Of Thieves & Kings

Cassian: It was expected, rather than a shock, that I was called to the king's chambers at such a late hour... I closed the tome from which I was reading to distract my mind with wisdom and knowledge from the sages from what is to come, but alas the long awaited hour has begun. My father, King Darius of the empire of Emberland, laid on his bed busy succumbing to his wounds, something he picked up whilst battling rebels in the neighbouring city of Claethorpes. I followed the torch-lit path down various hallways of the palace until I have reached the Golden Pathway, a hallway so beautifully decorated with elegant mosaic images and gold, the only hallway leading to the king's grand bedchambers. Though, it was no cheerful moment where fair maidens within the harem were brought to the king for the first time. Lost in my sombre train of thoughts, I stumbled upon Prince Gaius, my only brother, and his mother, Queen Sophia. My father's loyal guard, Sir Dante, stood alongside them with his dark head bowed. Once they noticed my presence, I politely bowed in greeting. "Sir Cassian?" the queen called for me with a strange pull of her mouth. "Is there a reason for your visit at this hour?" "I was summoned, Your Majesty." "By whom? Surely, the king has only called for his son to be present? Albeit, his legitimate son." She waved with her hand. "You are not needed here. You are dismissed." Of course, the usual antagonism of a queen towards the spawn of the king's infidelity was expected, even though I was born before their unusual marriage. "I assure you, I would not have been here if my father did not call for me personally." My eyes landed of those of my smiling brother. Prince Gaius stepped forward, his amber eyes lighting up. "Well, I for one, am glad that Father has called for you, Brother." He took hold of my arm in greeting, a gesture which I returned. "You are family, after all. Be it legitimate, or not." He casted a disapproving glance towards his mother who only avoided his gaze. Instead, her frowning dark eyes focused one me. "Sir Dante cleared his throat as if to soothe the antagonistic atmosphere, before granting us passage to the king's magnificent antechamber. It was a space decorated with a heavy wooden table and cushions that were scattered around. I smiled sadly. It was the space where he and I regularly shared meals together or discussed politics in private, without the meddling of the queen. The neatness of the space was evident that is has been used a long time ago, before the battle. It has been but only a few weeks. Through the antechamber we walked, Prince Gaius taking the lead with the queen hot on his heels. Sir Dante opened the heavy doors leading to the bedchamber where the king was currently resting, and the four of us entered quietly. "The room was dimly lit; all torches except for the candelabra next his bed were extinguished. The small flames flickered ruthlessly as the gusting desert winds entered the chamber through the open-planned room, which allowed for some air ventilation. The room was situated within a grand circular tower which opened outsides to view the city of Ubbin Falls from the cliff; the high roof was decorated with various drapes which formed a canopy of white and stormy blue. The drapes shifted almost eerily with the wind. My gaze landed on the mere shadow that was my father's form. The minimal light casted ghastly shadows on his face. His white hair was long, matted and slick with sweat near the temples and his beard was untamed and droplets of blood could be observed around the little hairs around his mouth. The usual fire within his bright amber eyes were now dimmed to only a glowing ember and his breathing was shallow. A strange smell radiated through the room despite the wind howling through the tower, originating from various herbs and ointments that was used to treat his wound to no avail; the most distinguishable of them all - the smell of death. I have made peace with the fact that the great King Darius of Emberland was in his final moments... "Father?" I heard Gaius call out. The dying king's eyes landed on his only legitimate son. "Gaius, my son," he uttered weakly and reached for my brother's hand. Gaius caught our father's hand within his grip before the king's eyes searched frantically for something in the distance, yet it was difficult to focus. "Cassian?" "Father?" I called out to him as I slowly sauntered forward, much to the queen's dismay, who was awaiting her husband to call for her. "Need I beg to embrace both my sons on my deathbed?" "Of course not," I replied and took hold of his other hand. It felt cold. Devoid of life. I watched as my father sighed with contentment. I struggled to breathe as I watched my father gathering strength to speak. A feeling of infinite guilt washed over me as I regarded the various stabbing wounds that was wrapped with bandages. Some were seeping through with blood, especially the wounds that was afflicted on