Chapter 9

With Merees leading the way, the trio began making their way down the stairs and through the hallways of the palace. On occasion, they almost bumped into servants hurrying to their duties and guards on patrol. At first, Risha and Leorin had both been nervous when they ran into a guard, or more, but since they were never stopped or asked what they were doing, walking around the corridors, their anxiety soon faded away. Eventually, they came to the kitchen, which was curiously empty.

"Its just around the corner", Merees said.

At that moment, a terrible noise filled the air, drowning out all other sounds. It conjured up images of both thunderstorms and of something worse, something old and hungry and it almost caused the trio to jump out of their skins.

"W-what is that?" Leorin asked, instinctively drawing closer to his sister.

"I-I'm going to check it out", Merees said. She steeled herself and, mustering all her courage, peeked around the corner.

"Well, Princess?" Risha asked. "What is it? What's making that awful sound?"

Merees let out a sigh of relief, causing a tiny cloud of smoke to escape her throat.

"Its just a sleeping guard", she said. "Unfortunately, he's blocking our only exit."

"How do we get him to leave?" Leorin wondered.

The three of them pondered this problem for a moment, brows wrinkled in deep thought. Eventually, Risha snapped her fingers, in a eureka-moment.

"I've got it!" She said excitedly and somewhat louder than she had meant. Nervously, she covered her mouth, in case the guard had heard something, but the snoring continued, uninterrupted. She motioned for the others to come closer.

"What do you think?" She said, having explained her idea.

"Its worth a shot", Merees said. "At any rate, I'm out of ideas and besides, we don't have much time."

"I can't think of anything either", Leorin admitted.

Earlier, the guard, a rhinoceros, had been ordered to keep watch over the small door next to the kitchen. He had not been told why it needed to be guarded. True, beyond that door laid the dungeon, but the only prisoner in it was locked up tightly in his cell, with no chance of getting out.

 At first, our guard had demonstrated the vigilance and alertness so necessary in his line of work, but alas, eventually, his eyes began to feel heavier and heavier and so, having made sure that no-one else was in sight,  he sat down, leaned against the door and, with his head resting on his chest, set course for the realm of King Morpheus. He had just arrived at a particularly pleasant part of his journey there, when a loud voice reached his ears, abruptly returning him to the real world.

As he opened his eyes, the first thing that the guard saw, was a female dragon who glared at him, while stomping irritably with her foot.

"P-princess Merees", the guard stammered, standing up, while trying his best to look professional, something he did not succeed very well at.

 "How may I be of service, Your Highness? By the way", he continued, babbling nervously. "Allow me to express my condolences regarding the death of your father. He was truly a great..."

He stopped mid-sentence, noticing that the princess had put up her hand in the universal gesture for telling, not asking, someone to be quiet.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Merees asked, in a frosty tone of voice.

The guard shook his head dumbly, while doing his best to avoid the princess' withering look. He was the taller of the two, but at the moment, he felt as if he was the one being made to look up on her.

"I bring a message from my sister", Merees continued. "There is a change of plans. She has decided that guarding this door is no longer necessary, you may leave."

She glared at the guard, but to her dismay (and concern), he did not show any signs of abandoning his post.

"Well? I gave you an order, what are you still doing here?"

The Guard swallowed nervously.

"Forgive me, Your Highness", he began. "Its just that your sister gave me strict orders not to leave this door, unless she, or Lorenzo told me so, in person.

"Really?" Merees said, her voice now dripping with poisoned honey. "In that case, I better go and bring one of them here. Though they both seemed very busy when I last saw them and besides, I don't think they would be very pleased to learn that you've been shirking your duty, don't you?"

She turned around demonstratively and made as if to leave, when the guard called out to her:

"Your Highness! Wait!"

Merees allowed herself to relax. So far, so good. Now, all she had to do was keep up the charade.

