"Do I have to go through all this? Bar, when I am officially king, I'll make sure to amputate the cap and the cloak." He said to Barbara, who was smiling softly before leaving the room.
He walks through a long corridor that was adorned with crystals between the marbled floor and the walls flushed in white paintings. Agni's footstep was the only sound echoing through the corridor; all the guards bow as he walks past them. His long white hair hitting his back with every step he takes. He walks elegantly, showing off his slim figure. His deep brown pupils shone brightly, making everyone who stared into those eyes shiver; his pale white skin was smooth under the royal white robe he wore, which was adorned with crystals and an embroidery of the palace sigil at the top right of the robe.
"Greetings, your highness," a guard bowed when Agni reached the end of the corridor. A white limousine was parked at the very front of the building with two Rolls Royces for his escort. A guard standing beside the cars runs to open the door for him. Agni slips in swiftly and gently, afraid his cap might fall off. If not for the queen, what is the point of wearing all these? The driver steps into the driver's seat and starts the engine. Agni closed his eyes, resting his head a little; he let out an inaudible sigh.
He was so lost in the thought of what would change when he became the king; a lot would surely change. Will the people adore him the way they adored the past king and grieved for him when he passed? What if he fails them and loses their trust and love? He even went to the extent of changing the royal sigil just to gain more of their trust and respect.
The chattering in his surroundings brought him back to reality. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the sight of his surroundings. They're already at the palace temple; he was a bit surprised with how fast the drive was, though it was just at the extreme end of the palace. Did he perhaps zone off?
He shrugged his shoulders while alighting from the car. The cheers scared him a little with how loud the crowd was; he placed a hand to his chest, moving back slightly when a group of ladies ran to him unexpectedly.
The guards step forward, pushing everyone back. About five guards lead him into the temple; everywhere was quiet apart from the footsteps of his escort.
"Greetings, your Highness," the priest bowed slowly when Agni reached the altar; everyone present in the temple followed suit except for the queen; she sat comfortably with her head held high, a proud smile plastered on her face.
The kings and princes of other kingdoms having an alliance with theirs are also present. The high priest and other high figures in the kingdom sit at the right side of the altar.
Murmuring can be heard when Agni knelt in front of the altar, facing the crowd, his eyes closed. The highest priest raised his hand, signaling silence.
The temple was quiet once more before the priest starts the enthronement ritual. The priest opened a large book and started reciting some incantations, drawing some magical runes on a scroll. A bowl of melted crystal was sitted on top of the altar along with two pairs of sigil seals. A longsword was also placed beside the bowl; its hilt was also made of hard crystal polished blue. Everyone was quite and so focused on the ritual going on in the temple.
A large screen was placed outside the temple for the kingdom commoners to witness the coronation. Those cheering for their new king outside the temple are mostly old and some young ladies who have the dream of becoming his queen, but they're inaudibly quiet except for some small murmuring when the ritual started.
When the highest priest was done with his recitation, he placed down the scroll close to the bowl. Agni placed his hand on top of the altar, the priest took the long sword and made a small cut on Agni's palm, and placed his hand on top of the melted crystal; a few drops of his blood dropped into the bowl. The white crystal substance inside the bowl turned deep red. Another priest brings a hot bowl with a shiny black melted substance. The black substance was poured into the bowl with the melted crystal; the deep red substance turned completely black, which shone brightly.The priest dipped the first sigil into the bowl; he untied Agni's robe, which fell down his shoulders, showing off his sculptured body. His shoulders were broad; Agni let out a smirk when the ladies started shouting, while some fainted just by looking at his godly defined body. He was left in his trousers, which he wore under the robe.
The Sigil seal that was dipped into the bowl was used to make a branding mark at the top of his left shoulder. To Agni's surprise, the pain he was awaiting never comes; he thought it would hurt much due to the black substance being poured, but it was completely cooled.
"Momma, what's that symbol for the new king?" a young boy asks his mom, pointing towards the screen.
"That the symbol of life, Joey, our new king, is entrusting us with a new hope from life." The boy looked at his mother with a confused gaze.
"What does that mean, Momma?"
"The king chose a different sigil this time around, not the usual kingdom sigil," the boy nods his head in understanding.
"This new sigil has the four elements of life, which are water, air, fire, and earth. These symbols are all single signs but then compressed into a single sigil symbol. Do you get the symbol now?" she asks him when she's done explaining.
Joey nods his head, returning his attention to the large screen. The priest takes the longsword, branding the same sigil on the scabbard; he did the same to the scroll encrypted with the magical runes he drew earlier. No one uttered a word inside the temple but watched the ritual intently.
The priest placed the sword on Agni's shoulder. "To the life entrusted unto you by the kingdom, I hereby declare the 5th blood-tied king of the Moonrise kingdom and the 16th king in the ruling history of the Moonrise kingdom. All hail to King Agni Artemis Achilles Oregon Ares."
Cheers can be heard from every part of the kingdom, many celebrating the new era of a new king, which symbolizes life, children dancing on the highways, women chattering and discussing the new hope, men drinking while bumping bottles; joy can be seen on every citizen of Moonrise Kingdom when the large screen goes off, signaling the end of the ritual.
Agni's robe was put back on; the high priests were the first to congratulate the new king. Everyone bowed, paying their respect. Agni also bowed to the invited kings from other kingdoms, while the princes and princesses of those kingdoms hugged him, placing a gentle kiss on both sides of his cheek. When everyone left the temple after congratulating the king, the queen moved elegantly towards Agni; she hugged him, gently placing a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Don't disappoint me, my king," she said, smiling. Agni watched her with wide eyes. Is this really his mother? He had forgotten the last time he saw her smile, let alone laugh.
"I won't, my Queen," he answered her, wrapping his hand around her; he felt like crying; he had forgotten the last time he hugged his mom this affectionately.
"No, son, call me Rhea, just Rhea."
But mom; Agni protests, "Now shush, we need to get you a queen, but I am no more your queen."
Agni's face flushed pink hearing his mom talking so gently with love; it was like he was experiencing motherly love for the first time. He had never felt this way unless around Barbara, his nanny, who had even seen him nude.
"Ehen, ehen," the highest priest conducting the ritual coughed lightly, interrupting the two.
"My Queen, everyone is gone now; can we commence the second branding?" the priest said, looking at the guards at the door of the temple. The queen raised her hand to the guards; they bowed and stepped outside, closing the door behind them but still staying guard outside the door.
Somewhere within the palace ✨✨✨
"Met anyone on your way?" a young man asked while sitting comfortably on a luxurious couch.
"No, my king, no one saw us sneaking in." The man let out a hearty laugh before looking at the four men in front of him; two were young, around their mid-thirties, while the other two were more than forty, whose bodies had started trembling.
"So you went to the coronation of a new king who happens to be someone else, not me," the man said, taking a sip of his tequila without a care in the world.
The four men immediately went to their knees; by then, sweat had accumulated at their foreheads, and with trembling lips, the man in a pure white robe opened his mouth to speak.
"You don't have to be a high priest; you were the one who brought the tattooed coal and even went to the extent of adding silver dust. Is the symbol shiny enough, or do you need more?"
"I'm sorry, my king, it'll look suspicious if I didn't do as expected, but you don't have to worry, my king; the new highest priest doesn't know much about the ritual; he did just one branding, which means Ares isn't completely king." The priest said, expecting a bit calmer reaction from the young man.
"Interesting." The young man burst out laughing, gulping down the whole liquid. The four men breathe out a shaky breath. Is this a good sign, or should they expect more crazy stuff from the psychopath?