Chapter 20

"What's so damn funny?" The Prince hissed. He never knew what his uncle was thinking, and he disliked that.

"You're as spiky as that woman that left those marks. Why don't you just marry her? You'd make a wonderful couple." The uncle spoke and he changed his tone when he said wonderful.

"I don't need you telling me who I should marry. She would be my decision to make." The Prince snapped back. "And I don't remember asking you for any help picking a wife." The Prince replied. Anger was heard in his voice.

"I'm just saying, if you don't find a wife soon then the crown will be mine." The Prince glared at his uncle. He couldn't believe the man wanted the power to rule the Kingdom and would even push his own nephew out of the way to get it. "Well, you do have less than two weeks. So you better hurry up and find yourself a lovely bride." The man left the room chuckling to himself. Once the Priest noticed that they were alone he finally spoke.

"The man had been after the crown and he doesn't even hide it. Danzel!" The Priest spoke to make sure the teenager was listening. Danzel looked up at the Priest who then continue. "If you want to be a ruler, you will need to marry within these two weeks. I would also advise you to do it quickly." The Priest thought to himself. Or it would be the end for everyone. The Prince understood what the older man was saying. He had no deSire to hand over the throne to someone else. He will find the girl. He'll make her his.

Danzel walked down the long hallways. On the walls were portraits of the Kings of the past. He had seen them so many times that he just ignored them as he stormed passed them. The young teenager stopped in front two tall double doors. Usually some of his guards would escort him to his chambers, but he did not want anyone to be with him today. With his uncle bashing on him and the Priest pushing him into getting married, he just had to be alone. Opening the right side door, he walked into the room. Danzel made his way to a long table that was pushed up against the wall, he laid down his cloak. He walked up to a full length mirror that hung at the corner of the table, and checked out the scratches on his face. He could still feel the sting. No one had ever hit him in the face, no one besides her. She was only one. He still remembered that day like it was yesterday. The glare in the young girl's eyes, the way she spoke, even the kiss.

Three years ago in the castle that stood on the top of the hill looking down at the village below it, was a young Prince who was fed up with his teachers and their teaching. His uncle wanted him to know the purpose of what he was doing and why he ruled as he did.

"The world will believe you to be weak if you don't show you're strong." Martin spoke to the young boy.

"But my father made peace with that country. Why destroy it?" The young Prince asked.

"They may have fooled your father into believing they had a peace treaty, but that was a lie. Only person that saw that, was me" Martin looked at the Prince. "So if you want to rule this Kingdom properly, you need to quit asking questions and do as I say." Danzel nodded his head. However, He pondered if what his uncle had done was truly the right thing. Later Danzel spoke to the Priest Joseph. They were in a room filled with books all around them. Joseph was someone that Danzel knew he could trust. He had helped him both times when he fell apart when his parents passed away. He wanted to get the Priests thoughts of what was going on with his uncle.

"Why do you think my uncle started these wars?" Danzel question the man. Joseph stopped what he was reading and looked up at Danzel. They both sat at a long rectangular table with books piled higher than their heads. Danzel had three books open trying to compare similarities when it came to the wars that happened in the past. Joseph was quietly reading a novel to help pass the time, but was shocked by the unexpected question. Joseph turned the book over so the pages were touching the table. By doing that, he did not lose his page in the book. Looking up at the young boy he asked.

"Why do you thing he does it?" Danzel thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know. He was just barely hitting the age of 15. There was no way to really understand why someone thinks the way they do. "Only way to find the answers is by asking your uncle." Joseph spoke.

"I did." Danzel almost yelled.

"And…" Joseph waited for an answer.

"He said it was because the peace treaty don't really work. That is all alright. He said that the other Kingdoms use it to make us think we are all allies before attacking us."

"Do you believe that?" Joseph questioned the young boy.

"I don't believe it." Danzel spoke softly. "I'm supposed to be training to become the new King, but I'm just so confused. He says something and it contradicts with what my father had done. Making wars, turning peasants into slaves. Make them work for our benefit. I just don't know what to do. It feels like I'm trapped." Danzel spoke. Joseph sighed before he spoke to the teenager.

"The advice I will give you is to believe what you want to. Trust what your heart tells you. If you do that, there's no way you can fail." He smiled gently to the young boy in front of him. Danzel was still unsure.