"My King, please let me deal with the rebels, I shall take them under my wing, and they'll be kept under watch by my own soldiers." Tam stood, arms crossed at the bottom of the dais.
"You propose I let these rebels go free? After they rebelled, and tried to oust me from my throne?" Rotan's eyes narrowed.
"Of course not my King, they'll be dealt an appropriate punishment, but wouldn't the Kingdom be better served with more soldiers defending her, rather than an entire army languishing in chains?"
"Would traitors serve a Kingdom defense, Tam?"
"My sire, these men are not traitors, I assure you, they were guided by loyalty to their Lord, and surrendered peacefully as soon as he fell. If they were truly traitors, would they not fight against you till their last breath?"
"I shall give your words some thought. For now, they'll be imprisoned and questioned here. Captain Anselm, please have the prisoners escorted to the cells."
"Thank you for considering, my lord."
"Rise, Sir Kothar of Balin." King Rotan's voice echoed across the room. Kothar had been one of the many soldiers of Tam's who had been honored, some had been given medals for service to the Kingdom, others had been promoted, while others had been given titles of nobility.
Many of the soldiers were also granted an audience with the Treasurer, able to request a suitable weapon or materials from the Treasury. As the last of the medals were awarded, Rotan departed from the great hall.
Tam gestured for Kothar to come over and join him near the dais while Serena began to guide Tam's forces out of the Great Hall.
"Son, I'll be meeting with the King soon, you can join us, unless there's some place you must be?" Tam said to Kothar, with a hint of mirth in his eyes.
"Please, follow me." A middle aged man dressed in an immaculate set of silver inlaid black clothing stood next to one the many doors that were peppered around the walls of the Great Hall.
"Good to see you too, Jonas." Tam said as he shot Kothar a grin.
"I see you haven't lost your cheekiness Master Tam." Jonas held the door open, waiting for Kothar and Tam.
"Rest easy Jonas, I'll be staying away from your azaleas today."
"Of course you will, I hope your son won't be getting up to the same kind of mischief you would engage in." Jonas shot a pointed look at Kothar.
"Absolutely not, I'd be surprised if he did Jonas, this one is as likely to get into mischief as I was likely to show up to any of our lessons on time."
"I'm glad Lady Ophil's temperament has rubbed off on him." Jonas had led them to a small courtyard within the castle, a fountain bubbled in the center, with a large pool around it in which sparkling fishes darted to and fro amongst water lilies.
"His Majesty will be with you shortly, please excuse me, I have other duties to attend to."
"It was nice seeing you Jonas!" Tam yelled after the steward.
"He may seem uptight and proper, but Jonas is an absolute treasure. He practically raised me, Rotan and Kultas too. All of our parents were off on the battlefield, in battle with the Southern Tribes." Tam watched the fish as he spoke, his mind far from the courtyard.
"Rotan's father brokered peace with the tribes, which I guess is why Grandfather left him the throne. If it weren't for the treaty, we might not have a Kingdom today to call home."
"Don't undersell your father's achievements Tam. Someone had to hold the border while there was no peace treaty, and he was the one to do so." Rotan strode into the courtyard, no longer wearing his heavily embroidered regal robes or his tall silver crown, rather he was dressed so simply, that he could have been mistaken for an off duty soldier.
"Please, no need for ceremony between family, only when there are eyes watching." Rotan pulled Kothar up from his half completed bow.
"Oh, nice to meet you, King Rotan."
"Rotan is fine, you've grown so fast Kothar, it seems like not so long ago you were a red faced little baby." Rotan smiled at Kothar, ruffling his hair.
[I wonder if he'd ruffle your hair if he knew you'd lived centuries more than him.]
[Come on Silane, let the man be kind.]
"That was a fine performance you put on out there cousin." Rotan turned to Tam, who was still knelt beside the pond.
"Thank you, at least now the nobles will at least think before they throw their weight behind a rebel." Tam stood and walked over to the shady tree where Rotan and Kothar had seated themselves.
"Though you could have waited till now if you wanted me to free all of Kultas' soldiers."
Rotan poured out cups of chilled tea for the three of them.
"Ah, well I had to give them all some second thoughts, now that they know I want Kultas' men under my own army, the nobles might think I'm gearing up to rebel against you myself." Tam winked at Rotan.
"Hahaha, you should've been king Tam, I'm at a complete loss when it comes to these court intrigues." Rotan sighed and looked up to the open sky above the courtyard.
"No cousin, that's exactly why you make such a great king, you spend your time thinking of the people, and let me worry about whatever mischief your enemies might be thinking of." Tam reassured Rotan.
"Well, I've no qualms with it, and if you want ever do want to rebel, theres no need for a battle, just let me know and I'll deliver my crown to you myself."
"Hahaha, I wouldn't wish the throne upon anyone, I'd end up abdicating after one session of those open audiences you hold."
"To each their own I guess."
"Truer words have never been spoken." Tam raised his cup and clinked it against Rotan's.