No mercy had been granted the moment Hunter had deprived Adalia of her hostage. No one had asked, no one had spoken, they had simply destroyed the Halves in the room who were the enemy.

Lunch it seemed, was canceled.

Even Schulia and Idolia had taken up silverware and gotten ready to fight. The two of them, incredibly, seemed the angriest. Idolia had spent a lot of time and effort serving lager and Schulia thought it terribly unfair that the Princess had tried to take her father’s life even though he had clearly loved her most. Even now her face was contorted with sorrow.

King Johanis stared down at his daughter, now neatly tied with a rope that Hendrick had produced from his inventory. He looked broken, defeated, like an old man who saw the end and didn’t know what to do.

Adalia didn’t speak. She struggled against her bonds silently and furiously.

“Friend Amelia,” Victoria whispered. “What are we to do?”

“The King has decreed mercy,” Amelia answered. She herself wasn’t sure that was the right action to take and felt the question mark almost insert itself in her voice.

“The King misspoke,” Aidan said, appearing once more beside them.

“What? You cannot execute my sister!” Victoria insisted. King Johanis roused himself from his troubled state and turned angrily on Aidan as well.

“My guild, Ominous, has a rule.” Gilduirn had appeared and was looking down at the Princess with merciless eyes. “If you should slay a king snake, you must slay its offspring. For you see, that offspring, despite its innocence, only ever grows into a king snake.”

“Do they really say that?” Tempest asked over Guild chat.

“Nah.” Gilduirn didn’t smile so he still looked grim, but there was the faintest twinkle in his eye.

“I’ll get the big knife,” Hunter said cheerily. “Let me go to the kitchen.”

“NO!” King Johanis cried. “I will not allow it!”

“What will you do?” Amelia asked, her eyes widening somewhat in disbelief. “She took your throat with a knife and would have watched you choke and die at our table.”

Victoria knelt in front of Adalia. “Why?” She asked again.

“Stupid sister. Always playing the hero. Dragon slaying, Grendel-hunting, the second favorite of our father. You were never in line for the throne!” Adalia spat. “Yet, I should have killed you long ago it seems! So stupid of me!”

“You knew of Void.” Victoria guessed after a silent moment, understanding crossing her features even as she ignored the hate-filled words that were spewed at her. Her voice became emotionless as her understanding deepened. “You are afraid of him.”

“Of course! He came to me in a dream, me and others! World after world Victoria! Many worlds were more powerful than ours! A world of dragons fell to him in days, what could the Half do?” Adalia spat again. “Yet he came to me and told me that if we laid down before him and let him enter this world in our city he would spare the Half.”

“A lie,” Amelia said. She almost covered her face with her hand because she’d heard this before and it was giving her a headache.

“No! Our only chance!” Adalia argued feebly.

“No. That is how he defeats the weak-minded.” Amelia said, shaking her head. “Agents of Void are they themselves devoured shortly after his arrival. Often the first to go.”

“That is not true!” Adalia raged. “He promised!”

“If you are Half, what meaning is the promise of a Grendel?” Victoria asked, and suddenly her eyes were resolved of their sadness. She knew then that her sister had chosen wrong and wasn’t sure what to do.

Adalia stared at her in horror, and moments later she closed her mouth and her eyes narrowed. She clenched her mouth closed as if she were done talking or having a temper tantrum now that she’d been called wrong. However, she surprised everyone when she fell on her side and began convulsing after a short moment, eyes rolling back into her head.

“What is this?” King Johanis cried.

Hunter seemed reluctant but she checked on Adalia. “She bit off her own tongue. That takes a bit of doing. This is a pretty dark event. I wasn’t even aware that the gore filter would let that through visually.”

“Save her!” The King cried.

“I’m not sure…” Hunter began, but then stopped when Amelia shook her head. “Elisha! I need you!”

Elisha arrived, took one look and began casting. “[Greater Heal], [Rapid Regeneration], [Reattach]. My filter works, it just looks weirdish and dark boxed to me. I’m glad because I didn’t want to see it.”

Adalia slowly stopped shaking and stared daggers at Elisha.

Victoria spoke again. “Do not try to kill yourself.” She said gently. “At the minimum father is going to exile you. You can move on from here without dying.”

“Yes. You are exiled! No longer are you a Princess of the Half! Go, begone, go somewhere that you might find peace!” King Johanis suddenly cried insistently. His eyes darted nervously around the room. While the members of Shadow Fall were lounging, simply watching, he must have seen in all their faces that they thought letting her go was a mistake.

“It is no matter. I will just find a place to die out there. Void is inescapable. You should all kill yourselves.” Adalia slowly got to her feet, and after a moment of reluctance, Hunter cut her free of her bonds. The Half Princess disappeared into the forest heading toward the cave that would lead her out into the wild of the Far North Continent.

Gilduirn frowned, looking uncomfortable. Idolia put a hand on his shoulder, seeming to sense his discomfiture.

There didn’t seem to be much else to say. King Johanis was on his knees, weeping openly. Everyone else was staring after Adalia thinking much the same thing. Should have killed that one when they had the chance. Worse, some of the Transients weren’t looking at Adalia as she disappeared, they were looking discontentedly at Victoria. It would soon become apparent to Amelia that she had overlooked something vital.