Key To A Goblin's Heart

I was promoted to the post of the Commander.

It was a shocking decision at first, and not a lot of people obliged with it. There were uproars, privileged and more distinguish commanders found my promotion as an insult to them. But, there I was, unperturbed by any opinion other than my father's, who was adamant that I be given the post.

"How can a mere peasant boy be promoted to the post of the Commander?Has the King gone mad? Does he have no regards for any social hierarchy?" The others soon started saying all sorts of nasty things about my low birth and how I had somehow managed to bewitch the king into giving me the post.

"Did you hear that he had disappeared from the army from more than two years? I wonder where he went or what he did at that time. He said that he was severely injured in field and some kindly couple took him in and cared for him. But, I donot trust that guy at all, he can make up stiff from thin air!" The other courtiers snorted.

Despite the fact that I had won countless battles, more than they ever could, I was still being judged for my birth status. I was considered lowly, because I came from a village that no one had heard of, because I was an orphan who was kindly adopted by a distinguished war veteran who had died shortly afterwards. I had no real father, my mother was a mad woman, they said, and overall the idea about me being the one in a superior position than them unsettled them heavily.

I wished that I could shove their snobbery right at their faces. I wish I could tell them the truth, that the royal blood ran through my veins and technically I had always been superior to their lot. But, it wasn't so easy. I simply couldn't reveal the truth.

"I know that I had wronged you." The King said, "but I didn't have any idea about your existence then! If only I knew that you were alive, oh! My first-born child, if only I knew that Evelyn was alive…. I swear I would have brought you in the castle and raised you as one of my own!"

"But...how did that happen? Why didn't you know in the first place?" I asked bewildered.

The twinkle disappeared from my father's eyes and it was once again beset with gloom. He spoke in a heavy voice, "You must understand my position, son." He said, "I was very young when I had met your mother. She was the daughter of my mother's chambermaid, and...she was my first love. In fact, she was the only one whom I had ever loved. Oh, dearest Evelyn! Her face in forever etched into my mind, those gentle eyes and that beautiful flowing hair, black against my gold….oh how I wish I could have ended up with her!"

"But why didn't you?" I asked skeptically.

"I... I couldn't. We knew each other since the childhood, we were playmates first before we became lovers. Evelyn had my heart, and even though my father insisted that I meet other women, they simply didn't hold a candle to your mother. I was adamant to marry her and I said so to my father. But, alas! I was going to be a King one day, and obviously my father didn't agree to my marriage with the daughter of a chambermaid! You can understand how blasphemous it would have been!"

The King took a breath, as if the heavy burden of thoughts were putting some kind of physical pressure on him.

"But, I couldn't abandon Evelyn." He continued, "I had sworn my love to her and I couldn't marry any other person. I swear, I had no idea that she was pregnant back then! I told my father that my decision would not change, and in a fit of rage, he transferred me to look after the Southern boundaries….so that he could seperate me from your mother. I was naive, and I thought that I could convince him after I came back. But, when I came back, Evelyn was gone…. banished by my father from the capital and there were rumours that she was killed that very night."

A deathly silence followed my father's proclamation, as he took some time to wipe off his eyes. I listened to all his words very closely, and somehow the lurch in my heart only grew stronger. My Father, the king, didn't even know that I existed! He never abandoned us, it was

only the circumstances which had made him act such!

I started believing that I finally belonged somewhere.

"You can understand how I felt then." He said, "I was overwhelmed with grief and my mind had stopped working. Evelyn was….dead, I was all alone now. I had nothing left to fight for, so I had married according to my father's wishes, and my heart had remained dead all these years."

"But now you are here!" He said, suddenly cheering up, "and you are my child! I can't have been happier, trust me. I knew... from the first moment that I had seen you, that you had a great potential inside yourself, that you are destined to do great things. I can't tell how proud I am of you! And obviously, you will be the heir to my throne."

My heart skipped a beat at his announcement. I had heard my mother say it so many times, that I will be the King one day, but somehow hearing it from the King himself, gave me a different sort of satisfaction. I beamed proudly and said, "And I will make you prouder, Father!"

There were tears that formed in his eyes, and he hastily wiped them off.

"Of course, Of course…. I know that. But, you have to promise me something." He said, "You have to keep our relationship a secret, at least for a while. You know all these courtiers, they will make some really nasty comments about us and some may even rebel! I don't have the power to stop a rebellion if it happens, and so we should try to stop it in all ways possible. Also, my wife won't be very happy with the news, and my greedy children may try to kill you!

So, promise me that you won't tell anyone about our secret. We...we will announce it later, after you win back Mafhaelore for me, and then no one can say a word against your credibility. You will be even more powerful then, and everyone will be forced to recognise you as their King!"

I had promised him, and thus I conveniently stepped into the trap that he had opened up for me.

"You'll be made a commander! Wait…. I proclaim you as a commander this very moment." The King said, beaming.

I saw myself flushing before him, and even though I knew that it was not my fault to have trusted him, I still wished to punch myself in the face. How could I not see this coming? How could I be so taken with his sugary behaviour that I had failed to notice the rot within?

Maybe it was my desire to be accepted, to finally find a place that I can call my own. I was sick and tired of being an outsider my whole life, so for once in a lifetime I wanted to belong somewhere. I didn't know why I was so interested in the idea of being a King, but the very prospect of finally finding a home was more lucrative to me back then.

"So, how do you plan to take down Mafhaelore?" The King asked, as he beckoned me to take the position beside him.

"I…." I was flustered for a moment, but regaining my composure, I said, "In a battle of course. I will train the men myself, just give me a year and a half. You will have the best artillery that Arphoelus had ever seen, I have handpicked my men and I trust them. I have not lost a single war till date, and I assure you that this will be a win too!"

The King looked at me for a long time, and his face bore an unreadable expression. Then, he made a slight clicking sound with his mouth, and shook his head.

"You are a noble man, I appreciate that." He said, "But, there's no way that we can defeat Mafhaelore in a battlefield. They are...what to say, a very resilient lot. Iphigenia will not bend down so easily. We have to think of another way."

"What other way there is?" I replied frustrated, "How can we defeat a country without a war?"

The King smiled, and he caressed my hairs gently.

"Oh my child! You are really naive. Wars aren't just won in the battlefield, they can as well be won in the bed chambers." He said with a laugh, "Sometimes, tacts work better than any battle manuevers. We need inside information, we have to know their weaknesses and we have to find a loophole in their perfect formations. All that can only be done if we get close to them, if you get close to them, and don't worry I have a plan for that too."