From the Depths

Epilogue - What the Future Holds

Kiren walked the halls of the all too familiar castle with a heavy sigh. "Uncle Henry, is this really necessary?"

"You have just been crowned King, it is more than necessary. The council-"

"I don't care for the council! They are nothing but a bunch of stuck-up snobs who only care for power. It's nothing but a waste of time!" Kiren racked his hand through his firey red hair, his emerald green eyes staring daggers at the Knight. "Listening to them wine will amount to nothing-"

Henry chuckled beside him causing him to stop mid-sentence. "The older you get the more alike you become."

His heart clenched at the mention of his mother. He'd never met her, though his grandmother and Henry told him many tales. The one reason he continued on this path was because of her and her ideals.

She'd sacrificed so much to give him a chance at life, perhaps was still fighting even now, no one knew. So, he fought in his own way every single day. His one and only goal was to unite the human world with the others that were hidden in the shadows.

Though it would benefit him and his secret, being half-human, he wanted more than anything to give her a safe place to return home to.

"You've had this planned for months, best you tell them in person or they will lash out at the people, don't let them blame others for their own mistakes." Henry pointed out.

Letting out a disgruntled groan he righted himself, fixing his collared shirt and proceeded to enter the meeting room. All heads turned to take in the newcomer. Many realising who he was stood and paid respects while others remained seated with disgusted smirks. Many on the council had been loyal to Haith, the former King, and still remain so, or at least to his ideals.

Kiren took his seat while Sir Henry stood at his side, his arms linked behind his back. There was no point in forcing the arrogant men to stand and bow, besides he didn't want to rule that way.

"Late as always." It was Lord Jeffery from the east. A high-ranking aristocrat who 'helped' the king run the region.

A smirk crept across Kiren's lips. "I was merely taking the time to clean up your mess."

The man shot up from his chair. "Are you calling me incompetent!?"

"What else would you call a man who turned a blind eye to the collapse of the copper mines in his own backyard." Kiren placed his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together as he leaned forward to stare at the man from across the room. "You left men buried alive down there."

Jeffery waved his hand in the air and tsked as though it were nothing. "A small loss, I admit. But one can't deny that there are dangers to mining that a young King like yourself wouldn't understand."

"I heard it was the King who led the charge to extract the men." A woman's voice joined the conversation. "While the lord of the region sat on his riches and laughed."

"Nonsense! I would never!" Jeffery placed a hand to his heart and looked utterly offended.

Murmurs rose in the room at the mention of the King travelling to different regions within the kingdom. 'Surely he wouldn't have time'. 'There's no way a King would care about a minor incident like that'.

"The men were overworked, underpaid and many were forced to prostitute their daughters to your household." Kiren shook his head. "Of course, none of them would go on file for fear of their lives."

Jeffery couldn't hide his gleeful grin at the mention of no witnesses.

"So, I had to resort to something rather drastic." Kiren Continued.