Snippet #1928638

„Outrageous” Said the young captain as an older looking gentleman entered his office. He was somewhere around his fifties and wore a very distinctive tunic similar to the black tonic of a modern judge. He took a sit without much ado, grabbed a small deviant looking pipe out of his pocket and lit it. “Excuse me, lord uncle, but I will sit down and let this ludicrous enterprise of his!” Darius walked up to a window viewing over the northern side of Paetax.
“The decision has been made whether you approve of it or not. You knew the whole situation had been keeping him on his toes. With one Errion about to collapse into his final slumber, you'd expect the other one to try do something about it. Ever since the death of his brother, Rydas whole situation has been extremely unstable.” Lord Wesson's assessment was more than a small understatement. In many ways it had been his fault. During the earlier years of their life, he had left the children live a rather carefree life. Who would've guessed a tragedy would destroy the life of a prince and end the life of another one.

“And who's fault is that?” Darius turned around and glared at him reprehensively. “You always kept those two way too close to each other. You don't stick two young lions into the same cave and expect them to cuddle.” Darius was utterly infuriated, but he knew he had gone too far with his last words. Silence filled his office. It had been some time since he had become a royal captain of the guard. He didn't completely hated the job, but he would've preferred to do something more useful with his talents than to allow court to slowly soften him up. “Look, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. It's just...! I've done exactly what you said all this time and...”

Finally, Lord Wesson interrupted the young captain with an instructive undertone. He had always been like a father to him and he had never directed his anger towards Darius. “....and wasn't I right in all my assumptions? The king's been out for several weeks. Do I have to ask for the number of assassination attempts you've managed to hide from public? There is no point in hiding it anymore. The small council will not be able to stop a congregation of the entire council. We have, but a few short weeks before someone makes a rightful petition. All the Lords of the land will come and there will only be two possible conclusions. They will either kill the king and make Rydas give up his right to rule...” He took a brief pause to smoke a puff of his pipe and continued. "...or the one responsible for the king being sick will cure him in a subtle way and make him abdicate while he's still weak. Even if we managed to stop the process for some time. Rydas is in no position to claim the throne of Calisma. The past created too many whispers within these halls. We are at risk of a civil war, Darius. We're in no position of doing anything against our enemies openly. Having Rydas leave the castle halves the range of possibilities within our enemies' lines.”

Darius sat on his chair pulled a large scroll containing a map of Calisma.
“And what about the princess? You know well, the moment Rydas and the king are not around anymore they will try to marry her to some low-life prince for a few coins.”
The princess was the only female friend Darius had ever cherished and he would never allow for her to become but a political figure, a mere doll, within her father's court.

“Fear not, the princess will stay near her father's bed and under my godfatherly protection for as long as the king remains alive, maybe even longer. I will never understand why you chose not to romance that girl.” His uncle's words were less a reproach, but a very familiar mockery. Darius never saw the princess as a girl during his early youth. It took him several years within the army to...let's say.. appreciate the hugely disconcerning beauty the princess had gained in his years far away. When he finally come back to Paetax to assume his duties as captain, the princess had lost any interest in continuing their friendship. -As she literally confirmed in one their many, many, regular fights.- On her behalf, Darius didn't really react in any proper manner when he saw her the first time. As the brotherly figure Darius naturally was, he discovered her new-found beauty with confusion, dismay and panic. It took several weeks until he remembered that the two of them were in no way related. But even then, his duty towards the crown forbid any such thought about the princess.

“I am a knight, uncle. I have a duty towards her family and my duty is my love.”
“Duty will never give you children.”
“The people of this nation are my children.”
“I fear, you've become far too romantic to be practical for this country.”

Darius ignored that last comment. There were too many things at stage to do otherwise. “Tell me, uncle, what do you expect me to do?” Lord Wesson's face became unrelatable as he continued. “As a matter of fact, I'm not sure. I guess I would have a far easier task of protecting the king while you're around, but still. Maybe you should go with Rydas and make sure he comes back alive, if possible. I don't want you to go sacrificing your life for a king that has still to prove himself. What do you want to do?”

Silence filled the room, Darius wasn't sure. He'd feel guilty, if he left his uncle and the king in this difficult time. But then there was Rydas, he was pretty sure that prince of his would need a loyal companion to survive this quest of his.

“I'd rather accompany Rydas, if you would allow it.”


Several hours later, some time early in the afternoon.