‘King’s Palace’
After ending the call with my brother, I sat back in my chair and stared at the painting on the wall in front of me. It showed Raylon, our father, and me before my brother got his scars.
I pulled my chair in before picking up yet another ledger. I had so much work waiting for my attention, but I felt tired. Tired of it all.
Tired of the responsibility, tired of the duties and the decisions that all rested on my shoulders.
I thought back to the day my brother announced his decision. I had known he would do it, but to hear the words spoken in front of all the royals had set my path in stone.
I would be the king, and there was no turning back.
But no one had asked me if I wanted it. No one had spoken to me about what I had planned for my life. Part of it had been my own fault. I hadn’t spoken up when I had the chance.
When Raylon got hurt and the healers couldn’t help him, guilt had torn at my insides.
I couldn’t disappoint my brother again. When he had told me that I would be the king, I hadn’t had the heart to tell him that I didn’t want to be.
I laid awake many nights, dreading the responsibility. But I did it for him.
I let out a long sigh and turned the pages to today’s entries.
Later, when the guards informed me that Laylar wanted to see me, I closed the ledger and made my way to the hall. I found Laylar standing by the main doors, speaking with one of the cooks.
When the cook saw me approaching, he bowed and stepped away.
Laylar spun to me. “Father, why are there four extra settings at the main table? The cooks tell me that you demanded it,” she asked with her arms crossed and a brow raised at me.
“They are for the fathers of the other families,” I said, and watched her eyes burn with fury.
“I told you I didn’t want them here!”
“Laylar, they are a part of our lives. We cannot exclude them from such important celebrations.”
“It’s my birthday! You told me I could have anything I wanted, and I told you I did not want those stiff old men here.”
“I know you did, my dear girl, but when they heard about the celebration, they assumed they were welcome. I couldn’t tell them that they were not.”
“Urg!” She stomped off in a huff.
I turned to watch her leave and smiled.
I went out onto the main patio and looked up at the sky. My thoughts took me to my beloved queen, and I wondered what she would have thought of all this.
The thought of Mistasar made a lump form in my throat.
I left the patio and returned to the hall, only to be stopped by one guard after another, asking about placements of furniture, decorations, food, and an endless list of other things.
