Chapter 1

"This kingdom will burn down in flames and it will be because of you, you devil king!" Commander of the earth fleet yelled at me as I did my best to tune him out.

"You know nothing about leading a strong and proud kingdom. You are taking away my freedom as a human. How will you compensate for this?" He continued

"Compensate?" I asked him, not raising my head from the letter I'm writing.

"That's what I said." He replied

"Hmm…" I looked up at his whisker-filled face. He wasn't very old but his bad habits aged him about thirty years more than he is.

I finished my letter in silence (thankfully), adding the last few words, and placed my glass pen back in its place.

"Leon. How is it that not even a few years ago, you praised me and gifted me compliments on my ruling? Is your mind too smooth to remember those times?" I asked as I leaned back in my chair.

"Those were the days you had your mind screwed on right. Nowadays, you make too many rash decisions! It's like you're trying to throw this kingdom into war on purpose!" He looked down at my lounging self with disgust.

"You may be right. I was naive and easily persuaded with a few compliments. I looked for guidance in anyone who was willing to spare me a glance. But I am more independent and capable of making my own decisions now that I am older. Is it that you are angry that you have no say in my decisions anymore?" I raised my brows.

He scoffed before saying, "Of course not. Playing with a puppet child is below me. You're not fit to be king. Your vision of a kingdom is mighty different from what your people want."

"Of course it is. I do not spoil my people with gift and treasures. I keep them safe, fed, and sheltered, Happiness is something they have to find for themselves. Now, if you are done with your temper tantrum. I am still waiting for that report I requested." I held my hand out.

He rolled his eyes before handing me a paper and marched out the door.

I laughed at the child my father appointed to lead an army. It is only because of his skills and experience that I have tolerated his tantrums. Even I, a nineteen-year-old boy, have more manners than a thirty-something-year-old man.

I suppose I should be rougher with the commanders if I want to avoid one of them trying to kill me. It wouldn't matter either way. The next one in line to take my place as king would be my older sister and the cycle would repeat itself once again. If I were to die at all.

I looked over the report from Leon.

Leon is in charge of keeping watch over the earth kingdom, Big Pebble Kingdom. He sends soldiers to the kingdom for a variety of reasons. From messengers to trading.

For each kingdom, I assign a commander to watch over and keep me updated

There's Felix who keeps an eye on the wind kingdom, or the Falling Sky Kingdom.

Lucas looks out for the water kingdom or the Soft Shore Kingdom.

Then, there's Brair who looks out for the fire kingdom or the BlazIng Leaf Kingdom. My kingdom that I am sworn to protect until my last breath.

The Soft Shore Kingdom and the Blazing Leaf Kingdom have always had a rocky relationship. We have fought over land and competed over trade from the other region.

The other region consists of land with much more technological advances. They do not have a protector like the four kingdoms so they trade their resources for protection from one of the guardians.

I set the report from Leon on my desk and went to find Lucas. I found him tending to the horses.

"Are the preparations for our journey ready?" I asked him

"Yes, your majesty. We are ready when you are." He said. I nodded.

One of my soldiers brought me my abraxas horse and we set off for our two-day trip to the village.

The water king had sent a small army to rampage one of the small villages on the outer edge of the Blazing Leaf Kingdom. It was always the same song and dance. He sends people to my kingdom and I always send them back in a box.

When we arrived at the town where the terrorist were, I sent out soldiers to search the village and went with the group to look in the forest nearby.

We found a dozen water soldiers who had camped out in the forest almost instantly. I quickly drew a fire circle to trap them in place and forced them to tell us about the ones in the village. They were reluctant but after being scalded to near death, a few of the soldiers told us of the locations of where their comrades. It took about three days to find the soldiers hidden in the village but the party who went into the village came back with about half a dozen water soldiers. I killed all but one water soldier with a sword through the heart. The living soldier I had tied up on a tree.

"Please, just kill me along with my comrades. I do not deserve to live." The soldiers begged.

I looked down at the soldier whose face had melted half off. His entire suit of armor was melted onto his skin. It was an unsightly scene. I felt disgusting for doing this to someone who was only taking orders.

"Don't think of this as mercy. Leaving you alive is the worst punishment I can give." I said to him.

He didn't say anything. He simply watched as his friends were dragged into a pile with a concerned look on his face.

I reluctantly waited on the side as I instructed my soldiers on what to do with the dead bodies.

I looked down at the dark splotches on my dark clothes.

