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.
I've got this idea. | RP Idea, might turn into a One-On-One thing-
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( Can I just say that you really, really write well? )
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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.
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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.
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( 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.
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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.
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"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."
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( 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.
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"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.
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"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.
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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.
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( This is a really bad time for me to gtg, but I've got to go, sorry! I'll respond better tomorrow. )
(It's alright. See ya)
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Agape paused, letting the words of the unknown simmer in his mind. He tried to make sense of what he'd said, and it all confused him a little bit. The pain was hard to bear, he didn't quite understand the reasoning behind the apparition's sadness. Weren't guides supposed to be happy, well minded beings? It really stumped him.
"You know what? I ought to try that." He whispered, giving in to the ghost's suggestion. He looked dryly excited for it, and to see his future change, if it even would. More though, he looked forward to the revealing of his friend, that's what mainly excited him. He could care less about the people of his kingdom. "You sound somber." He muttered. "Did you make a mistake, too?"
Athilos chuckled weakly. "I've made plenty of mistakes, some just worse than others." He smiled toward the sky, his eyes squinting as they took in the bright rays of the sun. A singular glistening tear, invisible to the human eye, fell from his pale, blue eyes. "But don't worry," he assured him, "I know you won't suffer the same fate as I." He stood from the bench and walked behind Agape, touching a hand lightly against the king's shoulder. "I have faith in you," He whispered, leaning into the human male's ear.
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Agape straightened up, as a colder feeling brushed around him, just like before. The words of the thing repeated in his mind. "Plenty of mistakes…" "You won't suffer…" "I have faith… in you…" He shook his head. "I can tell this means a lot to you. You've shown me a lot of rough respect, and compromise. I think I'll trust you." He decided, aloud. He looked around, and noticed how the townspeople seemed more at ease around him.
"I'll make the kingdom better, I guess." This time, the words were filled with honesty. Athilos had this way of making everything seem okay. "Thank you for this much. Most of the time people show up and yell at me," He mumbled, with a laugh. "I think it might have been wrong to kill the last five." He added, rubbing the back of his neck.
Athilos smiled as the king spoke to him. He was happy that his words had made an impact on the king, glad that he was trusted, for it was truly a pleasant feeling. He nodded at each word the king spoke, his eyes squinting with happiness. His nods slowed liberally until they came to a full-on stop. He blinked a whirl of concern, confusion, and amusement.
"Oh my, kill? That is quite a heafty punishment, your majesty," he giggled slightly at the awkward gestures of the royalty. "But I suppose it's fine since you know it was too far." Began spinning around the bench in dull bliss, gradually slowing to a stop. He raised a curious eyebrow. "If I may ask, how did you execute them? As in, by what means?"
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Agape looked sullen, before remembering the methods of his killing. "Well the first two went away because they told me I was spending too much on food. Their deaths were caused by torture, oh their screams…" He muttered. He hated screams, they were kind of scary, and awfully loud. "Then the third was mad because I didn't want to listen to him. I cut his tongue out and hanged him." He whispered. Every sentence drew him to look more frustrated with himself. "I killed the last two with a blade." He whispered.
He pulled his legs closer to his chest, hugging his knees as if he were a scared little kid. "They were my most trusted advisers, I loved them. One day, I felt awful about their opinions, like I couldn't stand it." He added. "Slice, slice, heads on the ground. Even the guards were afraid." He muttered. He shook his head, looking towards the sky. "I wonder if they're still worried about me, if they would have lived if I'd have listened to them.."
Athilos looked at the king with a gaze of great pity. There was no doubt that the king had regretted what he had done, it was painfully obvious. He nodded his head slowly in understanding but had to muster all the will within himself not to rub Agape's back slowly. Instead, he let out a loud sigh and returned to his floating position.
He looked around at the simple town slowly, a memory greeting him at the sight of almost every shop. He looked back to Agape and cocked his head slightly. "If I may ask, why did you voyage out from your castle?" Athilos inquired. "There's not much special in this little town here, well, at least nothing that you'd probably consider special." He crossed his arms and remet the scene of the town. "So why?"
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( What a bad time for this school bell to ring, I've got to go for the day, but I will come back tomorrow! I promise you a better response than usual! )
(It's alright. See ya!)