The Union

Leopold rubbed his swollen eyes and leaned back on his chair. The soft cushion alleviated the pain on his back a little.

"What"s the situation outside?" he asked Rupert, the Captain of his guards.

"Still the same Your Majesty" Captain Rupert answered with a steely voice. "The city guards are trying their best to suppress the riots, but the people are angry. Violence has erupted in the streets targeting mainly Wismarine merchants. But they can"t enter the palace, I"m sure of that. I also think that the riots will only last for a few days at most."

Leopold examined the Captain of his guards. Like him, Captain Rupert hadn"t slept for days. He then noticed the smudge on Rupert"s armor.

"And they are throwing rotten eggs at the royal guards, I suppose?" Leopold pointed at the smudge. So that"s where the revolting odor comes from, he thought.

Captain Rupert looked at the smudge on his armor. "Eggs are the least of our problems. They also threw rotten food, rocks, sewage, urine and sometimes.." he grimaced as if remembering a horrifying memory "feces"

Leopold grunted in disgust. He shouldn"t have asked Captain Rupert. He wondered what the people will throw at him if he dared show his face to the ma.s.ses.

He must admit, he underestimated Timothy"s popularity with the people. Ever since the news of the failed a.s.sa.s.sination spread, Nirvana and many other cities in Castonia experienced riots. Of course Leopold tried to deny the accusations that he perpetrated the act, which was actually the truth. But the people did not listen to him. It was as if there was someone controlling the sentiment of the people.

The good thing though was that Braun and the Wismarines failed to kill Timothy or else the people would have already torn the palace stone by stone. That was close, he thought.

Honestly, Leopold felt so stupid. His wrong decisions caused this. First, his ambition prompted him to choose the Wismarines over the Vanadians. He should have been contented with the alliance with Vanadis. He tried to scheme against Timothy and it backfired horribly, giving Timothy soaring popularity instead.

Second, he underestimated Skall"s slyness. Leopold never expected that the b.a.s.t.a.r.d would attempt something as despicable as a.s.sa.s.sinating Lucia Vanadis and blame the act on Castonia. Now Leopold"s name will live in infamy. Sure, this scandal will be slightly forgotten in time, but its current effects were severe. All of the neighboring kingdoms shunned Castonia and recalled their merchants. Inkit, Hadea and Canton all broke their alliance with Castonia. Also, rumors say that Vanadis is preparing for war.

Leopold"s third mistake was ordering Braun to kill Timothy and capture Lucia. Truth be told, he was afraid of Timothy. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d of his late wife commands respect and admiration from the people. Thankfully, Braun failed or else the people would again blame him for the death of Timothy. This time, it was really his doing. If the people were angry now, they would have been furious if Timothy died.

There was a good news though. Braun captured Erik. Marquis Benedict Connel wouldn"t support Timothy with Erik being held hostage in Nirvana. Without the support of Greenwater, Timothy couldn"t rebel against him. It seems civil war was averted for now.

Leopold stood up and went to the window of his room. He opened it and looked outside. He saw that the streets were in chaos. Hundreds of people stood outside the gate of the palace throwing rocks and shouting incomprehensible insults to him. Leopold never wished for things to end up like this. He may have schemed against Timothy, but all he did was for the benefit of Castonia.

"Rupert, we have known each other for many years right?" he asked his guard while still looking at the rioting people outside.

"Yes, Twenty-nine years in fact." Rupert answered

"Then tell me honestly, am I a bad King?" He then looked at Rupert "Don"t worry you can be completely honest. I won"t hold it against you."

Rupert tilted his body to face Leopold. His expression was strange. It was as if he was happy and sad at the same time.

"You are a bad father Your Majesty, especially to the third prince. Sometimes you can be evil, disregarding your morals for the sake of ambition. But never in my twenty-nine years of service have I seen you disregard Castonia. Well sometimes you make bad decisions like that with the Wismarines, but I know you did it for Castonia. You thought that it was the right thing to do. So even though you tried to kill the third prince twice, even though this s.h.i.tshow is largely your fault, I never once thought of betraying you. You are a good King and nothing will change that."

Leopold laughed after hearing Rupert"s opinion of him. "When I told you to be honest, I didn"t mean for you to be that honest. I"m still hurt you know"

Rupert chuckled "I did tell you that you are a good king and you said that you won"t hold it against me"

Leopold snorted the last of his laughter and went back to his chair. "But you"re right. I am an evil person and a bad father." He leaned his head against the headrest of the chair "You know, I may have loved him once. Timothy, I mean."

