An Eighth Freebit from Acceptance

Eldin faces more trouble in this eighth of ten 6 paragraph Freebits from Acceptance. I face trouble, too, as actually there are seven paragraphs here. Sorry, Ginger. In my defense, two are lines of dialogue and it doesn't make sense without all seven. You know, finding six coherent paragraphs out of context can be difficult.

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"You should not have come down," Eldin said. "He will kill you."

Eldin watched the gathered nobles push their wives behind them and back away from the king, and he looked for any of King Clement's defenders.

"I know he will kill me, but not how he killed my grandfather, choking the old man with his hands. Or how he killed my father that same night, stabbing him with King Theobald's knife, and then making it look like the son strangled the father, his king." Uilleam's eyes never left Clement. "Your supporters stood guard outside the door, allowing your evil."

"You cannot know that! It's a lie. A lie I say!" Clement scoffed-shouted, but wariness entered his eyes.

Uilleam smiled in acidic certainty. "No lie, King Usurper. I was there, I saw. You wore dark clothing, having had to sneak into the palace. Shall I describe my father's clothing? My grandfather's? Or how the old man fought you until you grabbed a candlestick and struck him? Then you twisted the Signet Regal from his finger, but it wouldn't loosen, so you cut off his finger. In trying to slip it on you dropped it and had to scrabble on the floor and under the bed to find it." Uilleam's voice lowered as he approached King Clement. "Don't back up, royal-boil! Everyone knows me harmless. Look, I'm unarmed, not even an eating knife. You want me dead? Now is a good time to perform the feat."

The king waved his armed guards forward with a hand movement. He stood supremely self-confidant, arrogant in his assurance. "Your loyal man is mine. He will kill you. I have no fear."

With a laugh, Uilleam asked, "Will you kill me, Eldin? Will you stab me in the back?" Uilleam's gaze remained on Clement.

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