Two days later, when all of Ethyr began to recover from the sorrow of the late king's departure, Lords Xavier and Argyle hurriedly prepared for the intended meeting of the Royal Court. Such an assembly was with regard to the scheme that the patriarch delivered unto them several days ago. All the members of the court were called to the Throne Room of the Amaranth Palace.
Before Xavier left for the meet, however he visited his twin sister, Elizabeth, who he kept inside one among the drawing rooms of the Roguery Villa. Elizabeth was a young woman with the unique abilities of seeing what is to come and sensing the sentiments of those around her. She can see into the future however, she can only visualize vague situations. Most of the time, her visions do not uncover themselves directly but in verbatim. Her exceptional talent was what drove Xavier to cover her from most of the world.
When he entered the room, his sister was seating meditatively on her favorite armchair. Her eyes were closed but she sensed his arrival. She faced him, eyes still closed, as he struggled to explain something. Xavier was in the midst of formulating the best statements by which he wished to tell her about the meeting when she opened her lips.
"My brother I have dreamed," the woman told Xavier, her voice fragile, "and this I dreamt is all about your meet." She paused for a deep breath and added:
"This day you shall replace the monarch in his throne
however, weary not you for none ascends alone.
You will fight over it but fate itself will point
the future of this kingdom depends upon a coin."
Since his sister's prophecies were always spoken in rhymes, Xavier hardly understood what she meant, thus, regardless the fact that he is in a hurry, he requested his sister for a restatement of the prediction.
The young woman, in answer to his brother's plea, snorted and said:
"I dreamed of arguments and dreamed of it for long
but then however lengthy, the debate ended wrong
yet when I dreamt of money or something of that sort
what troubled us for long had only been cut short."
Xavier tried to decipher what his sister meant but he knew he had no time left to converse with her. Thus, he contemplated on her words by himself as he rushed to settle with the courtiers in the palace.
While he was on his way, the young courtier could not stop but be distracted by whatever vision his sister might have seen. His thoughts ran almost in unison with the hastened pace of his steps resulting to a pandemonium of ideas in his head. He knew the prophecies have something to do with the meet yet he could not seem to make sense out of his hypothesis. He assumed that, since his sister mentioned money, there might be some sort of bribery within the members of the Royal Court. However, aware of the honor upheld by his fellows, Xavier missed to conjugate his thoughts with the actuality. The idea of subornation intimidated him but the fact that the Royal Court has proven itself trustworthy bolstered his positive thoughts. When he was at last making his way through the lengthy ballroom of the Amaranth Palace, he decided to retreat from his confusion and adhere to the idea of standing by what is right no matter the cost.
By the moment all ten of the courtiers were seated on their designated seats on the room with the empty throne, Lord Argyle delivered: "My dearest friends and honorable colleagues, I know we are all still in the state of mourning, however this matter just cannot be set aside. From this day on, we will have no king since the late monarch had been put to rest and his only heir, Prince Ken, is yet unqualified. It is then the duty of the Royal Court to consider the law which dictates of a temporary parliamentary authority – that which will be led by the court itself."
Then Lady Sarah spoke, slightly egotistical in manner: "We are all aware of this, my lord. Nevertheless, as it is with my own opinion, ten leaders will be too much for a kingdom such as Ethyr. It must be that, as the prince remains powerless, a sole authority must rise to temporarily take control of the monarchic power. The potency of the throne cannot be divided among all of us. Yes, we are all going to lead Ethyr but there must be one to lead us."
The suggestion garnered positive responses except from Xavier who remained ignorant of the excellent propositions. He had always been skeptical about the woman since he assumed the post after the demise of his father ten months ago. He detested her every avowal and perceived particular duplicities in them even if they were for the benefit of most. The youngest courtier never comprehended why he felt that way but such was what occurred upon him since she forswore his courtship years had gone.
"That is such a brilliant idea," Lady Miriam complimented, understanding that the meet was working as planned. She stood up from her seat and added, "There is no better way for us to lead the nation than us being led by a worthy leader. Furthermore, Ethyr lived by the standards of a monarchy on which a single ruler will be held responsible for all the state affairs. The idea of leading the kingdom together is noteworthy but it does not mean that we will all assume the throne – that will only cause supplementary nuisance. It is then my suggestion concerning the ideology of Lady Sarah that we elect from ourselves the person who will stand as Ethyr's Protector."
