You Were Always Green

“Green is such a beautiful color.”

“It's not green. It's viridian.”

“Oh, arguably the same hue.”

“Green is an ugly word for an ugly color. Viridian has punch.”

“Well, they all work the same, blue, red, orange. They all do their duty.”

“None so much as this. This is perfected, better than the original, hotter, brighter, burns faster.”

“It also can’t be put out. It's dangerous.”

“I would hope it is. It's dangerous and we’ll let everyone know it is.”

“Some people are more daring than you think.”

“Some people are fools. If they want a fight, there won’t be one. Just this.”

“But is there enough?”

“If we made enough for every fool with a dream of ruling, we’d have gallons under every house and road.”

“He marches fast, he’ll be here in a day, maybe two if the horses give out.”

“Three. We’ve burned everything from Sulfurstone to the capital, it's all ash. Horses can’t eat ash, men can’t eat rotting horses.”

“But he will still persist, create camps and trenches outside the walls, throw dead carcasses over. He is no amateur, he’ll do everything right.”

“So we’ll leave the walls, charge him and his tired men.”

“With what men of our own? Those who have not already fled are simply waiting.”

“Waiting? For what?”

“Allegiances and oaths crumble when faced with adversity. The loyal ones are all already dead.”

“The ones we have will do, if we can’t charge him, we stay and fling life fire at him.”

“I’ve never liked that name. It does just the opposite. So we’ll hold out long enough to turn all of his men into a large barbeque. I can’t imagine the smell.”

“He isn’t the problem. Once he’s dead, the others will sense weakness, think that our walls are cracked and attempt a siege of their own.”

“And you’ll do more of the same? Burn livestock and grain from their realm to our capital and pray behind our cracked walls.”

“I’ll fight.”

“With your life fire? You don't have enough.”

“We have enough for every kingdom and man in the world, let them attempt a siege. They’ll glow green too.”

“You mean viridian? Where do you keep it all? I assume the basement of houses and roads would fit nicely many gallons.”

“I haven’t done that.”

“Yes we have. And what of the harbor? Are you going to fill that with your viscous life fire?”

“If I have to.”

“It’ll never be usable again. A wharf blazing viridian forever.”

“Better than letting them anchor on the beach.”

“She has ten thousand ships. More if she gets mercenaries and sell swords.”

“And they’ll all be burning at the bottom of the sea.”

“And if they evade it somehow?”

“They won’t. But I’ve sent out a call for aid to him, just in case.”

“Him? Oh, you are so very desperate. He won’t come if he hasn’t already. You know he won’t. And if he does, he’ll be digging trenches, not reinforcing walls.”

“Our families have history together, he’ll remember that.”

“Bloody history. Who was it that banished him?”

“We did.”

“You did. I voiced my complaints but you never listen, just like now, you still refuse to listen.”

“And what is it you are trying to tell me?”

“The battle is lost.”

“It has yet to begin.”

“And it is lost. This may be the capital but every other fortress and garrison has fallen, towns that you haven’t burned have been pillaged, the land outside our walls don’t belong to us anymore.”

“Aye. They don’t belong to you.”

“Hostile words won’t spare you the end of a steel sword.”

“And what is it then that you would have me do? Surrender? There are five thousand men at my disposal, this keep stands with me at the throne or it falls with someone else picking up the pieces!”

“Then it will be in pieces.”

“You have no faith in me?”

“I do. That faith is why I am still trying to—”

“Sabotage me?”

“Convince you.”

“To do what?”

“What you can.”

“I refuse. I’ll not have my back scarred whilst my people are killed and raped.”

“Your people? You mean old men, women, and children? The next generation will have old mothers. No. There is no next generation.”

“Then I will join them.”

“There’s a boat behind the keep on the old rocks.”

“No!”

“It has food and wine.”

“Never!”

“A sword too, didn’t bother packing a shield.”

“Begone.”

“We should.”

“Begone!”

“Oh, but I won’t.”

“You would defy your king?”

“I would.”

“I’ll kill you where you stand.”

“You can’t.”

“Begone! Damn you! Damn your advice! Damn your being! Damn the words you’ve put in my ears! Damn the commands I’ve given because you said so!—Damn you! Damn it all!”

“Let it be. Damn it all, it has a nice ring to it.”

“Just, just leave me be.”

“I can’t. Sometimes I wish I could. Other times, I’m glad you were the human I was stuck with.”

“You wish me to take the easy way out?”

“I wish you would be easier on yourself.”

“Ha…I’ll take it. Your way.”

“Our way.”

“I’ll call the flamesmith then.”

“The flamesmith…”

“I’ll have him light the last red fire the world will ever see.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“You won’t, what happened to our people? What happened to refusing to let them suffer? To refusing the keep be stolen?”

“They won’t suffer.”

“No.”

“The keep won’t be stolen.”

“This is absurdity.”

“There’s enough for every man in the world, there should be enough for them.”

“I didn’t create an ocean of life fire for this!”

“No, but you placed it under every man who could threaten the crown, every road that could be stepped, every house that could be lived, every wall that could be manned.”

“I didn’t.”

“We did.”

“That’s a coward's end, the same as running—no, worse. An ugly end.”

“Ugly to you. But it has its punch.”

“Wait! I was wrong he could still come he could put aside the differences we’ve had for the past few decades we could make him a lord or—or whatever it takes maybe the ten thousand ships will crash on the waves perhaps a storm will destroy her armada perhaps his men will starve outside the gates maybe they’ll never make it to the capital!”

“Could’s, perhaps’, and maybe’s. You were right. The battle is lost.”

“But the war goes on! Flee across the sea, find sanctuary in another king’s realm!”

“I have found my sanctuary.”

“No Gods please. This cannot be our end…”

“We run or I die, arguably the same hue. Thank you for your eternal service. You were always viridian.”