Walking down the Hall I couldn't help but notice the gloomy atmosphere that was surrounding the castle.Even though the sky was clear without any dark clouds there was a certain uneasiness that you could feel with your skin.Distracted with my thoughts I didn't notice the other person until they bumped into me.Looking down I saw a small child.He seemed like he was crying for a long time.To make him less nervous I kneeled down to his eye level and tried to smile to appear less scary.
"Good morning child,are you facing any difficulties?" I awkwardly questioned.His blue eyes widened when he saw my attire.
"Your Majesty I...I" he started stammering.I panicked as well as he looked like he was about to faint.I desperately tried to come up with something to calm both of us down and surprised myself by saying "No! I am not him!". Right after those words left my mouth I immediately regretted saying it.Why?The answer is simple,because now everyone who was guarding the entrance of the north Wing looked at me with different expressions.Some of the elders were amused while shaking their heads trying to conceal their smiles while the younger warriors looked a little alarmed.At that moment I really wanted the earth to swallow me and spit back up in the conference room.Because now there was no way I could walk confidently there after ruining my cold person reputation. Sighing I focused my attention to the boy who now struggled to hide his chuckles behind his tiny hands.Well, if there was one good thing about this incident is I managed to make the young fella smile.
"What is your name little kid?".
"My name is Orlando sir!".
"What made you cry Orlando?" he looked away embarrassed and mumbled in a quiet tone "I was angry with my mother.She didn't let me eat any sweets saying it was for the princess Caerleon, so I ran away when the opportunity rised".
"Look, Orlando even though right now you feel discouraged or upset because of not eating sweets you can't just abandon your mother like that. Even when someone made you unhappy don't give up on your happiness and fight till the end to claim it back. Of course I am not telling you to fight or disrespect your mother, just be more open about that you want.Do you understand?".
"Yes I do sir! I will try my hardest to be like a person you described. I will get my sweets!".
"Excellent! And you don't have to be so formal with me, just think of me as your older brother or uncle alright?Besides I am just a leader of one kingdom and if you study well and have good morals people will be willing to recognize you as their king one day if you decide build your own kingdom".He looked at me with sparkling eyes and said "If I become a king will I be able to eat sweets whenever I please?".
"I think you should ask that from your mother".At that moment I heard footsteps coming rapidly from behind and then the next moment woman probably in her late thirties appeared out of nowhere and immediately started scolding the poor boy while ignoring me.
"Orlando! Why did you run off like that?!" Orlando looked at me for help so I tried to distract his mother.
"Good morning ma'am, you must be his mother. Can you please take your son to the-" she looked panicked as she immediately bowed yelling "Oh, my goodness! I am so sorry Your Majesty, it will never happen again so please don't send my child to the dungeons!".I flinched along with Orlando because of her sudden loud voice.I looked at Orlando for help, but he just shrugged his shoulders pushing the responsibility back to me.
"Ma'am I was just going to say to take him to the kitchens to get him something sweet.At that she stopped talking while looking at her child dumbfounded.
"What did you do honey? You haven't damaged or hypnotized Your Majesty have you? My goodness! Are you a witch?" she whispered to her child who was grinning at me. The woman's weird words grew more weird by the end of her sentence, making me realize that it was my time to leave them alone.I smiled a little and proceeded to enter the meeting room.
As I requested it was only the most capable commanders.Alvaro and Bernard Hendrix the chief commanders, Hugo Finley one of our best strategists, Caddel Hayden who is in charge of supplies, Olivia Damaris one of the bravest captains alongside her niece Azzuta Callon. The last two captains faced many difficulties and received criticisms just because they are women.That is why I always encourage them not to pay attention to low quality words of envious nobles, because I believe they deserved everything they have now.
Everyone stood up when I entered showing me their respect. It was very quiet. So quiet that my footsteps echoed in the large room. As soon as I sat down everyone followed suit leaving only the Hendrix brothers. They are both well built warriors with same sapphire eyes. The only difference between their appearance is the older one Alvaro is blonde while Bernard is brunette. At least that is how I tell who is who when I see them because their features are very identical. Bernard broke the silence.
"Your Majesty, I must say it is getting to the point where our capital might crumble at any moment". And the second difference is their personalities. Bernard is more...straightforward.
"As one of the commanders what do you suggest we do?" I asked.He replied quickly "I think we should stop sending our main troops to help evacuate the citizens and focus on the battlefield". Everyone in the room stopped breathing waiting for my reaction.Alvaro smiled awkwardly and said "Your Majesty, I believe what my brother is trying to say is we should focus on strengthening the border and defending the castle a bit more".
"So, both of my chief commanders are telling me to start defending myself instead of helping the people who can't protect themselves?"."Sir, that is not what-" I cut him of already knowing what he was about to say"Do you all really believe we have a chance to win? I am only doing this through the force of circumstances.I want everyone to leave the capital because reinforcements from Uncle Werner are coming way too slowly and if we decide to wait here there won't be much survivers".At that Olivia stood up with a frown
"Sir I apologize if I spoke out of turn, but am I right to think that you are planning on staying here.I mean if we have to retreat shouldn't our royal family be one of the first to leave".I nodded"You are right miss Damaris.That is why I will talk to my family this evening.Hopefully they won't be too upset by the news.They will lead the citizens and castle workers to the East.I want everyone ready by dawn.The earlier you leave the sooner you will get to safety".My warriors looked at me like I've grown a second head.I merely smiled"I guess you all realized what I am going to do.The enemies are smart, they definitely won't be distracted by our cavalry.But if me and soldiers stay here to defend our home until the very end they won't be going after fleeing people.We would be much easier to defeat in their opinion but still bring them more benefits than chasing the citizens.We will do our best to stop them and return, but if the worst comes to worst I am grateful for the time I got to know all of you.Thank you all for doing your best".
"If that is the case then I am going to stay here to defend His Majesty"said Caddel firmly."No,you will go with the royal family,all of you will.I only want hundred archers who were trained for hand to hand combat and several healers.
"But Your Majesty that won't be enough to defeat them".I sighed for what felt like thousand times today."Then we are just going to shoot them down from castle towers that way it will reduce the number of unnecessary victims.I do not want to hear any more of your worries,just focus on completing the order I gave you all flawlessly,and if I can't make it back mother will rule again for some time but later when you find my brother everyone should recognize him as the king of Azariah.But before announcing that all of will be responsible to teach him everything he needs to know.I don't want to leave Azariah in hands of someone who doesn't know or care about the king's responsibilities.Do I make myself clear?".I scanned the face of my comrades with narrowed eyes.In the end Alvaro sadly smiled and said"We promise to not to let you down Your Majesty".Only then I noticed Azzuta's quivering lips,Caddel's clenched fists and Olivia and Hugo's tear filled eyes.Even though Bernard looked emotionless his whole body was shaking a little.I guess my little monologue really did feel like this was my final goodbye to my longtime friends.I cleared my throat as it felt like I might start sobbing along with them.I gave my head a little shake to clear it"If nobody else has anything to say the meeting is dismissed.Inform everyone about the orders and take care.May the spirits protect us all!".