"Very well," said Xanthos after another long sip from his goblet, breaking the silence, "now let us hear what Andor himself has to tell us."

So, this was not the end then, Andor thought to himself rather disheartened, and returned to his earlier position facing the king at the end of the table to begin his recollections.

He laid out the entire procedure from the moment he had arrived at the glade, how he had filled the phial, added the powder and then had sat down to wait. He described the first appearance of Rose with the least amount of emotion possible, pointed out the fact that she willingly gave him her name, and that it took him only a few moments to persuade her to drink the liquid. He decided to skip the mentioning of the kiss, as it all of a sudden felt too intimate to divulge in front of the entire Council.

In the meantime Serande had resumed her spot beside Xanthos. "You did an honourable thing, Andor," she said, "and you can rest assured of our gratitude as -,"

"Yes, yes, we know all that already," Xanthos cut Serande off, "but I am sure that there is more that he can tell us." A sly smile spread on the king's face when he addressed Andor. "Did you use anything else besides your words to lure the human in? I must insist that you do not hold back any aspect of your deed." Xanthos leaned forward, the cruel lines in his haughty face tensing.

"No, there is nothing else," Andor was quick to answer, but the impatient drumming of Xanthos's  fingers on the table and the curious eyes of the council members made Andor reconsider.

"I- kissed her." The words had only just left his mouth, when he regretted them. This tender moment was supposed to be his alone.

A murmur went through the crowd and Xanthos was not the only one to nod appreciatively. "You did indeed?" There was a gleeful sneer on his face. "And what else did you do?" He raised a thick eyebrow, his piercing black gaze assessing Andor.

"Nothing. That was all."

Andor felt the king's eyes burning like hot coals into his own. "Are you quite sure that you are not hiding anything?"

"Yes, of course!" His words came out harsher than what he had intended. He softened his tone, bowing his head in deference. "I did nothing else, your majesty."

"So you are telling me that you had this," Xanthos flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture, "according to human standards sufficiently attractive woman at your disposal and you did not touch her at all?"

Andor's eyes widened in disbelief at the king's obvious innuendo. He did not like the direction this interrogation seemed to be taking.

"No, of course not! I only did my duty, but I am not a violator!" it broke out of him, his right hand balling into a fist. Breathing suddenly became difficult.

"So honourable!" The king barked a laugh. "A shame though. I was hoping to hear a detailed recollection of how you had your way with her." He took his goblet and leaned back in his chair, lazily swirling the contents inside, while observing Andor's reaction with sardonic delight. Serande tilted her head towards Xanthos, whispering something into his ear, but he waved her away impatiently.

"Your majesty, I dare to say it is clear that Andor has nothing else to tell us. We should let the boy go," Rakhis now raised his voice, languidly waving a webbed hand in Andor's direction, his handsome features slightly perturbed by the king's words.

"The deed has been done," Lessindra joined in, straightening herself in her chair, "there is no need to extend this longer than necessary." She briefly smiled at Andor, but Eldoran laid a hand on her arm, raising his eyebrows. "It is not our place to go against his majesty's words."

"You are indeed well advised not to do so." Xanthos shot them a silencing glare and then turned back to Andor, who was still struggling for words.

"Your majesty, I wouldn't-, this isn't-," Andor broke off, too stunned to cloth his thoughts in words. He opened and closed his fist several times until he felt that he could breathe again.

"Don't look so appalled. It has been done before and I'm sure the human woman would have been more than willing. They always are compliant when pretty elves are involved." Xanthos took another sip of wine and licked his lower lip. Andor stared at Lessindra, hoping for another word from her, but she only sat in silence with no intention of stopping the king from where he was going. He felt the urge to bolt from this increasingly embarrassing scenario, but of course he knew that this was impossible, unless he wished to spend the night in the king's dungeons. He would have to endure this until Xanthos was done with him.

"That's why we chose you. No woman can resist you, they say, be it elf or human, and you yourself just helped prove the point." Xanthos waved a heavily bejewelled finger at Andor. "A kiss alone was enough to make her fall for you. Pity that you didn't take advantage of her while you had the chance."

