"Do you think she got the Raven?" Pedro asked Prince.
"Regardless of whether she did or not… There's no turning back now, Pedro" Prince said
The carriage Prince was in came to a screeching halt. As he peaked out its tiny glass windows on the side, he saw hundreds of people gathered together in the square.
He was outside of the main Cathedral in Vienne square. A stage and a podium were erected, in anticipation of King Godefroi's address. From where Prince was standing, there were mostly nobles protected by knights, but in the outskirts of the square: commoners, standing on boxes and chairs, did anything they could to get a glimpse of the new King.
"Prince!" Ivan said, opening the carriage door. "I have been granted a seat in the inner section, I will be leaving you for the time being. When I return, we will return to my estate where I promise to repay you for your earlier acts, until then, enjoy the address, the King is about to make history!"
"Thank you sir Ivan, I am forever indebted to your gratitude" Prince said as Ivan took his leave.
"That boy speaks so well" Ivan thought "Maybe, even better than I do"
"Now?" Pedro asked
"It's almost time" Prince said to Pedro, "But first, let's make some preparations."
DERDER DER DERDER!
In the square, a man with a trumpet let off a loud double tongued fanfare, introducing the great king and his audience. Continuing his play, he led a group of musicians onto the stage. As they merrily had at their instruments, they got into formation, settling in around the outskirts of the platform. After a short time, each one of Godefroi's 13 Swords of Wudon walked onto the stage, receiving an exuberant round of applause as they approached.
Sir Ivan wandered through the inner section of the square, finally finding a seat beside Lord Lindor.
"Lindor! It's good to see you!" Ivan remarked "How is that nephew of yours I've heard about?" Ivan asked
"He's his own man now" Lindor said "He left the nest just a few days ago, on a journey" Lindor said grinning
"Oh? And where is he heading?" Ivan asked
"He wouldn't tell me, I can only hope my guidance in raising him will carry him to where he needs to go."
"I don't doubt it" Ivan said, nodding his head "A wise well-spoken man such as yourself must have raised an impeccable…"
"Through years of reading the bible, I have managed to pick up an ounce of the romanticism that is carried in my speech." (Sir Ivan remembered)
"Ivan?" Lindor said.
"It's nothing," Ivan said, shaking his head. "I just happened to encounter a boy myself, I guess you could say he reminds me of your nephew."
"Really?" Lindor said as his eyes glistened "Tell me more about this boy"
Finally after a few moments of the 13 Swords receiving cheers, Godefroi finally walked onto the stage.
He approached the podium firmly, unfazed by the cheers of the hundreds gathered there before him. He stepped up to the podium with confidence reflecting in his eyes, ready to give his speech to the people of France.
"Bonjour, good people Bonjour" Godefroi began. Taking in a deep breath he loosened his composure, and began his address."
"I never wanted to be King." He began "I wanted to be a man who protected what he loved, a man that stood for Justice. Truth be told, that was enough for me. But while I was fighting battles in the name of our god, you the people suffered! A King who never once said a prayer for you, a king who never once went to church for you, A King fat off Chocolates and Raspberry wine, things the common man had never tasted, laughed and spoke Heresy in the face of our Lord, and I did nothing…"
"I have called you all to give you this address, not only as an act of service but also as a call to Salvation. All around the world millions of people are lost, controlled by tyrants no different than my brother, speaking heresy! Money cannot save them, food cannot save them, and even peace… cannot save those under such circumstances" Godefroi said shaking his head
"It is only salvation, only the resurrection of our lord can save them! Blessed are the meek."
"Blessed are the meek!" The crowd roared in agreement.
"As Christians is it not our duty to liberate? Is it not our duty to deliver, as many as possible to the Kingdom of God? Those who are unable to join us on that road are not our friends… no they are our enemies! Men who want to twist and distort the will of gods!"
"None shall go against the will of god!" Sir Ivan shouted.
