Felix felt angry at the sight of Simon. The man glared for a few seconds and then burst into laughter.
"Just kidding, you should have seen your faces. Hm, I hear George is back." Simon said. "Here." He tossed Evander the keys to the metal clamp that held Felix's hands and feet to the throne.
"Free him while I administer the antidote to the king. Hopefully, he will wake up real soon."
Evander quickly freed Felix and they hurried to the king's chamber, not wanting to trust Simon with the king's body.
They met George on their way. Evander pulled him into a hug, and so did Felix.
"Welcome back home," Felix said softly. "I can see that the journey wasn't very easy."
"Not at all." George agreed. "But oh well, I did succeed."
Felix nodded and tapped the man's shoulder twice. "Come on, let's go and await the king's wake."
They entered the room and met Simon taking the antidote in a syringe. Once he had taken every drop of it in the syringe, he turned to find Felix, Evander, and George there. He looked behind them as if he was searching for someone.
"What?" Felix asked, turning back to see if there was anyone behind them.
"Oh, nothing. I was only er... What about the other man who used to stay in the castle?" Simon asked, still looking around.
"Who?" Evander asked. "Thomas?"
"Yeah, yeah. The one who paraded himself as the king's inlaw." Simon said. "I would like to see the king's reaction when he wakes to find his prisoner moving around freely."
"Simon, we talked about this," Felix said tiredly. "Can we just go on with the administration?"
"Er, I want him to be here too," Simon said stubbornly.
Sighing, Felix gave George a sign to go ahead and call Thomas. George sighed and left. He was tired, he had just returned from such a long and tedious journey. Emphasis on the word tedious. Yet they would indulge him in their childish banter now?
He knocked on Thomas's door. A while later, Thomas opened the door, surprised to find George back.
"George? I could have sworn I heard celebration in the castle, I was about to prepare and come out." Thomas said, pulling the man into a hug. George being back and in one piece meant that Calhoun's salvation was near. "Tell me you succeeded."
"I did," George affirmed.
Thomas clapped. "Alright, let's go and welcome the king back then!"
"Or did you come for something else?"
"Not at all, I came to fetch you. Felix asked."
George returned to the king's chamber with Thomas who looked too happy. Simon felt angry just by seeing Thomas being happy.
"Alright, let's do this." He announced. Everyone watched as Simon injected the king and slipped the antidote into his body.
They counted in their heads. Ten seconds. Ten seconds was all it took for Calhoun to resurrect, he took a deep breath and then his eyeballs began to move even as his eyes were closed.
Slowly, they stopped moving. His entire body went still as if he had died again.
Simon snorted. "Only God knows what kind of antidote George brought."
Felix rubbed his chin. "Simon, now is not the time to throw shades. Let's honestly find a cure for the king."
"This is all I can do. It's possible the king is dead and maybe the time has actually expired and we can't wake him again." Simon said with a shrug.
Evander gasped. "Shut your mouth you sly swine! What if the king suddenly wakes up, how can you defend that leaking mouth of yours?"
Simon chuckled. He walked over to the king's side where he had previously left, bent over, and took hold of Calhoun's hand. He raised it and left it to drop down.
"Does this look to you like what a living person can do?"
He was facing the four so he didn't know when Calhoun's eyes flew open, glaring murderously at him.
He could only feel an arm wrap around his wrist and then the grip became tight.
"Oh..." He turned and found Calhoun sitting, staring at him, mockingly. "M...m... my king."
"You seemed to have so much boldness earlier. Where did they all go?" Calhoun asked. George sighed. He knew that Calhoun's first words would either be a threat or a mockery. This was a man who had journeyed six days under harsh weather and natural conditions just to find an antidote to save his life.
"Simon, you have been bad," Calhoun said, standing from the bed. He left Simon's hand and the man sighed in relief. Calhoun chuckled and placed his hand on Simon's neck. He gripped it tightly and Simon began to choke.
"M...my...k...kin...g...pl...ple...ase...Le...let...m...me...g...go," he begged.
Calhoun smirked. "I can't make out a word you're saying."
Rather than letting loose, he tightened his grip and Simon looked like he was about to lose his eyeballs. Calhoun released him and the man broke off into fits of cough.
He coughed and when he regained his breath, he stood up properly to thank Calhoun. Calhoun smiled and put his hand to Simon's neck, rubbing it softly.
"Ah, my king. Thank you for sparing my life." Simon said, smiling gratefully. Calhoun chuckled.
"Who said I was sparing your life? Have you not heard? The lion does not pamper a lamb unless he wants to make a meal out of it."
Simon's eyes widened and before he could plead, his neck was snapped. Calhoun didn't stop there, he tore the man's head and still ripped out his heart.
"Where is Patricia?" He asked casually. He remembered clearly. It was Patricia who served him that meal that caused him to lie half-dead for a long time.
George stuttered, cleared his throat, and managed to gain Calhoun's attention. He could see that a lot had changed about the man. He looked thinner and scarier. He looked as if he could devour an army of a thousand soldiers and there would be space for more in his stomach. The thought frightened George and he considered not speaking up for the girl.
