Utter silence plagued the chamber, one could hear a pin drop as all the maids were agape, trying to process how things had almost turned heavily brutal for them.
They knew it wouldn't end here as word spread quickly in the palace. Ms Carlos was going to murder them all, especially Melina.
It was only a minute later that Cinna finally sauntered to where Melina was, picking her up and whispering,
"Let's get back to work, Melina. The guests would arrive soon." And Melina finally snapped back to reality, standing up from her earlier position, tears filled her eyes as she imagined how the same man who had been nice to her suddenly acted like this towards her.
It's not that she didn't admit she was a nobody and could be very clumsy but she didn't expect things to turn strained so fast, especially with this prince. It had just been a bump right? It was a mistake, so why had he escalated things and scowled at her like that? And all this after helping her that day, even giving her back her uniform?
"Don't overthink things, this is not the time. Ms Carlos would be here shortly," Cinna tried to bring her mind back, her major fear at the moment being Ms Carlos.
....
"Someone intends to become a narcissist King and I like that," Matthew taunted after seeing the show earlier.
"I don't," he deadpanned.
"Then what was that show? Do you plot to give her a heart attack?" he was referring to Melina, who he too was aware always liked to get herself into trouble.
"I don't think I need to, she would give one to herself very soon," he replied. He didn't want to let Matthew know about the uniform disappearing because he knew he would question how it started and things would get awkward.
Matthew wasn't foolish to not know something was going on with Leon's action.
"Did she offend you in any way-"
"No. Have you informed the chieftains we have a meeting?" he changed the topic.
"Yes, they're present in the courtroom already," and Leon stopped, seeing they were already in front of the courtroom. He looked at Matthew and the man gave Leon a small nod before he gently opened the room's door.
You're welcome, Prince Leon." he saw all the Chieftains stand up and bow in respect.
The courtroom was large and put in a round setting, where all the seats faced the throne which was at the other end. The contrast between the chieftains and the prince was made clear even to the lame man. The throne stood high and plated with gold compared to the rest of the room.
Nevertheless, since Leon was not yet crowned prince, he humbly sat on a similar seat as those of the chieftains.
'You can sit' his hand gesture to them signalled when he raised and dropped it down, and they all sat down.
"We're perplexed, Prince Leon. You held us here like caged animals because you're simply searching for something we do not know of and have refused to reveal anything about." Lord Nicholas was always the first to speak.
"I do not wish for you to know or I would have told you. It isn't a problem anymore and in the next two days, I would let everyone leave the palace peacefully." he proclaimed but the chieftains weren't satisfied and wanted to ask again when Leon diverted,
"I'm sure we have more pressing matters at hand. What does the messenger have to say?" he looked at Matthew waiting for an answer.
"We have heard the news from the messenger we sent to the neighbouring kingdom your father had a rift with." Lord Zuko was the one who spoke up.
"And what about them?" he asked and Matthew looked at the messenger who came forward and dropped a scroll in his hand before walking back.
"King Daniel Macron of Vagary had tried to stop the water flow from the stream from reaching Vlamunda. He also attacked some people from the 12th district and burned their properties." Matthew said as he gave the scroll to the prince who read it.
Leon's eyes narrowed, not liking the news he just heard.
"Did my father not call a truce with him the last time they had a rift?" at least, that was what he knew.
"He did, your Highness but King Daniel has been stubborn and he cancelled the deal." The messenger answered when Leon directed a question his way.
"Is there anything he wants for a truce to happen again?" Leon asked, not wanting any war to happen because the last he remembered, it had caused suffering for a lot of people.
"No, my lord. The only way to resolve this is to declare war against them else they would do it before we can act," which was true. In every Kingdom, whenever something like this took place with another Kingdom, it was either Kill or be killed and Leon understood that.
"What do you think, Lord Zuko?" he asked for the man's opinion as he was the only one that Leon found easy to consult with.
Everyone's gaze turned to Lord Zuko, who seemed surprised by the sudden call for his name.
"I would say war, your Highness. But if we declare it against them, it would put them on forewarning and prepare their minds to attack. We need to play it smart to have the upper hand-"
"What do you mean? The Kingdom of Vlamunda is not scared of any kingdom and we can declare war on anyone unprepared and still prevail," Lord Nicholas interrupted.
"It is not about that, Lord Nicholas. A lot has been going on in the palace lately, and we haven't had time to train our soldiers for war. That is why we need to be careful so we do not tread wrongly and put the poor ones' lives in danger." Zuko explained his line of reasoning.
