"An invitation was sent to all citizens of Moonrise celebrating a new era of life, hope, and fulfillment. The royal party was organized by the king's best alliance kingdom, Prince Sage of the Northwings. The party will be held in the palace where all citizens are invited."
The young man from earlier, who seems to be not older than 26, sat cross-legged on his exclusive chesterfield couch. He had an evil-like smirk on his face while watching the news on the television. The four men still on their knees expecting the worst from the psycho.
Walking majestically, he pushed open the door of the meeting room. Scanning and understanding the awkward atmosphere, he walked elegantly to one of the designated chesterfield couches inches away from the young man sipping his tequila. His long black hair wraps around his shoulders with how abundant it is. Wearing a black robe and pants, it makes it so hard for the guard to detect him when he was entering the room. He has an empty expression on his face, which makes it hard to detect any emotions from him.
"About fucking time, Roux, I thought you chickened out."
"I am a busy man, Russell. I don't just sit on an expensive couch doing something not better than nothing." The man answered in a deep voice, low voice, containing a hint of mockery.
"Watch it, fella. I have no conundrums with your attitude, Roux; I am also a prince."
"Ohh, it might have slipped your mind; I am the crown of the Northwings; you know better what that means."
The four men from earlier watched the scene unfolding before them, wide-eyed. 'Is he really the crown prince of the Northwings?' Everyone knows he never shows up to unimportant sittings unless it involves the Moonriser, their loyal ally. People barely know him with how hard he showed his face to the public.
"My king, what do we have to do to please you?" One of the men who looks to be in his fifties said when the two men are about to start ranting about who has the most authority, which is going to take a while; he just wants to get away from the two psychopaths.
Roux watched the man intently before nodding his head; he was wearing an expensive silk shirt, showing off his wide, broad shoulders, which shows how much he spent in tending to his body. He must be having a hard time keeping that body shape.
"Relax, Attorney, we've not gotten there yet; the priest was saying something about a second branding, if I'm correct." Russell turned his attention now to the priest.
"Yes, my king, the new highest priest might have forgotten that every king of the Moonrise Kingdom is entitled to have two branding, and he must have skipped some part of the kingdom archeology." The priest said with a shaky tone, afraid he might provoke the younger.
"Well, if that's the case, we have to do something about it." Roux chipped in.
"We can make it into a big issue, spreading rumors about how the king undergoes a half ritual; that'll make the citizens doubt the capability of the new king. Still not sure my kingdom would rethink their choice of alliance." He added, straightening his back.
Russell watched him carefully, staring into his eyes, when he saw no remorse and emotion in Roux's eyes. He nods his head, agreeing to the man's word. He inclined his head towards the other sofas in the room.
"You all should have a sit and let us discuss how we could dethrone the new king."
✨ Agni's bedroom ✨
"Come on, Ares, I prepared this celebration for you; you should enjoy it, not the other way round."
"Ohh Sage, I thought you knew better than to have a celebration for me; I prefer reading books on my soft sofa or in the library than being in a room filled with pretentious bastards." Agni said, running his hand through his head.
He was in his sweatpants, the ceremonial robe long discarded on his bed. He was shirtless, showing off his tattooed, branded shoulder."
"Why do the priests hide the second ritual?" Sage asked out of the blue, noticing the second branding at Agni's lower back; he would have missed it with how low the branding was done, his sweatpants covering half of it.
"Something about safety and blinding the enemies, I never understand the queen and her tactics; she has gone to the extent of assigning a new priest for the coronation; she made him the highest priest. He was here not more than a month, but she still makes him the highest priest. Who on earth does that? I'm sure he hasn't read all the history and rules of the kingdom yet." Agni was ranting all over Prince Sage who was laughing furiously, imitating how Agni was pacing the room with an annoyed expression.
"Come on, Sage, you know it's not funny, all this stress and stuff." He said, bouncing on his bed, lying flat.
"You should wear something before your nanny comes in; she'll surely misunderstand us this time around." Sage said, walking to Agni's walk-in closet. In not less than a minute, he walked out holding a blue tuxedo.
Agni was staring at Sage, surprised. How did he know where his clothes were? In normal bases for him, it takes him almost an hour to look for different clothing of his if he doesn't want to stress Barbara. "How do you get them so fast?" he asked Sage, who was about to walk into the closet again.
"It's no different from where mine are." Sage answers, walking back in. He comes out with a leather shoe and a bow tie, a white inner shirt, and a pair of Graff diamond watches.
"Now you're set to go, my king." Sage said, winking.
Agni takes the pillow close to him and throws it towards Sage who quickly moves to the side, still laughing.
"I'll get Kiana to redo your face; you should glow up for the cute ladies who are invited." Sage said winking again before heading to the door.
"Can't I just skip the event and tell my mom I'm sick or something?" Agni said, trying hard not to cry.
"Oh, crybaby, I'll let your mom knows you need your milk." Sage said laughing so hard this time around, running out of the room afraid of something else hitting him, not a pillow this time around.
✨✨ At the previous courtroom ✨✨
The men sat quietly, none of them uttering a word. You could tell how uncomfortable they were, except for the man with the Northwings embroidery; he sat comfortably looking at the young man who sat cross-legged.
"Where do we start from?" Roux asked for his attention on the men. They all tense, waiting for his response.
"You can make the suggestion crown prince of the Northwings," Russell said, relaxing his body completely on the couch. His eyes strain on the crown prince of the Northwings.
"Spreading rumors won't do much harm for the king; his quiet and simple nature attracts the attention of almost all the citizens of the kingdom." He said, pouring the same tequila the younger was drinking earlier into a cup, he also sat cross-legged, taking a sip of it.
The men gaze between the Russell and the crown prince; they stay silent even though they have high status in the kingdom, but they can't compare to these two. An immediate brother to the queen and the crown prince of Northwings. There always seems to be a hidden tension whenever the two are to give a suggestion or sit for a meeting purpose.
"How about we hire some people outside the kingdom to abduct the king? Then we can make him do whatever we want, even if it means threatening him with his life." One of the men said, but not quite sure the two would like his idea.
Russell's laughter erupts so suddenly, scaring both Roux and the men, looking at the man who suggested such a plan. "Are you always this cruel, attorney Cruise?" He asked, glaring at the man he called Cruise.
The man shakes his head, trying to justify his thought. But before he could utter a word, he was interrupted by Russell. "Well, I like your plan; I always want to see the other side of my niece, which I'll get to enjoy when he's all tied up."