Our Kingdom Come | KingdomCraft

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ xɪx - ᴅᴏᴡɴ ɪɴ ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ

THE VOLCANO KINGDOM

Joey, Meghan, and Shelby gathered around a small campfire. There were no trees naturally growing in the fiery nation, so they settled their camp on the border. They had not planned much out, but to set sail to Joey's Kingdom the next day.

"My mother was Queen before me," Joey murmured. The three monarchs decided to share life stories with one another. "I was fourteen or something when she passed."

Meghan reclined on a stone, her hands folding over her head. "My father was the Swamp King, I was coronated merely six-almost seven months ago."

"Bonding over trauma, huh?" Shelby commented. The two chuckled as Shelby sat down.

Meghan shrugged. "It wasn't that traumatizing."

"How about you Shelby? When did you become Queen?" Joey questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Shelby huffed, it's been a long time since she thought about the days before she was the Desert Queen. "Nineteen. Wasn't so long ago, but it feels like an eternity."

"It's crazy how fast you move on." Meghan muttered. Joey and Shelby nodded in agreement. Sadly, they all knew how that felt.

"Then they put the crown on your head, and it's like..." Shelby started.

"...it's like you were a cheap replacement for someone so great, so loved?" Joey finished her sentence perfectly.

Shelby was never able to speak about her experiences with anyone who could truly understand. She had never known anyone else who could possibly understand. Until now.

"So, do you guys have any other family?" Meghan prompted. "I have my grandmother, she no longer lives in the palace."

"I have a cousin," Shelby answered. "Besides him, that's it."

"I have a younger brother. Too young, really. He couldn't even meet my mother," Joey answered. "And I have a few cousins here and there."

It was nice to speak about family. Meghan was sad that she didn't have much to talk about. But that's just how life is. You lose some good souls. And sometimes life keeps the bad ones. It isn't fair.

The conversations continued on, deep into the night. Spanning multiple topics, many of which appear to have no connections to each other on the surface.

"Isn't it crazy how we used to hate each other? Well, not really hate. But before the attacks, I didn't even know your names!" Joey chuckled, reminiscing about the old days.

"There's gotta be a better way to do this. Tensions between neighboring kingdoms should never be this high," Shelby exclaimed, but again, what did she know? This was the norm for nearly a hundred years.

"I think we should all be allies, or at least stop being hostile and snobby towards each other. When this is all over, the Tropical Kingdom will officially extend a request for an alliance to both the Swamp and the Desert." Joey had been waiting for an opportunity such as this in a while. One where he could do good with his titles.

"And after this is all over, I will accept the request," Shelby grabbed Joey's hand, squeezing it as a sign of friendship.

Meghan sat upright, "As shall I." She moved her hands back and forth, gesturing for the two to come closer to her, to lazy to get up herself. When the other monarchs neared she took Joey's hand in her own and Shelby's in the other. "We stick together from now on."

The three smiled brightly, faces shinning with the light of the fire. They let go of each other and returned to their respective spots, ready to get some rest.