Each year the Kingdom of Khearia throws a festival in remembrance of one of their most beloved kings who had tragically perished along with his wife and second son. His first son, Prince Fabian, was the only one to survive. Witnesses claimed his cro...
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One hundred and seventy-two ayes to one hundred and fifty-eight nays; the motion had won by a mere fourteen votes. Despite everything, all the effort they'd poured into this inquest— the documents and testimony they'd fought to provide— their first win had been narrow and without comfort.
ㅤBut, they didn't have time to dwell on the near miss.
ㅤEvery soul in the Curia packed into the front hall, each body squeezed for sweat, their heads tightly paving like cobbles under the colossus of the entrance.
ㅤJames stood at the front, beside King William and the two dukes. The shoving affected even them. Like pulses of waves, the king's higher guards did their best to impede the crowd's ripples.
ㅤThe sharp vibrations of the shouting and clambering pulsated in James' ears, the chaos piercing through his flesh from every angle. They demanded the Curia's guards open the doors, the armoured doorkeepers lingering opposite and waiting for the keys.
ㅤHarrison grabbed James' shoulder, raising his voice to be heard. "The moment these doors open, Ankaid messengers will gallop day and night to inform King Fabian. In comparison, our building army will be slow. Your brother will be expecting you, Prince Julian."
ㅤJames nodded, curt. He'd known this. "What's his army like?"
ㅤ"Intel is uncertain," Harrison admitted. "His forces outnumber ours. He spends much more than we do. We will need both the Gods and luck on our side. Get praying."
ㅤJames pondered for a moment, before leaning towards Harrison's ear. "Didn't he spread his men across the north?"
ㅤHarrison laughed, remembering. "That he did. I guess his fate will be determined by how evil he is. How fitting."
ㅤIn a way, it was.
ㅤJames had thought about it a lot in the last few days: what kind of man his brother was today. Fully visiting such an idea after the notion had been banished for so long was never going to reap anything positive. He'd sat on his bed, staring at the wall, chest tight, and had never managed to reach a conclusion. The feelings had been murky and brown inside him and despite the overwhelming swell of excessive emotion, he hadn't been able to untangle a single one.
ㅤThe only opportunity James had to reach a verdict and sort out his feelings was by facing Fabian once again. Face to face, James would look at him and ask him the one question that had hung over every interaction of James' life since.
ㅤWhy?
ㅤJames would get the closure he needed and then he would be fixed; the irreconcilable conflict of his mind that ground and gnashed like ill-fitting cogs would be made harmonious.
ㅤ"Make way for the key!" a voice called, repeating in insistence.
ㅤThe crowd parted, vibrating in excitement, as the lone guard tightly pushed through the cracks. King William took this as an opportunity to reaffirm the plan.
