Tales of the Throne: Queen

Chapter 5: Nothing To Smile About

General Lucian Williams' POV

--Dawn, Right-Wing Quarters--

"How does it feel to be King?" Llewellyn half-joked as we walked through the halls of the royal court.

The crown has now been passed onto me until Katherina is ready to ascend the throne. "Is it supposed to feel any different?"

Before and after becoming King, the entire kingdom has always been under my rule, the only difference is that with the crown my rule is absolute, temporarily.

He chuckled while shaking his head as we walked through the gardens that connected the court and the palace. "You know the people would prefer it this way,"

"And what way is that, Captain?" I frowned as I turned to look him in the eye under the scorching hot sun.

He stopped in his tracks and faced me, "With you being King,"

Almost everyone had lost faith in the cardinal, this was no secret. As developed as the world may seem, there's still an invisible tug of war between those in power and those underneath.

Then there are those that choose not to get involved and live in the forgotten parts of the Kingdom, living as the world did several decades ago without technology.

Whether they kept their opinion hidden out of fear of being beheaded for treason or whether they spoke it loud and clear in the town square or even whether or not they were part of the rebellion, it was clear what they were thinking.

For the sake of tradition, the cardinal was upheld. A tradition I knew should have been left behind in the olden era.

I continued walking forward until I finally responded, "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that,"

Not long after, one of my subordinates approached me, "General Williams, Captain Charter," he acknowledged as he greeted both of us.

"Speak,"

"The viscount is requesting your presence at his family home, he passes on his congratulations," I frowned while listening to what he said.

However I didn't think much of it, "Respectfully decline and contact the second son of the Duke and ask if there have been any suspicious activity across the map,"

"My liege," he bowed once more and took his leave.

"What? Do you think you'll be able to find anything different?" Llewellyn asked.

I shook my head and walked forward, "Just a feeling,"

We continued on discussing our plans for the kingdom, and I requested the maids to prepare one of the double rooms for Llewellyn and I, instead of our previous rooms.

I didn't have the energy nor the time to dwell on staying in my suite since we'll only be here for a few days. I haven't been there since my mother died.

"I've been thinking," I said turning around to face a half-asleep Llewellyn groaning at the fact I woke him up.

"We can recruit soldiers from the academy, they're young, their powers are still in discovery. All they need is some training and we have ourselves an army." I had been awake all night planning, thinking about how to rebuild our army.

Llewellyn and I decided to share a victorian styled room for now since we don't plan on staying in the castle long and as we'd need to be constantly discussing our next move. My bed was towards the balcony, whereas Llewellyn's bed was right below the windows.

Llewellyn sat upon his bed, staring at me in utter disbelief, "They are children, Lucian, not dispensable puppies! Training them could take years, getting them to control their powers could take even longer. I doubt the council would even allow it." He looked in deep thought, considering if we could put the lives of those children in danger or not.

"Then simple, we segregate them. We pick the ones about to choose their line of practice or we let them sign up if they're interested. They are young, yes, but we're at a point where everyone needs to sacrifice something. If anything, the numbers will make up for their lack of experience." I spent the entire night thinking and there's no better solution, we need the numbers.

Llewellyn said nothing further and simply strolled to the bathroom, leaving me alone in deep thought.

We have to be careful, things can easily spin out of control and that's what I'm trying to prevent.

The best thing I can do is train Katherina as Daniel had asked of me and focus on recruitment and protecting the borders.

Speaking of Katherina, we need to speak sooner rather than later.

I gathered the silk robe off my bed on the far side of the room and wrapped it around my body.

I had already put together a letter to give to Katherina's handmaiden concerning when and what I want to discuss with her. After leaving our quarters, I headed straight for the left-wing.

The castle seems different from what I remember. They must've rebuilt some aspects, the once wooden floor is now glossy marble resounding in the halls as people walked by. "General Williams? Is there anything I can do for you?" a young maid with bright blue eyes quietly requested.

I smiled politely at the young maid as I handed her the letter. "Deliver this to Miss Katherina, I look forward to seeing her at breakfast." Nodding once more the girl continued staring at me as we stood at the peak of the stairs.

I was confused as to why she continued gazing at me. So I queried her and her response left me utterly shocked.

"My Lord, if I may? You don't seem to smile much," she paused trying to contain her blushing, I suppose. "And you are very appealing when you do." the doe-eyed brunette hurried off without giving me a chance to ask of her name. I turned and proceeded to walk back to my quarters.

It's ironic as now this is the empire that is to be ruled and protected by me while the reason it's in danger is because of my mother.

So dear young maid even if you speak the truth, I have nothing to smile about.

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