The conclusion of Lady Miriam's announcement resulted to the increase of murmurs among the audience. When she realized that her companions were all ready, she questioned, "Are you in agreement when I move for an election?"
There was a moment of terse noise; the courtiers thought deeply about the proposiwwkkkkkkkkkkkkmkko,o.K.Kkssssw..Ksw,sssso,sk.Kkktion. Then the motion was approved by the assembly and soon enough, Lord Niloufer stood from his seat and announced, "And so our next concern is to know who the Protector will be. Shall I call for nominations?"
"I would like Lord Argyle to take the post," the youthful voice of Xavier emerged from his seat. "Perhaps he had proven himself worthy to receive the position." His nominee glanced at him and the young courtier only looked back. Such was exactly what they have schemed.
"Argyle it is!" Niloufer proclaimed, "Any other?"
Lady Halona stood from her seat and pointed on the woman who was seated on the fourth chair on the left side of the empty throne. "Her – Lady Sarah," she addressed, "this kingdom needs a mother and she is such a perfect selection for the post."
Lady Sarah straightened up and said, "If you think me worthy, then I accept it as a challenge for me to prove your creed."
"Is there anybody else?" Niloufer questioned. There was no reply.
"I think we have enough," Lord Gavril stated. He inhaled some air and requested the two candidates to occupy the steps before the throne. Nobly the two courtiers agreed. In slow pace, they cadenced towards the stairs and occupied the middle of the five steps. Then the one who made the request appended, "Now we have to choose from them."
Xavier called for squires to bring in pieces of paper, quills and the election urns. Then he told the court, "We will hold an election through ballots, that way, we will not assume judgment against each other."
When the squires returned with the requested equipment, the election was held. The process lasted for nearly half an hour. Through all these time, the members of the court remained on their designated seats and pondered over their individual decisions. Once done, they fold their ballots and put them on the golden urn then retire to wait for the rest to finish.
There was dead silence while the election occurred. The members knew very well that, by their honor, they are not allowed to mingle with each other at that time to refrain influence. They have practiced the process every time they have elections. The squires who accompanied them too are aware of the integrity of the process thus the throne room was closed and barred from the rest of the kingdom during the duration of the legislative procedure. Only the ten courtiers and two squires were left inside.
By the time it was all over, Lord Caspar took the golden urn and handed it on to one of the squires who stood alongside the empty throne. "Read every ballot," he ordered, and then he pointed on the other young man, "While you tally the scores. It will do no well if any of the courtiers do the reading since we refrain from recognizing each other's penmanship." The two squires agreed. The process was executed.
Steadily, the squire commissioned to read the ballots selected one among the folded papers in the urn. He unfolded the ballot and read with his eyes. Then he dragged his view from one courtier to another. "In my honor as squire of Ganvash, I hereby swear before the Royal Court that what I see shall be what I say and what I have spoken of in here will not be spoken of again." The squire wet his lips and said, "The first vote goes to Lady Sarah." There was still an absolute silence. The process continued.
After all the ballots were read, murmurs increased through the throne room. Then there was noise. The two squires, who were done with their task, started to leave the area. They were carrying the empty golden urn and the bronze one that contained the ashes of the ballots earlier read. Outside the door, they came across one of Lord Argyle's squires, Rian, who was disturbed by the obnoxious sound.
Rian was one among the five Solatrixian squires commissioned to stand by Lord Argyle while he stays in Gobhy. He was brought there, alongside the four other squires, in replacement for the elder ones who had been promoted into knighthood. He had learned to love his master very well since a certain bond had developed between them. The courtier had become his father in Gobhy and Rian had learned to accept this fact. It was tradition that as long as until he is knighted, the squire is supposed to remain in his post. For this reason, Rian chose to become a protective son to Argyle who had no family in Gobhy. By then, he was outside the throne room waiting for the conclusion of the meet.
"What is the matter? Why are they creating too much noise?" the lad asked the other.