"Yes, George?" Calhoun asked, turning to face him fully.
"Er, Patricia. I will get her right now." George said, turning to go. He had hoped he could plead on the girl's behalf but meeting eye to eye with Calhoun broke every courage he tried to muster.
Calhoun nodded only once and the man scurried out. Calhoun turned to Felix and Evander. He smiled at them.
"My beta and gamma. How nice of both of you to keep my castle and my body intact since I almost died." Calhoun praised. "I hope that nothing went missing?"
"N...no," Felix said.
Evander nudged him. "My king, a lot of things went missing. There are a lot of things missing from the castle. And that is because we had to choose between all those things and your body."
"Don't say it as if you were after my body," Calhoun said, staring at them. "Come on, what happened?"
"A lot happened during your slumber my king," Felix said. "Perhaps we can fix you a lunch and we can talk about it?"
Fix him for lunch? Calhoun had second thoughts about that. He wasn't sure he wanted anyone to make food for him. He didn't like the idea of being poisoned again. What would have happened if he didn't wake up? What if Diana returned? How was she going to cope? He frowned at them.
"Felix, make sure the kitchen is thoroughly searched. Any strange ingredients should be brought out."
"Evander, you ensure that all the servants are waiting for me in the throne room, on their knees."
Evander and Felix nodded and left to carry out the king's orders. It was left with him and Thomas.
"Thomas." He called.
"My king." Thomas bowed. "I'm so happy that you are alive. I couldn't wait for you to come back alive, I made a lot of discoveries during your slumber as Evander put it."
"That's wonderful! I smell a different aura around you." Calhoun said. "What happened while I was gone? What did you do?"
"My king, I killed Yara," Thomas answered. "He defiled you and sat on your throne. He held Felix's and Evander's wives' ransom, asking for your body."
"I had taken it to be hidden away from him and I happened to arrive back at the castle right when he sat on your throne. He bragged that he could kill you and there was nothing any one of us could do about it."
"I had to prove him wrong. I had to show him that there was something I could do about it."
"I took a small dagger and laced it with poison which I stole from his robe while he was busy, threatening the two. I stabbed him in the heart and watched him die."
Calhoun stared at the man who he had assumed was useless. He smiled at him.
"Did you get it?" Calhoun asked. He could vaguely remember Thomas coming into his room when he felt like he was still alive. The man had said so much rubbish and he couldn't remember most of it, but he was able to say something to him.
Thomas nodded. He crouched down to take the vial from his boot and handed it to Calhoun. Calhoun smiled, staring at the vial. This was the exact one he wanted.
"How were you able to tame Viper?" He asked.
"Well, it was difficult. But I think she knew she had to do something since Yara had run off with the wrong vial." Thomas said.
"You took Yara into my dungeon?" Calhoun asked with a smirk.
Thomas shook his head. "I happened to find him there. He was in the dark and then I didn't even know who he was. When he told me his name, I did not know who it was."
"I had to ask Felix who it was and he explained it to me. Then I told him that the man had somehow gotten wind of what happened to you."
Calhoun chuckled. "I take it that Felix did not take it lightly with you."
"A lot has rather happened. Felix was quick to display his authority, Evander is smarter than he displays, even wiser. He was quick to do things and in the manner you would have approved."
"That's beautiful," Calhoun said, raising the vial to his nose to sniff it. It still smelled the same. He blamed himself for not sniffing the meal which Patricia served him that night.
"Yes. Simon however, I'm grateful you killed him. The man has been my enemy since day one. The reason is that I caught him having a conversation with his daughter, right in my room"
Calhoun's brow went up in a questioning manner. "Did he now?"
"Yes, my king."
"Who is this daughter? And what was the conversation?"
"The conversation was rather... A family issue like. The girl was mad at him for lying about her background. Simon had slept with one human maid and she bore a daughter and died right after giving birth."
"His wife wanted to keep the child while he wanted to throw her out."
"But the wife won. And the girl is Patricia."
Calhoun smirked. Somehow he had expected it. He wasn't very surprised to find out that she was the one.
"So she was threatening him to tell everyone that he was the one who asked her to poison you."
"So she does know that she poisoned me," Calhoun stated.
"Yes," Thomas answered. "But there's someone else I'm still trying to figure out how he relates to all these."
"Who?"
"George," Thomas said. "He is somehow related to Patricia and if he does then he's also a culprit in this poisoning case."
"I'm not surprised," Calhoun said. "It's not like I don't know who my enemies are. I do, but I just like to keep them closer than my friends."
"Just like I keep you close, Thomas."
"Who?" Thomas asked in surprise. He had just helped the king and he was about to turn on him too?
Calhoun smiled wickedly. "Guards!"
Two guards entered the room as if they had been waiting for Calhoun's call. Thomas became afraid as he didn't know what he had done or why Calhoun wanted to punish him.