He sighed and looked at the ceiling. "When he was little he once said that he wanted to be like me in the future. Whenever we eat together, he would follow all of my movements and I mean everything. The way I drink, the way I chew, the order in which I eat my food, he copies everything. I promised myself once that I will forget about the past and move on. I can"t change the past by hating a child anyway. But everything slowly changed. He grew up looking like him, that mushroom-loving a.s.shole. Whenever I look at Timothy, I remember his father. After more than twenty years, it still hurts. Margaret"s betrayal broke me and my heart had never been repaired ever since that night. So even though Timothy have nothing to do with it, even though I tried to love him as my son, I still can"t escape my emotions. I know that scheming against him is wrong. Braun is even disgusted by my actions. But emotion is man"s greatest strength and biggest weakness."

Rupert walked towards Leopold. The clinking of his armor was loud. He then sat on the chair in front of Leopold. "Pardon me for asking Your Majesty, but what would have happened if he was your son?"

Leopold ma.s.saged his aching knees. Even though his room was warm, the coldness of the night still seeps through his bone. "Sometimes I wish to forget what I have seen that night. I even wish to go back in time and prevent my older self from discovering their betrayal. Even if they continue their treachery, at least I wouldn"t know. Timothy is one of the kindest people that I know. He"s the smartest among the three princes and the people love him. If he was my son, I would have made him my heir even at the cost of offending Ivan and William." Leopold shook his head and laughed mockingly "But fate is harsh Rupert. The Omniscient plays cruel games with us mortals. The world is not perfect and Timothy is not my son. It was a shame, really."

Suddenly, the door was flung open and Braun entered. His walk was brisk but heavy. His face was convoluted. He pointed at Leopold "Look what you"ve done!"

Rupert acted fast. He jumped towards Braun and pinned the Baron on the floor. Braun struggled but Rupert was strong.

Leopold was shocked by the events. He knew that Braun did not intend to hurt him, but Braun"s expression was grim. It was full of anger and worry.

"What is the meaning of this Braun! Have you lost your mind?" Leopold approached Braun and looked at him in the eye.

Braun was panting. After a while, he calmed down. "I"m sorry Your Majesty." Braun said

The other Royal Guards also arrived and pointed their swords towards Braun.

Braun looked at Rupert who was still pinning him on the floor. "I said I"m sorry. I did not intend to hurt him. I"m not crazy."

"Unhand him" Leopold ordered. He knew that Braun won"t harm him. And even if he tries to, there were eight royal guards surrounding the Baron.

Rupert looked at Leopold and hesitated. "Your Majesty I think…"

"Unhand him Rupert. He won"t hurt me. As a matter of fact, I"m curious as to what made Baron Braun act this way"

Rupert slowly loosened his grip on Braun"s arms. Braun stood up and looked at Leopold with the same look in his eyes.

"Timothy just declared war on you. He challenges your throne. Solon in is open rebellion against the crown."

These three short sentences reached Leopold"s ears like knives. Strength left his legs and he almost fell. He was speechless for more than a minute.

"Why! Why would he start a civil war now? The war with Tulosa is still not over, our allies had abandoned us and Castonian diplomacy is in ruins!" Leopold clenched his hands. He looked at Braun and demanded an explanation. He needed an explanation for all this madness.

"Well we just tried to kill him, twice if I may add. And we tried to capture Lucia Vanadis." Braun said

"I know. I know that. But can"t he wait until the war with Tulosa is over? Dammit!" he grabbed a bottle of wine and was about to throw it, but he stopped. He put down the bottle and looked at Braun again. "And I thought without the support of Greenwater he wouldn"t do this. What can he do with such a meager army? He will just waste Castonian resources with this meaningless war!"

"Your Majesty we should just focus on what we"re doing next. Thespalae, Knightsend, Munico, Solon and many other small fiefs in the Western Region have declared their allegiance to Timothy." Braun paused and pondered for a while "But our biggest concern are the other Kingdoms. Some of them will support Timothy. If Timothy wins, he will become their puppet. We must prevent that!"

Braun was right. The other Kingdoms will smell blood in the water and they will support Timothy. This could turn ugly. Leopold must act fast.

"Send a message to Ivan in Ledega. Tell him to come here. The first thing we need to do is to quell the riots or else the people would open the gates of Nirvana for Timothy. I will talk personally with Skall regarding the Wismarine a.s.sistance." Leopold then turned to Rupert "Double the city watch and implement a curfew but avoid violence with the people at all cost."

Despite their earlier scuffle, Braun and Rupert immediately saluted to Leopold and left. Leopold then ordered the other royal guards to leave. He was left alone in his room. He went to the window and looked outside again.

The riots were still ongoing and the city was still in chaos. The night was still cold and his knees still hurt. It was still the same scene and he was still standing on the same spot. But in the darkness of the night Leopold saw a small boy eating dinner with him and following his every move. The boy"s smile was radiant. The boy was innocent and had a heart full of love for him. Leopold wanted to go back to those times. He wanted to experience those peaceful meals with Timothy. Those times were precious.

But he can"t. Both of them hated each other now. Blood had been drawn and their relationship had been damaged.

Oh how things have changed.