I'd Give Up The World For You

Taking over headquarters honestly wasn't that hard. Soldiers got very chummy with each other and having people convince their friends was almost too easy. 

The mercenaries and wind mages were able to handle the higher-ranked officers, who were now tied up and huddled together in the middle of a ring of fire that went higher than their heads in the middle of the training grounds. Blaze had gathered them there in order to make an announcement to all who remained. 

The royal army's setup had truly backfired on the people in charge. No one loyal to the higher-ranked officers was left because of the high turnover from people collecting their pensions and retiring. 

Everyone here who had been convinced to stay on hadn't required much convincing. Especially those who knew Blaze personally or had heard rumors of his great deeds during the wars. His reputation had really come in handy here!

It was time for him to give his speech now that the fighting had wrapped up and the signal flare was set off so Harland knew to retrieve the castle servants from their hiding place. He needed to be sure to win them over here but Silas wasn't worried. He had always had something about him that made people want to follow him. 

Blaze had taken off his hat and eyepatch at this point to address the crowd. He definitely hadn't had time to rehearse beforehand but it certainly sounded like it had been. That must be a noble thing. 

"My comrades, it is with great solemnity that I stand before you today. I imagine you must be rather confused about what has happened. I shall do my best to explain it in a way you can understand.

"Your former king slaughtered my entire country unprovoked but the carnage didn't end there. He turned on the Aveleenian allies that made it possible as well and many of our friends were lost in that senseless conflict. 

"The same thing happened in Zel when he unjustly blamed them for the disappearance of his son. More soldiers were lost without cause. Someone who puts his own interests above the interests of his people and uses terrible means to achieve them should not be in charge of a nation. 

"A king's duty is to his people. That was what my father, King Baratheon of Katalya, always taught me. He should not sit idly by as people suffer while being far removed from it all. That is what these men here have been complicit in as well, which is why they have been arrested.

"Sitting behind desks while the rest of us are sent off to fight not caring if we live or die is not what people with power should do. Power should be used to help those who do not have it. Now that I have it I will use it to help all of you. 

"My wife was a farmer. She struggled under the weight of heavy taxes every bit as much as all of your loved ones do. As many of you do, I sent most of my pay home to help her when I was a foot soldier. 

"I know what it is like to have very little but still have much of it taken from you for unjust reasons and I will not stand for that any longer. This is a new day for Mirea. One where everyone who lives here will be taken into account. I will do my best to serve you and I ask that you will do the same as members of the Mirean Royal Army. Thank you for your support."

Everyone cheered loudly before slowly dispersing after being ordered to get back to their usual activities by the newly appointed General Brant. All of the recently promoted officers had already gotten their new uniforms from the supply room and looked very official. 

Silas included. Elaine was going to be in for quite a surprise seeing him come home with gold stars on his uniform!

"Nice speech," he said in a low voice as he clapped Blaze on the shoulder. "What do you want us to do now?"

"I think you need to go home and explain what's going on to your wife. Dudley too. As for everyone else, they need to get settled into their new offices and/or barracks or come back to guard the castle. Ugh…there's so much paperwork to do and the only person with any training on it is me," he lamented. 

"I'll be back to help with that stuff tomorrow. For the time being I need to go. I have a lot of work to do but first and foremost I need to deal with them. Does anyone know where the actual prison is? Because I really need to know!" 

"Don't worry about it, kid," Barry said as he came up on Blaze's other side. "I happen to know exactly where the prison is. I can have my men make a prison caravan to escort everyone there…for an additional fee."

Blaze shot him a wry look. "I expect nothing less from you. We can discuss this further once we're back." 

The two of them walked away with the rest of the mercenaries, wind mages, and prisoners leaving hundreds of overly excited soldiers whispering to each other behind them. What a headache to deal with! Silas was glad he had the rest of the day off. 

He headed home rather fretfully and was pounced on the moment he walked through the front door. Elaine looked up at him with a mix of anger and concern as she wrapped her arms around him like a vise. 

"Where have you been?! What sort of overtime takes that long?"

"Uh…"

Silas wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain this. He was still trying to figure it out when she zeroed in on the stars on his uniform. "Did you get promoted? Your uniform is different. Is that why you were gone all night?"

"Yes. I jumped ahead four ranks. I'm a general now." 

"A general?!?!" Elaine shrieked. "How did that happen? You were a captain last night!" 

"…it's kind of a long story. You might want to sit down for this." He led her to the sofa before continuing without meeting her eyes. "We successfully conducted a coup last night. The new king wanted me to be his right hand man and had to make me a general for that to happen."

"You WHAT? And who in the world is we? You actually helped take over the entire country?!"

"It was May's idea! He told me his story and asked me to help him not long after we got back from Aveleen. You know I owe him my life and what he told me was so horrible that I couldn't turn a blind eye to what the former king had done," Silas explained desperately. 

Elaine's eyes widened and she couldn't form a complete sentence for over a minute. "May? Veronica's husband is the king now?" 

"Yes. He was the third price of Katalya—the country directly to the west of us—until the former king annihilated it and killed everyone living there but him. He didn't want to see that happen to anyone else so he decided to depose him." 

The whole story of everything Silas had helped with over the past four years poured out of him, spurred on by his wife's frequent questions. She didn't seem angry anymore. Simply shocked. 

He had been right that she didn't care who was in charge as long as she was able to live comfortably. He was willing to bet the majority of the commoners would feel that way. It was the nobles that would be the problem. 

Elaine was more concerned with how dangerous that had been and how Veronica was going to react to the news when she returned. She knew her friend was off visiting her surrogate son. 

"I had no idea Lieutenant Colonel May had such a grim past," she said faintly. "But what am I supposed to call him now? Your Highness?"

Silas shook his head. "He isn't one for formalities. I've been calling him Blaze since that's his real last name. Poor guy has lived with his alias for a long time. He deserves to be addressed properly. I think he cares more about that than any title."

"How sad. I hope Veronica is able to accept all of this. She's going to be shocked. Finding out your husband isn't who he says he is must be awful. You don't have any aliases, do you Silas?"

He let out a small laugh. "No. I just told you my only secret. I've never been anyone but Silas Conrad."

"General Silas Conrad now. That's so crazy!" 

Yes. Yes it was. All these years of planning and he hadn't quite expected this to happen. Who knew what the future held for him? He was the right hand man of the king!

"It is most definitely the craziest thing that has ever happened to me," he agreed. 

Elaine suddenly sat up straighter, as if realizing something. "Does this mean Veronica is the queen now?!"

Silas could see how that would be strange for her to think about. He had been shocked to discover his friend was a prince back in the day too. Though Veronica hadn't been royalty by birth. She had become one unexpectedly because of who she was married to. 

Ever since she married Blaze she had been a princess without even realizing it. How was she going to feel when she found that out? He couldn't deny he was worried about her reaction when she got back. 

"She is," he told her. 

"My friend, the queen! Unbelievable," Elaine said weakly as she sank back against the cushions. 

"I'm sure she'll adjust," Silas said with more confidence than he felt. 

She had to. Blaze wouldn't survive the pressure of being king if she wasn't by his side. He needed her so the negative emotions he kept locked so deeply away didn't consume him. 

Elaine bit her lip in worry. "I certainly hope so…"