his abdomen and thighs. I brushed my fingers along the edge of a bandage situated around his wrist. "You both are the future of Emberland," the king weakly whispered as he spoke to Gaius and me. "Our great dynasty lies within your hands, my sons. Cherish it. Conserve it. Bring glory to it!" I heard his wife gasp. "But, Your Majesty! Surely both your sons cannot be the empire's future! It is not possible!" she retaliated. King Darius, despite his obvious lack of strength, chuckled hoarsely. "Sir Dante!" "My king." "Escort the woman out. I do not wish to have her see the king taking his dying breath." Sir Dante bowed before offering the queen to lead the way. "This way, Madam." Sophia began to weep softly as Dante ushered her out into the antechamber. He shut the door, leaving me and Gaius alone with our father in solitude. King Darius spoke up. "Gaius. My son. You have been raised a prince of a grand nation receiving only the best throughout your life, and I can be assured that glory will follow you for the rest of your days." Prince Gaius smiled, tears gleaming in his amber gaze. "Of course, Father," he answered. "Be it will or destiny, it shall be so. I am sure to be a worthy successor." "I am not done speaking!" The king began to cough violently and blood spewed from his mouth. Gaius attempted to brush it from his beard with a handkerchief, but the old man refused. He, instead, turned his head to me, capturing my gaze. "My son. Cassian. Son of my beautiful Aerwyna, my first love. Though you have endured hardships growing up with the loss of your mother, claimed the title of the king's bastard son, distrust from the advisors and my wife, you have transformed into a wise and formidable warrior and a skilled negotiator. Will I live again in a next life, I will never hesitate to ride into battle with you once more, my son." Instead of pride of having my father's never-ending trust and recognition, a wave of anguish spilled over me. Yes, my life as a bastard was hard, but nothing can compare to the guilt that gnawed me on the inside. No number of hardships I have experienced in my past can be measured to when my father heroically saved my life by taking a blade in my stead. I cared not if I had died that day fighting the rebellion. No one else had cared if a bastard died. But my father had cared. He was the only one. I held back a raw sob as he continued to speak. "You are destined, Cassian. Not only will you bring back honour and glory to Emberland. You will bring peace amongst the peoples living in the empire and beyond. The sands of time has predicted that your destiny lies written within the sands of the Great Expanse. It is therefore that my responsibilities and my royal title shall be passed on to you..." I felt my heart lurch simultaneous to Gaius's gasp. With a sob I fell to my knees to repudiate the king's decision. I am nothing but a bastard! A son who could not even save his father's life! I cannot be king! I am not of noble blood; I am the son of a king tainted by the blood of a concubine. I am not worthy! "Your Majesty," I cried, squeezing my eyes shut. "I, your bastard son, cannot accept this great honour." I politely tried to refuse by giving him the better option. "Your legitimate son, Prince Gaius, is a more worthy candidate for such a responsibility than I will ever be." King Darius began coughing. His breath came out in a wheeze and the rise and fall of his chest became shallower. I felt him grip my hand tight before glancing at me, mouthing words. "Destiny... will not fail... you, my... son..." I felt his body give one final jerk before he glanced at the draped canopy of the tower with wide eyes. After, his eyes closed ceremoniously as he gave one final exhale. His hand that once gripped mine had gone limp. The last chapter of King Darius of Emberland's life has come to an end. "Father?" I heard Gaius call, despite the thought running through my head. "Father?" I remained kneeled next to his bed, squeezing my eyes shut. "Father!" The bedchamber's doors burst open as Queen Sophia rushed to her grieving son's side before her eyes roamed over the king's limp, lifeless form. I heard her call for servants to sound a bell. The bell rang in the distance to signal the king's passing. A gust went through the chamber, pulling at the drapes and plummeting the room into sudden darkness. The candelabra fell down to the floor with the impact. Wax scattered about the room. "Oh, my dear boy, my son!" Queen Sophia sighed as Gaius wept. She hugged him tight and placed a kiss on his cheek before taking his face in her hands to look him in the eye. I hear her inhale before she cheerfully kissed her son on his forehead. "The king is dead. Long live the king!" She curtseyed before him. In shock rather than ignorance, I assumed, Gaius did not correct his mother. Though I thought he never stood up to her. I did not care for her insipid ambition to name her son king of the empire just so she can wave scepter over things