"Yeees?" She said, slowly drawing out the consonant, while raising her left eyebrow in a disdainful manner."

"T-there's no need to tell anyone about my little mishap", the guard stammered and the look on his face was so pathetic that for a moment, the Princess almost felt sorry for him.

"If Princess Argath no longer wants me to guard the door, then I shall take your word for it, your highness", he went on. "Where should I go instead? Did she say anything about that?"

"Go to the western gate and relieve whoever's there", Merees replied and dismissed the guard with a gesture.

The guard gave a somewhat shaky salute and went away to his new assignment.

Risha and Leorin had been out of sight during all of this. As soon as the coast was clear, they rushed up to Merees and congratulated her:

"That was great, Princess", Leorin said, admiringly.  "You almost had me fooled for a second."

"Me too", Risha agreed. "You should become an actress."

"Thank you", Merees replied, somewhat overwhelmed by the praise. She turned to Risha. "I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to carry out your plan", she said. "I guess it was fortunate for us that the guard felt guilty about being caught sleeping on the job. Anyway, let's go."

The wooden door which had been previously blocked by the guard, was unlocked. The trio stepped inside and found themselves in a cramped corridor. To the left was a locked iron door, with a hatch at the bottom. A flight of stairs led down into pitch-black darkness.

"That's where we're going", said Merees.

She grabbed a lantern, which hung on a hook nearby, opened it and lit the candle with her breath. "I know that you two can probably see fine in the dark, but I'm afraid that's an ability I'm not blessed with. Let's go."

"Come on Leorin", Risha said.

She stopped and looked at her brother; curiosity had taken hold off Leorin, he was now seated on the floor, peering into the hatch, which he had slid open.

"What are you doing?" His sister asked, a hint of irritation in her voice. "We have to go."

"There's someone in there", her brother replied.

"Who is it?" Risha couldn't help but ask.

"Its a bit hard to tell from here, but I think its that boar we saw at the dinner. What was his name, again?"

"Bureno", said Merees. "He is the head of the kitchen. If he's locked up here, it means that the guards must have found something that implicated him in the assassination of my father and half-brother."

"But we know he's innocent", Risha said. "Can't we do something? Maybe take him with us."

Merees shook her head despondently.

"I'm afraid not. We don't have the keys and it would take too long for my fire to melt through the steel. We simply don't have the time."

All three glanced at the door. Merees remembered the times in the past when she had snuck into the kitchen. Despite how busy he usually was, Bureno had always had time for her, often giving her a foretaste of whatever delicious dish he and his colleagues had prepared. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. She wiped it away, before the others noticed.

"Come", she said in a thick voice. "There's no point in remaining here any longer."

******

It is unnecessary to provide a detail account of the trio's trek through the tunnel, seeing as how it was quite eventful. They walked in silence, contemplating the life and the people they had left behind. Eventually, they reached the end of the tunnel and soon found themselves on the city-streets. During their trek, the sun had risen and bathed the everything with its warm light. It seemed, by all indication, to be  the beginning of a pleasant day, one of those days that can make a person temporarily forget all the evil things which exist in the world.

"We should head for the harbor and charter a ship", Merees said. "Any ideas where we should go?"

"Our mom has relatives in another country", Leorin said. "Dad thought that they would take us in, but I can't remember what the country was called."

"Leporia", his sister said. "Do you know of it, princess?" She asked, turning to Merees.

"The name does ring a bell. I must admit though that geography was never my subject. My brother, Keron would have known a lot more though. Its too bad he chose to stay behind."

"Why would he do that?" Leorin wondered, incredulity stamped all over his tiny face. "That doesn't seem very smart, if you ask me. Ow!"

Leorin turned around.

"Why did you slap me for?" He demanded to know, glaring angrily at his sister.

"Don't be so rude", Risha replied. "If the Princess' brother chose to stay behind, I'm sure he had a good reason for doing so."

