Kings [A Medieval AU]

Chapter Twenty-One - New Beginnings

Phil sits behind his desk, hands folded on the glossy wooden surface. Henry stands in front of him, poised and serious. The very air is tense, and Phil resists the urge to pull at the collar of his shirt.

"I have made a decision regarding King Daniel of Tenebris. Under no circumstances will I execute him, nor cause him any more harm. As well, I will be changing our current laws to ones that are more humane and with the times," he states. "The laws we currently have in place are outdated and violent, and that is not the kind of kingdom that I want to run."

Henry exhales and nods, his jaw clenched. "I respect your decision, sire. However, I believe that this position is no longer for me. I will be unable to help you make these decisions and changes if I myself do not endorse them. Therefore, I hereby resign from the position of advisor and wish to find a different job in the castle."

"I approve of your decision and will place you in a different position. Do you have any recommendations for the position of royal advisor?"

"Yes. There is a young man named Chris who has been my pupil for several years now. He is closer to your age and very open-minded, and I think he would fit well as your advisor."

Phil nods and stands, shaking Henry's hand. "Send him in and we will talk. Thank you for all your service, and best of luck in what you end up doing."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Phil lets go and Henry bows before turning on his heel and exiting the room. The king returns to his chair and settles down, glancing at the pages of laws in front of him. He should work, but he can't think. He taps his pen on his desk, mind elsewhere. He was sick of fighting with Henry, but he's worried about working with a brand new advisor that doesn't have any experience with being a king's advisor. What if something happens? What if an army of Tenebrisians shows up at some point and Chris has no idea what to do?

A knock on the door brings him back to reality. A rather tall brunet man with amber-brown eyes steps into the room, bowing for the king. A light blue tunic hangs off his shoulders, the same kind that every other advisor in training wears.

"Chris, I presume?" Phil asks.

"Yes, your majesty. I was told you wished to speak with me," he replies.

"Indeed. I want to talk to you about becoming my advisor."

Chris' eyes light up. "That would be an honour, sire."

"Excellent." Phil stands from his chair and shakes his hand, and Chris shakes back with a grin on his face. "I look forward to working with you. Now, sit down and we will discuss some of the changes that I would like to make."

Chris takes a seat and Phil returns to his chair, sliding the pages of laws towards his brand new advisor.

~

Dan makes his way down to the stable, feeling better today than he did yesterday. His back doesn't hurt as badly, which makes walking less of a hassle. He's still not ready to face his scars, but there's no rush. He'll look at them eventually.

A staircase, built into the side of the hill that Phil's castle sits atop, leads Dan down to the stables. The small wooden building constantly teems with life, servants and animals milling about. Several horses graze from bins of hay, stamping their hooves in the snow. Their coats are thick and fluffy, protecting them against the chilly winter air, and Dan can't help but grin. The horses in Divum are significantly more fluffy than horses in Tenebris and Dan loves it.

He reaches the stables and is greeted by a husky with big blue eyes and a wagging tail.  Without a moment of hesitation, he kneels down and buries his fingers in her fur.