of state. "Sir Dante," she addressed my father's guard. "Go about and state an edict. King Darius of Emberland has passed. May his soul rest in peace. Emberland is to welcome its new king, King Gaius the first!" Before Sir Dante could answer, I rose from my position next to my father's bed and took a harsh inhale. "You will do no such thing!" Queen Sophia was considered a great beauty among the common folk. Her dark eyes were said to sparkle like the night sky and her raven hair glistened in the sunlight like blackened silk. Her face was said to have been carved by the hands of a famous sculptor and her kind and goodhearted nature was celebrated throughout all the empire. But the middle-aged woman who stood before me lacked everything that was deemed beautiful. Her angelic face had turned hard, her mouth pulled into a sneer and her eyes, hard as coal, glared daggers in my direction. It was as if she did not see her son's older brother, rather as Gaius's arch enemy. "I beg your pardon, Sir Cassian? Whyever not?" "I believe that Prince Gaius can confirm that our father, King Darius, has named me the next King of Emberland. Not Prince Gaius." A long silence filled the thick air as Queen Sophia shockingly pondered over my words. The wind rushed through the chamber, as if to prophesy a foreboding outcome. Screeching sounds had me and Gaius flinch as Queen Sophia hunched over herself with laughter. It was as if I have just told her the most amusing jest she has ever heard in her life. "The audacity!" she exclaimed, her mood changing from amusement to the utmost cruelty within the blink of an eye. "Some nerve you have, dishonouring your father's memory like so!" She turned away, yelling, "Guards! Guards! Throw this treacherous dog in the dungeons!" At her command, guards flocked into the room, armed with their swords and spears. I unsheathed my swords and stood in a fighting stance, just like I was taught my my father. I noticed with amusement that the guards that had entered the chamber looked somewhat uneasy when they saw I was the opponent. These men fought the rebels alongside me and knew of my skills in battle. "It is not dishonour if I am stating the truth!" I bellowed through the room, gripping the hilts of my swords. "Tell her, Gaius. State what you have heard!" Prince Gaius looked somewhat indecisive of what he ought to do about the situation but the younger man surprised me by validating my claim, bringing both his mother and the guards to a halt. "It's true, Mother." "What did you say?" Queen Sophia gaped at her son standing up to her. "Cassian is telling the truth. It was Father's dying wish. Cassian was named heir to the throne." "He what?" The queen's poisonous gaze glanced from her son's towards me where I was ready to defend myself if need be. Her eyes then rested on the king's lifeless form on his bed before she exhaled violently through her nose. Her hand whipped around and slapped her son hard. The sound of flesh against flesh resonated through the air and made Gaius nearly lose his balance. "You incompetent fool!" the one-elegant queen screamed at her son. "You dare have your birth-right snatched before your very eyes by this?" She pointed an accusing finger at me. "By this son of a w***e!" "There's no need to bring my mother into this!" I angrily exclaimed, but the queen disregarded my warning with a mocking laugh. "I care not for that w***e's memory, much less the psychotic talk of a mad dead man!" She jabbed her finger against my chest. "Come hell or high water, bastard, but I will not stand by and watch you take from a prince what is rightfully his by birth!" "Mother!" Gaius called. "And you! You have always felt pity towards this bastard. Look at him!" She grabbed hold of Gaius's arm and shoved him in front of me. "Look at him! Can't you see him for what he really is? And yet, you pity him?" Gaius's gaze met mine. His gaze was identical to our father's. "I can see him for what he is," Gaius spoke up and I suck in a breath. But he looked back at his mother. "He's everything I am not. Strong. Independent. Skilled. Respected. A leader." "Do you know what I see, hm?" The queen's hands clasped behind her son's neck, forcing my brother to look at me once more. His mother's sneering black gaze regarded me with hate and despair. "I see a savage. A ruffian. A barbarian." Her lips pulled into a slight smirk before muttering, "Murderer." Instantaneously, I knew what she was getting at... Father taking the blade instead of me. Father dying instead of me. It was not common for people to know how the king had fallen on the battlefield, as the matter was highly confidential to the troops who fought and was kept a secret in case enemies caught wind of the empire's current weakness. How did Sophia know? It was Gaius's questioning gaze that made my heart speed up. "Cassian? Is this true? Did you... kill Father?" I painfully clenched my jaw at the anguished memory, yet I could not give a reply. "Your dear brother