There's a knock on my door, "go away" I yell to whoever was on the other side, I wrap an arm around my wife, I snuggle tighter. Another knock, I had to breathe in and out to keep from shouting and waking my wife up. I snuggled up against her burying my face into her neck, she smelled up of lavender, I heard her groan, "we're the rulers of an entire continent, we don't get to sleep in" she kissed me, she moved to get out but I pull her back,
"we're the rulers of the six nations we can do whatever we want"I say, going back to snuggling
"exactly, so we have responsibilities, either that or the people rebel" she kisses me and I feel her slip away from me. "why do you have to do this to me?" I complain,
"because, I love you and I don't want people to hate us" she gets out of the bed, she pushed the curtains open, the bright light bombards my eyes and I turn away "No! It hurts" I curl up.
"Come on get up" she jumps onto the bed, leans into my ear "I promise I'll make it up to you" I feel her breath on my ear and feel it wash down onto my neck, as she whispers suggestively into my ear. I consider it think it's worth it. I push myself up I rub my eyes, I get some clothes on. I answer the door, I see the serving girl, she had short hair, I remember grabbing the knife and cutting it off myself, she raised her voice to me when I asked her to do her job. She held her head down, I couldn't help but feel satisfaction, "what is it?" I say, purposefully raising my voice to intimidate her, she shifted backwards slightly "The Arleda'aalis wants to see you" I sigh, I was wishing that it was something unimportant, so I could blow it off and then just sleep and eat. I walk out through the white walls with red floral designs. I was the king why couldn't I just pay people to do this for me, I answered that question myself: Then you'd lose your power, be dethroned, become weak, a victim. You are the King, you can't be a victim. I arrive in the room, there was a map on the black table. I looked at General Aranese, his hair was starting to grey, his face was blank, in a hardened, stoic way. "what did you call me for?" I asked him, I saw the Arleda'aalis Inferior he listened eagerly to learn from the person who he was shadowing, he was eager to take his place. "look at the map" he says, Sevalia was covered in black glass circles and white ones, the black was taking over the white it was split nearly down the middle, but the black spread through like veins, dividing the white. "The cult has taken most of the weapons, they're are bombing the ships we use to get the troops there we have to go around, we've lost troops to the Ashen Lands and we don't have the food to keep them alive only few survive, we have to pull them back, at least until we can come up with a better plan or another strategy the spies aren't responding, we have other wars to deal with". I'm not losing my nation, I can't appear to be weak. I'm a king, I'm the thing that the lesser fear "no, you can think of plans and schemes but we're not retreating" I turn around. "that's not the only issue" he says, I turn back around "the Kasfi-Ristikos War, we need a decision on who to back in the upcoming war" he says.
"we don't have the troops, the Baron families are getting restless"
"there is a way" the fact the General paused told me that I knew I wasn't going to like it "we have to lift the law against mercenary trading"
"you know why I removed it, half our resources come from the Baron families, we have to please them," I say
"Dachou has the biggest army, we can pay them, they go and save Sevalia, give some of them to Kasfi they give us weapons and don't have to lose Sevalia"
"If we lift the law we get an army and we can appease the Baron Families another way," he said "why won't you just listen to me?!" he shouted, I turned around, how dare he even thinks of raising his voice to me? let alone question me? "I am your King don't ever try to undermine me again" I begin to walk away "throw him in the dungeons" my guards grab him and drag him away. The boy was wide-eyed, I look at him, he makes eye contact and after a second before he bows his head. Good. I walk towards him, I placed my hand on his shoulder "boy, look at me" he slowly raises his head, so that his amber eyes were looking at mine instead of me looking at his brown hair. "you'd do best not to question me, your job is to tell what's happening, make a suggestion, but remember" I hold the boy's chin with my forefinger and coil my hands around his neck, but I don't squeeze, not to hurt or to kill, but I wanted him to know that at any moment I could take his life "never doubt me, never act like I'm stupid, I am your King, your ruler, okay?" the boy nodded frantically. I leave and walk through the halls not knowing for sure what where I was going, but I went anyway. My wife saw me knowing I was angry, she grabbed my shoulder, I turn quickly and slap her arm away. "Is this about Sevalia?" I was walking away from her, she followed me "Claudvius!" I hear the tap of her shoes on the ground come faster and louder, she grabs my shoulder and ends up spinning me around "is about Sevalia?" I don't feel like speaking, but I knew if I turned away again she'd keep on following "you are going to win it back I have faith in you" she gently holds my face "I have faith in you, you've ruled for a years now, there will be challenges, but you are the King" I felt myself calming down, she knew exactly what to say. "you're obviously going to make the right decision and back Ristikos" she said. What? She can't be serious, why back Ristikos? "Provira, you may not know much about strategy but, House Kasfi is the better option," she said nothing, she smiled.
"what about the people and the immigrants we can send them to the Golden City to work in the mines they get jobs and your prisons are emptied, what am I saying" she smiles and shakes her head at herself "you're right" she chuckled "I obviously know nothing about strategy, that's your job" she gives me a peck smiles and then leaves.
I leave the forest, on my favourite horse a black steed and a new weapon the person who made it called it the 'crossbow' it was a handy thing, pull a trigger in one spot and watch something die in the next, all so effortless and it gets me another trophy to add to my collection, all I needed was a bear and then it'd be complete. I arrive and walk to my chambers proudly. The Valier came to me, she was always handy, she had a large spy network across the entire continent except for Skotash. "Davin is here," she says
"The Bouvachian Marquis, why?"
"he's exercising the right of Dissolving," she said panic in her eyes,
"Dachou is the only house backing this it'll never go through"
"That's the thing they have Ristikos, the vote is going to be sent out the citizens here aren't happy, the citizens there are going to follow their Marquis," she said, how dare they? My people willing to dissolve the throne leave themselves without a leader, just to spite me I need to make an example out of them show that I'm their ruler. "our prison still full aren't they?"
"yes," she says
"tell the guards to kill them, kill them all" I walk past her, thinking of a way to get control of my people.