Grand Banquet pt.2

Jendi walked around with Baldur's hand in hers. She walked around and introduced to him to all of the various nobles from highest ranking to lowest.

She made sure to emphasize that he was her adopted son and from some sort of affair. Luckily, enough people saw the "Blue Fall", as they called the event that was Baldur's arrival to Feluc.

While they were introducing themselves, Jendi was surprised to see that Baldur was actually very vocal around them.

Although he didn't say much, he was engaged in the conversation captivating others with his smooth yet cool voice. That along with his handsome looks caused many young girls to blush with several parents already thinking about marriage.

Once they made a round around the room, Jendi finally released Baldur's hand. After she let go of him, she turned around to grab a glass of wine for herself and a glass of juice for Baldur but by the time that she turned around, she saw that her new son had already disappeared.

'I knew it,' the woman smiled wryly and shook her head. 'Well, at least he spoke with everyone first.'

While most of the attendees were in the ballroom, a few had wandered out to the gardens with Baldur being one of those few. He enjoyed seeing the various lights that made the flowers and bushes even prettier.

"Very nice," Baldur smiled slightly at the sight

"It truly is," came a voice from his side

Baldur's lips straightened before he turned around to see who was speaking to him.

It was a group of 3 teens, each of them appeared to be around the same age as Edward. All were young men with sandy brown hair.

'Triplets,' Baldur noted when he saw how similar all of them looked

"Prince Baldur, nice to meet you. We are the triplets of the Grimes Household. I am the eldest, Thomas. Isaiah and Ross are my younger siblings," the one in the middle introduced himself and his siblings

Baldur held out his hand to shake each of theirs. He actually had some respect for their family.

The Grimes was a Baron Household that was given the title of Kingsward. They were one of the 4 to hold that title on Feluc and carried the king's trust.

Of the 3 children before him, one was destined to become an Imperial Knight, another would become a knight, and the last would rule the house.

Each was a position that held prestige and would give one respect from the entire planet.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Baldur greeted them. "I'm glad you are enjoying our gardens."

"Of course. My mother tried to get the royal gardeners to visit our home and give it their magical touch but she hasn't had any luck," Isaiah joked

"I'll send them over for you," Baldur promised without thinking twice about it.

The three Grimes siblings looked shocked then embarrassed.

"Prince Baldur. We didn't mean to-"

"I know," Baldur cut him off. "But we have too many sitting around on their butts because the maintenance that needs to he done is limited. They can work for the salary that we give them."

Baldur's thought process was very simple.

He knew that they were just making conversation and not trying to indirectly ask for a favor but Baldur was the prince and some of the subjects under him had an issue. It was a minor one that could easily be solved with a few words and would lead to little political impact. The Grimes were one of the Kingswards which meant granting them special privileges such as this wouldn't make most people raise an eyebrow.

The three siblings thanked Baldur and joined him out in the gardens while sharing a laugh with one another. The little group was caught by all of their parents who smiled at them. 

"Would you look at that? Someone is actually able to be around all of my kids and keep them from arguing with one another," Baron Grimes laughed with his wife. 

They knew better than anyone how well their sons got along. Although the trio loved each other, they had an intense rivalry that made it difficult for them to be around each other for long. But it had been over 15 minutes and they had yet to fight with the others around Baldur

"Hmm. He is definitely an interesting boy," Jendi agreed with the smile had parent had on their face whenever someone praised their child

The baron and his wife laughed at their old friend. They had known each other since childhood so they were able to speak casually with one another.

"Jendi? Can we head somewhere private so we may be honest with each other?" Lise asked her old friend

"Of course. Let's head to one of the break rooms," Jendi led the pair off to one of the side rooms where many would take a break if they became overheated or had drunk too much

Once they were behind closed doors, the trio sat around the table with the baron and Lise having serious expressions on their faces.

"Tell us honestly," Baron Grimes started. "Are you planning on making him the crown prince?"

They could see how much care that Jendi had put into Baldur. She treated him as a true child that had come from her womb and not just a boy she felt was talented and adopted to keep his power for herself. 

Jendi smiled at the pair but didn't say anything aloud. But her silence spoke more than words could. She sipped from her cup of wine, never breaking eye contact with them.

"Y-y-you… are you serious?" Lise asked

"Of course I am." She ensured them.

"I love Edward but he is a fool like his father. He could never be a good king. The only reason why Feluc is prospering is because you, the other Kingswards, as well as myself are holding this planet together. But we can't do that forever."

The pair nodded at her words. As much as they liked Frederick personally, he could not be king. He was too kind which made him foolish. He had let someone like Alice seduce him and let herself seem innocent when she had ambitions that would ruin the planet. 

Edward was little better than his father. As much as she had tried to educate him on how to be a king, he was far too kind to do what was necessary for the sake of their people. 

But Baldur was different. It was not his martial prowess or intelligence that she admired. She learned about those after she saw him. After she saw the look in his eyes. 

His eyes that were the color of iron showed with a light that only a true king could have from the moment he stepped out of his pod. Those eyes brought her in and made her decide at that moment. That boy would be the next king of Feluc and he would be her son, for she had fallen in love with the boy just as she had done with Edward she she first laid eyes on him.

"So when would you replace Edward? He shall become king in 4 years," Baron Grimes pointed out the short amount of time that they had. Baldur would only be around 12 in their eyes when that time came.

Jendi laughed at their worries

"Do not worry about his age. Even though he looks like he is 8 now, he looked as if he was only 5-years-old half a year ago. This boy grows fast," Jendi assured them

The pair nodded at her words. As long as he grew enough to be called an adult before Edward turned 18, they could help put the boy on the throne. Otherwise, there would be a bloody civil war from two sides fighting for the same cause. 

The group exited the break room and rejoined the party. The festivities continued for another 3 hours before most of the guests left, the few Kingswards and their families staying behind in guest rooms. 

Late into the night, Baldur opened his eyes and grabbed the Laspistol and knife under his pillow. He stuffed some pillows under his sheets before diving under his bed. He waited as the footsteps became louder and louder. 

Several individuals had stopped outside the door and made no sounds. Baldur assumed that they were motioning with their hands to not give him any chance to hear them but they had made the mistake.

They thought that Baldur was prey.

The group did not even kick in the door but fired through the wall and doors with their lasguns, tearing apart the bed where Baldur should have been. Each person shot at least 15 times before they stopped their actions. 

When they stopped, their vision was blocked by the smoke of burning through the wall and door. Unable to see a thing, they did not see the child silently rushing up to them. Instead, they had turned to each side of the hallway, ready to fight to the death with the guards. 

Baldur jumped through the ruined door and stabbed into the neck of the nearest assassin while he shot the other way with his pistol. 

Bodies began to quickly fall to the floor, none being able to tell that it was Baldur attacking. Both sides had simply assumed the other was under fire. 

Their constant misunderstandings and underestimations of Baldur would be their downfall as the boy danced around them and killed them all.

When the guards arrived less than a minute later, they saw Baldur standing over the bodies with both of his weapons in hand, blood dripping off of the dagger.

"My bed and door have been damaged. Please get one of the spare rooms ready for me and also run a bath. I seem to be covered in some blood," Baldur told them as if he hadn't just killed 8 men