No More

Chapter 11: Interlude Part 2

He walked towards his home, after committing his latest act: robbing a lone person in the woods, stealing the Potion of Healing he was going to use to heal his ill sister. It didn't matter how much he begged, the king stole it anyway.

So there he was... King Sand the Fourth, the recent ruler of the recovering Kingdom of the Sand, stumbling into his castle, as he was tired, injured, and ashamed.

His father is dead, his kingdom destroyed, and painfully recovering. He stood on top of the inner wall, overlooking the kingdom.

The buildings were burnt or destroyed, outer wall had huge chunks of it missing, and people were homeless. It rough at night. With the outer wall unable to protect them, and the lack of basic shelter, it made things difficult.

He was losing his royal guards on a daily basis, just to protect his citizens.

Not only that, they are preparing for war. It was the Kingdom of the Ocean's fault! They broke into the castle, looted everything in it, and killed his father; King Sand the Third.

They even took his father's red book, hidden away in a secret room; somewhere neither he nor his mother knew that existed.

Then the civil war started, and everything just got worse from there. It didn't last long, but it lasted long enough to reduce this once grand kingdom into a ghost town... except people are still here, starving and afraid.

It is amazing to see people in their true colors because when you remove comfort, security, and nourishment... they are just the same as monsters; cold, selfish, and without remorse for their actions.

Since they wanted to be monsters, they were going to be treated like monsters. With his royal guards, he led them to kill the monsters that started this civil war.

Even though the monsters were gone, the pain they caused still lingered. So some left the shameful remains of the kingdom, while others chose to stay with hope and starvation.

But he didn't like seeing his citizens starve. He personally led multiple missions to gather basic resources. He led dozens of his royal guards to the forests outside the deserts, gathering resources and supplies... even going as far as to rob people.

'We didn't like it, but it was necessary!' He thought to himself. 'We need it more than them.'

'But does that mean I'm just like father? He causes suffering of others to benefit the kingdom, his citizens, his soldiers, and his family? Am I any different?' he thought sadly. He doesn't know the answer to his question, but truthfully, he doesn't want to.

"Are you proud of yourself Sandy?" a female voice asked him from behind.

Only one person could call him that, his mother Sonia. She was the queen of the kingdom, but she stepped down from her position of power. She was done.

He turned around to face his mother, but couldn't look her straight into her blue eyes. Especially after all of the things he has done.

"I did what I had to do." He said defensively. "If I didn't, people would suffer."

"But instead you chose to make others suffer." She stated, as if it was a fact instead of a question.

"I didn't have a choice! How could I sit back and watch my citizens suffer? I'm their king!"

She walked up to him, tears flowing down her tan face, onto her light-green dress. "You always have a choice... it's just that some are hard to chose."

"When I was married and birthed you, I thought that everything is going okay, that everything was fine." It was then more tears started to flow down her face. "I was stupid for thinking that, I was oblivious to your fathers actions, and now we, you, have to carry the burden."