I'd Give Up The World For You

"Did you know my father?" Rukelion asked loftily, hiding his seething rage. 

Chancellor Hayward nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I had the honor of meeting him on a few occasions when I was younger. I attended his coronation as a diplomatic delegate from Mirea."

Ha! If he was truly honored he wouldn't have been involved in Baratheon's senseless murder. But antagonizing him now wouldn't be wise. Rukelion had to keep his cool even if he did want to torch the piece of human waste in front of him. 

"I see" was all he said in response. 

The chancellor wasn't done just yet though. He continued, "He would be proud to see his son on the throne. May your reign be prosperous for Mirea, King Georgios."

He was so furious hearing his deceased brother's name coming from this slimy man's lips that he wouldn't be at all surprised if steam had begun pouring out of his ears. He had to hold it together!

Though he was ready to burst into flame at any second he replied in a tone that could freeze an ocean. "I am afraid my brother never managed to claim the throne that was his birthright. Your former king made sure of that."

The chancellor seemed to realize he had made a potentially fatal mistake. Fear flashed in his eyes and he immediately backtracked while bowing so low his nose nearly touched the ground. 

"Forgive me, Your Majesty! I spoke out of turn!" 

That he had but it was a reasonable assumption to make. Georgios should have been king. Rukelion was never supposed to be sitting here at all. He gladly would have spent his entire life supporting his brother as he was meant to but never got the chance. 

"Yes, you did," he replied coldly. "I am Rukelion Blaze, third son of King Baratheon and the current king of Katalya and Mirea. You would do well to remember that."

"Of course, sire!" the chancellor said hastily. 

He was wise not to mention the fact that Katalya wasn't a country anymore. It was nothing but a heap of abandoned rubble but that didn't change the fact that with no one else left Rukelion was the rightful king of it. 

As much as he loved his homeland, he didn't know if it was even possible to reclaim it. Cleaning up all of the destruction and bones lying around would require a lot of manpower and he wasn't sure he had the stomach for it. If he went home and saw everything worse than it had been the day he ran away he might lose his mind completely. 

"What brings you here today, Chancellor?" Rukelion asked, wanting to get this over with. 

"I…I came to inquire upon the former king's health," he confessed without making eye contact. 

"He's dead. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"I did assume so when I saw Your Majesty. And the former queen and Prince Darius?"

"Dead as well. He killed them right in front of me. Someone without full control of their mental faculties shouldn't be in charge of an entire nation. Wouldn't you agree?"

The chancellor swallowed hard. It didn't look like he believed Rukelion even though he was telling the truth. "Yes, sire. Very much so. You are as wise as you are merciful. Please allow this humble servant to continue his job to assist the king."

If Rukelion had to guess, he was terrified of whoever could beat the former king. Especially knowing he was a fire mage and had been strong enough to overtake the entire castle. He probably guessed that the royal army had been overtaken as well even if he wasn't sure how it happened. 

Men like him had no convictions. They would follow whoever was powerful in order to retain their own power. 

The chancellor wasn't a real threat. He could potentially be a valuable pawn though. Rukelion would need someone who could deal with the nobles and other advisors to the former king. 

"Bring the nobles of this country to swear fealty to me and you shall retain your position," he said calmly. 

Chancellor Hayward seemed to realize how difficult that would be and a look of great bitterness momentarily flashed across his face. He knew there was nothing else he could do to keep his job and that he didn't have enough power to take the new king on. He had to comply. 

"I understand, Your Majesty. I shall endeavor to do my best."

He bowed before leaving the room and Rukelion's blood continued to boil. That slimeball shouldn't have mentioned his father or Georgios. Not when he had most likely been involved in their deaths. 

They both deserved to have their memories respected more than that. All of his family members did. He didn't want the royal family of Katalya to be forgotten so easily but there was no one left to remember them except people who had been involved in the horror that took them from this world. 

"I'm sorry, Georgios," he whispered as tears of grief and anger coursed down his face. "I never wanted to be you."

Rukelion truly hadn't. He had known his place and he wasn't meant to be king. He knew his brother would have been a great one considering how seriously he took his studies as the crown prince. He had been planting seeds for a garden he would never see. 

Even now Rukelion didn't want to be king but he had to. Otherwise all memories of Katalya would be completely wiped out. This was the only way to honor his lost homeland. 

Georgios. Llyris. Kessia. His parents. All the citizens of his country. He was doing this for them! All that was left of them were his memories. Filthy hypocrites like the chancellor didn't count. 

Georgios had been the serious, responsible one in the family. It was his duty as the crown prince but he still laughed and played with his younger siblings when he had a few minutes between lessons. He had been about to turn eighteen when he died.

There was talk of finding him a fiancée since he was so close to adulthood and he had been terribly embarrassed about it. Llyris wouldn't stop teasing him until their mother sharply reminded him that he was only a few years off from needing to find a fiancée as well. That shut him up. 

Llyris had always been a tease but he was sharp as a whip as well. He had been planning on becoming a scholar to support Georgios and wasn't a half-bad teacher either. After all, he had taught Rukelion everything he knew about magic. 

At fourteen, they were the closest in age. His sense of humor had come almost entirely from Llyris's influence. He had been the one to teach Rukelion how to juggle as well. 

Kessia had only been eight and she was forever trailing after her older brothers wanting to play with them. They had spent hours running around on the castle grounds together and using etiquette practice as an excuse to have tea parties where they were all overdramatically formal with each other. That never failed to make her giggle. 

Rukelion missed them all so much it hurt. He wanted them to know that everything he had done was for them. That he had never forgotten them even though it would have been easier to bury the good memories in the recesses of his brain along with the painful ones. 

He wished they could have met Daisy. Or even that he could have taken her to visit their graves but they didn't have any. 

They should have all been buried in the royal mausoleum but he doubted any of the slaughterers from Mirea would have been so considerate and he had run away so he wouldn't be killed too. He had failed them. 

He wouldn't fail their memories though. He was going to make sure that everyone knew what had happened and honored the pointlessly murdered Katalyans. Most of all, he was going to tell his wife and children about them in detail. They would be able to live on somehow even though they were gone. 

Rukelion sighed and wiped his eyes. He shouldn't be getting sentimental right now. If he had to deal with another chancellor type today he couldn't show any signs of weakness. 

He wasn't weak. He had withstood everything for this long and he could do it for longer! He could endure anything as long as he had Daisy there to pick him up at the end of the day. The problem was that she wasn't here right now. 

A stressed voice broke through his melancholy thoughts. "Mrs.—uh—Your Majesty, you need to wait to be announced—" 

"I've done enough waiting! I need answers!" 

Rukelion's eyes widened. He would know that voice anywhere! Sure enough, a moment later Daisy burst through the door to the throne room and stood with her hands on her hips. He couldn't quite describe the look on her face but it didn't bode well for him. 

"What in the world have you been up to while I was gone?!" Daisy demanded.