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++ BELIAL ++

Sitting in a restaurant, the corner of Belial’s lips formed into a bemused smile as he stared at the man across from him. He spoke in a soft whisper, “The stars are a brilliant phenomenon. It is fitting that we gaze into the skies in awe of her grandeur! However…”he paused, his smile widening, “You will not being seeing their magnificence for much longer if you continue to prefer the gaze of the sun. The sun, the horrid light of darkness! Light is meant to illuminate, yet the sun gives us darkness. Darkness; from the stars! Oz himself prefers the stars, so take heed of this warning, and be wary of the sun. Otherwise, you may just lose your sight, and how else shall you see the stars?”

The man, like most of the random people Belial chose to spontaneously speak with, looked at him with confusion but he tried to hide his bewilderment for the sake of politeness and because he did not want to anger the prince. Belial guessed that he did not understand his prophecy, but; to be fair Belial did not even know half of what he was saying anymore. Sometimes, the words just flowed from his lips without his intention but he learned a long time ago not to question magic.

He rose from his chair and tossed a ruby to a nearby waitress. "Thank you, your majesty!"the waitress thank happily, since the ruby Belial handed her was probably worth more than the actual restaurant. "Beware the angel."he replied to the retreating waitress with an equally cheerful smile. He turned his attention back to the man, who gave him an awkward smile. "My prince, thank you for the meal. I am honored to be in your presence, your grace. And your...warnings? I-"

"You will have bad fortune from the next morning's rising sun until the stars emerge."interrupted Belial. The prince abruptly left the man without any other parting words and exited the building, walking out into the street. After numerous greetings of "Good afternoon Prince Belial!", he left the poorer section of the town and ventured into the nearby forest. 

++ BELLEROPHON ++

Bellerophon loved the artwork in front of him. The red lines carved all over into the pale skin, all made by his magnificent creation, with crimson liquid steadily flowing from the lines – such wonder; such beauty. And the blood flowing from where he had decapitated the man’s arm a few seconds ago looked like a breathtaking scarlet colored waterfall. It was such a shame his latest masterpiece would be disposed of in a matter of moments.

“Now you know the reason for my fearsome reputation, do you not? The Gold Executioner! Not many know that Prince Bellerophon and the Gold Executioner are the same. I do not know why, since I obviously love gold, and who else but me would have gold weapons? But hey, I suppose it is because you peasants are ignorant fools.” taunted the prince quietly, but arrogantly, “Magic is more…swift, but old fashioned weapons like mine are more…intimate. I enjoy the feeling of physically taking your life; I get to see the light leave your eyes up close and personal…but, I suppose you are not interested in my crazed ramblings. Very well, we shall end our time together soon.”
Bellerophon placed the tip of his golden dagger at the bottom of his prisoner’s chin, pressing the weapon upwards and forcing the man to look straight into the executioner’s eyes.

“Pity,” he muttered softly, a cruel smile tugging at his lips, “That red is such a beautiful shade on you.”

The prince lowered the dagger, ignoring the cries of the sobbing man. “Prisoner X-9435, your interrogation has ended.” he informed monotonously, his demeanor transforming into that of a professional official, “You have previously been convicted guilty for the attempted murder of Queen Bellona Valentia Black and I, your executioner, have determined to have gathered enough information from your interrogation. We shall now commence with your sentence.”

Bellerophon recited the words required through standard procedure, and his eyes almost glowed with happiness as he watched the prisoner’s expression become filled with horror. Once again back into his executioner persona, the prince placed his dagger onto floor, accidently dropping it into the prisoner’s blood that had gathered into a puddle, and grabbed a golden scythe that had been laying beside him.

“Execution, initiate.” he muttered, raising his scythe. Boosting his physical strength with his magic, Bellerophon did not hesitate as he swung the weapon and immediately beheaded the prisoner who dared tried to kill his precious mother.“Execution, conducted. Prisoner X-9435 terminated indefinitely.”

And revenge achieved. He thought with a smirk.

He cast a quick spell to clean his clothes and body of the prisoner’s blood before turning to one of the observing Protectors. “Dispose of the body and then report on what occurred here.” he informed, receiving a “Yes, your majesty” from someone who went to clean up what was left of that mess of a prisoner.

Bellerophon wasted no time by walking all the way to the healer’s rooms. Anxious to check on his mother, the prince utilized a skill he rarely used: teleportation. As he materialized outside his mother’s door, feeling drained after using a branch of magic he did not have much talent in, Bellerophon politely knocked on the door.

“Come in.” replied a gentle voice.

The prince entered the room and hurried over to the queen’s side. He saw one of the healer’s take away an empty bottle from his mother’s hands and his face brightened; they had successfully brewed the antidote in time! She already appeared so much healthier than when he saw her in her poisoned state. Relief flooded through him and Bellerophon silently thanked the great Oz for allowing him to torture that assassin so skillfully that he was able to…persuade…him to tell the antidote. Of course the healers were informed immediately, but Bellerophon had stayed in the dungeons longer while the antidote brewed in case the man had anything else he wanted to share. When it was clear to the prince that he didn’t, he simply turned him into an art product.

“Mother!” he called out pleasantly, “I have excellent news; that traitor of Wiz has been taken by death by yours truly.” 

He smiled and clasped his bedridden mother’s hands, slipping a golden bracelet into her palm. “For you, mother. I am overjoyed that you are recovering from the poison. It is a get well gift.”

Bellerophon smiled as he received an affectionate kiss on the cheek from Bellona before he bid farewell and exited the room.

He found Kyuberos after swift searching and the prince cheerfully approached his friend. “Kyuberos! I’m done disposing of the trash. Still holding my flower?” he laughed cheerfully. He remembered how angered he felt when he discovered that his mother was poisoned. When Bellerophon was informed that they caught the wizard responsible, he shouted “HOLD MY FLOWER” to Kyuberos before running off to interrogate the wizard. 
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