"You can speak on, Lord Zuko," Leon urged him, indirectly telling Lord Nicholas to shut up.
Lord Zuko bowed and added "If you asked me, I would say we call for a truce and make King Daniel believe we want peace before we strike." he completed his statement, and the five other chieftains aside Lord Nicholas seemed willing to reason with him.
"But would it not seem like a weak move?" Samuel asked. "Other Kingdoms would hear of it and think we are weak."
"What they think doesn't matter, Lord Samuel. What matters is that we come out victorious." Lord Carvero didn't seem to care much about what others thought. Safety was first and this Kingdom of Vagary was just as glorious as theirs. King Daniel Macron wouldn't give in so easily.
"Surely, if this Kingdom is confident enough to cancel their truce, it simply means they would have a backup for any sudden attack from us so it would be best if we gave this king the impression that we want peace." This time was another chieftain, Lord Joshua.
The room turned silent after some debates between the Chieftains, everyone's line of sight now on the prince, waiting for his verdict.
Prince Leon pondered on it for a few minutes before he spoke out. "What about our allies?" he questioned the messenger.
"Before King Lucas died, he made peace with only two other Kingdoms. The only true ally we have currently is the Kingdom of Savannah. King Albert Milan." he revealed the information he had researched on.
"What about the ones King Lucas made peace with?"
"We are still on good terms with them but I wouldn't say we're allies."
Leon nodded at the information before asking again,
"What about King Daniel's allies?"
The Messenger cleared his throat before replying "From the little information I could gather, he has made over ten Kingdoms his allies from the Western and Southern facets and he has in addition built towers at different parts of the district in his Kingdom so it would be hard for any Kingdom to attack successfully," he said looking down, a bit unsure of how prince Leon would take that.
Leon sighed "Fine. We would follow Lord Zuko's suggestion. Send a letter to King Daniel, calling a truce. Then recruit 50,000 troops to the camps. We would prepare ourselves for war and if they refuse our truce again, we would strike cautiously" he declared and heard murmurs amongst the chieftains.
"If you have anything to say, you can speak out loud, instead of mumbling like birds." he spat, getting agitated by the noise these old men made.
"My prince" Lord Nicholas courageously called, drawing Leon's attention.
"We do not have a problem with your verdict but you cannot start a war or recruit soldiers without becoming King." Nicholas reminded and Leon continued to stare blankly at him.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten about that. He had spent enough time considering his options so he wasn't surprised they had brought it up.
Playing oblivious, he replied "Of course, I am ready to become King. I have no issues filling my father's position, especially since he already abolished those rules,"
He was referring to the rules that would have hindered him from becoming King.
However, they still murmured amongst each other, irritating him further. He wondered what it took for them to voice out their opinions without these bird noises. To reduce the ruckus, he asserted,
"We can ask the priest to stay after the King's burial for the coronation-"
That is not it, Prince Leon. You need a wife, your betrothed, given to you by your father. You need to get married to her-"
"Who said I need a woman to rule the Kingdom?" his voice changed at Lord Nicholas' words, making the man narrow his eyes in suspicion. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat to speak again,
"Not in that manner but you need Jordyn to give you children. That way you will be securing the throne" Nicholas tried to reason with him but Leon already drafted out his intentions.
"I will get married when I am ready for it and I can assure you children are nothing to worry about. They would come at the right time. We have a war to train for, there would be no time for a marriage," he proposed and the other chieftains saw reasoning in it.
"Yes, Prince Leon is right. There will be no time to celebrate a marriage before a coronation because we urgently need a King. It could be kept for later, rest assured it would still be your daughter, Lady Jordyn." Lord Carvero persuaded the man because truth be told, they all knew Lord Nicholas was only trying to secure his daughter's position in the future but their lives were at stake now. It was war and needed to be attended to with quickness.
Lord Nicholas didn't seem to be having it but knew he couldn't win this stance with the others so he put forth,
"Fine then. But I want the prince's words on making Lady Jordyn his wife and future queen." his desperation was reflected in his words and the other chieftains couldn't help but curse at him. Was this the time for this?
'Fool.' Matthew abused him in his head. The entire family was filled with foolery and it was obvious who they had gotten it from.
With that, another round of ruckus began between the chieftains, arguing about the same thing again and Leon knew it wouldn't unless he intervened
Understanding the old man wasn't willing to back down, his lips twitched in displeasure before saying,
"Fine then, I give you my word. I would marry Jordyn after I become King." literally ending the surge of controversies.