The King with Six Friends

Part Three: The Wedding in the Walls

Kiera lay awake in bed. It was late, but rest hadn't come easy to her these last few weeks. She had at least eaten dinner that day. She subconsciously ran her finger along the scar on her cheekbone. It was the first scar she ever had. It was from when Erik had put the barrel of the pistol to her head to kill her.

Moonlight streaked the ceiling above her four-poster bed, giving the effect of laying on the floor of a birdcage. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, she was just numbly awake.

The funeral for her father had been weeks ago. Every citizen and soldier in the South Kingdom attended it bearing flowers and white-starched handkerchiefs. At the end of the day, the steps to the mausoleum were barely visible under the mountain of offerings and blooms. Kiera had stayed to the sidelines as much as she could. She wished she had been there with her father for his last few moments. She had no living family now. She was the last of her bloodline.

Zar's coronation had been held the next day, despite multiple protests to wait for due mourning. Less than ten people attended the ceremony- not counting the palace guards. Kiera and five of Zar's friends sat on the front row of pews while some scattered servants lingered near the door. The priest performed his work, blessed Zar, and left quickly after the crowning. No one in the South Kingdom wanted Zar as king, not even Zar himself, but there weren't any other options.

The day after the coronation, letters from the Snowvidian Marquis, the Sultan of Agrafistan, and the Western Emperor arrived, all declaring war on the South Kingdom. The Marquis had given Viscount Erik sanctuary after he was found in the middle of nowhere with severe frostbite. Erik had been granted the chance to seek vengeance after being "persecuted" in his own castle. The Marquis had been waiting for decades to wage war on the South Kingdom and this was the perfect opportunity.

The Sultan agreed with the Marquis. He made his wishes known that a character like Zar was in no position to claim the Southern Throne. The Sultan wanted his own sons to claim and divide the land.

The Emperor simply wanted to take control of the ports, which were a vital trade center for the civilized world. War seemed the easiest means to acquire them. The Emperor had recently overthrown the Western Empire's former monarch and had plans to expand his borders.

The three combined armies of Snowvidia, Agrafistan, and the Western Empire were mobilizing and there was no avoiding or negotiating anything to stop it.

Zar and his generals had rallied their own troops as soon as they could. He and thousands of soldiers were leaving in the morning to go to battle. Many of them would not be returning. He had messengers sent to ally kingdoms in the surrounding lands, but none had responded. The Southern Kingdom was on its own to defend its borders.

Then, on top of all that, there was the matter of her brother, Levis. Supposedly, he had died years ago from influenza. As Kiera pondered it, she realized that if Levis was gone Erik might have been able to inherit the throne. Erik did not, however, consider a victor, like Zar, to pass her father's trials.

What Kiera didn't fully understand was that Erik didn't kill Zar when he had the chance; he turned Zar into a hawk to keep him alive but harmless. It could be possible that Levis could still be alive, but she had no idea where he would be.

He could be a squirrel, a plant, or a rock waiting somewhere in the world for someone to find him. Kiera wanted to run off to find her brother, but then she would be leaving the South Kingdom- and Zar- at their most vulnerable time.

Thinking about any of these made Kiera's headache with anxiety, so she didn't think. She just laid as still as stone in her bed, waiting for the sun to rise.

Then, candlelight flickered under her chamber door. She sat up quickly, watching the shadow of two legs stretch across the floor. Someone knocked on the door so softly she almost didn't catch it.