"Oh, yeah?" Leorin retorted, while massaging the back of his head. "Why don't you ask her about it, then?"

For a moment, Risha considered this. She had to admit that she too wondered why Prince Keron had stayed behind. Was it because he was unable to walk? She was just about to broach the subject to Merees, when she realized that the princess was no longer with them. Where could she have gone? She looked around, when Merees' voice reached her ears:

"Hey! What are you two standing there for? Hurry!"

The lynx-girl looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw Merees standing at the entrance to the harbor, the hood on her cloak once again pulled up. She grabbed Leorin's left paw and the two of them started running.

Back in the 90's, I was in a very famous TV-show...

Recently, I finished the third season of Netflix's original animated series Bojack Horseman and so, I decided to write a post about it.
Picture, if you will, the typical western cartoon made for an adult audience. These kinds of cartoons tend to have certain things in common: A main character who is basically a dick to everyone he interacts with. Plenty of vulgar humor, wacky hijinks and, finally, heavy drug- and/or alcohol abuse. For its first few episodes, Bojack Horseman comes across as yet another example of this type of cartoon; it certainly contains all of the ingredients mentioned above. However, if that was the case, I would hardly dedicate an entire post to the show. Fortunately, Bojack Horseman is a show that's far more interesting (and better) than the impression it initially gives.

Bojack Horseman takes place in a world that's pretty much our own, with the exception that a sizable part of the population consists of anthropomorphic animals. Its here that we meet the horseman himself; Bojack. Back in the 90's, Bojack was the star of the super-popular sitcom Horsin' Around (basically Full House, with a talking horse), but he hasn't done anything of note since the show ended and now spends his days either throwing parties or attempting to drown himself in drugs and alcohol. That is, until his agent tells him that he needs to finish the memoirs he promised to write years ago, in order to help revive his career. Tired of waiting, the publishing company has issued Bojack a ghost-writer, Diane Nguyen. As Bojack opens up more and more to Diane, it slowly dawns on him what life he has led and what kind of person he has been, or rather still is.

One of the things that sets Bojack Horseman apart from other shows of its type is how heavily serialized it is. Sure, shows like Archer and, especially, The Venture Bros featured continuity and on-going story-arcs, before Bojack existed.  However, those shows still started out being mostly episodic with plenty of self-contained episodes (it is, for example, completely possible for someone who has never seen Archer. to watch, say, the blimp episode from season 1 without any prior familiarity with the characters). This is not the case here; from the very beginning, its crucial that you watch the episodes in order. The lack of a status quo also serves to make Bojack Horseman the most realistic series of its type that I've seen (yes, despite the talking animals). Unlike, say, Homer Simpson, Bojack and the other characters inhabit a world in which their actions and choices have actual consequences (as Bojack's former friend and mentor Herb tells him in one of the show's most memorable moments: "You're going to live with the shitty thing you did, for the rest of your life).

Speaking of characters, while the show features quite a large cast, I'm going to limit myself to presenting only the five members of the main group. Aside from the aforementioned Bojack and Diane, we also have the former's agent and on-again-off-again girlfriend, Princess Carolyn. Todd, a slacker who showed up to one of Bojack's parties and never left and finally, Mr. Peanutbutter; a rival actor whom Bojack resents, mostly due to the fact that Mr. Peanutbutter is much happier and more well-adjusted than he himself is.
All of these characters play off each other really well and their voice actors (Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, etc) does a fine job portraying them. As the show has gone on, new sides of their personalities are revealed with even the characters which at first seem relegated to being just wacky comic-relief, turning out to be more well-rounded than they initially seem.

Seeing as how he's the star of the show, it should come as little surprise that Bojack gets fleshed out the most of all the characters. As Bojack Horseman progresses, Bojack goes from being merely another comedic asshole to, in my opinion, one of the most genuinely tragic characters in western animation. He's not tragic in the same way that the Ice-King from Adventure Time (to name one example) is though. No, Bojack's tragedy stems from the fact that he, from time to time, genuinely tries to become a better person, but his many personal flaws, hangups and neuroses, always seem to trip him up, leading him to fall back into his old habits.

