it quite strange that of all flowers, those were what was being grown. They were his favourite flowers of all. He couldn't help but think maybe the kingdom didn't hate him as much as he had believed. And that maybe it was all in his head.
As Agape kept marching forward, Athilos turned his head to the left and called out to him. "And no, I will not show myself to you… at least, not yet."
( Scarlet Pimpernels! I love those, and especially the story they remind me of! )
"Okay then. A deal might please you more." He muttered. "I change, and you show yourself to me." He wrote the pact, as if the words would float in the air, with a little 'sign here' box at the bottom. He was displeased at the thought of someone who didn't want money. What did they want, change? He knew change would be a ghastly fight for him to put up.
He observed the flowers moved, so carefully. It was something he could admire, in a low sense. "You know very well that I want to see you, and you also know very well that I have the ability to 'live up to your expectations'," Agape muttered, harshly. He wasn't putting up with the apparition's nonsense. He just wanted to know the one assisting him through the day.
Athilos furrowed his eyebrows in honest disbelief. He knew that change was a difficult thing, so to have someone almost without care promise that they would change was something he found to be quite preposterous. Despite how bold it was to do such a thing, he knew that Agape wasn't the type of person to make empty promises. A smirk swiped across the specter's pallid face.
"Deal," he confirmed, "but here's the catch. I will not show myself to you immediately. I shall reveal myself once the clock tower tolls twelve and no earlier." He stood up and rejoined Agape's side, walking slightly faster to keep up with the human. "I make no exceptions whatsoever and if you are not okay with this deal, so be it. You are not required to see me."
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked into the king's deep, brown eyes. "Do keep in mind, I'm not just doing it for me. It's for you too." Athilos made his best effort that the point he was making and the stipulations to the deal were very clear. "And do beware, if you break this deal, I will see to it that you live this rest of your days in agony, though you won't live very long anyway."
In all honesty, this was the first time that Athilos made a threat that wasn't completely boneless. It was a truly strange feeling for him. It made him feel… different. It gave him a sense of power that he had never felt before. He liked it.
"Alright then, thank you for your cooperation, I'll see to it that I actually make good of this deal." Agape purred. Well, that worked for him, it seemed to be a first, that something actually occurred in good, and not cruelty. "And as for your rules, I agree." He added, throwing in some form of a polite tone. It wasn't the best attempt at it, but he didn't do half-bad either. He continued his stroll through the town, looking amidst the people, trying to see if he could persuade the thing of his good. A bread shop stood out, it was falling apart.
He stepped into the shop, eyeing the customers and the workers. "Hey." He demanded attention, like a child who hasn't been played with in minutes. Everyone bowed towards him, suddenly, and fear grew in each person's eyes. "How much is your bread?" He demanded to know, as soon as he completely got to the counter. "U-Um, it's about a dollar's worth per loaf." The employee stuttered, trying to avoid the king's gaze as best as he could. "Alright, then. I'll buy sixty loaves. Give thirty to the townspeople and give the other thirty to me." He sneered. "O-Ofcourse your highness." The other said, quickly. It was a surprise to everyone in the store.
He wasn't going to change his attitude. Nope. Not one thought about it. But he was going to act good for a little bit, and see if the ghost would lay off of him, maybe even lessen the restrictions of the pact.
Athilos clapped sarcastically. He could barely even been mislabelled as impressed. "My word, fair king, how so very noble of you," he pretended to swoon, daintily fanning himself with one hand. He found his own antics more amusing than he should have, but he couldn't help but laugh.
"Although, in all seriousness, you're off to a good start, Agape. I hope you can keep it up." He floated around Agape's head lazily.
"Thanks," Agape muttered, with a bow in a random direction. He hadn't done that in forever, either. At least Athilos was under his little spell, and he seemed to be convinced of his goodness. "after all, I do have the goodness of the past somewhere inside of me. I just don't like it." He spat, counteracting his actions. He bit his lip, it sounded awful how he said those words. Why was he noticing all of this, then? "You know, I don't know a lot about you. Would you mind saying anything to me, any single detail would do." He muttered. He considered the odds of even getting a word, and nothing seemed good.
He tossed a little coin purse at the cashier, and simply walked out of the bakery. The worker should know to deliver them, after all, no king simply brings their own food home. He didn't know what would happen to the loaves, but he was sure he'd eat a few of them, and it made him… happy.
Athilos giggled slightly at the bowing of the king. To him, it just looked quite awkward, be he still appreciated the effort. He rubbed his hands over his own arms gently, looking around at the townspeople while doing so. His eyes caught on the bright star in the sky, his eyes dulled and in a trance. He barely registered Agape's words as he floated along, zoning out was a bad habit of his.
His gaze cut straight down from the sun and into the eyes of the monarch next to him. "Something… about me?" he asked rhetorically. "I hate to break it to you, but not much about me is any of your business… for now."
He knew that depending on what he said, he could reveal his identity like clockwork and he wasn't looking to risk it. Instead, he decided to wait until midnight when all would be revealed. That is, so long as Agape unheld his end of their deal.
Agape frowned, and yawned, softly. "That's no fun." He groaned, laughing a little. "I'll have you know that I don't trust many people without an identification sheet." He said, with yet another laugh, this one being much more sarcastic. "You've gotten lucky." He said. He made his way to a bench, a secluded, lonely bench, and sat himself down. All of this walking was doing him well, but it tired him out.
"How am I supposed to please so many people?" He muttered. He let his guard down a little bit, as if asking Athilos for help. He tried not to look absolutely weak, and ultimately failed in doing so. "They're all frustrated with what I feel like is best." He added. He looked around, and glances got thrown back at him. The town seemed more at ease than usual, it seemed impossible.
Athilos chuckled quietly and sat next to Agape on the bench, though who would really know that other than him? "You know, I asked myself the same question at one point." He looked up to the bright, almost blinding blue sky, the same sky he had gazed at in his last moments. "But you know what, I made a mistake. I gave up because it was what I felt was best." A singular, faint tear rolled down his face as he spoke, his voice slightly breaking under the weight of the past. "I shouldn't have done it," he whispered, quickly clearing his throat.
"But either way, the best way to please your people is to talk to your people," he advised. "Don't get too into your own head about things, it doesn't do you much good." He couldn't help but flashback to the painful memories of when he ruled the land. He was always wondering how to make the people happy, but never asked. He was a total shut-in, not even coming out of his room to eat.
He spent hours upon hours planning events, trying to prevent wars, balance the economy, and end revolts. It was all seemingly in vain. He couldn't help but spiral down the rabbit hole of what could have been. It drove him mad, it made him disappointed. It was too much for him to take. The rest… well, that wasn't to be discussed or even spoken of. Not by Athilos anyway.
