Music is "Requiem" by Joe Hisaishi. Yes, I'm obsessed with this man's works. Sue me.

For twenty years, Eliza had managed to avoid this fortress. She was rather hoping not to ever visit it at all, but alas, providence had different plans for this young woman.

How the king had managed to let his own castle fall into such disrepair, Eliza was sure she would never know. As the plumed knight guided his men through the barren streets of Marawin's capital, she gazed at the crumbling walls, the ivy covering the stones, and the charred remains of the windowpanes lining the windows.

What happened here? For someone so keen on exterminating...he doesn't seem to want to build up his own house...for glory and all that.

The bedraggled knights stopped in front of the drawbridge guarding the entrance to the fortress. In fact, it was the only thing guarding the fortress. No guard was posted to lower or lift the drawbridge. The knights drew straws to see which one of them would swim the channel, climb the wall, and lower the bridge. One of the guards who chased Eliza was the lucky one. He waved a solemn farewell as he jumped into the moat and began to swim across.

"Why don't you have any guards-?" she started to ask, but the plumed guard clapped a hand across her mouth.

"For security," he said. "The king thinks it is risky for someone to be up there all the time. Gatemen can be bribed."

So can all other men... she thought. What kind of king is this, that cannot trust someone to even open a door?

The unfortunate knight finally reached the top of the wall and lowered the bridge. It strained and groaned under the weight of the rotting wood, but finally, the bridge landed on the other side of the moat without smashing into bits. Eliza almost jumped off the horse to walk the bridge herself, to be sure of her footing, but the guard refused to let her go.

Miraculously, the entire party made it to the other side without incident. When the bridge was up again, the guard joined them, shaking from the cold shock of the moat.

The interior of the fortress was not much different from the outside. The fortress was in shambles, with only the barest supports holding the walls in place. As the king's knights led Eliza through the maze of rooms, she couldn't help but compare the rooms to her own cottage. Walls contained gaping holes exposing the few servants to the bone-chilling winds from the outside world. Fireplaces remained full of ashes, but no roaring fire to warm the soul.

Her own house was in shambles because of her meager finances, but with Becka's help, she was able to keep the house warm by patching holes with scraps of wood and metal they found in the streets. But perhaps his royal highness was too stubborn to resort to the ways of the common man.

I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Still shivering, the knights guided Eliza to a tall, once magnificently decorated door. It appeared to suffer from the same disease all homes with financial difficulty suffered from. Empty sockets for jewels lined the edges of the wooden frame, a dull brown color streaked with the barest trace of gold.

"What happened to the door?" she asked, pointing to the bare wood. "Surely the king can afford to pay for repairs without resorting to destroying his own home."

The plumed guard looked away, a nervous smile upon his face. Then he turned toward the door. "Oh look, the king's waiting for you. In you go." He dismounted, helped Eliza off his horse, then shoved her toward the doors, which were beginning to open.

Before she could turn around to shout at the guard, the men took off, leaving her covered in a flurry of dust.

"I should have known..." she said, brushing off her cloak and adjusting her skirt. "Is anyone here loyal to the king at all?"

"What are you talking about?" said a new voice, drifting through the door. "Everyone here is loyal to me!"

Eliza peered into the darkened room, illuminated only by a single candle. The owner of the voice sat upon a covered chair, picking at a plate of food. She stepped closer into the chamber, trying to see the features of the speaker's face.

"King Joshua Remus Severus II, I presume?" she said, watching the man's every move. His current irritation, that made her nervous. It wouldn't do to set this seemingly fragile man off on another tirade on her already.

Not when she needed him to bargain with her.

"Finally. Someone in this damned kingdom knows who I am." He took another mouthful of the meat and choked it down. "Really? No spice?"

A footman appeared from the shadows. "I could take it back, your highness."

The king waved him off. "No, no, just tell the cook to come see me when I'm finished." He threw down the meat with a disgusted look on his face. "Now, why did you come to see me, girl? Not merely to impress me with your knowledge of me, I hope?"

Eliza raised her eyebrow. "Excuse me? You had me arrested! I was told I had to come here or my family would be taken instead!"

The man tilted his head in thought. "Oh! You're Eliza Manwaring. Of course. That explains it. You know, I've had to deal with your family quite a lot this year."