The weakest part of Bojack Horseman, in my opinion, are the visuals. I don't find the art of the show unappealing to look at (if I did, I would've quit watching long ago), but I can't say that it's ever impressed me either, especially when compared to that of several other cartoons. I think its safe to say that in this case, the visuals play second fiddle to the writing. Thankfully, the writing is up to the task.
Bojack Horseman is a show that takes a while before it hits its stride. The early episodes of season one doesn't really do much to help the show stand out from others of its kind and if someone watched the show and decided to bail on it based on those episodes? Well, I can't really say I blame them for it.
That said, if you preserve, you'll find a show that's well worth watching. Bojack Horseman ranks as one of the best animated cartoons for adults to come out in recent years and is a close runner-up for the title of my favorite cartoon starring an anthropomorphic equine.

Chapter 8

"So", said Argath. "You know."

"I do", said Jeraddin.

The General and the Princess stared at one another from opposite side of the desk that dominated the late King Sharan's study. They were like a pair of poker players trying to see what cards the opponent had by studying their facial expressions.
Argath was leaning forward, her scaly fingertips forming a roof. As for Jeraddin, he merely sat upright in his chair, arms crossed. Seated next to him was Risha, whose eyes were focused downwards, on the rich pattern of the carpet that covered the floor. The final person in the room was Lorenzo, who was standing behind his mistress.

"There is one thing I do not understand", Argath said, after a brief moment of silence. "Why stay here? Why didn't you and your family immediately sneak out the palace and escape the country?"

"If I did", Jeraddin said, "I knew that I would have to spend the rest of my life sleeping with one eye open. Not out of fear of my own life, but that of my wive's and children. That's why I'm in this room, Your Highness, to offer you a deal."

"And why should the Princess make a deal with you?" Lorenzo asked, a contemptuous snort coming from his nose. "We could easily take care of you and your family and lay the blame on the doorstep of the kingdom's enemies."

"I'll pluck out your remaining eye first, mongrel", Jeraddin growled menacingly.

"Lorenzo, hold your tongue", Argath said, admonishing the fox in a sharp tone. "Still", she mused, "he makes a good point. What will I gain from allowing all of you to live?"

Jeraddin swallowed, time to put the cards on the table.

"You will gain my unquestioned loyalty. I shall serve you just as diligently as I served your father. That is what I offer you."

Argath rubbed her chin with one hand, while the fingers on its twin tap-danced on the surface of the desk. Finally, after what seemed to both Jeraddin and Risha as an eternity, she spoke:

"Your offer is not without interest and I would be willing to accept it. However, there's one thing that has me concerned."

"What is that, Your Highness?" Jeraddin asked.

"Let us say that I allowed your family to leave the country and live out their days in peace, provided that they never again set foot on Vinolian soil; what guarantee do I have that you would still keep to your end of the bargain?"

"My word of honor, your highness", Jeraddin said stiffly. Though I doubt such a thing means much to you, he thought.

"How chivalrous", Argath said dryly. "Normally, I'd almost be inclined to accept such an explanation. Unfortunately, there's too much at stake here. I'm going to need something else to guarantee your fealty."

"I believe I can guess: You want a hostage, don't you?"

Argath nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, yes, that would be one option. There is another one, though."

Jeraddin's ears perked up.

"What is that?" He asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Argath smiled, showing of a set of gleaming white fangs.

"Why, killing another member of the royal family, of course", she said.

Jeraddin couldn't think of anything to say, he merely stared at the Princess in stunned silence.

"Such a deed would bind you to us", she continued. "Of course, it would have to be carried out in the presence of a reliable witness and involve a written confession. Anyway, whichever of my half-siblings you choose, neither should pose much of a challenge to a seasoned warrior like yourself, even if they're dragons. We're talking about an untrained youth  and a cripple, after all..."

