The Tempest Act 5, Scene 1 Part 2

Act 5, Scene 1 Part 2

In the Library Hall, Ariel walked quietly to the benefactor who sat by the window looking out to the rain that was falling on and off. Ariel thought his walk was quiet but the older man was all ears to know the progress of his guests.

"The ones on the upper levels are well taken care of with the food and drinks laced with the drugs. They are all dancing when I last checked." It was a side effect of the hallucinating drug. "The ones at the dungeon are in more distressed manner. The older man was delirious as he sat by himself in the corner while the two younger ones are going mad."

Ariel had seen many of these signs in his stay here.

"How fare the Attorney?" Paul asked. It was a mistake to had Gonzales trapped there but it was the move of the pieces that determine the outcome. Gonzales had moved his piece blindly and entered the trap himself. He was never a good chess player.

"Benefactor, I need to speak." Ariel asked his benefactor. Paul looked at him. It was rare that Ariel who asked him any questions.

"So the idea of freedom gave you courage." Paul smiled. "I knew of many men who found courage to speak just before they were to be shot."

Paul laughed.

"And I do not have a gun on your head."

"You are holding one." Ariel point to the shape of the gun inside the dressing robe. Paul reached into it and looked at it. It was a Colt Peacemaker that once belonged to his grandfather. He placed the gun on the side table.

"Thank you, Sir." Ariel cleared his throat. "I would like to speak on behalf of the four men in the dungeon."

"Speak and you would lose more than your freedom." Paul glared at the imp."You are crossing the sanity line here."

Ariel stepped back and then was stopped by Paul.

"Come on, Imp." Paul used the name that Ariel hated most. The other turned to looked at Paul with the deadly intent.

"So you have a pride." Paul laughed again. "Argue me your case. I had not heard that for a long time."

Ariel approached the man again. He looked at his feet and then straighten up his back.

"I think the men have enough. They are no mad people; decent ones. Okay, they were bad people. You were once too. Remember William Pitt."

"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, ...."

"Tyranny begins." Paul finished it for him. "You been reading too."

"There are more than one Library in this place." Ariel replied. "I just want to say....."

"Am I tyrant? Is that what you are implying?" Paul asked the other. "I am a tyrant. I have to be to be who I was and what I am back to now. So does that answered your thoughts."

Ariel stood there and later bowed to the benefactor. He turned to leave but the other stopped him.

"Ariel, you are right. This is the second time, I see myself in the light. The last time I did that was when I came here ten years ago. I swore on my wife's soul, that I would leave it all behind. Three months ago, the devil revisit me to re-do my past. I was tempted with the motives and plans." Paul looked hard into his hands.

"For forty years, this pair of hands killed more than a dozen men. Maybe two dozen. At one stage before I married her. I wanted to quit. I did not and went out to kill a scum bag. Alan was with me. After killing the scumbag, I told Alan that I wanted to quit. My first time. But I did not quit." Paul stopped. He asked Ariel to get him a drink.

"Leave out the drug." Paul told Ariel. The other stopped in his walk before turning back to faced Paul.

"Just joking." Paul replied with a smile. Ariel proceeded to get the drink.

"As I was saying, I had thoughts of quiting again just after Miranda came to our life. Then the activities piled up and I forgot about it. It was a week before her death I wanted to quit. I was to tell Alan, but the Digby case came up."

"So you wanted to quit several times, so you are not a tyrant? You could be a good person." Ariel beamed up a smile.

"No, I found that every time I wanted to quit, I came back with a relish of adventure that drove my ego up." Paul looked to Ariel.

"So I am losing my request." Ariel sighed. He turned to walked away.

"I was just trying to be sane here." Ariel muttered to himself. Paul stopped him.

"What did you just said? Trying to be sane?" Paul repeated the words. "Interesting that you mentioned that."

"I had finance this place as a sanatorium. I used it to treat the insane. But I did my own insanity here. I have the sane victims interned here to be insane. Ten years I interned myself, but I became sane to my insane life of murders."

"Three months ago, you went back to your madness." Ariel told him. "When you saw Gonzales and Christopher."

"Ariel, you becoming learner of the place well...." Paul replied. "You are getting good. I like that."

"Okay, you win. Ariel, released them. I think they had their terms worth ten years of mine. Now that is over, I am leaving this place soon with my daughter on her honeymoon." Paul laughed.

Ariel was delighted. He rushed to the dungeons.

"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." Paul muttered to himself.