An Honest and Good King is Useless

"And if... If the truth was something so horrible, what then?"

"Then we will go to war."

Samira opened her eyes slowly. Her gaze seem to wander somewhere far away, drowning in the words spoken by her dear friend. Has it finally come to this? It felt as if she was standing on the edge of a deep ravine on one side and a pointed sword to her chest on the other. She let him go from her embrace and sighed.

Ekram looked like a wreck. It was as if they went back to years past. When she met him for the first time, crying behind a building at the ashram. A beloved, sheltered little prince who was confused by loneliness. Samira put a hand on top of Ekram's.

"Ekram, as your friend I will tell you this; no matter what truth we'll find, you will never find peace this way."

"What do you mean?"

"Once the seed of doubt grows inside your heart it will poison you. You won't be able to see Farhad and Ishani the same way again. You might doubt them again in the future, fearing betrayals at every corner. Are you ready for that?"

Ekram's jaw tightened at that but his eyes remained resolute. "It is for justice, then so be it."

"Can you also swear to me that Érdélin have nothing to do with the death of Ishani's father?"

He was silent. Samira searched his honest green eyes and saw the doubt growing bigger along with hesitation.

"You can't answer me," she said gently. "You can't because there are powers far greater than yours as a crown prince, and perhaps even beyond control of the throne itself."

The afternoon light seeped through the windows and warmed their figures in a warm golden glow. There were faint sound of life outside the room; peaceful, mundane life. A fragile thing.

Samira let the silence grow between them and gave Ekram time to think. She was feeling tired but this was a conversation that cannot be avoided. Sooner or later, they would have to face the monsters lurking inside their hearts. Inside themselves, and inside their home.

Monsters that were as scary as those from Patala. Monsters that bear their own faces. Monsters with familiar faces.

After a long while, Ekram finally speaks again.

"You mean to tell me that I should seize complete power before any talks about war."

"More or less..." Samira tilted her head as she gazed at her friend. "You are right, Ekram. You are my crown prince and I am your rishi. And as your rishi, I am obligated to advise you on this. The Akataran royals shouldn't have any motive to want King Soma dead. Just as much as you don't wish for Crown Prince Mehrdad's death."

The two kingdom were in friendly relationship for years before this. Their children grew up with one another, they would soon be tied in matrimony. Who would gain benefit from the strife between them?

The issue of Samira summoning the soul of King Soma and searching for the truth would relate to this. The soul would not know what they don't while alive. What if King Soma also not know who the killer was, or even worse, if he simply know it was Akataran? Would Ekram then rampage over those he held dear? Mistakenly seeing them as his enemy while the real culprits reap all the benefits.

There are treasonous factions on both kingdoms. Factions that are strong and high enough that they would stand a chance to gain big benefits when there's a shift of power. To weed them out completely to the roots, they would need a justification or else there will be unmanagable rebellions in the future.

In the event of a war--a justifiable war--a cleansing of some sort would seem perfectly normal. Compared to in times of peace, when there are no visible common enemy. Although there will be a heavy price to pay.

Even a 'unification war' would still be senseless, bloody carnage. But for the sake of long lasting stability, it must be done completely in one fell swoop.

"...You are in the opinion that war is inevitable." The conclusion dawned upon Ekram suddenly and he looked at her for affirmation. "Because war is necessary to seize complete control over those hidden powers working in the dark."

Samira nodded. "I want you to be a true king. A king that hold full sovereignity over his kingdom. The seed of conflict had already been sown by those hidden in the dark. It has spread like weed. You can already feel the tension, right?"

It simmered just beneath the surface. The peace talk with the speedy marriage is like putting mere ointment on a large open fracture. They were laying on a dry haystack, any little spark would set them alight.

They need to find a way to gain an upper hand and be ready.

"If we ever going to war, I need you to go with a clear conscience. Know the faces of your enemies first, not the other way around. We don't know the traitors in our midst, let alone the ones in Akatara. And as of now we are both still weak."

