The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen

«I heard you're looking for soldiers!»

Where did Flavius come from?

«Hey, weren't you imprisoned?» I wonder.

What is he doing here? What if someone sees him? Even so, there aren't many people who could stumble upon him in the Queen's garden.

«How did you come here?» I ask.

«I passed through the window,» he explains with a shrug.

«The one that your maid uses?»

«No, another one.»

He sits next to me without waiting for an invitation and reaches out for the pastries on the table.

«How are we going to proceed?» he inquires while munching.

«We?»

«I wanna help.»

«You're not exactly included in the plan, Flavius. Also, since when do you want to help me?»

«Not you. Ignatius. I also want everyone to talk about him a little better. I've heard rumours about a curse, but there isn't any on him. I checked twice, and his soul is as pure as a child's.»

While we start out chatting, I hear a pair of panicking steps. Oh, I've forgotten about it.

«It's fine, Aida,» I say. «This is Flavius.»

She stops, her breath short and her eyes red with worry.

«He's the Crown's hidden weapon.»

«We-weapon?» she stutters.

I know, right? Who would talk like this about a living person?

«This is Aida,» I add. «She's my guardian. She follows me everywhere and makes sure I'm safe.»

«Do you need a bodyguard?» Flavius says, glaring at me. «You can just defend yourself.»

«I know, right? Well, it's a custom in the family.»

«Why?»

«Because that's how the suc... Oh, nothing.»

He doesn't know about the Queen of Mages. It's because he didn't have parents, most likely. No one could tell him who to ask for help and protection.

«Aida is like you, don't you see?» I murmur, trying to change the topic. «Just, not so powerful.»

«She is,» he nods.

Even though he didn't have anyone teaching him, he knows how to use his powers very well. Even how to recognise Mages and estimate their powers. It's good, even though it must mean he's a genius.

«You're a good Mage,» I say. «You know how to do a lot of things. Who taught you?»

«I've learned alone. The King just told me what to do, and I had to learn how to perform the magic.»

«As a kid?»

«Since I was six. That's how I learned: by doing.»

«You were here to help me with the mission... What can you do?»

«I don't know. I can tell everyone how awesome Ignatius is. He used to bring me sweets in secret when I was in punishment, back in the days.»

«Punishment?»

«When I couldn't fulfil the whole mission, the King would forbid me from eating.»

«Oh.»

«But Ignatius was brave and didn't care about the King's fury.»

«I see... Ignis is brave, indeed. He doesn't fear my powers, and he was calm even when I was raging. He knows what I can do, but he treats me normally,» I agree.

«Also, he fights very well.»

«Oh, yes! I've seen him take down several assassins at once. He was so cool...»

«I would have liked seeing it as well,» Flavius points out.

«You haven't?»

«There aren't many enemies in the Palace. And I usually take care of them without fighting.»

«Do you know anything about those trying to kill me?» I wonder. Maybe, Flavius noticed something.

Still, since he doesn't like me, he might not tell me just like he did with the late King.

«No, I don't. But I can try finding out.»

«You're saying you'll help me save my neck?» I chuckle. «How unexpected.»

«First of all, if you die, Ignatius will be unhappy. And second, who will help with spreading stories about his adventures? Right now, you need to live. Not to mention your son.»

«My son? Oh, right. How do you know it's a son? Aida can't sense it yet.»

The aforementioned Aida stands a few steps from us, a little shocked. She doesn't leave, for I'm still potentially in danger next to a moody teenager, but she doesn't come closer nor utters a word.

«It's obvious! He's not alive yet, but it's a matter of days.»

«Days? Oh, I can't wait to hear about him! Which colour will his hair be? Will he resemble Ignis? I hope he does a lot! Wouldn't that be awesome?»

«I wonder... I'd like him to resemble Ignatius as well, but I feel a lot of your aura. It's like... It will be someone like you. With your power.»

«Oh,» I moan. My son will be a Mage. Still, male Mages don't usually have much power. Magic is a world full of women.

My successor will be the child with more magical power.

«But there's also something about Ignatius. I hope this son isn't too similar to you.»