She resisted the urge to make a sarcastic remark, to yell at him, to say anything really. Clearly, this man would be impossible to deal with, unless on his own terms, so she held her tongue and waited for an opportunity.

The king pushed back his plate and rose from the table, revealing his full height to Eliza. She had never met the man in person before, but she could now see how the king had intimidated men and women alike. About six feet in length, with wiry muscles that had seen a fight or two, King Joshua Remus Severus II was certainly an impressive man.

Until you took a closer look at his features. His coppery hair was long and hung around his face, his eyes were sunken in with dark circles framing them, and a scraggly beard to match his hair. He almost looked like one of the wizards Eliza had seen in her childhood books, but without the white hair.

How can this man maintain such a grip on the kingdom? He looks like he's worse off than me or most of my village.

The man strode toward her, his gaze fixed upon her with a frown. "Now, no time for games, Eliza Manwaring." He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the window. His grip was strong and unwavering. She twisted her hand in different directions, but to no avail.

He threw open the battered shutters and looked out cautiously. Eliza peeked out too, trying to see what the king was looking for. He seemed to be checking for eavesdroppers...but there was nothing but open skies, forest...wait, was that a mansion? In the forest? Since when did that exist?

Confused, she waited for the king to pull his head back inside. "Good, good, he's not out." He turned around and stared at Eliza's confused expression. "Oh. So, the reason I called you here"

"...had me arrested..."

"Right, right. The reason I had you arrested is that I need your skills. As a huntress." He tried to smile, but Eliza could barely see his mouth because of the beard. "You are able to help me with stuff like this, right?"

"Well..." she paused, attempting to collect her thoughts. He's not going to hire me as his personal huntress, is he? Oh heavens no...

Noticing her hesitation, he continued, "Well, just tell me what you think of this then. I can't promise you'll make it out of here if you say no, but we can hope now, can't we?"

He looked out the window again, staring at the mansion. "I have a slight monster problem I need taken care of. I trust you've heard of my methods of getting rid of those I don't like. Oh wait, yes you have."

Her eyes burning with fury, she simply stared at the king's back, noticing the mended and patched seams on his coat. This man...I can't figure him out. What is his game? I thought he was a fool but...

He turned back to face the furious huntress, the smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. "The monster...in that mansion out there...is getting out of control. I need someone skilled enough to kill it for me. For the good of the people and all that."

"What's in it for me?"

"Well, I assume you remember the successful sentencing of your parents to meet the monster, do you not?"

She dared not answer him. It was too much to hope for, even if the Maker willed it, for when have the deceased ever been brought back to life?

"Well, I have heard from my source in the mansion that they are still...alive."

Her knees gave way, sending Eliza to the floor. The afternoon spent running away from the knights, the summons, the incompetence of this king and now this news was a bit too much for the young huntress. "What...what did you say?"

"Your parents. They're still alive. If you can even call their current existence living."

This is my chance. I won't let anyone else be killed on my watch, she thought to herself, picking herself up off the ground and facing the king. "What are you offering?"

"This. You kill the monster, rescue your parents and I'll let you all go free, for your wonderful service to this kingdom."

"And if I fail?"

"If you fail...presumably you'd be dead so someone would have to look after your niece...how old is she? Certainly not of age yet."

"You...wouldn't...dare," she said through gritted teeth. "You wouldn't get away with that."

The king simply looked at her, one eyebrow raised. Then, without warning, he ran up and grabbed Eliza's shirt collar with one hand, nearly lifting her off the ground.

"My dear Eliza," he just barely whispered in her ear, "We both know I've gotten away with far worse." He released her collar without warning, sending her to the floor once again. He whipped around and began to walk out of the room. "My knights will escort you to the mansion. I trust you have your weapons, for you won't be getting any here."

She lay on the floor, stunned by the display of power the shabby king displayed. I cannot believe I mistook him...for a fool. Rising to her feet again, she took a few steps and collapsed into another chair, waiting for the knights to arrive. Never again, Eliza. Never again.

My gosh, I cannot get the tone of this man down. He's definitely going to need some revising once I finish this draft, hahaha...I'm never going to finish this, am I?

But yes...this is different than previous...unmentionable...versions. I needed a stronger motivation for our heroine to do heroic actions and this kinda ties into the original fairytale better, so I went with it. There's also a better setup for conflict and angst now, so yay! 😜

Anyway, thanks for reading this so far! As promised, here's another meme.