Future King

Aston pushed the wheelchair of his father until it reached the same high as Old Lady Finley. Every person in the hall was either stunned silly or whispering profusely. Of course, their hostess was the one and only exception. In Old Lady Finley's hazy grey eyes shimmered delight and triumph. It almost seemed like she was grinning, though it didn't reflect on her slim and stern lips. With one wizened hand, she reached out to pat both of William's in a patronizing manner. "I am glad that you finally decided to acknowledge the rightful heir."

William's brows were knit together like an angry rain cloud as he endured her treatment. Before he could open his mouth and roar like an angry lion, Aston interveined with a bright smile.

"Grandma! Thank you for all the effort you put in for us. You know Dad, sometimes he's too worried about nothing. But he came around now, so we can all pull in the same direction. Isn't that great?"

When the gazes of the two adults landed on him, both of them softened and the slight rivalry before vanished.

"You rascal, of course it is good" Lady Finley agreed, and turned back to the assembled nobles. William nodded as well and the knit between his brows relaxed somewhat. He lowered his head for a moment to gather his thoughts, then he spoke up. His voice was sonorous and strong enough to let the nobles doubt if he was really as weak as the wheelchair implied. It reached even to in the furthest corners of the hall.

"Dear nobles. Dear friends, ministers, and supporters of the crown. I know that some of you were not always of the same mind as me, yet I hope to have won your respect over the years."

There were some nods and acknowledgments. William returned them shortly. "Good. Then you might know that I would not leave my post without reason. The rumors have spread far and wide that there was an attack on the imperial palace, and also on me. These rumors are, indeed, true."

Several gazes fell on Aston, some dark, some quizzical. They seemed to ask: If the rumors are true, why did you bring your attacker with you then? Isn't he on the wanted posters? Did he switch sides?

"However..." William emphasized the word so that the attention was hastily returned to him, "despite the attack, I am not dead yet, and the enemy was neither one of the people you have seen on the wanted posters. The real perpetrator is the one who took over the imperial palace and sits on my throne, right this second. He falsely believes that I am too mortally wounded to return. It is my luck that his eyes are set on a different goal right now, or maybe I would not sit here with you."

Murmurs spread like wildfire in the hall. Before, some were suspicious of the Crown Prince's words, but they still gave him the benefit of doubt. After all, the Crown Prince was selected by the King and would have become king naturally someday without a need to attack William.

"What a devious feat, attacking his own father! And blaming it on his siblings at that!"

"Audacious!"

"But why? What is his purpose?"

"If you may excuse me, my King", one of the vassals finally spoke directly to the King, and with his brows furrowed over sharp brown eyes, he almost looked like an eagle, "Do you know the reason for Prince Emilian's actions? What lead him to such a hasty feat?"

"Right, right!" Another wanted to know as well, and added: "And what is he occupied with after he reached for power so eagerly? None of us saw him for several days, if not weeks already!"

When the questions continued to rain, William finally raised his hand. "Enough. I will answer your questions, but some concern more pressing matters than others. As for what he is occupied with: this is the war he wants to instigate with the help of your soldiers. A war that is neither just nor sensible for the future of our kingdom and people, as most of you know..."

William continued to explain for almost an hour before the vassals were satisfied. Just when the discussions quietened down, the man with the sharp eagle-like eyes said: "We seemed to have strayed far from the topic. If I remember correctly, Lady Finley, you introduced our King as the one who will announce our next king. However, why would we need a new king if the old one is living just fine? The only position that has to change is the one of the Crown Prince, obviously."

A few people nodded at that and everyone expected Lady Finley to tell them that they understood it wrong or that she misspoke. However, she kept silent, her eyes fixed on her nephew, the current king, with expectation. William stared back unwillingly.

Again it was Aston who broke the tension by placing his palm on William's shoulder. The nobles and ministers who had always ignored the king's youngest son for his improper behavior were surprised when he leveled them with a serious gaze. "My father was severely hurt in the attack and wants to retire."

Silence. Then the eagle-eyed noble sprang to his feet. "What?!"

Another man followed suit, his blond wig bobbing in agitation. "I beg you, your Majesty! In this situation? How shall we prevent war without your expertise?"

"Do you want us to acknowledge Prince Aston? This unreliable drunkard? Impossible!" A third said and struck the table with his fist.

Aston hid his grin behind his hand. It was too funny seeing these old fogeys all agitated. That, in his opinion, was the best part about his rowdy image.

"Enough", Lady Finley ended the scene and eyed the last speaker with a clear grudge. Hastily, the man averted his gaze and put his hands back under the table. The Lady glared at him a little longer before she continued. "Though I, on my part, find Aston the most befitting person for the King's position in this room, there is one other person in this kingdom, who was born for this role. William, I think it is your turn now to explain."

With a deep sigh, the former King took over by dropping a bomb. "Prince Nathaniel, who I acknowledged as my son shortly before the attack, is actually the son of my wife and my late brother."

Gasps echoed in the room, but William drowned them out as he raised his voice. It suddenly seemed as if he couldn't wait to lift the burden of the long-kept secret off his chest. "Yes, he is the rightful heir to the throne, not I or my children. There is no doubt that he is my brother's only legitimate son and that he should inherit what is his. Despite this, I hid him first because he was a child, and later because of other... circumstances.

Now, however, he grew to be a leader I believe any of you could acknowledge and rely upon. You ask why I believe so? Because many have already met him in one way or another. While I managed the palace and you nobles, he was the one who traveled through the land to root up the deeper problems. He fought and won wars for you, even though I forced him to keep his identity a secret, switching it many times.

You may remember that there were whispers about a fourth General, one with few people but winning every war. Because of the different rumors about his appearance, some believed that this General was actually several people carrying the same diamond badge that I gave - well, this is not the case. Instead, it is the same person wearing different faces - different identities - on my order. Because I was too insecure to let him have the honor of his victories. Once, I even thought that he might use it against me. But now..."

William halted, and his lips curled down in self-deprecation. "Truly, I am ashamed. Even at the moment when he had to do nothing but let fate take its course, he came to my rescue. It is late. It is truly late, but I want to return to him what is lawfully his. And if I can do anything to help him be acknowledged by all of you, then this is the least I can do to return his favor."