The prince paced back and forth. "But... what can I say- I'm sorry- you're alright now?" At the base of the stairs, Narvis nodded. "But I can see your missing hand, this story is no mere metaphor, it really happened."

Dragoon stood up. "Prince- have you never been told the story of the butterfly? A young one goes through a short time of trial and transformation- and emerges as what he will be for the rest of his life, something grand and beautiful. The caterpillar is the boy, the cocoon is the awkward days of youth- and let me tell you, there's no a man here who would not have skipped them if he could," a small chuckle traveled through everyone, the boy's shoulders lowering a little. "But we all emerged as men. Just because a butterfly is real does not mean it cannot be a metaphor."

The boy considered this. "Yes... yes, I suppose so." He paced again. "Um... a hint... please?"

Another noble stood. "Garish of house Rabbit," said the new man. "If I may prince. Perhaps not the entire tale is the lesson. I think the actual metaphor is the terrifying journey that killed our friends. The body of a man often represents a body of men- like a family."

"Or maybe a nation," said the boy. The man nodded and took his seat again. "Yes. Some day I will be king, so if this applies to nations I should know it- it is surely a terrible thing to be ignorant of."

He continued. "So if the bodies represent nations... then the venom and infections represent... well they came from a wicked man and a serpent... they took fathers from their children, they mutilated your bodies... dad, I think the infection is evil- I mean it represents evil itself."

"Sounds like a fair assumption," said the king.

"And cutting- it must mean like- cutting someone off- like cutting a bad person off from your family or maybe executing a criminal. Such a harsh thing to do- but sometimes, what's at stake is too precious and you just have to, like with the bites you all received on the chest. Holden refused to cut out the poison there, so it got to his lung and killed him faster. Maybe that's like... say a man threatens to kill a little child, if you, as the king, do nothing and your guards stand down, the people lose confidence in you."

"And when you lose the confidence of your people my son, realize it or not, your reign is at an end. You will either be deposed or you will be but a figurehead to the real power."

The boy nodded. "However Huen cut off his entire arm when he didn't need to. He did so much damage that in the end he lost too much blood. This means... if you're too harsh on your people, your country could fall- maybe to revolution or even to depopulation as famine spreads from all the dead bodies."

Earnest shook his head. "When I first heard your tale Narvis, I thought it was disturbing. Now when I think of what it means... the tale was kind."

"Who do you think the tinker was?"

"I suppose God- for who else can truly redeem us from evil?"

The king smiled at his son. "You make me proud son."

This did not seem to even register, and the king noticed, a churning in the pit of his stomach. "Dad, I'm tired- can I go rest?"

The king nodded, the meeting coming to an end for the day.