Blackmail

King Richard the Lionheart 

The Sheriff of Nottingham strode past the hatchery and into the forecourt of the King's own summerhouse. He walked as an important man does; acutely confident, almost arrogant in step. King Richard suffered his presence with an impeccable grace.

Both chose this informal meeting place to escape the comments and speculations of the court. The Sheriff Marc was not much loved, being understood to be a torturer who enjoyed his work too much, it was commonly thought.

King Richard had a encumbrance owed to this keeper of all debts - it was his silence now bitterly paid for.

Marc had discovered Richard's affiliation with the Fey and was threatening to use this to disadvantage. For all things presumed as involvements with magic brought the punishment of death - so ruled by the justice of the Church - and if discovered, Richard was not immune - he, and his beloved family would perish, merely by the implication.

And so he was burdened under the heavy mantle of the one who wore a suit of blackmail.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series