"From what I hear, there's an opening"
I burst into a laughing frenzy so wild that I nearly fell off my throne. First he wants to be king and now he wants to become the king's advisor. It would really be a shame to kill such a man.
"How about I hire you as my jester instead" I said in between small laughs
"It would make sense, you could finally have someone you can trust in court"
"Why in the world would I trust a commoner?"
"For the same reason why you haven't looked at your truth-seeker's crystal ball for a while now". I turned towards Jafar and saw that the mist in the ball was still very much blue, He was right, I had completely forgotten about Jafar.
"It's not that you can trust me because I'm trustworthy but rather in the fact that I simply cannot lie to you my king".
There was a great silence that ensued the court as I begin to think about Alaric's offer, it would be nice to finally have someone who I know couldn't lie to me, Truth-seeker magic doesn't work on royals or nobles just like many other sage arts. I've been putting off getting a royal advisor because I have been looking for a trustworthy one, could Alaric truly be what I was looking for?
"And what makes you think you're capable of the job?"
"Your highness, surely you can't be considering this?" asked Jafar.
"Did you hear me stutter? Jafar?" I replied looking him dead in the eye, making him bow his head "I'll call for you of I need your opinion"
"Alaric? I believe I asked you a question?"
"I believe that I already demonstrated some intellectual prowess by deducing Lord Caspian's true intentions in the noble court". He was right, it was impressive but there certainly had to be more.
The way this court proceeding has been going, it all feels too fluid. He barely wastes time with his responses, like the entire conversation was already laid out in his mind. He intends to win, in order to win, one must have more than one hand. I wonder what else he has to offer?
"That's not that impressive, everyone in the court noticed Lord Caspian's true intentions. You'll need more than that to say you are capable. I said wondering what else he had up his sleeve.
"My life".
"I'm sorry, what?"
"The verdict of this trial is that I am guilty of treason and the punishment is death, the alternative would be to become your capable royal advisor, if that condition cannot be held by your standards then my life is forfeit".
I almost fell for it, putting his life on the line seemed to be his final card but it's been his first card. If everything is part of some plan putting his life on the line was his first card which is what brought him to the noble Court and then to the royal Court to have a one on one conversation with me.
I was a little disappointed, I was expecting something else. But alas the time to stop entertaining this ridiculous idea was coming to an end
"While this idea is extremely entertaining, there is still the problem of you being a commoner, a commoner cannot assume such a position"
"…. Unless you bestow upon me the title of an aristocrat" he replied.
First, the royal Court and now the title of an aristocrat. Two old and forgotten customs brought from the dead in one day, this commoner certainly is remarkable to say the least. The title of Aristocrat is given to a commoner by the king of Valencia after completing certain challenges and trials as deemed fit by the king.
The title gave the commoner the status and power of a small noble, which in theory would make any commit eligible to contest with a Lord of Valencia to become the next Lord and in turn become the royal advisor if they so wish it. The last time a commoner was bestowed the title of an aristocrat was during my grandfather reign, King Mathias.
I remember reading about the traditions as a kid preparing to become king but never did I think that…
"It's been at least eight decades, since there's been an aristocracy ceremony yet you seemed to have pulled the thought from thin air, so easily I might add, how?"
"Think nothing special of it, my King. It's just the desperate attempt of a man to stay alive."
"You seem rather calm and in control to me than desperate"
"Desperation comes in many forms, my King"
"Nonsense!" I yelled getting off my throne while holding on the arm rests before regaining my composure and sitting back.
Maybe Lord Caspian's intent was wrong but he did have some interesting questions, this commoner is well learnt, people don't just learn things like negotiation, history and court etiquette, they are taught. Taught by someone who intends to trample upon the very foundations that holds Valencia together.
This Alaric might be nothing more than a pawn, but if he's a pawn? I wonder what meeting the mastermind would be like? I could feel Goosebumps across my arms.
"Do you intend to go against a Lord of Valencia to become a Lord yourself?"
"If there is no other way" he replied
"You've given excellent reasons as to why you should be kept alive and assume the role of my royal advisor and even provided a loop hole to achieve that goal but that doesn't exactly give a good reason why you shouldn't be hung" I said
"Well, you said it yourself, we both know that it was nothing more than the actions of a commoner who didn't know any better", "I'm guessing it wouldn't really look good if the King was intimidated by such trivial matters"
Checkmate. This was his final card, if he had more, he didn't need it. He was right, my curiosity got the better of me and I held a noble court to intervene in the matter to see the jester for myself but in doing so, I had called unwanted attention the matter.
Ordering his execution now would seem like show of cowardice. The only way forward would be to declare him innocent of the charges and allow him to partake in the aristocracy trials and an apology for the "misunderstanding"
I had lost this battle but I could feel my heart racing and my blood pumping with excitement cause I knew that there would be plenty more battles like this, battles to watch and to participate in, and just like every other commoner in Valencia, I will place him where him underneath my feet.
"Jafar!" I called out "I've made my verdict, this is my verdict for this case…"