One Hour

Rhodri was forced into his chambers before he could even cry out. The door slammed shut. The king was trapped.

"We were beginning to worry about you, Your Majesty," a deep voice said in mock concern.

Rhodri looked up. A muscular man stood next to Commander Borit. Although he was in an officer of Birle's uniform, Rhodri could see by his wicked smile that he was not loyal to the throne.

Borit, meanwhile, was bound in chains with a forlorn look. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. We were tricked!"

Glancing around the room, none of the posted guards held familiar faces. A couple had extremely pale skin coupled with exceptionally light eyes, which was a common feature among those who lived in Lakyle.

Rhodri's expression darkened. "Who are you? What is the meaning of inviting yourself into my private chambers?"

"How rude of me, Your Majesty." The man gave a mocking bow. "I am General Kaarel. I am here on behalf of King Willric. He sends his regards."

"If it is about the marriage contract, my daughter asked for more time. There is no need to…" Rhodri was cut off by Kaarel's laugh.

"We are past the point of negotiations on that matter, I am afraid. It is nice to see a father who cares for his child. Unfortunately, it will also be your undoing." Kaarel motioned for the king to sit, but Rhodri stubbornly remained where he was.

Unbothered, Kaarel made himself at home on a couch and propped up his feet. Then he motioned for one of the men to take hold of Borit. A soldier with one clouded over eye came forward and shoved the Commander forward. When he reached the table at Kaarel's feet, Borit was shoved to his knees as a blade came to his throat.

Kaarel smiled blandly. "I insist you join us…"

Rhodri glared.

The General heaved a weary sigh. "Think of the blade against your Commander's throat as being against your daughter's instead. That should make your decisions easier."

The king stiffened. It was one thing to have his Commander and himself threatened. Borit was a soldier who should be happy to put down his life for his country, and Rhodri was very willing to do the same.

But Rose.

He couldn't let harm come to her. If they paraded the princess in here and forced her onto her knees, it would be devastating. If sitting down prevented that, he would comply.

"Wise choice," Kaarel chuckled softly as the king humbled himself by dropping down onto the opposing couch. "No, no….not that spot. Over here on the one that looks like a throne. I want everything to be quite official and above board."

Kaarel pointed to the chair which had not long before been used to open an inquiry against Silver and Sir Samberg. Reluctantly, Rhodri complied.

"What official business are we going to conduct, General?" The king bit back his disdain. It would only give Kaarel more power.

"Why, the terms of your unconditional surrender, of course!" The General laughed as if Rhodri had made the most pleasant of jokes.

He pulled out a rolled up document and smoothed it on the tall end-desk next to the throne which the king used for writing.

"Please peruse at you leisure, though I must implore you to be as speedy as can be. Stef here doesn't see very well, and I would hate for him to accidentally cut your commander's throat while we are waiting…" Kaarel showed his pearly white teeth, ignoring the frustrated look from Borit over his current position.

Already a small cut was forming where the edge of the knife met the Commander's skin. It would take very little effort to do some real damage.

"Oh! And before you try to take your chances calling out for help, my men are quietly taking out your soldiers and stowing them safely away. And you have so many guests being rounded up into the throne room, too! Whether they remain in there unharmed or even alive, is entirely up to you." Kaarel indicated the paper, "Whenever you are ready, Your Majesty."

Rhodri used two fingers to slide the document toward himself, as if touching it further would soil him in some way.

On it was written that Rhodri would step down as king and allow the successor to come to power peacefully. It also promised Rose's hand in marriage. The rest was details on how those two things were to come about.

"Leave my daughter out of this," Rhodri pushed the paper away from him, letting it fall to the floor.

"I already said that the matter was closed." Kaarel clicked his tongue and placed his hands behind his head. "My king was most insistent that the princess marry so that no one will get the bright idea to mount a rebellion in her name. But he was gracious enough to leave the name of the groom blank."

"What is the catch?" Rhodri gave the General a sidelong glance.

"No catch," Kaarel opened his hands innocently. "You can of course continue Princess Rose's engagement to Prince Callum…"

Rhodri scoffed and crossed his arms. There had been no engagement, but the general happily ignored that fact.

"…Or," Kaarel continued, "If you want your dearest daughter to be queen as you have always desired, King Willric has made the great concession of offering his own hand in marriage to the young maiden. He would hate for her to feel that he has stolen her throne, so he is offering to enlarge her kingdom if she wishes. My king is most generous!"

Willric was even older than Rhodri. The idea of the dirty king taking advantage of his innocent child…

"You fiend!!!" Rhodri stood to strangle the general when four strong hands pushed him back in his seat. While the king might have been able to overpower the two guards who were assaulting him, he was forced to stop when Borit cried out as the knife pressed against his throat.

Rhodri leaned back in his seat, his lips pressed tightly together.

"We can leave the final selection blank for the Princess's groom for now. If you prefer, I can even let Her Highness choose for herself. I am nothing if not reasonable," Kaarel smiled, but it never reached his eyes.

"I have a headache, I need an hour to collect my thoughts and then we can talk again." Rhodri lifted his chin. If the General really wanted his signature, this concession was worth the risk.

"An hour will not change anything, however, I will give it to you. But not a minute more. For each minute you keep me waiting past that, I will kill a member of your court. When we run out of them, not even the princess will be safe." Kaarel looked at his nails as if he had grown bored of the conversation.

"You would do well not to threaten me," Rhodri said as he was allowed to stand.

The general shrugged. "It was simply a promise. While your agreement is nice, I do not need it. You have already lost your kingdom. The question is how many people are you willing to let die before you realize this is true."

Kaarel gave a bow from his seat.

"Rest well, Your Majesty. I'll see you in an hour."