Prince Edward's Proposal

"Brother!" Edward greeted as Nicholas entered his own study.

"I said I would come to you, brother, why the rush?" Nicholas asked as he did his best to sound respectful.

He even gave Edward a small bow as he stood before the man that was at last ten years his senior.

The gap between the eldest son of king Alexander and his fourth son was quite big since the king pursued Nicholas' mother, the Lady Liira. That much Nicholas was able to figure out from what memories he had.

"I would like to speak to you, alone." Edward declared in as stern tone, making Nicholas raise an eyebrow at the older prince.

"Why?" Nicholas asked, hoping not to seem too out of character with his question.

"Don't worry, brother, I can't kill you. At least not yet." Edward gave Nicholas a grin, to which Nicholas could do nothing but sigh and nod.

He waved for Dion and Regan to leave him with his older brother.

The two men respected his decision and left as he had asked.

To Nicholas' surprise, Edward did the same thing as he waved his ministers off, something that they clearly did not expect.

When it seemed that Edward's ministers were about to question him, Edward glared at them, making them keep their mouths shut as they did as their prince asked.

"Should we need anything I will call for Jorin." Nicholas announced loud enough for his ministers to hear. "Have Jorin wait by the door, but I do not want him to hear what is discussed."

Dion nodded and bowed as he and the other ministers vacated the room and closed the door firmly behind them.

"What did you want to talk about, Edward?" Nicholas asked as he lounged on a couch. He wanted his older brother to think that he didn't care about all the scheming they were involved in.

"Nicholas, have you ever thought of what will happen to you after our father's death?" Edward's straightforward question caught Nicholas off guard.

For a moment he was too stunned to answer, he was simply staring at Edward as if the older prince had grown another head.

It played perfectly with the image he was trying to project, but it was not something Nicholas had thought Edward would ever ask him.

"Nicholas, you must know that you have no chance at becoming king." Edward's eyes narrowed at Nicholas.

"I never claimed I would be." Nicholas was clearly down trodden.

Edward smiled when he realized that his brother knew the truth and was simply avoiding discussing the matter.

"You will die." Edward said grimmly.

"I never said otherwise, why are you even here? You know that I don't have a shot at the throne." Nicholas was practically shouting at this point.

He wanted Edward to see how he had no control over his temper, nor did he care.

Nicholas wanted Edward and his other brothers to underestimate him in every way.

"It's good to hear that you aren't delusional." Edward laughed at Nicholas, frowned and sighed.

"What do you want, brother?" Nicholas asked Edward as he crossed his arms on his chest, waiting for Edward to reveal what use he had for Nicholas.

"As you have mentioned, I have no aspirations for the throne, nor do I have any intention of fighting you for it." Nicholas told Edward in a forceful tone. "You are wasting what time I have to enjoy my life if you keep on insisting on summoning me in the middle of the day."

Edward smiled at his brother as he saw a side of Nicholas that he had never seen.

"What if I told you that I could give you more time?" Edward asked as he smiled at Nicholas. "What if I told you that you could live longer, it won't be too long but long enough."

Nicholas remained silent as he observed Edward, he knew that the older prince would not give this offer if it weren't important for his claim to the throne.

"Don't you want to be king sooner rather than later?" Nicholas questioned Edward as he grew curious about what the most powerful prince wanted with him.

"I do, but I need to kill everyone first and survive their attacks." Edward plainly told Nicholas.

"You need a Corporali mage to heal you." Nicolas laughed at how slow he had been to realize what Edward needed, but it still made no sense for him to approach Nicholas of all people.

"I do, and I need you for that." Edward said as he admitted the need for Nicholas in his corner.

Nicholas suddenly laughed and shook his head. The situation was truly hilarious.

"We both know I am too weak to heal the worst injuries." Nicholas pointed out as he reminded Edward of the image he had portrayed to the entire kingdom for years.

Edward smiled and moved closer to Nicholas until he was standing directly in front of his younger brother.

"You may be practically magicless, but you are still the Corporali prince, which means all the healers of the kingdom owe you their loyalty until a new king or a new Corporali prince comes into the picture." Edward told Nicholas as he looked down at him, reminding him of how little use he truly had.

"And what do I get in return?" Nicholas asked. "A few years? Weeks? Days?"

"Yes, and you get to keep living a good life. The life you want to live, I will not stop you." Edward boasted, much to Nicholas' disgust.

"And then once you have all the Cruor magic in you, what then? You kill me?" Nicholas asked.

"I will give you an honorable death, an easy death, one without pain and one that will be celebrated." Edward promised as he raised his hands in the air, promising Nicholas what he believed to be the best option for his youngest brother.

Nicholas was silent for a moment, he was going to accept, he knew how valuable it would be if Edward thought he was on his side.

"I will think about it. Leave." Nicholas ordered as he pointed at the door.

He didn't want Edward to think that he could be bought over so easily.

"Send someone to tell me if you agree or not." Edward said as he nodded at his brother and walked out of the room, leaving Nicholas alone with his thoughts as he began to scheme