"We need time. Men. A faction of our own that can withstand the opposition." Ekram pondered in deep thought.

"Yes. Many will oppose you. After all, an all out war can't be declared that simply. But it must be done or else it will fester until we can't do anything about it. You have a chance to build you base of power right now..." Samira offered.

"A chance?"

"The monster subjugation." Samira met Ekram's eyes. "They are the ones who come to us. Might as well use them."

"Will you help me, Samira?"

Ekram's face was hopeful. So hopeful and pure that Samira wanted to punch him suddenly. They're talking about war and revenge. How could he make that kind of face? Especially with his eyes still red and with tear marks on his cheeks. Didn't he had just cry himself silly in her arms moments ago? Truthfully, she was also a little doubtful about Ekram's personality.

Oh, she believed in his capability as an honorable statesman. It was his purity that she has a problem with. But what is a ruler without their advisors. Isn't that what having advisors are for? If he was only capable of being the light, then he needed someone to be the shadow. Problem was, she wasn't willing to be worked to the bone like that.

If they were ever going to bloody their hands with the crime of war, then Ekram would need to be tempered into cold steel first.

"If certain conditions are met, I might be persuaded," she replied cooly.

"Tell me."

She was sizing him up with the sternest look she could muster in her weakened state. This punk of a crown prince used to flinch with a simple stare from her back when they were children. He was weak. Weaker than her. But he was always honest and good.

However, in the future, they didn't need honesty and goodness. They need strength. Pure, unaldurated strength. And a healthy dose of shrewdness.

"I don't want to serve a foolish king driven only by blind revenge."

Ekram flinched at her criticism. He realized he had just made a fool of himself in front of Samira. Like a little child crying for justice over wrongdoings done upon him.

"But revenge is a good enough motivation as any, if it is wielded correctly," she mused. "Temper it into cold steel, don't let it control you instead. You remember that hunt, don't you?"

That fateful hunting trip two years ago that took the life of King Soma. She disliked killing for sport, but there are much to be learned from it. Ekram's face darkened at her words.

"How could I not when it was burned into my mind so deeply."

"Good. Now remember that hunters always keep their pace steady and think two steps over the prey. I want prove that your revenge isn't a blind, suicidal mission. Hunt those people who are responsible without openly waging war first. I will help you set the trap, but you'll have to fire the arrow and finish them yourself. No matter what, no matter how dirty the methods are. Are you capable of that?"

Ekram took her words seriously. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before meeting her eyes.

"Yes. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Very well—"

"And I will up the offer."

"Huh?"

"Win me the war, and I shall give you a fleet to search the Southern Sea."

It was Samira's turn to be stunned and lost her words. She felt a stirring in her chest, a trembling of something she always bury deep inside.

"I will give you access to whatever resources you need once I obtain full power over my throne. That, I promise you."

His words brought to her memories long hidden. Of a galleon ship, its masts tall and proud, leaving the port of Érdé and never to came back again. Taking with it the person who painted the landscape of her mind, a trail of trinkets the only thing to remember him by.

Samira didn't realize when tears were trickling down from her eyes. Nor did she realize when her previously severe lips now trembled like a child, just like what Ekram had done moments before.

"You... will do that for me?" her voice thin, her resolution wavered. The crown prince smile a sad one.

"For our fathers that have been taken from us too soon. I swear upon my throne, I will help you to the best of my ability."

Then it was her turn to be embraced by her friend. The two who were childhood friends, now grown up and talked of revenge, war, and power. But for a moment they did become those small children again. Small and weak, hiding behind a building in Astravana to cry for missing their parents.

Samira admonished Ekram for being a crybaby back then. She probably forgot the part where in the end, she too joined him in a cry. Captain Ahad had sailed to find a safer and faster route through the Southern Sea. She would never see him again after that. And she had missed him terribly.

Those two little children were embracing in their tears once more. This time in the empty Healing Hall of the Red Palace. Grieving, for a life that would never come back and a future that was so bleak.