Let's Write Together- A Staggering Host

This is an experimental Creative Write/Free write. I wrote this in the Hive.Pizza DiscordPizza Guild Discord while sharing my screen and asking for input/direction/whatever from the community. I think it will be an interesting way to construct a post and have no idea how this will turn out!

Rules!
They are few:

Anyone else in the voice channel's input overrides mine- I will type and incorporate ideas and input as I do- ANYONE in voice can make me edit or whatever!

Pizza Tips for participants throughout the event.

Other than that this is a standard free writing format! So lets GOOOOOOO!

This is a continuation of previous Let's Write Together events- check them out below:

https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@dibblers.dabs/lets-write-together-2nd-event
https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@dibblers.dabs/lets-write-together-catfishman-wizard-part-2
https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@dibblers.dabs/lets-write-together

Scarlet heard Prince Zaphlebrox's response to the impudent courtier before they passed the end of the alley.

"Well you see, just after I brought down the stag an enormous beast came ravening out of the woods and attempted to steal my prize! Of course I filled it full of arrows before it dragged its sorry corpse back into the brush. Not before it managed to take a bite out of the beautiful stag! I've never seen a wolf so huge!"

"Ah that explains it my Prince!" the courtier responded, before muttering under his breath once more "Are you sure the wolf didn't bring down the stag for you."

"So you say my lord, so you say! Not only have you managed to bring down the most impressive stag we've seen in years, but you also managed to fight off a monstrous wolf! Who knew you had it in you! I've never even seen you hold a bow before today! With such a full quiver when you returned you must have retrieved every arrow you fired! Well done sir!" Congratulated the duke of Flannisters, with such genuine fervor that the Prince dared not respond despite the poorly veiled insinuation.

Scarlet and Marlin reached the end of the alleyway in time to watch the last of the hunting party trot through the palace gates. A sudden pall of fear and trepidation came over them both. They looked at each other uncertainly and then back towards the palace. The sense of foreboding seemed to have followed the hunting party.

"Child I cannot say precisely what will happen but I sense something unfortunate is about to happen." Marlin said gravely.

"I felt it too. I must make sure everything is right with Vogon! I am still grateful to him for the kindness he has shown me over the years."

"You must forget about Vogon, there is much more in your future than that halfbreed catfish! You have power beyond your understanding and you must not risk your future for him! There is a place for you at the heart of this kingdom! The prince has done nothing but bring about our ruin since his fathers death!"

"That may be true Marlin, but Vogon and I are the ones responsible for the Kings death! What right would I have?" Scarlet was shocked at what Marlin was implying.

"The King brought those events upon himself in his foolish pursuit of Vogon, he was a better ruler than Prince Zaphlebrox but still undeserving of the throne. You will do far better in their place! And you have the right! You are the Queen's blood after all."

"You mean? The Queen was my mother? How is that possible?"

"Why do you think the King was so against magic? He despised it after the Queen betrayed him and fell in love with your father! Though it was not his loving magic craft but his magical love craft that drew her to him..." As the two stood and argued back and forth the sense of foreboding deepened and weighed heavily upon them. Scarlet did not have time to make sense of everything that had been revealed to her. She felt spurred to action and practically invincible now that she knew the depth of her magical capabilities. Marlin had unlocked a new strength within her and nothing seemed out of her reach.

"I must at least tell him that I know the truth! I owe him that much." With that she ran back down the alley towards the river where Vogon had promised he would be waiting. She dove from the peak of the bridge, changing with ease back into her fishy form as she arced towards the water and penetrated the surface with barely a splash. Vogon was nowhere to be seen. He had promised he would wait for her and it was unlike him to break a promise to her. She returned to the surface and leaped out of the water, shifting forms once more and landed dripping on the bank of the calmly flowing river.

Marlin stood waiting for her, as if he knew that Vogon would not be there. She simply shook her head as the water dripped from her. Marlin remained silent, waiting. The sense of foreboding grew stronger suddenly and the two of them looked in the direction of the castle.

"If we do not do something soon, I fear the threads of fate may become more tangled and torn than ever. We must find the source of this dark disturbance swiftly and put an end to it. I may not be strong enough alone, will you help me Scarlet? For your true father's sake? For the kingdom?" Marlin was almost pleading with her now.

"I will help you Marlin, but only because my intuition tells me that Vogon is at the center of this still! To the palace and let us see what can be done." Scarlet replied.

As the hunting party retired to the banquet hall and left the cooks and stable hands to take care of the stag and their horses a cupholder approached the Prince.