"No!"

Risha had been quiet during the entire conversation between Argath and her father, but now, that one word, escaped her lips and it seemed to envelop the whole room in it.

"Dad, don't do this", she pleaded, touching Jeraddin's arm. "I don't want you to kill anyone!"

"My, what a naive girl", Argath said mockingly. "Do you really think that your father became the war-hero he is today without shedding some blood?"

"T-that was different", the lynx girl protested. "My father would never kill someone that couldn't defend themselves."

As she said those words, she looked pleadingly at Jeraddin, hoping that he would say something that would confirm her opinion, but he did not. Instead, when he spoke, it was to ask Argath a question:

"May I have some time to think about it?"

The Princess nodded assent.

"You may." 

She picked up a silver-bell which sat on the desk and rang it. Immediately, the doors opened and a servant entered.

"Escort the General and his daughter to their room", Argath commanded. "We shall continue this conversation in a bit."

Once they were alone, Argath turned to Lorenzo.

"There are guards posted in the garden, right?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Have a few posted below the General's window, as a precaution."

"It will be done. Princess, may I ask a question?"

"What is it?"
"Why allow the General and his family to live? Surely, we could have found a way to get rid of them without casting suspicions on to us?"

Argath did not answer immediately. Instead, she walked up to the large map of the world, which covered one of the walls. She stood there, her head tilted sideways, as if she was studying some great painting. Eventually, she motioned for Lorenzo to come closer.

"What do you see?" She asked.
"I don't understand, Your Highness" the fox said, puzzled. "Its a map of the world. What about it?"
"Its the reason why I prefer Jeraddin alive and serving me, rather than dead and buried. You see, though he does not know it, he will help me accomplish the second part of my revenge against my father."

"I don't understand; the King is dead, what else is there to do?"

Argath let out a soft chuckle.

"Taking my father's life was only the beginning. Its not only his death that I hungered for for so long, but to surpass him completely."

She  reached out and touched the surface of the map, allowing her fingers to glide over sea and land.

"I shall expand Vinoli's borders, making it a greater nation than it has ever been. When future historians mention the reign of King Sharan, it will be only as a footnote, to that of mine."

*****

As they followed the servant back to their temporary quarters, Risha found that her mind was overflowing with questions. Among other things, she wondered about Argath's remark earlier. Had her father actually killed someone in cold blood before? No, she couldn't imagine him being capable of something like that.

The Princess is just trying to get under my skin, that's all, she thought to herself. It was a comforting thought and she grabbed onto it like a drowning man would a lifeline. She also wondered what had become of Merees; she hadn't seen the younger Princess since that terrible scene in the dining hall. Was she still somewhere in the palace or had she left? Probably the latter, since every second she remained in this place meant that her life was at risk. Still, I would have liked to have seen her one more time, if only to say goodbye.

At last, they reached their destination. The servant excused himself and headed back. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, Risha and Jeraddin noticed that there was something different about the room from when they had left it. Or rather, the room itself was the same as before, but now, in addition to Nasari and Leorin, there was a third person there. Said person was wearing cape with a hood, which obscured their features.

"Who are you?" Jeraddin asked, positioning himself in front of his daughter. Neither Nasari nor Leorin seemed hurt in any way, so the newcomer was most likely not dangerous. Still, he was not about to take any unnecessary risks.
With a quick gesture, the stranger lowered their hood.

"Princess Merees!" Risha exclaimed joyfully.
While the two friends embraced each other, Nasari turned to her husband.

"The princess appeared just after you two had left", she explained.

"I'm sorry I didn't come before", Merees said, "but it took me a little while to find the room you were in. However, when I arrived, you two were gone. I heard from Nasari that you had left with my sister's henchfox." She turned to Jeraddin. "General, please tell me that you didn't make some sort of deal with her?"

