Leodore woke to the sun hitting his face through his window. He muttered, rubbing his baby-blue eyes.
"Another day," - He sighed.
"I wish I could sleep in sometimes." - He thought.
Leo sat upright trying to fix his messy blonde hair.
Running a Kingdom was no easy task. Made no easier by the nobles or his father. His father, the king, Arnald Crownstone was once a man Leodore looked up to. Now all he is is an empty, vain shell. The King only cares about drinking and eating and lazing around making trouble.
It's been this way ever since the death of his wife, Elanor. She died when Prince Leodore was only six. The Prince missed his mother, even though he was so young when she passed away. Leo still fonded over the stories she would read him before bed. The stories about the great heroes of Acoptia and the war between The Great Seraph and the great evil.
The Prince, now a 19-year-old young man, didn't have much time to reminisce about the old days. He had a whole kingdom on his shoulders.
Leodore got up, stretching. He peeked out of the window. The city looked stunning in the rising sun. The Great Library stood towering over the rest of the buildings, almost as big as the castle itself.
Leodore smiled as he got dressed. Gold and red noble clothing fit him well but he resented how uncomfortable it was. Putting on his red cape, the Prince stepped out of his room.
Strolling down the castle halls he greeted every maid and butler.
"Your Highness!"
Leo immediately recognised the voice, it was his assistant Aveline.
She came running up almost tackling him. Her short brown hair, at length to her neck, was half messy. A clear sign of a hard morning. The girl's brown eyes staring at him with that usual passion.
"Good morning, Aveline." - He smiled at her.
"Let's get going to the meeting hall now. Everyone is probably waiting for us."
- Aveline nodded and followed the Prince.
She was carrying a few scrolls and letters. Leodore knew well that meant they will have an intense day. Something the young Prince has gotten used to.
As they stepped into the meeting hall, a place of the castle where Leo spent most of his time. The big round table in the midst of this large room always brought anxiety to the Prince's heart.
The King's council had already assembled, or at least what was left of it. The council was once way larger but nowadays it's a shadow of its former self. Only having 5 members including Leodore.
Berteram and Mial were sitting at the table playing chess. Sir Berteram Singlestrike, a man who was given that name by the Prince's grandfather. Singlestrike was the perfect name for him. Even now at 64 years old he was acknowledged as one of the best swordsmen in Acoptia. In his long duelling career, he went on to accumulate a record of 100 wins and 1 loss. That single loss had left a scar over the old man's right eye.
Berteram used to be Arnald's best friend. They had fought many wars and battles together. But after the King changed, even his best friend couldn't stand it.
Leodore loved Berteram and looked up to him as if he was his father. Singlestrike took the young Prince under his wing after the passing of the Queen. While that meant Leo spent a lot of time on battlefields being the squire of Berteram. It gave the Prince a good look at reality. And it was only thanks to the old man that Leodore became who he was now.
"Old man!" - Leo said patting Singlestrike on the shoulder who was deep in thought while gawking at the chessboard.
The old man looked up and smiled.
"Leo, my boy." - He said as he stood up and hugged Leodore.
"You have grown even more in the few months I've been gone." - The Prince smiled.
While he was never worried about the old man's safety it was still great to have him back in the council room.
"So how did the mission go?" - Leo asked.
"Marvellous! I even managed to get a few barrels of Dwarven ale for free." - The old man chuckled.
"And as far as the bandits go, I took care of them rather quickly." - He smirked.
"I'm glad to have you back old man. We have a lot of work to do so don't think it's going to be a vacation." - Leodore said jokingly but also knowing well that it was the truth.
"Okay! Shall we start then?"
- Berteram nodded while scratching his short grey beard.
As they all sat down, the Prince shot a glance at the empty big seat. The seat was meant for the King. It hadn't been used for years as Arnald stopped coming to the council meetings a long time ago.
Aveline put down the letters and scrolls on the table in a rather enthusiastic manner.
"Okay, gentlemen, let's start then. First off we have a letter from the Cardinal of Faith. He's demanding more funds. Apparently, they want to build more churches throughout the kingdom." - She said, reading through the letter with her eyes.
"That wrinkly old man is always stepping out of line. We are already in debt and he dares to demand more funds" - Berteram said with an annoyed look on his face.
The Faith was spreading more and more throughout the kingdom. With that, the influence of the Cardinal grew stronger. It didn't help that the King didn't care. Allowing the Cardinal to reign free over the kingdom from the shadows. Leodore despised that fact. But he knew that he couldn't do anything, he was just a Prince.
"Write a letter back saying that we are deeply sorry, our current financial situation doesn't allow us to give out any more funds." - Leo said rubbing his eyes.
"Mial how much is our income this month?"
Mial fumbled through a few scrolls and pulled one out. The bald man was the person responsible for the finances of the kingdom. There were very few men to trust from the nobles and Mial was one of them.
"Ah, yes. Here's the problem, we barely got enough to get by this month, the noble families still don't want to pay up. The situation is not improving."
"So it's the usual. Okay, we will try to persuade them to for the hundredth time. Stuck up rats." - Said Leo with an undeniable disdain in his voice.
Leodore hated the nobles, most of them were horrible people. He knew that fact ever since he was a young boy.
Suddenly the doors of the meeting hall flew open. A young man appeared which Leodore recognized as the messenger boy Regan.
"My Prince, my Lords, Madam," - He quickly said bowing. Clearly out of breath from running.
"I am deeply sorry to interrupt, we have an emergency!" - He said putting a letter down.
Leodore recognised the seal of the letter. It was from the Elven Kingdom. The Prince knew it must be bad news. The elves never wrote them letters, certainly not with good news.