@bynhildr sent: ' tell me , ' li qiang pauses as he looked over , ' is king garon as awful as people say ? '
Was the guard testing him?
The turncoat musician perked up from his jail cell within this fortress, hidden in the Deeprealms far beyond the reach of the aforementioned tyrant king. Forwin supposed that after Zola’s little stunt back in Cyrkensia, Corrin and company had every reason to be doubt his good intentions, going so far as to lock him up in this cell rather than letting him roam freely.
And now his guard—Li, from what he picked up whenever others approached the prison—asked him what he thought of the man whose court he was previously part of, before he followed the Hoshidans towards Cheve.
“I last saw him decapitate someone for the crime of speaking out of turn. Without an ounce of hesitation, Garon chopped off Zola’s head in front of his own daughter. How do you think I feel after witnessing something that horrific?”
His gloved hand gripped tightly on one of the bars that kept him imprisoned, and the iron shook under demonstrated pressure. For all his sliminess, Zola did genuinely want mercy for Corrin... and Goddess above, you do not pull shit like that in front of a child. A sigh shook from his throat over the mere recollection of recent events, with Elise’s shriek still ringing in his ears.
“I want to believe we were fighting the good fight, you know. I want to believe there was still some good left in him, after I heard the odd tale now and then of the man he used to be from the princes and princesses. Garon took me in while I was stuck wandering aimlessly around Nohr. He gave me purpose again, and so I served dutifully.
“But... I know what it’s like to keep making excuses for the cruelties of another, just because they’re family, they’re friends, or they’ve shown you kindness once. I see the same in the royals there. They’re in it deep, but it’s how they were raised. Xander, Camilla, Leo, Elise... they are good people. King Garon, however? He needs to go.
“Whatever condition Corrin or the Hoshidan royals might have for me before letting me out, I will accept. It’s not just Hoshido anymore, Li Qiang; the future of Nohr is not in safe hands.”