"I did, I thought it was the only way to guarantee the safety of my children."

"So, what deal did you make?" His wife asked.

Jeraddin slumped his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.

"She has agreed not to harm any of you, provided that one of you either stays a hostage...or, I kill one of the two remaining members of the royal family."

Upon hearing these words, Merees instinctively took a few steps back.

"General", she said. "Your children saved my life; without them, I would have joined my father and half-brother. I owe them a debt that I intend to repay, but I have no intention of giving up my life: I mean to live on so that I can one day take down Argath and make her pay for all that she has done. Do you really intend to take my life? Very well, but it will come at a cost."

Having said that she assumed a stance and began circling around the room, wisps of smoke coming out of her nostrils.

"Believe me, Princesss", Jeraddin said. "This is not something I wish to do."

Risha had positioned herself between the two and now she looked at Jeraddin beseechingly.

"Father, you don't have to do this", she pleaded. "I don't want you to kill anyone! If Argath wants a hostage, then she...." An audible gulp escaped Risha's throat. "....She can have me", she finished.

"No, she can't!"

Nasari, who previously had been sitting on the bed, now stood up in her full height, her eyes blazing with determination.

"I'm not leaving any of my children in the hands of...of her", she said, anger making her incapable of even speaking Argath's name. "That's why I will be the hostage she desires."

Upon announcing this, Nasari looked at Merees.

"Your Highness", she said. "You said you owed my children a debt, may I entrust you with their protection?"

"Absolutely" Merees said, solemnly. "You can count on me."

Jeraddin relaxed visibly and gave his wife a look of sincere gratitude. He felt an immense relief that he wouldn't have to take somebody's life, especially that of a person whom his daughter was obviously very fond of. Than, a thought struck him:

"How are you planning on leaving the palace?" He asked. "Our children should be able to leave through the gates once we've wrapped things up with Argath, but what about you, Princess? I doubt your sister is going to let you out of her sight."

"There's a tunnel which leads out past the palace-grounds", Merees explained. "It was made in order to allow any old people, women and children among the courtiers and staff to escape, in case it looked like the palace would fall to an invasion. As far as I know, its never been used, but I used to play in it when I was little."

"Or, we could sneak out through the garden", Leorin suggested, those being the first words he had spoken in a while.

He walked over to the window and peered down into the garden. When he turned back to the others, it was with a crestfallen look on his face.

"Never mind, there are two guards standing right below the window."

"They weren't there before", Jeraddin said. "Argath must have placed them there. I must hand it to her; she seems to think of everything."


"Let us hope she's overlooked the tunnel", Merees said and turned to Risha and Leorin. "I apologize if I sound callous, but I would prefer not to remain here much longer. Why don't you say good-bye and then we'll go."

"We already said good-bye.", Risha said, while glancing at the ring her father had given her.

Leorin nodded, trying his best to seem mature. Then, his true feelings took over and he rushed to his mother, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Good-bye, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie", Nasari replied as she gently touched the tip of her son's ears. "You and your sister will always be my treasures."

Jeraddin nodded in agreement.

"And mine", he said.

"You won't be separated forever", said Merees. "That's another thing I promise you."

"Wait! Risha asked, looking at her mother. "If we return here and Argath finds out, won't that mean she'll..." She left the final words of the sentence hanging in the air, unable to pronounce them.

"Well", Nasari said with a wry smile on her face. "You'll just have to be careful and make sure she does not find out. Don't worry about me, children, your mother can take care of herself if it comes to that. Believe me, I'm tougher than I look."

"I can testify to that fact", said Jeraddin and planted a quick kiss on his wife's cheek, her whiskers tickling his nose, causing him to sneeze.

Having said farewell for the second time, Risha and Leorin took one last look at their parents and their old life, before following Merees out the door. Now, all they had to do was reach that tunnel and hope that luck was on their side.