A sea of evangelists roared behind him, holding their hands to their breasts as they shouted out the faith.
"As of Today, the Protestant Faith is now the official religion of the Crown! Those practicing any others shall be crucified by my very hand! And we will not stop there! I have assembled teams of scouters and navigators to venture the new world and other territories across the seas, on missions to liberate and grow the French Kingdom! One that will deliver all to the kingdom of heaven!"
"If God is with us who can be against us!"
Booooooooooooom!
"What was that?" A noble said
"It came from on top of that building!" another answered
"Dong Dong Dong Dong"
From on top of the bell tower, directly across from the cathedral, Prince stood in front of the crowd of hundreds as its loud bell rang.
Booooooooooooom! POW! BOOOM!
A dozen fireworks burst behind him, filling the skies with the spirit of revolution. As the glitter from the after effects drifted down over him, his red eyes glistened, reflecting their brilliance. As he came eye to eye with his Uncle, he stretched out his hand, beckoning Godefroi to confront him.
"It's him" Weisheng said growling "I will kill him at-"
"Do not move!" Godefroi instructed. "Do not underestimate my nephew, he did not come here to die, I have no doubt he has a plan, let's not force his hand."
Prince, satisfied with Godefroi's capitulation, walked to the end of the bell tower, looking down at the square.
"A prince was given a sandbox when he was young. He played with sand castles every day, blissfully dancing in the sun without a care in the world. He would invite his two friends over to play, and over time they made memories he would cherish for the rest of his life.
"However"
"One day a huge wave came over his sandbox, destroying everything he had spent so much time on. His two friends that had always played with him had created their own castle behind his back, a real one with walls and knights, even going so far as creating real children together behind his back"
"I see…" Godefroi said "So that's why those two were tortured."
"The shock from that day nearly killed him, and so the Prince fell into the waves, carried far away from his friends, family, and sandbox. He was in a new world now, a real one where there were only two rules. Sink or swim."
"After landing on a new shore, the Prince watched as his mother was engulfed by the black tides drowning her in their dark depths. He cried and cried until his eyes were dry and looked out at where he had landed."
"There was no sand, no friends and no family here, only an endless sea of water. Marooned on an island to die, the Prince sought to end his life. But then and there a message in a bottle landed on the island from his uncle, telling him that the treacherous waves had been coming from the beginning. And for the first time in his life, the Prince sought to find a real castle. His uncle's castle, and burn it to the ground"
"For two years I have navigated the treacherous waters, for two years I have wondered what I would say to you when we meet face to face. You probably don't even recognize me do you?" Prince said
so
"Just Just who are you?" a noble asked below
"People of France" Prince said raising his arms "Look and be amazed, your Prince stands before you gallant hearted and ready to take revenge."
"My name is Prince de Niur, The Dark Prince and I officially declare war on the crown! I won't stop until the blood of the Bourbon family has been repaid!"
"Godefroi, I came to answer your question from all those nights before!"
"But If you were to love someone... and it turned out the person you loved never existed…Were you ever in love at all?" Godefroi asked(Prince remembered)
"The answer is no, because love is truth! The time will come when the world learns the truth of your treachery and watches you burn! And it will be me standing upon that stage! At that fleeting moment of despair, when you have come to realize the fault of your ways, and the flames purge you of all your lies and deceit. Only then, at that moment in time, I will have come to know who you truly are!"
"Prince!" Godefroi yelled angrily smashing his hand onto the podium.
Weisheng snapped his fingers, gathering all 13 Swords to his location
"Kaishi" Wiesheng said, sending them all after Prince
"It is only at that moment that I will have come to love you!"
"Wiesheng Nooo!" Godefroi yelled
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!
A huge explosion in the buildings surrounding the square went of, sending glass and shrapnel everywhere.
Standing above the flames Prince looked into his uncle's eyes one last time.
"This is what I have become, uncle" Prince said as he disappeared behind the tower. "Creating me may be the biggest atrocity you have ever committed."