King Wilhelm stared at his retired chief magician. When had this happened? For years the great magician had been unable to perform the slightest of tasks. It had gotten so ridiculous that Wilhelm had had to remove him from his station. Master Kiefer had taken his place, but the kindly magician was not nearly as competent as Friedrich had been. It seems that truly gifted magicians had a bent toward corruption which likely stemmed from the enormous amount of power at their disposal that they could use to destroy anyone who stood in their way.
As all of these colliding thoughts whirled about in his mind, Wilhelm continued staring at Friedrich half in horror and half in the hope that he would be the key in turning the tide of this interminable war. The tradeoff for this brief hope would doubtless be the subtle control of the kingdom, and Wilhelm was well-aware of the danger of reappointing Friedrich. What were his choices? Could he really deny allowing Friedrich to take his place again as the chief magician? What would be the repercussions for such a snub? Wilhelm was determined to seek the advice of his advisors before giving any hint for whether he would reappoint this dangerous man to his former place. Whatever his decision, Wilhelm would have to tread lightly now that Friedrich had regained his power.
Friedrich, whose expression had rarely given away any of his innermost thoughts in all of his tenure as chief magician, was kneeling before Wilhelm, keeping his head lowered in submission so as to show his sincerity.
"Rise, Friedrich," the king commanded, feeling the muscles in the back of his neck tighten.
"As you say, your majesty," Friedrich intoned as he stood to his feet.
"As you have rescued your King," Wilhelm began uneasily, "you should be rewarded."
Friedrich dipped his head as a sign of respect, "I merely did my duty to his Majesty and assenting to the validity of the king's words."
"I am not in a position to award you at this time as the fury of this war is at its peak, but give me but a few day's time, and I shall name your reward for your faithfulness to the crown."
"My Lord, the King, is most gracious and magnanimous," Friedrich replied, bowing deeply. "Your humble servant is most unworthy."
"Nonsense," King Wilhelm waved his hand in dismissal, "Great deeds must be rewarded."
Friedrich bowed again, turned sharply and left the king's tent.
Rolf, the king's most trusted general and friend, muttered after the magician left the tent, "M'lord, I don't like this turn of events. Before he lost his powers, Friedrich's ambition was well-known, and now he has won of you a cause for reward."
"Tell me, Rolf, what am I to do?" The king spread his hands in question. "If I reward him monetarily and keep from reinstating him, he has shown that he can change the tide of the battle so that I will not make it back to my daughter." The king picked up his shield from where it was leaning against his ornately carved chair. This afternoon's events still playing through his mind as clearly as they had on the battlefield. "If I give him back his position..."
Just how much would Friedrich take in time?
Friedrich rubbed hands together and called his magic to warm the furthest cell of his extremities and conjured out fire that he would not fall exhausted with warming himself.
According to his understanding of Wilhelm, the king was now conferring with those trusted around him, trying to keep together what was quickly unraveling. Friedrich smirked with satisfaction at the thought of his majesty's dilemma, but at the end of it all, King Wilhelm would invariably reinstate him because not only did he want to end this war quickly as his resources were stretched too thinly, but the people had also grown restless with the war. This would most certainly add delightful pressure to the king's dilemma.
His majesty's sleepless night certainly gave Friedrich a spirit of glee, but at the end of it all, Friedrich wasn't too concerned with what the worthless king would decide because before too long, the king would place his whole-hearted trust in Friedrich. No matter what the king decided, he knew that he could use it to his advantage. The plan that was set in motion was flawless, and this master manipulator had the means to not only ingratiate himself to the king but to make himself an indispensable advisor, thereby wresting the authority of the kingdom from its rightful sovereign without blood or struggle. What did Friedrich care for a meaningless title? Chief Magician? King?
No, he certainly didn't need a title when the real power behind the throne would lie squarely in his hands. What did he care about the king's paltry reward? All Friedrich needed to do was bide his time; when the time was right, he would get his proper reward.