The King and the Pope
2024-Dec-01 • Mike Wilson
The King stands, unmoored, in a pool of blue light beneath the stained-glass chapel window. At his feet lies the body of the Pope, the King’s dagger wedged in his gut as a red pool of blood slowly crosses the floor, inching towards the King’s feet. A king can do anything – that’s what it means to be king. A king can wage wars and ravage entire countries. A king can send scoundrels to the gallows and upon the drop of his hand see their feet swing in the air. But killing God’s representative on earth – this is ground the King has never trod. Has he blasphemed the power that gives him power? Is he still the King? He looks up at the stained-glass window, sees the outline of Jesus with a hand extended, but he can’t see the Savior’s face, only the afternoon sun shining through. It’s blinding.
Mike Wilson
Mike Wilson's flash fiction has appeared in magazines including Burningword, Open: Journal of Arts and Letters, and Still: A Journal, and Every Day Fiction. Mike lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
It seems that those in power don't consider the ramifications of how they wield that power, but in this case the King knows he has gone too far, a distance that may damn him.