I never realized how fast blood cools after being outside the body for so long. Nor did I realize how easy it was to cut through skin and bone with my sword. Almost like warm butter.

Did the bladesmith sharpen it? I didn't request it this time though…

"Your majesty, what would you like us to do with the living soldier?" Lucas asked

I looked over at the bodies being piled after having ripped their intestines out. I glanced over at the last remaining enemy soldier being forced to watch his friends ripped to pieces and gutted. He screamed and cried for us to stop but to no avail. He fainted a couple of times from the stress and exhaustion of crying out but with a couple of burns here and there, he wakes back up and is forced to watch another friend gutted from the beginning again. This will go on until we finish with all the soldiers and bury their remains in battleground soil. We will then pour the collected intestines into a box with the royal fire seal along with the remaining soldier who will be tied to the back a horse and dragged back to his king.

I looked away from the horror scene playing out next to me.

*Only one of my soldiers backed out this time. It's better than last time.* I thought to myself. It hasn't been long since I've found the right soldiers who could keep their food down when ripping the intestines from another human. It was only a couple of years ago since I had done this dirty work myself but the army commanders demanded that their soldiers be prepared for this. It took two years for them to build their tolerance this far. Although no one is perfect, I'm kinda proud of them right now.

"Prepare the burial ground and get a horse ready for the last soldier. Tie him up tight and make sure he doesn't run off." I commanded

Lucas nodded and looked back at the bloody scene with a cringy look.

"Excuse me if I'm out of line for saying this, your majesty, but is all this necessary? We could have just taken their hearts out. That would have been less foul." Lucas said

I shook my head and smirked at him "That would be boring. Don't you think so, squad leader Lucas?"

He shivered and tensed up. He kept his eyes forward and managed to mumble in agreement. He didn't say anything after that.

I felt bad for scaring him but if I let my guard down for just a second, everything I worked for would burn down in flames.

It would be easier (and less stinky) to send out hearts instead of intestines but my image as the psychopath king would surely waver.

*Next time I should send their brains. Then, their dominant hands. Have I done eyeballs yet?* I sighed *Perhaps I've turned psycho. What regular person makes a checklist of body parts?*

Lucas misunderstood my sigh of impatience and ordered his group to go faster.

After the bodies had been buried and the soldier sent back to his home kingdom, I waved my hand along a tree and set it ablaze. With that, we left the burning woods and made our way home.

…

"The cold-blooded king has returned."

"What? He's back?!"

"Hush! Yes, he's back! Has been for a while now."

*Groaning* "I feel so tense when he's around. Thank goodness he's always gone."

"I know right? What would we do if he's always here?"

"I've heard the Soft Shore King is willing to take care of wanderers. He gives them food and a place to live. His kingdom is flourishing with his kindness. Not to mention, he's not bad on the eyes either."

*They always say they want to leave but they never do.* I thought as I walked through the city with my loose clothes flowing around me. I always dressed in red or black to hide the blood stains from my subjects. I already scare them enough.

"Our king isn't bad looking either. He looks very elegant and if I dare say, pretty." Even though that last part was whispered, I heard it loud and clear.

I lowered my straw hat enough to cover my blushing face. I placed a hand on my sword on my hip. A habit that happens when I'm in an uncomfortable situation.

The people around me misunderstood and scattered away or kneeled to the ground.

I ignored them, knowing that if I did anything to comfort them they would misunderstand again.

I made it to the castle gates where the front gate guards were already doing security checks on the soldiers. When they felt sure that we didn't have any stowaways from other kingdoms, they let us pass through.

The fire castle was surrounded by giant trees filled with leaves of all colors. *Fall is coming upon us* I thought as I looked up at the trees. My hair flowed around me as I held my hat down to my head to keep it from blowing away.

"Sir? Are you getting tired? Do you want to ride your Abraxas?" Lucas asked

I nodded and pulled myself on top of my steed, an elegant all-black Abraxas that frightens many. It is a dear horse given to me by my father who took the life of its mother and had me take care of its mare…not such a kind story once I say it aloud, anyhoo…

Once we arrived, I headed to my room where I would wait for the king of the Soft Shore Kingdom's reply. As said before, the Fire and Water kingdoms never had the best relationship. We have even gotten close to being thrown to war. Luckily, that coward fears me too much to go as far as to stand head-to-head against me.

I took off the loose silky outerwear covered in blood and hung it over the cover doors of the changing area.

I pulled a clean white silky robe over my shoulders, not bothering to close it properly, and plopped myself onto the bed.

With a loud groan, I fell deep asleep.