GLADIUS // Eret X Reader

2

The throne room was nearly empty when you stepped in - save for the king and his bookend twins of course. The king sat on his throne, perched on the dias above the rest of the room, Deirdre and Tarquin on either side of him - two imposing shadowy figures. They nearly never left his side these days, constantly fearing some pillager assassin in the shadows. Even though they were a regular in court meetings you never quite got used to their purple gaze.

You stooped into a bow before the king. "Good morning, Your Highness."

The king waved a weary hand, and you stood. "Good morning Y/N." He said. "Punctual as ever - please, take a seat. Thank you for coming at such an early request."

You headed over to your usual court seat - relatively close to the king, sitting down and folding your hands in your lap. It felt odd with just you in the room - you were used to the full court being gathered here, and it was too quiet as you waited for the king to speak. He seemed to be collecting his words as you waited. 

"You're most likely wondering why I called you here by yourself, and so early." He said. 

You nodded slightly; that was the big question on your mind. It wasn't uncommon for the king to hold private meetings with his trusted advisors before regular court sessions, but you were by no means that sort of important.

The king sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "I'm worried about this war, Y/N. It's been back and forth for months now with no forseeable end to it. We need an upper hand."

"Quite right, my lord." You agreed. With both sides of the war almost evenly matched, it could stretch on for years without a victor. 

"Last night, I had a long meeting with some of the generals and my advisors." The King continued. "We talked about strategy and possible ways that we could turn the tides in our favor, and most of us agreed on one thing - if we want to squash these barbarians entirely, we're going to need more numbers."

You held your tongue, even though you wanted to object - the whole reason the pillaging tribes had been upset enough to start ransacking villages and picking off battalions with guerrilla warfare in the first place was because the crown had been squashing them - but it wasn't your place to say.

"So it's time to begin calling on old allies." The king said. "Any help that we can get from the surrounding lands will be a great help in the effort. That being said, you were recommended by your peers to be sent as one of our embassies. They spoke highly of your diplomatic skills."

You smiled a little at that - it was always nice to hear that the people you worked with would recommend you for something like this - but at the same time, you couldn't help but be a little apprehensive. Leaving the palace, in the middle of a war like this, to travel somewhere you didn't even know? 

"And where will I be headed, my liege?" You asked. 

The king smiled lightly. "You'll be going east, to the kingdom of an old friend of mine."

There was some relief in that - the heaviest of the battles were in the north, so as long as you stayed away from the mountains, you would be alright. As for the kingdom off the eastern border though, you didn't know much about it. "If you wouldn't mind, my lord, could you tell me about the kingdom there?"

The king hummed, one hand stroking across his beard. "I haven't been there in quite some time..." He said. "But from what I remember, it's a quaint place. Not too many villages, and they don't see too much trouble usually. Their king was quite scary."

You must have had some kind of reaction to that, because the king laughed - just a light chuckle as he shook his head. "You won't have to worry about that though - Herobrine's son is on the throne now, and he's a much more approachable lad. I already had Deirdre send him a letter to let him know that he should be expecting someone."

You had heard of Herobrine before - around the same time that King Etienne had began building his kingdom, King Herobrine had been building his own small empire. For a long while, the two kingdoms had stood side by side, trading back and forth and lending support when one needed it. It made sense to call on the old friendship now, even though Herobrine himself wasn't on the throne anymore. 

You were a little relieved that Herobrine wasn't on the throne anymore as well - traveling during the war would be stressful enough without talking to the soulstealer himself. 

"I'll have some sort of formal address asking for support prepared, and you'll have a military escort, of course." The king said. "The most important part of it is that you try your best to earn us support - we desperately need it." 

"I'll do my best, my liege." You said. 

The king smiled thinly, waving another hand. "I'll let you go now - I'm sure you'll want to prepare for the journey. And thank you, Y/N. Your service to myself and the kingdom will be much appreciated, should the deal come through."

There was something of a threat hidden in that statement, but you paid it no mind, rising from your seat and nodding respectfully to the king. You had been in the court long enough to know that every statement was a veiled threat. 

You made your way to the door as the king turned to one of his twins, muttering something under his breath. 

"Perhaps we should reach out to another friend of mine as well..."

You paid him no mind though, letting the heavy oak doors swing shut with a thunk behind you. You had other things to worry about.