A Prince's Duty

The following day passed by in the blink of an eye and later that night Orion was able to sneak out of his quarters and wandered off inside the palace. While walking around in the silent hallways, he remembered how he used to run and hid on the halls and behind curtains as he dragged and played with the servants and guards around the palace.

These people would always get reprimanded for not doing their duties. Orion would also receive an endless scolding from his father. The king would then lock him inside the library with his tutors or leave him on the training grounds to be trained by his personal weapons instructor. During these times, he tends to zone off and lose interest in everything. He would put on a serious expression but he would not really do what his father would say.

He continued to wander around the palace halls with these thoughts until he reached the council room. He saw that the lamps were lit and out of curiosity, he slowly walked towards the door and heard voices. Slowly he opened the door to a tiny crack, he saw his father together with his trusted generals talking about something that picked his interest.

Orion's eyes widened at the information he was hearing. After a while, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to barge inside the room even though he knew that his father will reprimand him again for his actions.

A loud bang interrupted the four people inside the room and four pairs of eyes turned at the entrance to see Prince Orion walking in, approaching them with large strides and with a serious look on his face.

"Send me," Orion declared after he reached the round table where the king and his three generals were gathered. This declaration earned him a glare from his father which he chose to ignore.

"It is very unbecoming of your status to barge in here without any permission Prince Orion," the king brushed off Orion's words and proceeded to give his son a warning. His obvious distaste of the prince's intrusion was clearly shown by his words.

"Your highness, please go back to your room and rest for the night. The physician said that you needed complete rest to recover your lost internal energy," General Reious coaxed the prince.

"No!" Orion stood his ground. This bold statement made the king's frown deeper.

"Enough of this Orion, return to your room now. This is not how a person of your standing should behave." The king was now angry at the blatant disrespect his own son was showing to them.'

"Is it wrong then? Is it wrong for me to want to help in making our people safe?" Orion questioned. He had enough of his father's overprotectiveness. He had enough of his father's controlling character.

"As of now, this is not of your concern. Focus on your duty as a prince and that is for you to learn more about your people and how to rule over this kingdom and apparently, you need to retake your lessons in manners," the king answered coldly.

"Is that it?" Orion burst into laughter, "are you saying that my desire to protect my own people is not my duty as this kingdom's prince? So being locked inside this place, doing your bidding and letting you control my life is a prince's duty." Orion can't help but answer his father with bitterness. He doesn't understand why his father is against everything he wants to do. All he wanted to do was help his father but whenever he wanted to help, he would always be shut down and his father and he would always start to argue.

Ever since he could remember, his father was very controlling. There were many things that he can't do and more things that he should do. Every aspect of his life was dictated by his own father. He had been getting tired of this and even though he knew that his father would be angry, he would still defy him anytime he could.

Listening to Orion's word only made the king angrier, "I'm doing this all for your own good!"

"More like doing it for your own good," Orion retorted.

"Enough! If you don't stop being childish I will lock you in your room and not let you out. If you insist, then I will do it and really lock you inside this palace." The king exploded, it was not his intention to control Orion and he has also started to rethink things regarding his son. But the way he is acting that moment is giving him reasons to stop reconsidering things and to maintain the status quo with regards to the prince.

The two of them reached a standstill and glared at each other for a few minutes before the generals intervened because they couldn't watch anymore. "Please, your highness and your majesty, let us talk this out calmly." General Reious spoke amidst the tense silence in an attempt to diffuse the awkwardness inside the room.

The silence persisted until General Reious once again spoke, "why don't you sit down first Prince Orion."

"No!" The king suddenly protested which only earned him a glare from the general.

In all of Archellia, only General Reious can get away by acting like that in front of the kingdom's monarch. As the king's trusted adviser and close friend, he earned the privilege to do so.

After successfully making the king shut up, the general gestured for the prince to take the chair closest to him. Orion gladly sat down and threw a smug look at his father. King Leon can only grit his teeth as he watched the scene play in front of him.

"Since the prince is already here, why don't we just include him in our discussion? Perhaps he can add his inputs to the pressing issue we have," Reious smiled at them and waited for any protest but gladly there was none. The king remained stiff and silent. He chose to stay indifferent.

"Besides the prince is already of age to join in these kinds of talks and it is better for him to start taking the lead," suddenly General Rohan added. He just came from the northern borders that day and it was the first time Orion would see him in a long time.

"Yes, it will do him good to gain some experience since he is the heir to Archellia's throne," General Aries nodded in agreement.

"So, are you saying that I should let him handle the situation?" King Leon was clearly unhappy with what his generals were implying.

Although he knew that a time will come when he needs to let go of his son, it was still difficult to do so. He fears that when his son is not in his line of sight, he will suddenly disappear just like how his mother did.

King Leon observed his son and saw his determination to go. He couldn't, but he knew that he needed to. He let out a heavy sigh and looked older all of a sudden. The years seemed to had caught up to him suddenly showing his silver hair and the wrinkles on his face.

Seeing King Leon's face, Reious became sad but he knew that he should do this for the prince's benefit. "I know that you are worried about the prince's safety but Rohan will be there to assist his highness, you don't need to worry," Reious assured the king. He knew how important the prince is to the king and to the kingdom but they needed to let him experience the world outside the palace walls.

King Leon did not talk for the rest of the meeting. He only listened to the plan that his generals came up with. Orion also actively voiced out some of his thoughts regarding the way they should handle the problem that arose in the southern border but not a word came from the king's mouth.

Orion noticed this matter but he steeled his heart and continued to share his own ideas. After all plans had been finalized, Reious looked at the king to ask for his approval but the king only waved his hand and did not speak. Reious frowned but gave the prince a smile.

"Rest for the night your highness, your journey tomorrow will be a little bit difficult for you since this will be your first time to venture outside the capital city. Be sure to stay with your bodyguards always and when I mean always, stick to them like a sticky glue." Reious emphasized each word to let the prince understand that his safety would be above all else. The Prince immediately understood and nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll do that don't worry," Orion smiled and gave them all a nod. His gaze landed on his father but the smile on his face disappeared. His father's cold look dissolved the hope he had and he was hurt at his father's sudden indifference.