4 THE ONE WHERE HE PLOTS

HALE'S POV

"Guards! Leave him! I would like to interrogate our dear betrayer on my own."

The guards looked at me and then back to the ragged man. Fear clearly written on everyone's face, they didn't leave the man.

"But, your Majest-"

I cleared my throat and at once, the guards left their hold on the supposed assailant.

Deciding to not waste any more time, I quickly walked up to the bloodied man he laid on the ground, shaking in nothing but fear. I pushed my cape behind and kneeled to his height.

"So, Mathew, I have gotten to know that you were conducting business at the Lormeian market. Were you aware that it is against Morales to conduct any sort of business that would result in a profit with the Lormeians?"

The man coughed out blood as I moved away. With his shoulders shaking, he nodded. The darkness of the prison making it hard for me to see him.

"Very well. Knowing the rules and breaking them should land you right where you are. Lock him up, guards!"

I got up and looked at him one last time. Without looking back even once, I began to make my way out of the prison that lay in the basement of the palace. Away from the rotten scent.

Breaking rules comes at a cost. And if you were brave enough to break them, you shouldn't get cowardly when it comes to paying the price, should you?

My hand touched my clothed torso and I applied slight pressure on the armor.

"Ah!"

That stung.

I can't believe how careless I was today. If it had not been for my commander, I would be lying in the hospital wing right now. Every Tuesday I fancied going for a walk in the East Woods, the ones that surrounded the Mortales Palace. It gave me back my peace, the one I had lost.

I was told that there were sightings of lions in the woods but I didn't think much of it.

But, the great God Daeg couldn't leave without teaching me a lesson. One second I was staring at the river and the next the lion leaped and almost pounded into me. My commander killed it with a spear but I'm sure it left a nasty gash on my abdomen.

I asked my personal guard, Felip, to take an early leave today. I didn't have much to do, so I could stay on my own for the rest of the day. I walked to the west wing, my personal wing, and entered my chamber. It looked the same as it did in the past eight years, but it never failed to make me feel like a stranger.

Furnished with the royal cloth weaved by the best weavers and carpets that were softer than fur, lightened by candles made of the richest wax, I never felt at home in my own home.

I removed my cape and set it on the dark blue chesterfield sofa, and began to take my armor off. I was sure my shirt would be drenched in blood, so I had to wrap the slash in plaster before it got infected.

Growing up, I always wanted to become a healer. A doctor. I had always known that I was the Mortale heir, and the only heir after my brother died. But, with the government being controlled by the Lormeians, I had known, I was far too away from the throne.

Who would have guessed that all my hopes of becoming a physician would be crushed in a year?

I chastised myself for thinking of the past. The past that sat behind me and nothing I ever did could change it.

"You should be grateful, my son! You are getting the chance to become the king of your people. Something I never got."

My father's words replayed in my head as I took my blood-smeared shirt off. The cut wasn't deep, but it was going to leave a bruise. I tried not to hiss as the cold air came in contact with the gash.

My father, the previous heir to the throne, never got the chance to rule and he never forgot to remind me how ungrateful I was.

Well, I am the King, Mortales adore because of him.

It took time for me to find the good in my father's wrongdoings, and sometimes I think I haven't found it still, but convincing myself worked.

Once I was sure the plaster was tightly wrapped around my torso I walked towards my closet. I had a meeting with the council today.

It was about the Lormeians, I could guess it from their unpleasant face when they came to inform me.

I picked out a dark blue shirt, a color that made me sick, but it was the royal color after all.

Blue, was a beautiful color to some.

Many, actually.

But for me, it filled my mind with images of those blue whips and belts. The one my dear father used to make the 'better' me. It wasn't the pain from the flogging that actually made me hate the color, but our mutual fondness of the color.

I hooked the scabbard of my sword to my belt and start walking to the North wing, which was used for holding trials and meetings. It also held the court, but we only visited the court on a few days of the week to attend to the commoner's concerns.

A few maids curtsied as I nodded at them. Once I was a few meters away from them, I heard their high-pitched voices.

"Did you see? The king! The well-known devil waved at us!"

The devil.

That was what I was known as.

It wasn't because they didn't like me.

No, I knew they adored me.

From the loud, deafening screams when I walk down on the parade every month.

But because the fear me.

They fear the man that my father turned me into.

What good could ever come from a boy who had been repeatedly abused by his own father?

That is why I am the devil.

And I always will be.

And being the bad person for so long makes you not mind it anymore.

No matter how manipulative my father was or how much I wanted to become a healer, I wouldn't give up my duty as the King of Morales for anything. I was blessed with this responsibility by the Gods, and I had to fulfill it till the last drop of blood left my body.

I entered the boardroom, where the meetings were usually held after the guards had announced my presence.

The council members, specifically twelve nobles, got up and bowed.

"Your Majesty! Thank you for gracing us with your presence for this meeting."

I nodded and sat down at my designated place, the dark blue throne. The boardroom was designed by the Russian architect, Sergei Ivanov. The walls were embroidered with floral designs. Jasmine, my late mother's favorite. If she were alive, she would have been a good Queen. I was sure of that.

"So, as you know, your Majesty, the Lormeian King passed away last month."

I intertwined my fingers and rested my palms on the table, nodding for him to continue.

"So, the next ruler has been appointed."

That quick!?

It was in the clear protocol of the Kingdom of Laverne, to not take any hasty decision while appointing the ruler.

Especially with their bizarre method of choosing the ruler, I couldn't believe the Lormeians could be this foolish.

Entering your name in a magic ball!? Like they could transfer the power that ran in their blood to some bowl.

I was certain the King was going to be someone who had absolutely no experience and was just greedy for power.

"The ruler, uhh, s-she, I mean, the ruler is a Queen."

The boardroom fell silent as the elderly nobles looked at their hands while the younger ones stared at my face.

Waiting for my reaction.

I couldn't care less about what that Kingdom did. But choosing a woman as a ruler, that too a Queen without a king was just a path to destruction.

A chuckle left my mouth. Following it was a hearty laugh.

The Nobles stared at me like I had gone mad.

"Your Majesty! Are you feeling unwell?"

I put an end to the laugh and shook my head.

"My loyal Nobles, if the Lormeians are on a path of self-destruction, wouldn't that be better news for us? Without any reign, the common Lormeians would come to us, the Mortales for a ruler. After all, how long can a mere Queen rule without a King."

The nobles seemed like they were analyzing what I said. They murmured within themselves and began to look back at me.

"That is brilliant, Your Majesty!"

My face went back to its unreadable state as I nodded to the appreciation.

"As we were saying, Your Majesty, the late Lormeian King had held the welcoming meet when you became the King. So now, as the tradition goes, we, as in you, have to hold the meeting."

The welcoming meeting was basically to set down boundaries and differentiate powers and duties between the two rulers. I wonder if the supposed Queen even knew what a ruler's duties were.

I suppose not, I thought to myself. A dark smile filling my face. I lowered my lips and nodded. Hoping to not make the nobles think I was going haywire because of my smile.

"Very well, then. Ask the maids to arrange the guest boardroom, accordingly. Decorate it with a combination of blue and red. Red being their color, the Queen won't feel overwhelmed, I hope. Arrange the meeting on Friday and send a guard to announce the meeting to the Lormeian palace."

The nobles nodded while writing down everything I just said. Once the nobles were done discussing the promotions of a few guards and the revenue for the army, I left for the training ground.

The meeting went on for a good three hours and it was not the time for my training.

Once there, I looked around and saw a few young soldiers practicing to join the army. They had a good form but they required perfection.

I slipped on an armor and took my sword out of the scabbard.

"Time to shed some sweat."