The King’s palace was not the hall where the army officials were burned at the stake. That building had long been burned to the ground, but it was built the same way.  The King’s throne was on a platform at the head of the room.  Below it were banquet tables set in lines.  Above was a balcony that stretched three-quarters of the way around the outside perimeter.  It was built that way so that more people could view the King’s magnificence.  The great hall, having the same design, made Leonidas feel like he was reliving that night of fire from his past.

Leonidas did not look like one of the King’s men.  Their uniforms were different now.  Actually, their uniforms were nothing more than a sash of light blue fabric tied around the arm.  Leonidas didn’t have the sash, but he didn’t stand out.  He had just been in the mountains on limited rations for a week, but he fit in with the crowd because everyone looked worse for wear.

The new King, a rebel named Ignis, sat on the throne.  His queen was by his side.  The sour expression on her face could have given lemons inspiration.  It was easy to see what was making her so angry.  It was the tiger cage at the foot of the royal platform.

Samara was inside.  She was dressed in clothes similar to what she wore when Leonidas had first met her, meaning she looked like she had come straight from the harem, where there was no need to cover her body or her charms.

The King was gawking at her.  Leonidas couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he could hear what the other spectators on the balcony were saying.

One said, “His watchmen found her on the road.  They weren’t going to bring her to the King, but one of them noticed a ring on her finger and said that it was proof that she had been married to the old King.”

“So, they decided to bring her to King Ignis?” another asked.

“Well,” the first voice continued, “I don’t know if you know what happened to the old King’s harem, but it was scattered and ravaged on the road.  That girl wasn’t with them.  They say she fled the city and took refuge with a shepherd who didn’t spoil her.  She’s as good as gold.”

“Is the king thinking about taking her as a second wife?” a third voice asked.

“Why do you think that?” another spectator asked.

“Look at her face.  She could spit acid. Look at his face.  Maybe he wants a new queen.”

“Yes,” said another.  “He’s thinking about it.  If he married her, he might be able to legitimize his claim to the throne.  Not because she was married to the old king exactly, but because she’s a princess in her own right.”

Leonidas looked at King Ignis.  He was a man Leonidas knew as a rebel and a hothead.  His hotheadedness was in full force that night.  He had been rash enough to dethrone the king by the cruelest means necessary.

The problem at that moment was that Samara was too beautiful.  She was more beautiful than his Queen.  She also had better political sway because of her allies across the sea.

The King could not give Samara to one of his men.  He had to keep the best woman for himself.

He did not dare kill her just to get her out of the way in case he ended up with an angry uncle in his face.

Neither could he leave her alone.  She was too beautiful to leave alone.

He was out of options.  The only option that was left was for him to take Samara as a second wife and risk a schism between him and his first wife.

Leonidas could not hear what he was saying as he spoke with his councilors, as he looked at Samara, and as he cast unhappy glances toward his wife.

Finally, he ordered his guards to escort the Queen from her throne and to return her to her room.

She was furious, kicking her feet and screaming things at her husband in a language Leonidas didn’t entirely understand.  Except he didn’t need to know the language to understand her rage.

He also didn’t need to wait another minute before he did the thing he had to do.  It was all mapped out in front of him.

He touched his forehead and then his heart.  He pulled the empty bow off his back and pretended it had an arrow notched in it.

Aim for the heart.

His bow was empty.

He let go.

Suddenly, King Ingis had an arrow protruding from the middle of his chest.  The arrow was suddenly steel as blood dirtied the King’s clothes.  Nothing had become steel in midair.

The peasants on the balcony saw the violence and immediately fled.  They were there to see a show where the characters were the King, the harem girl, and the jealous wife.  They were not there to get pulled into another bloody coup.

Drawing as fast as he could, he shot off arrows like the God of speed had shot his blessing through Leonidas’s veins.

He killed the councilors.

He killed the guards standing by the cage.

He killed the guard at the doors and the army men who came up the stairs to confront him.

Aim for the heart.

When there were too many surrounding him and he’d already dodged two arrows, he leaped from the balcony and landed on a table, which was not a good place to stand.  He was a target for anyone with a bow or a throwing knife on the balcony of the second floor and anyone clinging to the walls of the hall on the first floor.  From there, he was surrounded.

He got off the table and pushed it on its side to make a shield.

“Samara!” he shouted over his shoulder.  “Will you be my wife?”

Her hand came through the cage as she reached for him.  “I asked you to marry me!” she reminded him.

“Then, you will?” he shouted, still firing arrows and forcing anyone not invested in the fight to flee.

Without warning, a tiger roared and leaped with all its claws out at a line of soldiers on the stairs.

It provided Leonidas with the moment he needed to flip the impossibly heavy cage on its side and liberate Samara.

She rushed to stand behind him.  “I’ll marry you,” she said, plump lips answering his question.

He had done what the tiger instructed him to do, but Leonidas did not know what could be waiting for them beyond that moment.  “We have to run,” he said, using the tiger’s appearance as a distraction, and grasping her hand.

Turning, they sped to a back door and slammed face-to-face with someone they did not expect.

It was a man dressed as a king with a crowd of properly uniformed soldiers flanking him and supporting him from behind.  The pale blue sashes were gone.  What stood in front of Leonidas and Samara was a battalion of trained soldiers, not ruffians from the mountains with a good plan and the bloodthirst a greedy leader can inspire.

Leonidas felt the air leave his lungs.

If they died… they died.