«Hey!» I'm still the Queen here, yet this brat talks to me as if we were buddies. «Please, be a little polite.»

«I don't like being polite. It's a waste of time.»

«If you want to be part of the Court, you shall learn the rules.»

Oh, and it's not fair. I had to learn etiquette. This brat should, as well.

«Have you ever met Aestas?» I ask him before it slips from my mind again. «Princess Juliet's daughter.»

«No. I was imprisoned soon after her birth.»

«But you do know the Princess, right?»

«Yes, that wench.»

«Wench?»

«She hates me. Every time we were in the same room, she would either glare at me unless her husband was nearby. In that case, she would glare at him. Who could hate someone as beautiful as me, right? There must be something wrong with her!»

«Wrong?»

«Yes. Also, she likes muddling waters. She sent me on a mission something like three months before the coup.»

«She had the authority to do that?»

«Not her, but she made it so that the King had the idea. I spent a month out from the Palace, looking for some people who might not exist. When I came back, I was grounded because I failed and couldn't eat. Too bad that Ignatius wasn't around, so I stood hungry for a while.»

«I don't understand, Flavius. You could sneak in the kitchens and eat. Why follow the King's orders?»

«Because I'm the Crown's weapon. I do what the King says without asking questions.»

As if I could believe about not asking questions. I can't imagine him silently accepting orders. He's chatty and likes to complain; come on!

«So, you saved Ignis because you thought he wouldn't make you suffer from hunger.»

«And he doesn't. I was right.»

I'm doing my best to understand his logic, but it's difficult and intricate. He followed the King's orders mechanically, and the only time he wasn't a weapon was when the coup started.

«A real weapon doesn't care about who sits on the throne,» I point out. «You're not a weapon, Flavius. You are a person.»

«No, Mages aren't people. They're either tools of the Church... And I didn't want that. I prefer serving the King than the Church. At least I won't burn.»

He was a little boy when his training started. He was brainwashed by that family of wicked people.

«You can be a person, Flavius. Just like I.»

«Aren't you Ignatius's person? Like me.»

«No, I'm my own. It just happens that I listen to my King, but I do it because I choose to. I want to serve him, so I do.»

Ignis was right. Flavius really doesn't act as a free person. He doesn't consider himself as one, to begin with.

Even though it would be easier to manipulate him like this, I don't want to step on my values. Even if he might become dangerously out of control, I can't use the methods of the Church on a Mage.

I won't disappoint Ignis, as first. And then, I won't ruin my reputation as Crown Princess of Mages. My mother wouldn't approve of it if I manipulated a child like this.

«You need to learn,» I say out loud.

«I already learned!»

«You need more. You're human as well, Flavius. Just, with a little more power.»

«But the King...»

«The King is dead, and so are his orders. Your King now is Ignis, isn't he? He doesn't want a slave. He wants a follower who chooses their way.»

«I don't know how to be that.»

«It's fine. You can learn. And you will become even more useful if you do. Followers are essential, while slaves aren't that necessary.»

«Essential,» he repeats in awe. «I want to! I want to!»

«You can become Ignis's friend.»

«Oh, that...»

Somehow, this doesn't seem to have an appeal.

«I can't be his friend. Weapons don't have friends but owners.»

He's spent his whole life living like a servant, like an object, and it's difficult to explain what's the difference.

«Why have you come here today?» I wonder. «What made you decide?» For sure, Ignis didn't send him.

«I felt... Ehm, I just wanted to.»

«This is something only people can feel. Wishes and decisions, feelings... It's something that can set you free. How did you feel when you let those people kill the King, Flavius? You made a choice, and that set you free.»

«I felt... Uhm, relieved? Maybe.»

«You need friends!» I decide. «Friends your age! You will see how beautiful it is to be people. And, also, how difficult it is. You're responsible for yourself once you're free. It has dark sides, just like everything else.»

«I don't know...»

«You can give it a try. Then, if you really don't like it, you can continue being a weapon. But, at least, it will be your own decision, Flavius.. You will be free to choose.»