PULP & POPCORN

Page 52
“No. There is no redemption for him. He understands force, so that is what I used
against him. You have good in you that must be given a chance to shine. You will have to
give up that which you value the most, your position. You are King no more. Instead, you
will be a servant to those you would use for your own ends.”
Noel felt hope dawn in his heart at the idea that he would be given a chance to do
some good in the face of almost doing such evil. “Who must I serve, and in what way?”
The Agent Of Order smiled at the children, all of them now watching this exchange.
“You will fulfill the wishes of those unable to defend themselves against strength like yours.
Serve the children.”
Noel saw the children look at him quickly, saw that flicker of fear on their faces, and
he felt a fresh wave of shame.
The Agent of Order passed his hand in front of them, and the children were gone,
returned to the village and their parents, even the wounded and fallen somehow restored at
the same time, and there was a noise of great joy from the village.
Noel stood ready, accepting his fate. “Do what you will. I am ready.”
He was not ready, however, for the woman’s voice from the shadows at the side of
court, thick with emotion. “What you do to him, do to me as well.” Noel turned to see
Greta and he shook his head at her.
“You know not what you ask.”
She stepped up and took his hand, and the kindness of the gesture almost broke him.
“I have pledged my place beside you, and I will keep my word. Your curse is mine.”
“No other Royal Wife would do the same.”
“No other Royal Wife loves you as I do,” she said, and that was that.
“So be it,” the Agent of Order said.
There was a sound of a great bell ringing.