Unexpected Events

A chill breeze entered the room, as the door of the balcony opened up. Walking into the moonlit balcony, Otto took a deep breath of the fresh air as he enjoyed the chilly breeze that engulfed him. From the door opening, the soft sound of the harp spread out filling the environment with a soft tune. This relaxing melody put a smile on his face, as he slowly made his way towards the balcony parapet.

Leaning on the stone parapet, he looked down towards the city. The fires that lit the city streets resembled a beautiful sea of fire. The streets, even though empty, had a certain life in them. It was as if the city never slept. The light of the city was as if it was battling for domination with the moonlight that shone down. This effect was enhanced by the waters of the river which flowed through the city.

'When was the first time I saw this scene?' he wondered to himself. Remembering his past, Otto was getting lost in his thoughts as a smile started to creep up on his face. Today, this place was the center of his kingdom. The prosperous city showed his dedication towards his goals. The city told a personal story to him, it showed his achievements and the difficulties he faced.

Memories started to flood into his mind as his eyes slowly closed down. The background music of the harp was slowly fading as Otto was getting drawn deeper into his memories. His mind started to go back to the lost ones during his journey. A small tear formed up in his eyes. He wanted to show this view, yet was not able to do so anymore. His only hope was that they could see him from the afterlife and guide him towards the future.

Slowly opening up his eyes, he took out the necklace which had a strange coin on it. Remembering the moment he first set eyes on it. 'It all started after I met you.' he thought to himself. He has never been able to figure out of this was a cursed item or one that brought luck. Yet, it was now part of his life as he could not part with it.

A soft and familiar voice that called out from behind broke his thoughts. "Dear, everyone is waiting for you. You should give the final toast."

Turning around, he could see a beautiful young woman standing there in her equally beautiful dress. The dress she wore had various small designed and carefully crafted ornaments, which crept up all the way towards her head, engulfing the elegant crown she wore. This gave the illusion that the crown was part of the dress that she wore.

As his eyes met hers, he felt that his heart skipped a beat. Her eyes, beautiful, had a powerful look on them, which accompanied her beauty. A look befitting of a queen.

Without saying anything, he signaled over to the woman to accompany him, as he slowly turned back to take in the view of the city ones more. Looking at the horizon, he slowly spoke up. "No matter how many times I see this view, I cannot get enough of its beauty." His voice was almost as he whispered it.

Feeling a little tug on his arm, the woman holds his hand. With a soft, yet jealous voice she replied, "What about me?"

Otto just looked at her surprised and started to laugh a bit. Not replying, he pulled the woman closer to him. There was a certain satisfaction that he felt. He had everything that he could have imagined of. A beautiful wife he could trust his life with, a prosperous kingdom and many allies and friends across the lands. Feeling this sense of pride, he took a final sip of wine from his cup, before turning around and making his way towards the music.

He felt that his wife enjoyed being in his arm as she did not remove her arm. Instead she grabbed tighter as they made their way towards the music, which was not slowly coming to an end.

Making his way towards the door, Otto felt a chill creep up his spine. Net being able to place the sense of danger it had with it, he imagined that it might have been because of the chilly wind that was slowly blowing.

Before entering through the door, he took one last glance at the city, which was stretching towards the horizon. Feeling satisfaction, he turned around and started to set his final step into the room. However, before his foot hit the ground, there was an agonizing pain in his stomach. A feeling he had never felt before. His muscles tensed up, as his body got locked in the position he was in. The burning pain in his stomach became stronger by the second. Instinctively he grabbed his stomach, as he was not able to move anymore.

He felt his wife leave his arm. There was no other reaction that came from her. Scared that something might have happened to her as well, he pushed all his strength to check on her. The thing that he saw next shocked him. Instead of seeing worry in her eyes, he was met with a murderous gaze. A wicked smile slowly crept up on her face, which had a dangerous aura to it.

Leaning close to him, she whispered with a dangerous tone, "I am sorry dear. I did not what that it would be this way. However for the future of the kingdom, this had to be done. I will take good care of the kingdom in your absence." With that, she drew back from him again and continued to watch him suffer.

Hearing those words, Otto understood what had happened. He had been poisoned. And what made it worse was that it was the closest person to him that was the instigator. Feeling betrayed, he tried to call out, yet he could not make any sound. It felt as his throat had dried up. 'How… How is this possible?' he started to wonder.

With the rapid spread of the poison into his body, strength started to leave his body. As his legs gave in, Otto fell down onto his knees. As a heavy object fell to the ground, Otto noticed that his crown fell to the ground. Only now did the queen start calling out for help, "The king has been poisoned! Call the court physician immediately!" The previous wicked look on her face disappeared. Instead it was replaced with worry. The orders kept on coming from her.

Struggling to breath, there was a slither of hope that came to him, as he was able to feel his lungs getting filled up with air. However, this was a short lived victory as he started to cough uncontrollably. Slowly opening up his eyes, he noticed that he had coughed up blood, which was now spread everywhere. Even the prestigious crown, which he gained with many difficulties, was cowered in his blood, as it was lying on the cold stone floor.

People slowly started to pour into the door opening as they started to surround him and the queen. There were shocked expressions on their faces. The shouts and orders kept on increasing as many voices started to overlap each other.

Gathering all his strength, Otto managed to stand up with difficulties. Ignoring the people around, he tried to make his way towards the balcony parapet. But with the first step he took, his whole gave in as it started to fall. Lying on the cold stone floor thought started to fill in his mind. 'When did I get poisoned? Why did I not realize this before?'

However at this point it did not matter anymore. His only regret now was that he was not able to do more to help this country. Reaching out towards the opening of the parapet towards the city, he noticed the view that amazed him time and time again. As his hand was reaching out, he touched a round metallic object. Looking at it, he noticed that it was the coin that he wore. 'There you are again.' he thought as his eyes slowly shut. A small and weak smile formed up on his lips.

The worry he had, left his mind as more pleasant thoughts started to pour in. His mind started to wonder about the road that he took the struggles that he faced, the people he met and the achievements he got. He started to wonder about how his journey actually started.

…