The Prince strode up the stone stairs circling the silver tower which is the Temple two steps at a time, ignoring the strong wind which was making his crimson cape billow behind him. Some gusts were particularly strong enough to make him pause to keep his balance but on he went, climbing towards his destination. He came all the way from the castle as soon as he saw that infernal crow flying away. He wasted no time in questioning the vampire’s guards, much less the archers who had to scramble to their positions only to realize that the Count was beyond their reach when they did. All his preparations for nothing! And he will lose face after that proclamation! The kingdom will think of him as a pompous buffoon! If those blasted guards are in their right minds, they should be committing suicide by now.
Priests and wizards on the way down from the altars above did not halt him for breaking the Temple's rules - each stone step of the stairs was made for the seeker to climb in contemplation, not for skipping or for stamping. The residents of the Temple easily recognized who the mad seeker was, and who wouldn't know him? The Prince, because of a still untraceable curse, has been transformed into a green-skinned Ogre wearing royal clothes. That fact made the already furious Prince's thoughts still darker and he increased his pace to climbing three steps at a time.
Breathing hard and cursing, he finally reached his destination, the topmost altar in the Temple - the altar of Apollo.
"Apollo!" the Prince intoned, raising his arms. "I beseech thee! Answer the summons of the Prince of this land whom you are bound to serve!"
Greenish-blue smoke appeared out of nowhere on the middle of the platform, and materialized into a single eye with an iris the same color as that of the smoke from which it came from. A voice issued vaguely in the direction of the Eye, though the Prince was sure it was speaking directly to his head and not through sound.
"What is it, your Highness?" it asked in a faraway-sounding voice.
The Prince has thought carefully upon this. Revenge could have been sweeter if delivered by his own hands but capturing the Count a second time may prove to be difficult if not near impossible. Asking help from the gods will suffice, as long as he gets his vengeance. Most assuredly better than nothing, he thought.
"The Count of the Enchanted Forest," the Prince spoke. "Kill him!"
It took a few moments before Apollo was able to reply, small puffs of smoke puffing from the eye.
"What for?" it asked.
This irritated the Prince. "For the Princess! He took her away, killed her, and went to associate with a common hunter. He slaughtered a number of villagers in a mad killing spree! Such deeds cannot be left unpunished! I had him jailed but he escaped! Surely, the Gods will favor my cause. Lives were lost! Innocent lives! Women! Children! The princess - !"
"Enough!" Apollo cut in. "You do not have enough reason for your wish. The Princess loved the Count. She did love you, in the beginning, but she found another."
"Lies!" the Prince shouted vehemently, his hands clenched in fists, as if he could win a fight against the God he summoned.
"I am the God of Truth, and it is the truth you shall hear and no other," Apollo continued. "The Princess found a new love in the Count and you should have accepted that if you really did love her. It's your pride which brought you the ruin that you are now. You didn't come here to ask justice for the Princess, but to get revenge because you cannot accept that a low being, as how you consider the Count, was able to beat you for the Princess' heart. You should learn to accept things as they are. And about the villagers, you know very well that such is the normal order of things in this land and neither man nor god can be held responsible for those tragedies."
The Prince was taken aback by how swiftly his arguments were being overturned but he recovered himself quickly. He did believe he can hoodwink this eye.
"I am the Prince of this land," he said coldly. "And I have the right to see justice done when it is needed! No matter what you say, the Princess' life was taken!"
The Eye blinked. One slow blink, and it said, "She wasn’t... killed by the Count. The Princess killed herself for him. That's how much she loved him."
The Prince's eyes smarted with unshed tears but he held himself under tight control. His anger was giving way to despair and shame. "Still," he continued in a rather unsteady voice, "the Count should have had enough sense not to steal who isn't his. He should've have had enough will not to let the Princess... feel... what she shouldn't have! He should have had enough sense for that. He knew she was mine!"
The Prince’s shoulders were heaving with emotion. He wouldn’t back down. He knew he was right. He wanted to phrase his orders carefully, trying to fool Apollo that he was only after the interest of his kingdom yet they did not work. So in the end, he resorted to spilling out the truth. That in the end, he had to admit that it was but a personal matter between him and the Count which drove him here. His concern for the kingdom buried by his ire.
The Eye remained motionless, as if it needed thinking over of what the Prince has just said. Slowly, it blinked, and in a casual tone it simply said, "It's done."
A slow smile formed on the Prince's lips and it was all he could do to keep himself from doing a caper on the spot. Ever mercurial, he was quickly able to regain his joviality.
"So..." he said gleefully, "Justice is mine after all. Where can I find his corpse so I can give a burial suitable for his... station."
"The Count is not dead," Apollo replied, and before the Prince could continue his haranguing again, it quickly added, “As with what it seemed he did to you, I took away the one he loves the most. I took the hunter's life instead.”
The Prince frowned, mulling over the God's decision. He was about to open his mouth to complain, but after a while, he simply shrugged and said, "That should suffice, I guess," realizing that the Count must be in deep misery at that moment.
Contented, he was about to turn and leave the God of Truth without further ceremony when he suddenly remembered something else.
"Apollo," he asked casually. "Can I have the Princess back?"
The Eye blinked once more, as if surprised.
"No," it said, as blue-green smoke enveloped it one last time. "An eye for an eye," and the Eye disappeared with the magical smoke, leaving the Prince feeling more empty-handed and alone.
The wind blew.
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