was the one who was supposed to meet the blade but he had coaxed your foolish father into defending him," the queen uttered before I could defend myself. "Knowing what type of savage bore him into this world it is no wonder he has made many enemies within the empire. What if the rebellion is all his fault? If he could have your father killed to seize the throne, think of what he can do to you..." "That's enough!" I bellowed. "Say what you will, but you were not there to see what had happened on the battlefield. Neither one of you!" The torches flickered to life as if on cue with his words. "What is the meaning of this absurdity?" a deep voice resonated from the bedchamber's entrance. "I come to pay my respects and mourn the passing of my brother, yet I come here and is greeted with a circus? Emberland will be cursed with you as the head of its state, Queen Sophia!" I whipped around to see a man in his later years clothed in a light tunic the colour of sand. It reached his ankles to display modest sandals on his feet. The man's white hair was pulled back into an elegant topknot with a piece of head jewellery adorning the hairdo, and a white, long beard decorated the rest of his face. "Uncle Haris," I breathed. The wise old man regarded the guards within the chamber with criticisms. "Do none of you have respect for our king? You are to return to your posts, immediately!" "Yes, Sage Haris," Sir Dante spoke up before he spoke to the rest of the men. "You heard the great sage! Back to the barracks!" Relief washed over me as I put away my swords and regarded my uncle gratefully. Uncle Haris was Father's younger brother, however, instead of pursuing the throne, he went on to serve the empire with his knowledgeable gifts and wisdom. Queen Sophia was reluctant in curtseying before the great sage, whom she was not very fond of despite being her brother-in-law. He, too, was not very affectionate towards her. When his gaze landed on me, it was kind and warm. I bowed to him immediately, but the old man chuckled. "It is not known for a king to bow to one of his servants; it is I that must bow before you, my nephew." "This bastard is not king!" Sophia exclaimed. "You wish to correct a sage, Queen Sophia?" His eyes underwent a change from molten gold to hard depths as he glanced back at her. "Do you claim that you knew of my late brother's wishes before his soul was laid to rest? How audacious of you to assume that once the king has passed you'd take the throne via your son's legitimacy?" "Is it not evident, great Sage Haris? Prince Gaius was born in wedlock whilst that was born from a common w***e!" She pointed at me with her finger once again. Uncle Haris rolled his eyes exasperatedly before retorting, "As per usual it's the emptiest of goblets causing the majority of the noise. You are dismissed, my queen." "Sage Haris!" My uncle raised his one eyebrow as to challenge her for questioning him. "I believe a widow should be in mourning attire by the news that her husband is on his deathbed, yet I see that you still do not heed to Emberlandian tradition. You may speak to me once you are properly clothed in white, Queen Sophia. I wish to speak to my nephews alone. Until then, I shall seek you out. You are dismissed." I struggled to contain a chuckle at her usual innocent face contorting into that of humiliation before she rushed out of the room. Of course she chose to wear a dress of bright red and a golden veil in her hair, wanting to be seen as the Queen Mother rather than a dowager queen. It was to display her might and influence she has over her son. Once alone, Uncle Haris pulled both Gaius and me into a fatherly embrace. "My condolences to you, my nephews. But rest assured, my brother has spoken to me about the whole fiasco regarding the succession." Her placed both hands on both our heads as if to comfort us. "But first, we ought to go about preparing the body for a proper funeral pyre." He regarded my expression as I glanced over to my father's lifeless body. "You deal with guilt, my nephew. But rest assured, your father has made the necessary sacrifice to save your life. It was not without reason." "I don't think the rest of the empire will view it that way," I muttered under my breath while stealing a glance at Gaius. The younger prince regarded me with a pained expression. "Cassian, I'm sorry..." "Spare your apologies for another time, Brother," I told him and held up a hand. "Because emnow /emis not the time." I spoke to my uncle once more. "I believe it is permitted that the king's eldest prepare the pyre?" "By ancient traditions, but we have servants to do so..." "I can help..." "I wish to do it on my own, Uncle," I told him, ignoring Gaius. "Please. It's the least I can do to deal with these... emotions." Uncle Haris sighed. "Of course. You may go, Cassian." I turned around and left my father's bedchamber with a heavy heart, leaving my uncle and brother behind, wanting to mourn the loss of my father in my own way.