We The Kings: Book Two

Chapter 57

The sun was setting when I rushed back to the castle.

"Where's Timothy?" I asked Galen.

"Not sure. No one has seen him since this morning." They said.

I throughly checked the castle looking for him. He was nowhere to be found.

I hoped he hasn't ran off. Not because I was going to attempt to take his kingdom, but worried for his safety. I knew what it was like being unstable, and I didn't want him to hurt himself.

I spent a while exploring the castle grounds. Hidden behind a group of trees led a cobblestone path. It was gated. I twisted the lock and pushed it open, following the path.

The leaves fell down on the cobblestone path. My boots caused them to crunch as I walked down it

There were some markers at the end of the path, along with a bench. Flowers and plants surrounded the markers. Timothy was there, sitting on the ground. The markers were made of stone and had names written on them.

His head was low as he squatted by the markers
I knew I had to approach the situation as delicately as I could.

"Timothy." I said softly.

He raised his head. His eyes and face did not drop from its red hue.

"I can't believe he's gone. He's all I had left." Timothy said, sucking up the sniffles.

"I'm sorry, Timothy. Are these graves your parents?" I asked him, taking a step closer.

"Yes. They aren't really buried here. They burned in a fire. Both of them were guards. They gave their lives to serve Darlington, and the king."

"It seems like you and the king were very close. He considered you a son."

His eyes welled up with tears again. He took a deep inhale to calm his sniffles.

"He left you a letter too, didn't he?" Timothy asked.

"He did."

"I thought for sure that you killed him. I thought you killed him to take the kingdom for yourself. But the letter.. Once I read the letter, I knew it wasn't you."

"Do you want to sit?" I asked him. He agreed. We sat on the bench together. The brisk autumn breeze sent a chill down my neck.

"Let me guess, you came to comfort me. Then to convince me to give you Darlington. To convince me I won't be good enough." Timothy rested his elbows on his legs with his head down.

"That was not my intention at all. King Adler believed in you. That's how I know you'll be a great king."

He wiped his eyes and lifted his arms.

"Can I read your letter?"

I unfolded the letter and handed it to him.

He handed me his letter in return.

"You want me to read this?" I asked.

He nodded.

My dearest Timothy. My son.
Do not blame King Zander and his friends for this. We both know I'm old, and that my time has been coming. It's only been a matter of time before my heart finally gives out.
I want you to know how proud I am of you, and how proud your parents would be. You have followed in their footsteps and have been one of the best knight's Darlington has ever seen.
But now that I'm gone, I want to give you the opportunity to follow in mine.
The kingdom has raised you to be a strong man that can handle extreme weight, but I want to bear the greatest weight of all upon your shoulders.
If you decide to, Darlington will be yours. You will be the king of Darlington. I believe the people will accept you; you are the closest thing to an heir I have. I know you would lead people with kindness and grace, just like I did.
I understand if the weight is too great. The crown is a heavy burden to bare. A lot of times, royal people do not get to make decisions about themselves. Who they want to marry, who they love.. If you do not want to be king, I have ordered the kingdom to King Zander, but it is only offered to him if you do not accept. Whatever you decide, what you need will be under my bed.
As for the war; the decision is yours. If you do decide to be king, you shall decide what's best for Darlington.
I will miss you greatly my son. If the gods are real, consider me watching you with them. Take your time, be kind, and be patient. I love you.

Good luck, sweet my spud.

-King Adler

The king's letter was a beautiful farewell to his son. He was excellent with his words. I couldn't imagine finding final words to say to the ones I loved.

"He wrote this beautifully." I said.

"He sure did." Timothy folded up my letter and we returned them to each other.

"The letter was him on paper, there was no denying that." I couldn't try to blame you after that.

"You don't have to tell me, but I have to ask. Spud?" I asked about the last line of the letter.

He let out a small smile, the closest sign of happiness I had ever seen from him.

"When I was little and first starting to eat, all I wanted was potatoes. My first word was 'tato'.
My parents would joke that I would run the kingdom dry of potatoes. My parents and the king would call me Spud from that. It's ridiculous, I know."

"I don't think it's ridiculous at all. It's adorable." I said.

"I knew it couldn't be you when I read that. How could you possibly know that? And his hand writing. He's always had distinctive handwriting. As we're his words."

"Have you given it any thought? What's in the letter?" I asked.

"I wasn't born royal. I don't know if I have it in me."

"But do you want to? The king believed in you."

He took a deep breath.

"I think so. I think I would like to rule in King Adele's footsteps. But I wasn't born royal."

"Being born royal has nothing to do with it, it matters how you are raised. And you were raised with a royal guardian. If anyone in Darlington would have the best chance at successfully ruling, it would be you."

He wiped his eyes once more.

"Thank you, Zander." He tightened his grip on the letter.

Timothy took a deep breath.

"Perhaps we should let everyone know. Let everyone know that Darlington has a new king, as well as a new ally."