Ministers to the King

"What did the king want?" Dion asked Nicholas as soon as he entered the prince's room the next day.

The king had kept Nicholas for so long that night that he dismissed his ministers, telling them that he was too exhausted to speak.

"He wants me to run." Nicholas spat like a spoiled child who didn't get his way. "Do I look so weak and feeble in front of my own father, that the only thing he thinks I can do is to run?" Nicholas asked, to which Dion remained silent.

"I know it's part of the plan." Nicholas calmed down and took a deep breath. He knew he was partially being irrational, this was what he wanted anyway.

"If it's any consolation, your highness, your people, the Corporali Clan are behind you." Dion told Nicholas as he placed a hand on his nephew's shoulders.

"Even those in the clan lands?" Nicholas asked, afraid to find out the truth.

To his surprise, Dion nodded.

"The clan knows of your mother, they know of Connor, of Gynda, of Regan, and of Thomas. They are well aware that your ministers and teachers would have long left if you weren't the leader we needed." Dion explained to the young man.

"I was among the people yesterday." Nicholas said as he began to recount his experience in the city. "They would be more than happy to see me roll over and die."

"The people do not trust the king or his sons, that is true." Dion decided not to lie to the prince. It was something Nicholas had seen with his own eyes, there was no denying that the people of the capital of Merlen hated the royal family.

"Then why hide it from us?" Nicholas asked. "It was never part of our education."

"Because only two of you would live long enough to actually matter to the people out there." Dion said, referring to whichever prince would win and to Princess Brie.

"The people of Ayr can be a powerful weapon to a prince they love." Nicholas suddenly said, calling the capital city of Merlen by its true name.

"What are you proposing, your highness?" Dion asked, confused as to what his prince wanted.

"How many competent Corporali Mages do we have right now?" He asked his minister.

"At least fifty, your highness. That's not counting your ministers and yourself." Dion responded.

"Call the ministers, I have a plan. Meet me at my office in an hour, I shall take a walk in the gardens while I form my plan." Nicholas told Dion as he dismissed his uncle and left the room with Regina following close behind.

Nicholas stood in the center of a beautiful garden that was in his father's wing of the palace. He recalled how his mother would take him here when he was younger. She would teach him to heal plants and animals, something that Corporali Mages shouldn't be able to do.

"What were you trying to tell me, mother?" Nicholas asked in a low voice as he tried his best to piece his memories together.

"Your highness! Your highness, we found you?" Three old men called out as they rushed to greet Prince Nicholas.

He recognized them to be his father's ministers.

"None of you have ever been so eager to greet me, ministers." Nicholas said in a threatening tone, making the ministers take a step back, shocked by how the fourth prince was speaking to them.

"Your highness, we meant no offense." The first one to recover said as he gave Prince Nicholas a deep bow.

All three men were once the most powerful and most cunning Bellator Mages, it was the reason why they were his father's ministers. But as time went on, they aged, they might not be as powerful, but they were still cunning.

They never paid too much attention to Nicholas, they knew he was the weakest prince, and thus the least likely to be king one day.

It seemed, however, that they couldn't keep ignoring Prince Nicholas in this time of need.

"What do you need from me?" Nicholas asked as he continued to look at the flowers and plants that grew in the garden, feeling their energies, their mana, sensing what needed to be healed.

"Your highness, we just wanted to ask, what did you and your mage do to the king?" One minister asked as his voice trembled, seemingly afraid of the prince they one looked down on.

Nicholas chuckled as they said their piece, it was no wonder that they had approached him.

"Of course you notice me now. I am the key to all of you staying in power." Nicholas said in a mocking tone, angering his father's ministers.

They took a step forward and one of them even had the gall to raise their voice at Nicholas.

"Look here, Corporali Prince, you are still the weakest of all princes. Do not think that the king's current dependency on you changes anything." The minister hissed as Regina took a step forward, preparing to protect Nicholas if needed.

They were shocked when Nicholas raised his hand and simply laughed at them.

"Of course you would be loyal to my brother, Edward, because you are all Bellator mages, am I right?" Nicholas asked as he continued to smile at the men.

He knew for a fact that they were indeed hoping that Edward would still give them good positions when he became king. But Nicholas also knew his brother better than they did.

Edward was not the kind of man to rely on his father's men. He was one to build his own connections and to raise up his own.

The men were silent, choosing not to respond to Nicholas' question.

"My father is well, for now." Nicholas said in an uninterested tone. "After all, it's in my best interest that he live for as long as possible."

Nicholas still wanted them to think that he was weaker, but he made sure to remember their faces. When the time came, he would be the one to show them his true power.

"Your highness, your ministers are waiting for you." Jorin said with a bow as he entered the garden and ran up to Nicholas.

Nicholas nodded and left, leaving the king's ministers confused by what had just happened.

"Would you like me to deal with them?" Regina asked as they walked out of the garden.

"No. Let them be, for now." Nicholas said, shaking his head as they made their way back to his wing of the palace.

When they got to his office, Jorin and Regina stayed outside of the door while Nicholas met with his ministers.

"Do we know what the effects of news of my father's illness spreading?" Nicholas asked as soon as the doors closed behind him.

"Your brothers have been on the move, and people that raided the palace were rebels that got word of the king's illness." Connor reported.

"How bad is the condition out there?" Nicholas asked his ministers. "How badly do they hate the Cruor line?"

"Your highness, you saw it with your own eyes and heard it with your own ears. The people have become indifferent and they wouldn't care if the rebels killed the royals." Regan explained to Nicholas as he shook his head.

"Find out what you can about the rebels." Nicholas instructed Regan. "For now, I want us to gain the favor of the people of Ayr. Send Corporali Mages to help them, if we have any funds, feed them."

"What if your brothers hear about it?" Thomas asked Nicholas, worried that his friend would be in more danger with his planned action.

"I'll simply say that I have no hope of surviving. They will believe that." Nicholas' ministers nodded as they understood what he was planning.

"My father's ministers came to me in the garden today." Nicholas announced.

"Probably seeking your favor so that you can extend the king's life. Even with a Bellator King, their influence will be greatly diminished after the king's death." Dion told Nicholas.

"They wanted to know how my father was doing, of course they never got to find out." Nicholas shook his head as he sat down behind his desk. "I want their names and I want to know where their rooms are in the palace. Once my father passes they will be the first to die."

Dion nodded as he took note of Nicholas' instructions.

It made sense to get rid of them, especially since they will be helping Edward claim the throne.

"How is the king, your highness?" Master Leeroy asked, speaking up for the first time.

"My father's mana mark has been poisoned. As a matter of fact, I think that the poison was first administered years ago and whoever is poisoning him is still by his side." Nicholas declared.

"Could it be one of the wives?" Glynda asked.

"It could be, so that their son would have a longer reign." Master Leeroy explained. He had seen the fall of one king and could be witnessing the fall of a second one.

"Either way, we need to fast track the return of my memories, I'm not sure how long my father will live." Nicholas declared as he recalled what the oracle had said.

He knew for a fact that the only reason for him to depart Ayr were if his father was dead and he had no choice but to leave to save his chances of becoming king.