A Grim Proposal

Fred feels as if he has been hit in the guts with a rock. Far from being the hero that he thought he would be, he is now Fred the Buffoon. His reputation will be in ruins. How can he face the Court of Allaria? He imagines the taunts of "kill any princesses lately?" And only evil creatures kill princesses. He knows, in his heart, that he is not evil. He would have rescued her if he had only known! He also is annoyed at Checkers. He has been trained to fight, not to follow plans that were too clever by half. But the worst of all this is that there are potentially far-reaching and dire consequences to this act. If it had been the princess of some petty kingdom, the event would be a personal tragedy. Astra was a High Princess of Aqualaria, the powerful kingdom to the South. If it were known that Astra had been murdered by an Allarian noble, the resulting war could make the pillaging and mayhem that the dragon created seem like a cleansing rain.

"Checkers," Fred begins, "I couldn't take a chance. Dragons are known to charm people, and what you were asking was so out of the ordinary that I couldn't see any other reason as to why you asked me not to kill her. I can fight, but I can't read minds. And before you announce to the world that I am a murderer, consider this. Astra freed both her homeland and mine, as well as yours, from the scourge of the dragon. If you announce that an Allarian noble murdered an Aqualarian princess, you will undo much of the good that she did do. The blood from the resulting civil war would be on your hands."

Tears well up in Checkers' eyes, and she is having trouble speaking. "I shouldn't have put all the blame on you, but .... Fred, I just feel like a murderer! Poor Astra slayed the dragon, and died unhearlded and unappriciated. I tried ... but I couldn't think of anything else to do." She looks away from Fred, as if trying to shut herself off from everything having to do with Astra's death.

Fred is no longer angry with her. She clearly feels as badly as he does, although that is no consolation for him. This is an act that he cannot put right. Both adventurers say nothing for what seem like hours, although it is only a few minutes. Finally, Checkers speaks up. Her voice is more controlled, although still very soft.

"Fred, there is only one thing to do. It is the only way that I can live with myself. What I am about to suggest is fraught with risk - I am really afraid of the humiliation, pain, risk of death, and even worse that might result. But I don't see any other way. And it is something that I will do alone if I need to, but if you could share what I am about to ask, it would give me a tiny bit of comfort, and might give us a chance to atone for this."

Fred does not like this. Why is she hesitating to say what she wants to do? And how could he make this good? Fred nods, and asks, "What exactly do you have in mind?"

1. "Belboz was a necromancer. There are risks, but maybe he left a record of a way that we could capture Astra's soul and put it in a body."
2. "I shall start tomorrow on a journey to Aqualaria. I shall tell of Astra's glorious fight with Belboz, and confess my role in her death. I will accept the judgment of the Aqualarians."

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