The Porcelain Goblet

One

The Porcelain Goblet hits the floor with a resounding CRACK. The coffee grinds contained within it rain down in rivulets, spackling the stone with a splat. The delicately hand painted violets explode into one-thousand pieces. The authentic gold trim turns to naught but glitter on the ground. Twenty generations, five hundred years, and countless fortunes become dust in an instant. The prophesying shapes formed from the coffee grinds splatter all over the floor, transforming from a divine mystic tool to an ugly brown stain. Silence fills the room. All eyes turn to the woman who had drank from the Goblet.

Two

The Queen’s Seer’s head falls back unnaturally against her neck. Her back arched impossibly, rivaling the limits of the Court Acrobat. She Convulses. All in the room can do little else but look on. It was but two seconds ago that they had all been enjoined in merriment. Several Knights have yet to move their own goblets from their lips as they had toasted to last week’s enemy’s health. And yet, even though many have not become cognizant of it yet, the merriment has shattered with the Seer’s Porcelain Goblet. It has been thrown into the same chaos as the Seer’s body.  The Seer’s body continues to quake uncontrollably, but in her throes-

Three

The Seer, Theanoe, raises one long arm with a singular finger extended and aimed at the Visiting Prince.  She tries to speak, “ Inn-” but her speech ends in a gargle and another convulsion as the Doctor awakes from his stupor and rushes to her side. The Knights that had been caught unawares drop their glasses to the table, causing a great metal clamor to be heard; thus, further impeding anyone from making out The Seer’s words.

Four

The Courtiers, the last to catch on to the predicament, finally gasp. The Doctor continues to make haste to the Seer’s side. The Queen’s Knights draw their swords against the Visiting Prince, accepting the Seer’s apparent accusation. The Prince’s Knights draw their swords to match. A Gauntlet need not be dropped. Both sides share the same belief regarding what must happen next.

Five

The First of the Knights attack. The First of the Knights die. The Courtiers swiftly stumble out of the way, food still in hand.  Still, the Seer convulses. And still the Doctor runs. The King sits back.

Six

The Queen stands. The Doctor rushes. The Seer quakes. The Courtiers make their way to the exits. The King affects a controlled position, remaining leaned in his chair as he shouts, “The enemy is here!”  Some Courtiers pretend to heed this call, putting their hand on the hilt of their sword, but none leave the safety of the doorways. The Knights continue to make war on each other, transfiguring the courtroom into a battlefield.

Seven

The Prince is seized, pulled at his luxurious collar by an avenging Knight. The Queen wonders why the Prince would so underhandedly wage war; what has he to gain? The Peace promised to him had been as fair as any treaty ever was. Both sides left happy, neither with any real additional land, but between the land given and taken, both sides were left with new land, enough to satisfy everyone from the nobles to the monarchs. What augury could the Seer have been about to describe that could possibly threaten the Prince? The Queen knew the question that was asked, the one the Seer had been about to answer: does the future hold war between our two nations? If the Prince planned continued war, the answer to this question would prove unfortunate, but no one came near the Seer when the question was asked. Whoever poisoned the Seer’s goblet could not have done so After the assassin knew the question. And there was no real way to expect the question of peace, making it impossible for the murderer’s motivation to align with the Prince’s. 

The Seer Convulses.

The Doctor rushes.

The Knights fight to the death.

The Queen falls beside the coffee grinds and onto her knees.

Eight

The Prince is pushed over the dining table, a sword put to the back of his neck. The Queen reasons whoever poisoned her Seer must have cause to fear the future to a far greater degree than the average mortal fears it. The Queen registers a slight pain in her knees from her impact with the ground. Her momentum pushes her forward and she catches herself with her hands. As she looks at the coffee grinds painting the floor, she can discern no clues as to the identity of the assassin. She despairs when movement catches her eye. The Queen notices the only military man not tangled up in the fray: The Armorer. 

The Seer Convulses.

The Doctor Rushes.

The Prince Struggles to Breathe.

Nine

The Prince’s Knights freeze. They dare not risk their Prince’s life. They can do little with their Prince restrained and a sword to his neck.

The Queen makes eye contact with the retreating Armorer,  who would have lost abundant wealth due to this peace with the prince. The Armorer dares to stare back at her. His eyes are cold, his coat expensive.

The Queen seethes with anger. Her Seer had come from her land to this strange one; they had known each other as girls. Theanoe had always been her most trusted friend and a greater lover to her than the King. The Seer had soothed every anxiety and had celebrated every joy with her. She had secured the Knights for her, made sure her political power rivaled the King’s. Everyone in this room was a bird in her hand thanks to Theanoe. Everything she is and everything she was had been influenced by Theanoe. Theanoe had never dallied with nonsense, never allowed flowery words, flattery, or chiffon phrases to obfuscate a Courtier’s true purpose. Theanoe, who had been blessed by the gods with the gift of prophecy, had also served as her tutor. And while the Queen paled in comparison to her tutor, she still retained competency. Her logic had led her to the Armorer and her intuition when she looked into his eyes confirmed her suspicions. The Armorer had taken the light from her lover’s eyes for his own personal gain.

The Queen swears revenge.

The King orders the opposite side, shouting, “Put up arms!”.

The Seer convulses.

The Doctor rushes.

The Armorer freezes.

Ten

“Treason!”, cries the Queen, standing and pointing at the Armorer. 

The Armorer flees.

The Knights give chase.

The Seer goes still.

“Dead” Pronounces the Doctor who has finally arrived at her side. 

The Queen gives a mourned cry. 

The coffee grinds cool on the floor.

The Porcelain dust floats through the air like snow, roused by the flurry of nations.