171 Chapter twenty-two (4)

Morning came in the capital much slower than usual. Many had not slept at all the night before. No one dare to close their eyes for fear of not waking when morning came. Even though the sun was long out, none dare to come out of their homes. Even though the kingdom was flooded with Isne soldiers, Prince Thelmus was still said to be in charge. Three heavy drums sounded from the palace, announcing the death of the king. But this prince that killed his father and sold the kingdom, no one was sure what their fate would be.

As midday arrived, the council received summons to enter the palace but no one replied. They locked their doors and stayed inside. A prince that directly looked down on them and seized the throne, should rule alone.

This did not please Prince Thelmus at all. He sat in the throne room on his father's throne, his face red from anger. As Northern Lan was no now part of Juhntt, the land he is bound to rule is vast. His father had merged the two kingdoms into one and shared the lands across the noble houses. He sat up straight when a servant announced,

"Official Ghuil arrives!" A lanky grey man walked in and stood before Prince Thelmus. He neither bowed nor showed respect for the person sitting on the throne. This angered Prince Thelmus greatly.

"You stand before me, yet refuse to bow?" he scolded the old man.

"You don't sit on the throne well. Forgive me, for not recognizing your greatness," Official Ghuil apologized, but he did not still bow.

"If my memory serves me right, you are sworn to my mother, Official Ghuil," Prince Thelmus said.

"Your mother was a wise woman; this trait must have not been graced you at birth. You are but an impatient boy. That throne, does it feel as you thought it would?" he asked Prince Thelmus.

"So, you have come to mock me"

"Mock? To use that word, you must have acknowledged that you have failed,"

"Failed? I just took the kingdom. I have only started," Prince Thelmus scuffed.

"You are sitting in an empty palace. All the maids and attendants have escaped. You have no guard or soldier at your side except those from a different kingdom. This is not a palace anymore, It is a wooden shack roofed with gold. Gold or not, it is but a rotting shack. The soldiers of Juhntt have all but dropped their swords or sworn allegiance to some noble house. 

"The ministers, lords and people stay inside, no one daring to come out of hiding. Even your fiancée; the princess of the kingdom you colluded with, is not here with you. This means that Isne, themselves, look down on you. Do you feel powerful?" Official Ghuil asked. Prince Thelmus clenched his fist in anger but did not say a word.

"You wonder why the king's council have not answered your summons? You are a king without power. Did your mother teach you nothing? As much as the king has his own army, noble families do too. Most officials are sworn to those families and will not move without an order from their masters. Those noblemen hold the economy of the kingdom in their hands. They are the business owners, farm owners, and trade experts. Why do you think the royal family needs the noble houses?" Official Ghuil asked.

"What do I do?" one could tell it took all of Prince Thelmus' being, to ask that question.

"You are a traitor to your people. Many of them died last night. You killed their king, your father and allowed enemies into their kingdom," Official Ghuil said.

"What do I do?!" Prince Thelmus could no more stand the scolding.

"Tradition is a way of life to respect those of whom, this is their life; and those who created tradition itself. A creation which became their pride to keep respected, their way of life. A king is dead. You must bury him right, before you can be king," Official Ghuil advised.

"You wish that I give my father what he refused my mother? That will never happen!"

"The lords of the land, you must call them to your side; if there still is any that remembers your mother,"

"They all watched as she died, yet you expect that I, their king, go beg them?"

"Your mother was a Northern Lan Princess. You could try calling Northern Lan to your side. After all, not only was their princess humiliated, their land was taken by the Juhntts,"

"Yes, I could do that," Prince Thelmus' eyes shined.

"But, you are still a Juhntt and your mother's son. The woman who shamed her entire kingdom with her infidelity. Even so, you collude with Isne; a kingdom they hate much more than Juhntt. Juhntt is a fresh wound. Isne is a large scar that will never stop throbbing," Official Ghuil countered.

"Are you advising me or leading me to dead ends?" Prince Thelmus frowned.

"You are already at a dead end,"

"Then you wish that I be persecuted by my people?"

"It may never get to that. You have committed a crime against your father, against the people, yet you are still their only heir. What choice do they have but you?" Official Ghuil asked.

"Yes. They will eventually come to my side. Isne will leave after they mine all the iron stones in the kingdom. The moment I officially take the crown, all else is history," Prince Thelmus became optimistic.

"Yet again, till his last days, you father never titled you his heir. You will be twenty come bloom, yet never got the title of Crown Prince,"

"Many have ruled kingdoms on less," Prince Thelmus frowned.