"Your majesty," Andor's voice was hoarse, "I don't think it would be appropriate-,"

"It matters not what you deem appropriate!" Xanthos slammed his fist on the table, sending his goblet tumbling, red wine spilling across the wooden surface like blood. Lessindra quickly pulled back her hands, while Rakhis froze in his seat, Velos' skin colour turning a pale green that nearly rivalled Marante's, who eyed the rivulet with interest as it trickled lazily through the wooden crevices towards the edge of the table. Eldoran appeared to be holding his breath, while deciding if to intervene was going to cost him his head, but then his face returned to its usual indifferent expression. He must have come to the conclusion that trying to deviate the king's debaucherous mind wasn't worth the effort for neither of them.

"Humans are weak! They are born to die from the moment they leave their mother's wombs. They are a disgrace and you didn't have any scruples when we sent you and you better not start having some now!" the king bellowed and Andor's stomach clenched as Xanthos unleashed his hateful tirade.

"For centuries humans have tried to be like us and when they found time and again that they couldn't, they pushed us back, tried to decimate us. They strut about as if they were the unquestioned rulers of this earth with their hideous faces, hairy bodies and their mayfly life. If I would not despise them so much I would pity them for what they are. Spreading like vermin, multiplying like rabbits, they took away our land, forcing us into hiding. We have to stay permanently underground, while long, so long ago, we could amble wherever we pleased. Live where we wanted, take humans as we pleased, steal them away for our pleasure." His mouth widened to a crooked grin. "And I promise you, it will be like the old days again. You will see. We will not stay like this, we will conquer the earth again for us! And then the ground will be soaked with their filthy mortal blood!

"Humans have destroyed and disrespected the earth long enough, defiled nature, cut down the woods, crushed the flowers. It is only rightful and just that they shall give their lives to rebuild what they have broken. They are more useful and pretty as flowers anyway. Don't you agree, Andor?"

A low rumble of approval went through the row of council members and with a sick feeling in his gut Andor had to admit, that those had been exactly his thoughts when he had run his fingers along the petals of Rose's flower. Hadn't he called her beautiful? And hadn't he displayed exactly the  type of arrogance Xanthos prided himself of?

But the king wasn't done. A wild gleam was in his eyes when he leaned forward, steepling his fingers under his chin, ignoring the puddles of wine blooming beneath his elbows.

"Let me tell you one thing Andor, and listen well, so you don't forget it again. Humans are gullible and easily swayed. You saw it for yourself, didn't you? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it, enjoy the feeling of complete power you had over that human?" He raised one hand, clenching it into a fist, as if he were crunching said human with his bare hands. "Enjoy the sight of her miserable mortal existence being reduced to a mere flower."

"I-," Andor seemed to have lost his voice.

"Answer me!" Xanthos ordered and Andor could feel the beseeching gaze of Serande on him.

"Yes," Andor said, resigned and thoroughly disgusted by himself.

Xanthos cocked his head sideways. "Louder my boy, so we can all hear you!"

Andor's eyes were simmering with barely contained rage, but he held the king's gaze.

"Yes, your majesty. I did enjoy it."

Shame washed over him at the admittance of the truth. Xanthos slapped his flat hand on the table once more, his lips curling into a sly smile. This time his goblet went toppling to the floor with a loud clatter.

"That's more like it. I knew you had it in you. You are no weakling, you're a hunter after all, and what else but game was this worthless mortal woman to you?"

Andor wanted to mention the softness of her lips, the sparkling blue of her eyes, her scent of honey and wildflowers. The blonde locks of her hair, the black shirt that was slightly too big for her petite body, the strange blue trousers, the brown shoes that seemed too rugged for her feet. Her voice that was sweet and trembling with excitement beneath the layer of fear, the unexpected passion with which she had kissed him back. She was all that and so much more, but he would never be able to find out. Of course he said none of it.

"She was nothing else to me." The words coming from his mouth tasted bitter. They were nothing but a lie.

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the hall and while some faces shone with glee and satisfaction, none uttered a single word, not when Xanthos had worked himself into such an angry mood. But Andor did not care anymore, he wanted to only get away from all this.

"Your majesty, may I take my leave now?" Andor finally dared to ask, when he saw that Xanthos had sunken back into his chair, a look of disappointment on his face when he found his goblet gone.

"Yes, yes, you may go." Xanthos dismissed him with an annoyed wave of his hand, like one would shake off a fly. The king did not even glance his way. "More wine!" he barked and a thin servant sprang from behind the king's chair obediently to his side, providing him with a newly refilled goblet.

Andor did not hesitate and swiftly made his way to the massive black doors, parting unbearably slow before him. He bowed once, turned on his heel and was gone from the hall.