David sat on his thrown, scepter in hand and his crown carefully resting on his head. He sat with a slightly slumped posture, looking as if he had no real care for being there. His eyes scanned the crowd before him, numerous expressions of terror and fear staring back at him. He hated these proceedings. Passing judgement on men, woman, and children for which he held little to no regard. A small boy stood on a circular structure to his left, a small row of bars in front of him and his stature barely tall enough to see above the rail.

One of his advisers read out the boys wrong doings, stealing numerous loaves of bread from the county baker and a bushel of apples from a neighboring farm. After nodding along silently and without so much as glancing at the boy, David's deep, booming voice uttered only two words. "Hang him." His guards carried the now crying boy away swiftly, his peasant mother following closely behind before she was detained by another couple of guards. She uttered something across the room in between her screaming, her hateful eyes staring David down. With only a wave of his hand in her general direction, she too was carried away, no double in line to share the same fate as her child.

David brought his hand to his face, tired of the day already and was not even noon. He squeezed at the bridge of his nose and hit the ground once with his scepter. "Bring forth the last to be punished."

Ziglarean had been plotting his escape since he had been captured. Unfortunately he could not think of anything that would aid him and not sap him of all of his strength. It was silly, he had been caught giving a woman a protection spell that would save her from an abusive ex lover, and she had repaid him by telling the guards everything. He scowled as the iron of the chains bit into his skin, leaving angry, red, welts in their wake. It was quite clear that David knew what he was doing when it came to capturing witches and wizards.

When he was captured his staff had been confiscated, along with his dazzling robes. He was now dressed as a common peasant, his bright shock of orange hair the only giveaway to the magical powers he had been born with. Finally the guards marched him into the throne room, between the throngs of people that had gathered to hear their King decide the fates of their brethren. He walked in, his gaze focused on the floor beneath his bare feet, until the guards had pulled him to a stop. Once there he raised his head proudly and stared into the face of the man that used to be his friend and close playmate.

David had heard the sound of chains scraping the floor and the shuffling of feet. He had even heard the crowd utter a few gasps. None of this, however, was to his surprise. Each sound was a rather usual occurrence during these proceedings. The chains quieted and so did the crowd, a few of them still whispering. David paid no mind, his gaze still glued to the hands that rested in his lap. When his adviser began reading from the scroll in his hand and uttered the name of the subject in question, David's head shot up, his eyes now locked on the face of his once childhood friend.

Desperate to keep composer, David looked away, his eyes locked on his hands again as they began to fiddle with each other. "Charges?" he asked, leaving no tone of remorse or compassion in his voice, which was surprising even to him.

Ziglarean scowled at David. It was clear to him that someone had poisoned David's heart, and that it was, most likely, this cursed castle. It was where his parents had died, and Ziglarean was certain that the old King was still haunting its halls. He clenched his hands into fists as David's advisor began reading off the list of charges.

Finally, after a number of charges, his major one became clear. The advisor cleared his throat and looked to David. "This man, if you can call him that, is also charged with witchcraft."

David simply nodded, feeling a slight sting of remorse for his former friend, but also plagued with thoughts of duty and responsibility. The word witchcraft rang in his mind the moment it was uttered, and his eyes closed briefly. Oh, you blubbering idiot how many times did I tell you not to go showing off. He glanced up at Ziglarean, a blank expression on his face, even as words began to spill from between his lips.

"The wizard known as Ziglarean." he said, his voice remaining monotone. "You are hereby charged with petty thievery, indecent behavior, high treason, fraudulent actions, and witchcraft." He paused momentarily, his next sentence drawing a hushed gasp from the crowded room. "Explain yourself."

Ziglarean moved his wrists slightly, hissing as the skin around the shackles was even more destroyed. He would have scars after this ordeal, if he lived to talk about it. Ziglarean swallowed before squaring his shoulders and standing up straight as he spoke to David. He did his best to show no fear, and he was rather marvelous at it.

"I have nothing to say on the matter." He stood defiantly, as least as defiantly as someone who was chained up could. "I was simply doing something that I thought would better the lives of many, rather than only bettering the lives of a few."