"Well done my lord, a magnificent beast! Who brought it down?" The boy asked as he approached, proffering a brimming goblet of wine. He was a most favored servant due to his uncanny knack for always topping up the Princes goblet at the prime moment. The Prince had never had an empty cup despite his best efforts to drain it. It was almost an unspoken contest between the two of them. Even goblets that the Prince had intentionally hidden discretely about the castle were always full when he went back to check on them. He had never seen the boy, who was called Bob, leave his post in the great hall in order to refill the hidden goblets either. It was quite the mystery, and unimportant enough that the Prince didn't mind expending considerable energy trying to figure it out and catch Bob in the act.

"My Lord brought it down himself when I asked him to fetch its head to hang in the Great Hall!" Kamandaren announced, "We should have a feast My Lord! Celebrating your successful hunt!"

"Why that is a wonderful idea! I shall tell the cooks myself!" Prince Zaphlebrox replied, "Come, Bob, the kitchens are too hot to withstand a half empty cup." With that he left the hunting party to settle in to their usual seats in the banquet hall and rather than taking his customary seat at the head of the table went back into the warren of heat and steam and scurrying figures that was the palace kitchens.

The cooks and chefs and porters and tray bearers all parted before them as they made their way back to the butchery. The stag was just being brought in by the head chef who was admiring the enormous rack of antlers and sleek white fur of the beast. He was so enthralled that he did not see the Prince and Bob approach.

"Och yer a beauiful wee beastie aren't ya? Be a shame to feed you to that wee little shite in the hall!" The butcher, an enormous fat, red headed man with a thick Scottish accent and the kilt to match was talking under his breath to the stag as he lay it out on the butchers table. Big Mack McKilt, as he was known in the kitchens, barely responded to his given name which was of course the only name that a superior servant like Bob knew him by. So it took him a moment to respond as Bob announced their presence.

"Hagus... Hagus" Bob ended up shouting in order to get the man's attention. "The Prince would have you prepare the stag immediately! There is to be a banquet this evening celebrating his triumphant hunt."

Big Mack McKilt looked up suddenly from the stag and then immediately stood up straight and bowed when he realized the Prince himself was in the kitchens.

"Och aye I'll have it fit to feed hundreds in no time, My Lord. What cut should I prepare for my Lord? I can do a haggis too if you fancy?" The change in his tone and temperament was astonishing and he immediately set to work. As he sharpened his knives to begin removing the pelt he continued talking to the two of them. "You might be better off back in the great hall My Lord, we wouldn't want to ruin that outfit with any six hour blood!"

"My Lord wishes to watch since this is his finest hunt yet!" Bob announced, topping up the Prince's goblet as he spoke. The Prince immediately drank half of it down and held it out for Bob to refill once more.

"Suit yourself My Lord, aye what happened here though? I can't find an arrow hole anywhere on the beast, but this bite on its neck woulda been enough to end its life!"

"A monstrous wolf!" spluttered Prince Zaphlebrox indignantly, "it tried to make off with my prize after I had already downed the beast!"

"Aye to be sure, a wolf would have ripped it's throat out entirely, are ye sure it was a wolf? These marks don't look like wolf teeth to me!"

"A WOLF I TELL YOU!" Screamed the Prince.

"Are you questioning your Prince?" Bob asked dangerously, topping up the Princes goblet once more.

"I didn't mean it that way, I'm just going on what I've seen come through here before! See a lot of dead meat I do! Doesn't matter anyway. It all cooks up the same!" With that Big Mack McKilt set to work and within moments the stag was hung over a drain in the floor. With a vicious slash the stags through was slit open and blood began to spatter from the wound. The Prince gagged at the sight and went white as a sheet. He handed his cup to Bob and held both hands over his mouth. Big Mack stood aside calmly watching the blood drain from the stag.

"What should I do with the pelt?" He asked conversationally.

"Have it tanned and tailored into a cushion for my Lords throne," Bob replied, knowing that the Prince was in no state to answer himself. He appeared to be shuddering and struggling to control the urge to retch.

"Are ye sure you want to stick around for this next bit?" Big Mack asked gesturing with a wicked knife at the trussed up beast. Bob merely looked at the Prince, who nodded despite his obvious struggle to contain the contents of his stomach. Seeing the nod Big Mack reached up and with a masterful stroke laid the beasts innards open, spilling them down onto the floor in a tangled web of blood and viscera.

The Prince suddenly dashed from the room and Bob followed without hesitation.

In the midst of the mess of intestines on the floor a tiny catfish could be seen slowly increasing in size.