"Your honor," Andras bowed to his brother. "Congratulations on your new-coming king."
Andras, Alden put his hands on his shoulder and told him to get up from the floor.
"Come take a pew," Andras invited his brother to lounge with him for a while in the garden.
"How do you feel coming from the battle?" Andras asked, looking at the beautiful sky in the night. "The kingdom flourishes, the people are joyous, and you have an heir; we have so much to be grateful for."
Alden approached while smiling at his brother. "Indeed, we have so much to be grateful for. I wasn't expecting this to happen so fast. I thank the Gods that we will return from the victorious war today."
Everything was going well until Alden said that his son would carry on his generation. The words were a pain to Andras. He boiled in rage and anger but tried his best not to react.
"It has been 20 years, and I'm still in the army," Andras muttered to the breeze. "It has been 20 years. I never got a chance to rule, and you're giving your child the next heir to the throne? I thought I was your brother."
Alden was shocked to hear this and said to him that it has always been the way the traditional law is; he can't leave the throne for him, or the kingdom would fall into chaos.
"What made you think that you're better than me?" Andras questioned Alden. "I command thousands of soldiers in the war zone. You're just a weak king who sits in the palace. You know I have done more work than you."
"Silence!" Alden ordered him.
They argued for some moments. The king was getting angry and wondered what had come over his brother. In his thoughts, he asked himself, Has he been jealous all this time? I have never offended him. He is wealthy and a leader. Why does he have interest in my throne?
Alden decided to end the conversation. "I don't want to hear this conversation again," he said to Andras. "You are a man of honor, and you honor your kingdom. I know that. You should be satisfied with what you have. You don't want to have more than what you wish for."
After telling him this, he left the garden angrily and returned to his chambers. His wife was still sleeping, but the baby woke up crying, and Alden carried him.
He tried to put him back to sleep, but he was not used to being a father. He sent for the maids to come and watch the child. The maid he called was Mira, the maid closest to the queen.
"Take him out to the balcony for fresh air. I want to take some rest," Alden ordered. Looking at his child with a smile, he said, "He is so handsome, like me. I've done good work to marry a good woman."
The king lay down on the bed beside his wife and held her hands as he began to sleep. Mira was on the balcony of the king's chambers, singing a song to the baby while looking up at the sky.
In the garden where his brother was, Andras was angry about what had just happened between him and his brother. He couldn't stop thinking of a way to overthrow him.
He began to hear a voice whispering to him, "You're the right one to sit in that position. Your brother doesn't deserve to be the king. He is too soft."
"I must kill him before he makes that son of his the next heir," Andras said to himself. "He has treated me unfairly. I won't allow any nonsense act. My time has come to take over."
He stood up from the chair in the garden and went to the weaponry room, which was meant for items used in battle. There, he got alcohol from a guard. On his way, he took a chain from the weapons room. His plan was to kill the king and his family.
Spending time in the room, he planned how he would make every move so no one would suspect him.
"It will look like an accident," he nodded to himself. Then he went to the king's chamber. The king was already in deep sleep because he was drunk and tired. His wife was also tired from labor.
Getting there, Andras sneaked into Alden's chambers while they were sleeping. He poured alcohol all over the floor and the curtains. Then he chained the king and his queen to their bed and poured alcohol on them.
"I will burn everything," he said in silence, holding a fire torch in his hand. "I will burn everything you love, and it will be my turn to rule."
He set a piece of cloth on fire and threw it on the floor. A small fire started, and as he waited for it to grow, the king woke and saw him setting the room ablaze. Alden tried to get up, but he was chained to the bed.
Andras quickly pressed his head with a pillow to suffocate him. As he was doing this, Mira, on the balcony, spotted him, but it was too late. The king was dead, and the fire in the room had spread wildly.
Realizing she had to escape, Mira jumped from the balcony to the next floor with the baby in her arms.
"Stop!" Andras shouted as he saw her.
Mira was terrified that the commander would kill her because of what she had witnessed. She ran for her life and out of the palace.
Unaware of what was going on, Andras rushed out of the burning room, closed the doors, and went to sleep in his chambers, leaving the king and his wife inside the fire.