A Stroke Of Originality

Miller put his weapon on safety as he and his unit walked into the palace of the prince.

“Please, let us take your weapons.” A guard requested.

“No, they go where ever we go,” Miller assured.

“As you wish, the prince is right this way.”

The guard pointed towards large double doors in the center of the hallway, and lead the way. The unit followed with caution.

“Keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks like it can bite us, shoot us, go boom…”

“We got it, LT. eyes open.” Sgt. Howe reassured Miller.

“I don’t want any surprises here; let’s just get in here make the agreement and get the hell out of here.”

“Rog,”

The unit walked through the doors behind the guard and saw the prince sitting in what appeared to be a throne eating grapes from one of his maids. The room filled with armed guards surrounding him.

“Prince, our guests have arrived.” The guard announced.

The prince waved off his maid. “Well, well, I knew you would need me eventually. Your government knows how good I am at what I do, and have finally come to their senses to make a deal. Ha.” the prince laughed.

“Can we just get this over here so my people and I can get out of here?”

“Don’t interrupt me.” He said as he stood from his throne.

His guards grabbing their guns as he stood, putting the unit on edge, Miller could see the others clinching their firearms.

“Ha!” The prince clapped his hands. “So tense you are. Relax a little, I’m not going to hurt you. Although I do bite a little.” he winked at the unit, followed by a laugh.

“As I said before, let’s just get this over with,” Miller repeated.

“Fine. No playing with these guys. Newt, won’t you be a dear and fetch my agreement papers, and my favorite.”

Everyone watched as Newt bowed his head, and walked into the back room. An awkward silence filled the room as everyone stared at each other, and the prince went to eating grapes again.

“Think we can get him to speed this up, the fellas getting a bit dicy.” Sgt. Howe whispered.

“Trust me, I want to get out of here just as much as you do.”

Miller took a step towards the throne, and the guards around the room raised their weapons and pointed them at him. His troops, in turn, did the same.

“Now, now, don’t be rude. Ask to approach.”

The Lt took a deeper breath and took a step backward, gritting his teeth. He was about to express his concerns when Newt came walking back through the door with papers, and a child in chains. The troops looked at each other in confusion but kept their mouths shut.

“What’s this?” Miller asked.

“Our agreement, of course.”

“No, I mean the child.”

“Oh, him? This was a gift to me.” The prince said as he yanked the chains knocking the kid to the ground.

Sgt. Howe noticed the LT flip his weapon from safety to fire. “What you doing, LT. that child is not what we came here for.”

Miller didn’t respond as he stared at the prince.

“You look as if you don’t approve of my actions.”

Still, he said nothing. The prince yanked the chain once more, pulling the child closer to the throne, stumping on the kid’s head.

“What about this?” he laughed as the child screamed in pain.

Miller drew his weapon, sending panic throughout the whole room. The troops followed up, readying their guns at everyone in the room.

“Talk to me, LT, what the fuck are we doing?” Howe challenged.

“I can’t just stand by and let him do this to that child.”

“Listen to me, we had one mission. That agreement. If we set it off in this room, everything goes boom boom around the world.”

“Ha!” The prince stood up. “I’d listen to your friend there.” he laughed.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I had a weapon pointed at my head that could go off any second.” Miller shot back.

“I’m waiting!” The prince shouted as he walked towards Miller’s weapon.

“Listen to me, dammit! If you shoot, that’s a world war that will cause more lives than its worth.” Howe spoke up.

“What would you have me do?”

“Put it down…” Howe trailed when he noticed one of the guards sneaking up behind them. “Shit!” Howe said as he dropped to one knee and shot a round into the chest of one of the prince’s guards.

Immediately after he let off his shot, gunfire rang throughout the room. Bodies fell all around, and shock spread across the unit’s face once the room fell silent.

“What did we do…” Miller asked as they all stared at the prince, coughing up blood.