Title: "The Beggar's Truth – A Slow Unveiling"
Scene: Royal Interrogation Chamber, 2 Hours After the Incident
The room was dim, sterile, and cold. Cameras hidden in the corners, guards outside the thick metal door. Inside sat the man—still wrapped in ragged fabric, his beard unkempt, his fingers trembling not from fear, but from the patience of a master waiting to be misunderstood.
Across from him sat Amara, arms crossed, her gaze unflinching. She had seen spies. She had crushed traitors. But this man… something about him kept her from giving the kill order.
"Talk," she said flatly.
The beggar cleared his throat. "I have nothing more to say than what I already did. I'm just a man… a hungry man."
Amara narrowed her eyes. "You dared lay a hand on the Queen and you expect sympathy? You're either mad—or trained."
He chuckled—quietly. "Then get the King. Let him judge me. If he says I'm guilty, then kill me."
Amara tapped a comm button. "The King is still unavailable."
"And the Dictator?" he asked, voice just slightly sharper.
Amara tilted her head. "She's too ready to kill you. You won't get a word out before a bullet silences you."
"Then let the Queen return," he muttered.
The door slid open. The Queen entered—flanked by four guards but her hands calm. Her eyes locked on the beggar, scanning his posture, his tone, his silence.
"You're not just a beggar," Skylar said softly.
He didn't answer.
"You looked at me like… like you knew me. Not from afar. But deeply. Intimately. Like someone who's seen me cry and laugh… and fight."
Still no answer.
Skylar took a step forward. Amara tensed.
"You're hiding from us. But I don't know why."
His head dropped. Slowly, with a single move, he removed the rag covering his chin. Then his forehead. Then the rest of his face.
Amara's mouth fell open.
Skylar staggered back, eyes wide with horror—and recognition.
"No…" she whispered.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
The man looked up, eyes filled with pain—and power.
"I am the King."
To be continued…