THE MOMENT
Former Court Mage Albright considered himself a good sport if nothing else. If a situation required him to be the butt of a joke, that was okay with him as long as a bigger goal was met. Whether it be someone learning a lesson, or simply in need of a smile, Albright was ready, willing, and able to make a fool of himself. He approached his job like a Court Jester, and as a result, the actual Court Jester felt slighted and tried a hand at magic. That was the reason Albright was packing his belongings. He's served the royal family long enough, and it was time for him to be done.
But, as he collected his things, the King asked for some of his time. Albright couldn't deny the king's last request and agreed to appear. He expected a lively castle; but, something didn't feel quite right. Everyone was smiling and enthusiastic, as if their King wasn't about to topple over dead any minute. He grew even more curious as he was led to the throne room instead of the King's chambers. He expected his Majesty to be waiting for the end comfortably in his bed.
"Your Majesty," Albright knelt politely upon reaching the King. He held the motion long enough to be respectful, then stood up again. He had questions; but, he guessed he was about to get the answers and remained quiet instead. Although, he was surprised to see the Court Jester was nowhere in sight.
"Albright, you've served my family for years. There's no easy way to say this, and it brings me no joy; but, you're no longer worthy of being my Court Mage. You could not even defend me from the traitorous Jester's curse!"
"Okay," Albright nodded. In his mind, he had already quit the day before. This just felt like extra, unnecessary steps; but, it seemed like the King wanted to make a point as his final act. Albright was fine with that. The current King had frittered away most of the respect Albright had for the family; but, there was still a faint sense of duty there.
"Is that all you have to say for yourself? Aren't you curious how I defeated the Jester's curse when you couldn't?"
"Huh?" Albright tilted his head.
"I'm letting you go because I've proven I'm smart enough to deal with any magic that comes my way; you're useless now."
"What makes you think you've broken the curse?" he asked. "That was a magical death curse that you let the Jester cast on you. It's not easily defeated," he said. Try as he might to shift the blame to Albright, the King held full responsibility for his own predicament. He actively went against Albright's advice and let the Jester cast a 'harmless spell' just to prove he could. It wasn't that he couldn't defend against it, it was more that the King didn't allow him to set up proper defenses. He was like a child, eager to see whatever silly trick the Jester was about to make happen. "...as a matter of fact, perhaps you should be laying down...," Albright glanced out the throne room windows toward the church bell; it would be ringing any moment.
"It was simple!" the King laughed. "The Jester's curse proclaimed I would fall dead when the bell strikes three; that will never happen again!" he said. He answered as Alright caught sight of the empty bell tower. He laughed along with the King for an entirely different reason.
"Well," Albright chuckled and shrugged. "I certainly didn't expect you to have the bell removed, I'm sure the Jester didn't either," he smiled.
"That's right! I'm smarter than all you ridiculous mages! That's all, I just wanted to dismiss you, leave," the King made a gesture and Alright nodded.
"Thanks, bye," Albright waved and turned to leave. Anything else would have been a waste of time. And, when the moment finally happened, he was glad he didn't linger.
A sudden groan of pain filled the throne room, and the ruckus of knights rushing to the King's side sounded out as Albright exited the throne room. He was still expecting it, he knew how the magic worked. And, he didn't really feel like participating in the commotion so he kept walking.
"STOP HIM! HE MURDERED THE KING WITH MAGIC!"
That was when Albright decided to run instead.