David scowled slightly, a tad annoyed that his former childhood friend was attempting to belittle him in his own castle. "Very well." he said, sitting back in his chair and remaining quiet for a moment. By all means, he did not want to the man die. While he wanted to be a stern ruler and live up the expectations of the former king, he did still have a slightly caring temperament towards Ziglarean. He waved his hand again, motioning for the guards to carry the man away. "To the dungeons with the rest of them." The adviser at his side bent down almost immediately, whispering to him and trying to convince him to give a harsher punishment. Now livid, he sat up straight, turning towards the man and spitting as he spoke. "I do not care to hear your incessant pinning right now, Claudius." He turned back to the guards and waved his hand again. "The punishment remains."

Ziglarean blinked. He was being put in the dungeons, probably to rot away the last of his days until he was put to death. The man sighed as he was lead away, and he did not see the exchange between the king and his advisor. He was marched out of the hall and then down a corridor, three flights of stairs, and another corridor before he was deposited into a cell. They removed the heavy chains from his wrists, but left the iron shackles, as a way to suppress his magic. He sighed and slumped against the dirty, cold stone wall, wondering just what was in store for him now.

David remained on his thrown as the crowd began to pour out of the large room, their entertainment for the morning now over and done with. He really hated these things and saw no need for them. But, his advisers insisted that it was for the good of the people and for his position that he continue with them. Tired of arguing about his duties, he pretty much just did whatever they told him to do, making him feel like more of a puppet than an actual king. After the crowd had gone, David shoved away his advisers and hand maidens, begging them to leave him be in the room for a while so he could have a little peace before he began the rest of his day.

Once he had been alone for a few minutes, David stood swiftly, making his way through the castle corridors and down into the depths of the castle, determined to get down the dungeons undetected. He knew that the guards would not be there, for they would be enacting the six executions he had order previously. As he swung open the door of the dungeons, his eyes immediately found the cell he was after and he began screaming. "You idiot, do you have any idea how difficult that was for me? I thought I told you to stay out of sight!?"

Ziglarean had his eyes closed, and was attempting to meditate when David threw open the door to the dungeons and started screaming. "I don't care what you told me." He opened one eye and stared at David. "And I do not care how hard that was for you. You looked exactly like your father sitting there, and I thought that you were him for a few moments." Ziglarean closed his eye again and sighed. "I was not going to hide who I was for fear of being put to death.

David was furious and his manner of walking was definitely showing it. He had left Ziglarean with explicit orders not to show himself in day light and to keep to a secluded area. He had not wanted this to come to pass and was only looking out for the well being of a friend. This is how he was to be repaid? "You know perfectly well that I don't have much of choice in this matter. I've had advisers breathing down my neck nearly every minute of every day since I was a boy, Z. You, of all people, should be able to understand the pressure I'm under." He stopped just before he came in contact with the bars of Ziglarean's cell, grasping two of the iron rods in his hands. "Why couldn't you just follow my instructions?! I was only trying to protect you and you know it!"

Ziglarean sighed and opened his eyes before sitting up so that he was away from the stone walls. "Wizards do not do well answering to others. You know that. How many times did you beg me as children to not do this or not do that, and how many times did I not listen? You should not have been surprised that this came to pass." He shifted the iron shackles around his wrists and sighed as he assessed the damage.

David could not think of anything more to say to this man. Each and ever response he had given him so far had only infuriated him. He resorted to pacing back and forth in front of the cell door, his hands swaying wildly at his sides and the flow of his robes wrapping around his legs as he moved. He kept letting out soft groans of frustration, his mind reeling with different things he could say, but didn't necessarily want to utter. Finally, David moved back to stand in front of the cell door, his hand fumbling within his pocket until he retrieved a set of keys.

Ziglarean watched him pace, slightly amused by how troubled the man obviously was. Of course it did not matter to him that David was troubled by his imprisonment, he would rather the man start to feel this towards the other prisoners as well. When he pulled out a set of keys Ziglarean cocked a brow. "What are you doing?"

David fumbled with the keys in his hands for a moment before moving to unlock the cell door. "I'm letting you go, and don't try to talk me out of it." He finally got the key into the locked and turned, unlocking the door and opening it in open swift movement. "I'm taking back my kingdom." he said, taking a step into the cell. He pointed one trembling finger at his friend and spoke in a rather shaky voice. "And you're going to to help me."