10. Chapter 10 (1/2)

early morning sunlight filtered through the glass window panes within the dimmed room, casting

ight yellow squares against the stone slabs of the floor. the hot summer sun quickly rose in the sky beyond, spreading light and warmth to the far reaches of the land. even so, there was one place that it still could not shine on; it was manifested in the young boy who stood beside the window, staring blankly at the horizon.

curiously, a small grimace twisted his lips, though by his standards, he should have been happy. after all, he had just successfully won a war against a nearly defenseless people, and had eliminated the one so-called political enemy he had encountered in his short lifetime. he had every reason to be joyful, and yet, an unbearable weight still wrapped his heart.

the one chance of redemption he had found had vanished, cruelly taken from him by the one whom he had hoped to share it with in an astonishing turn of events. how could he have known she would turn him down? it was kaitlyn, after all. they had known each other since they had been children, and had been friends all that time. how was he to know that she had already fallen in love with another man? he supposed it was only right, after all, that she had rejected his proposal, for that reason; she loved another man who was not himself, and she should have been happy with him. after all, he did not actually love her as he had claimed. however, he loved his sister dearly, and if marrying kaitlyn was what it took to atone for her premature death, he would gladly accept it. but kaitlyn, in all her ignorance to his inner turmoil, had stolen that hope from him, and in his anger, he had ordered both her lover and his kinsman to be murdered. if kaitlyn had shut the door on his hopes for recompense, he had only sealed them away for good.

and then, to top it all off, alena had only just returned from her mission a few days prior, and since then, she had refused to speak to him in any capacity. instead, she had locked herself in her room as soon as she had stepped foot in the palace. the evident betrayal hurt worse than he had expected; he was accustomed to her constant presence, the sole figure in his life who he knew, without a doubt, he could wholeheartedly rely on. he was used to her absences when he gave her orders and sent her away for days at a time, such as he had done during the green war, but to have her this close, yet still not have her nearby quickly took its toll on him. he felt lonely in a way that he hadn't felt in years, since rilliene's death; it was if alena, too, had abandoned him for the cold finality of death. of course, he knew it wasn't so, but it tortured him nonetheless. it was strange, he thought, how profound of an effect both of them had on him. he had come to depend on both of them in turn, and as a result, they became a part of him: rilliene as his twin, and alena as his partner. because of this, they were closer to him than any other human being alive. how, then, could such people become not only his salvation but his undoing?

moodily, he shrugged a robe on and stalked to his desk, where stacks of reports from the recent green war awaited him judgment. it was cruel and unusual punishment, he decided as he shuffled through the first of them, for his definitively evil choice. it was nothing more than a menial chore for him; originally, it must have been meant to keep past rulers busy while their officers gave out treasonous orders behind their backs and inadvertently ruined the kingdom, all while the king was busy with paperwork in the castle. it must be done, of course, as much as he hated it, but how useful could it really be if it reaped no obvious benefits? let them file them all away in the records for all they wanted. he certainly didn't care.

a hurried knock

ought a welcome respite from his task some time later; entering seconds later was a tall soldier in light armor. reiniel was half disappointed to see that it wasn't alena. he had hoped that today would be the day that she would emerge from her solitude. before he could dwell on such thoughts any longer, the man knelt before him in the manner of knights of the guard and began to speak. "my king," he started, haste quickening his words. "the council requests as audience with you at once. it is of the utmost importance. they wish for your presence at this very moment, and would have me inform you that it is a matter of national emergency, and will not await your leisure."

the man certainly had some nerve to speak in such a way to his king. reiniel made a mental note to have alena find out his name later and have him promptly executed for his impudence. slowly, he rose from his seat to glare down at the soldier. "and what is so important that you must interrupt my paperwork?"

if he had been trying for humor with that statement, it was lost on the man as he too rose, casting a cursory down at the boy. "it is not for me to say at this time, sire," he said in a low tone. "but from what i hear, there are rumors of a…a rebellion of sorts in one of the villages."

the room was silent for a moment, but soon, it echoed with the young king's hysterical laughter. "a revolt? is that all this 'important' rubbish is about? go tell those dithering old fools that such a thing is no trouble at all. they will be able to crush it just as easy as they have crushed every so-called rebellion in the past."

"but sir," the man ground out. "regardless of your opinions on the matter, they wish for you to meet with them immediately."

something about the man's tone froze reiniel's counter argument; he thought for a moment, and then finally waved the soldier away. "alright, i suppose i will come," he sighed, "if those bastards truly insist… they will soon find it is a waste of everyone's time to worry about such a trivial matter, though. i am sure of it." without another word, the soldier left, leaving reiniel alone to puzzle through his thoughts as he prepared to leave.

fifteen minutes later, he was seated in the council room, surrounded just as he had been a few weeks before by varying ranks of officers of the royal guard. to his right sat alena, much to his delight, though she looked decidedly more worn than he remembered, and her eyes were red, as if she had recently been crying. her face remained neutral, betraying none of the emotions that should have been played out on her features. he only

iefly wondered on his observation before one of the serious-faced men took his place at the end of the table, slowly turning his head to stare at them all in turn. "the matter we are here to discuss today," he intoned in a surprisingly squeaky voice, "is a very dire one indeed. reports from my men in the town of barcelena have informed me that a large group of armed rebels is cleaving a path through the country, gathering more support and followers as they come. they have already conquered our garrison at san hazk, providing them with more weapons than any other revolt in our history, not to mention—"

"we are prepared to stop them, correct?" the king only looked bored, despite the surprising news. "how much trouble can it possibly be to stop a pathetic little group of peasants who happen o have gotten hold of a few sticks and pitchforks? you have already sent your men to deal with them, haven't you, york?"

the man who had been speaking earlier—who went by the name of alan york—looked sheepish. "of course i have, your highness. i have done everything i possibly can. but you see…" he paused for a moment, struggling to mount the courage to continue, and then finally blurted out: "it has not been successful… i have lost all contact with the majority of my soldiers, and from what i hear, they have all either been killed or have joined the side of the rebels—"