A piece for Al Forbes’ Sunday Photo Fiction.
copyright Alastair Forbes
The Golden Circle
“He’s the king.”
“We can’t trust him.”
“But he’s the king.”
“He killed eight people.”
“He’s the king.”
In the nation of Vallakha, there was no way to remove a monarch. He was installed by God and was above the law. So when King Jerome III began roaming the palace halls, killing servants and courtiers, there was intense discussion about to what to do.
“Execute him?”
“Impossible.”
“Imprisonment?”
“He controls the prisons. Nothing is higher than the king, except God himself.”
“Nothing but God . . .”
On the first day of summer, the king was imprisoned in his bedroom, surrounded by golden bars, which were blessed and made part of the Church. His guards were priests. His rule remained absolute through the whole nation, except for a circle, four inches wide, that surrounded him.