"They are arguing about the results of their election," the first squire replied. "They were trying to choose among themselves the person who will stand as sole Protector of Ethyr and had decided to cast their votes through ballots. When the election results were garnered, there was a tie between the only two nominees. Now they are arguing over how to justify the occurrence."
Imposing discourses echoed through the throne room when Rian, by then the most intelligent squire from Solatrix, loomed. He witnessed the courtiers argue verbally about the conclusions of their feat. The young man, who was nearly of seventeen summers, knew his appearance would be of great controversy since he did intrude into the throne room; however, the courtiers proved him wrong. Their heated discussion confirmed them ignorant of the squire's obvious entry. They argued while he progressed. The sight of the courtiers threatened Rian but he maintained his composure assuring him that he did well. Then he swallowed his fear.
"Do you have any dilemma?" the young man asked the presence of the court. As he continued his cadence to the center of the assembly, he was waiting for a response that never came. He stopped in front of the two candidates, at the very center of the Nevel Ethyr engraved on the floor. He presented them a silver coin and said in a loud voice that echoed through the hall: "Let fate decide."
Surprised, the courtiers stopped debating. They all stared at the squire who doubtlessly was not kidding. Lord Caspar pointed at the squire and said, "That will not do. We cannot risk the magnanimity of this gathering through child's play."
"Risk?" Rian replied, his fear beginning to find its way into his heart. Shaking, he addressed, "I thought you chose these two because you have confidence in their abilities. If it goes that way, you will lose nothing whoever takes gain. And by the way, your noise had foremost devastated the decency of your meet."
"He is right," Lady Aiza of Xaphy added. "We have been acting like disrespectable individuals all because we cannot decide which of our candidates weighed more than the other. They are equally qualified and by mortal justice, we cannot accomplish a sole winner. I do believe it is time for us to put faith in fate."
Without saying any word, Lord Niloufer asked Rian to hand him the coin. When he had received the money, he eyed it keenly and observed how the head of King Troy had been carefully engraved therein. He sighed and told the rest: "By the toss of this coin, we discern the Protector of Ethyr."
The statement caused Xavier to recall the prophecies of his sister. Only then did he understand what was really meant. He freed himself from thoughts of the bribery and focused on the unique idea of discerning a master through fate. Then his contemplations were disturbed by an assertive voice.
"Head for Argyle…" Lord Calix suggested, "…and otherwise for Lady Sarah." All eleven people inside the throne room clustered around the circle that makes up the center of Ethyr's symbol on the marble floor. Lord Niloufer lowered himself ready to toss the coin. Then he flipped his hand and the coin was thrown high in the air. There was extreme silence as the circular object rotated in the space before their very eyes. Then 'ting!' it was the sound of a coin hitting the marble floor.
The echo reverberated through the eager courtiers. They willingly waited for the anonymous result of the tossing. The coin rolled more than twice before it gradually fell flat on the floor. It was a head.
"By fate, we have discovered him," Lady Sarah declared. Everybody then congratulated Argyle who gladly received fortune's offer.
Triumph was undeniably evident in the eyes of Xavier and Miriam who prayed most intensely for the garnered result. Alongside the Protector, they celebrated silently hoping that the success will allow them to accomplish the remaining tasks King Troy handed over. They have indeed finished the primary step.
The courtiers returned to their seats while Argyle remained with Rian who was picking up his coin. He stared at the small object that altered the fate of a kingdom then he dragged his eyes around observing the various reactions towards his feat. Next to him, there stood the courtier from Solatrix. He cleared his mind with thoughts of dungeons and prisoners while trying to force a smile into his face.
"Thank you, Rian, son of Nolram," Argyle told the squire, tapping his back. "Please do consider my appreciation of your feat. You have intelligently presented a procedure of leaving things to the hands of destiny and it worked out very well. Now we cannot blame anybody if something goes wrong. Thanks to you and your splendid cognizance. I was not wrong when I chose you among the squires sent for my protection by the Fraternity in Solatrix."
Xavier looked back at the man and the squire. He smiled confident that destiny was their friend. Then he turned to see how Lady Sarah received the decision. She was smiling, as many of them do inside the hall, yet he sensed the disappointment in her eyes. He liked the thought of her regret but he did not fully understand why he started to feel pity when he confirmed that her gaiety was pretentious.