Varre was already used to getting woken up by Benjamin. His chamberlain would begin each morning by opening up the window. A sudden influx of fresh air was the first signal to the king. Then, a pair of servants would enter the bathroom, carrying buckets of heated water for the bath. If even that sound wasn’t enough to wake Varre, the chamberlain would approach the bed and announce his presence. The royal bed was surrounded by privacy curtains and Benjamin wouldn’t dare to disrespect his liege by opening them without permission.

  At least that’s how things worked on a normal day. And this day, June 16th, would go down in history as decidedly abnormal.

  The first sign of trouble was the loud clicking of the door handle. The chamberlain rushed straight inside, stomping on the ground in a rush. Instead of opening the window or preparing a bath, he headed directly for Varre. Even the privacy curtains weren’t enough to stop him.

  Benjamin opened the drapes as wide as he could and yelled out, “your majesty! Please wake up! It’s an emergency!”

  “Huh?” the king rubbed his eyes groggily, “what the hell happened?”

  “Please hurry, the other advisors have been called and are heading straight to the council room,” the chamberlain started pulling the duvet off of his liege.

  “Benjamin! What are you doing!?” Varre tried to grab the quilt, but he was too slow. He finally sat up, the shock washing away his tiredness, “what?! Is the castle on fire or something?!”

  “Worse, your majesty! The kingdom is! A civil war is coming!” the chamberlain yelled and moved over to the cupboard. Even in a disaster such as this, the monarch had to look presentable.

  Unfortunately, there was no time for breakfast. Varre was still confused, but he knew better than to argue. He splashed his face with water, quickly got dressed and headed straight for the council room. A group of Royal Guards was already waiting outside to escort him. It seems that they didn’t want to take any chances considering the current situation.

  Minutes later, Varre had reached the room. Marna, Hakon, Lester, and Elvira, the four advisors who lived in the castle were already seated and discussing the situation amongst themselves.

  The Chancellor and Treasurer both lived in the city, so they needed more time to get here. Technically, the king waited for no one. Logres always took this tradition very seriously, even to the point of ridiculousness. Today, however, there were bigger things at stake.

  “Okay. Can someone tell me exactly what the hell is going on?!” Varre asked, as soon as he finally sat down.

  “The herald we sent out West has returned,” Hakon said, pointing to a stranger standing off in corner.

  The man sheepishly stepped forward and bowed deeply. He was still wearing his traveling clothes. They were dirty and scuffed. It was clear that he came here as soon as possible, without wasting any time.

  “Tell us what you saw,” the captain ordered.

  “I was dispatched to visit all of the towns up to the Western border,” the herald began nervously, “at first, everything was going well. In every town I visited, the people listened to the message intently. They were shocked that someone would brutally murder their beloved king, but rejoiced when learning the name of his rightful heir. I was welcomed with open arms, and the local nobles fulfilled their duties well. I was given shelter and supplies, as laws demand. That all changed, on the fourth day.

  “I knew something was off as soon I entered Tresannes. The entire city was suspicious of me. At first I thought something had happened there recently, something that terrified the populace. But as soon as I made the announcement, the crowd turned on me.

  “They began yelling obscenities. Calling his majesty names I dare not repeat. But that’s not all. The local baron stepped forward and gave a speech of his own,” he looked awkwardly off to the side, avoiding everyone’s eyes, “not only did he agree with all of those traitors, he had a message for his majesty too…”

  “Go on then,” Hakon urged, “repeat it.”

  The herald gulped. “He… he said that he will never accept his majesty’s rightful rule.”

  The more Varre heard, the more he frowned. Everything was going so well until now, he thought to himself, god damn it. What the hell is that guys problem? I can see how my lucky break is suspicious, sure, but what the hell? Is this really worth fighting a war over? Why would it matter who the king is? It’s not like we’re ever going to meet each other.

  “That’s not all though,” the captain interrupted this train of thought, “come on, tell us what happened next.”

  The messenger stared at the ground in shame. “Instead of heading back to the capital immediately, I decided to investigate.”

  “You did good son, no need to be embarrassed,” Hakon said, “now what did you find?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The herald cleared his throat. “I went to another nearby town, to try and figure out what could have caused this. I hid my paperwork and pretended to be a traveling adventurer. No one suspected anything, so I started asking around about the latest news. I thought it would be difficult, but pretty much immediately someone told me about this terrible treason.

  “They told me that… his majesty…” he closed his eyes, straining to repeat that in the king’s presence, “was a tyrant. Who had his own family murdered… and that everyone was appalled by such a crime.”

  The entire room fell silent. After a few moments, Marna softly spoke up. “King Mikkel was very popular out West. Especially after he saved them from Langogne’s invasion all those years ago. They were always one of our most loyal provinces. Until now…”

  “That’s not all though,” Hakon added, “continue.”

  The herald was clearly struggling. He looked towards the monarch, clenching his fists. “I… They told me that the entire kingdom will rise up against your majesty. That Count Clement of Quendon is ready to take a stand against you and… avenge king Mikkel.”

  “Count Clement?” Varre repeated, “isn’t that Nilo’s father?”

  He could tell from Lester’s reaction that he was spot on.

  The captain too realized what had happened. He immediately stood up. “That bastard… We need to seize him before he can get away!”

  “Wait!” the king yelled out, “he is still my friend. Don’t you dare a lay a finger on him!” The memory of what the guards did to Lester last time was still fresh in his mind. And that was only a misunderstanding. He didn’t want to imagine what they could to an actual traitor. Real or not.

  “Your majesty…” Hakon began to protest.

  “Don’t ‘your majesty’ me! You can bring him here. But you will treat him as my guest! Is that clear?”

  The captain wasn’t happy, but decided not to argue this further. He quickly relayed the orders to the guards stationed outside, emphasizing that Nilo was not to be harmed, and returned to his seat.

  “As for you, herald,” Varre turned to the sheepish man, “thank you for bringing this to me. You’ve done well.”

  The messenger got down on one knee. “Thank you for your praise, your majesty! It is an honor to serve you.”

  The king smiled at him. “Go and get some rest now. And Benjamin, prepare a suitable reward for our good friend, won’t you?”

  “Of course!” the chamberlain nodded.

  As soon as the herald left the room, Hakon brought his fist on the table. “That gods’ damned traitor Fedlow! We’ll have his head for this!”

  “I guess he went West after all,” Varre grumbled, “and spread the news there.”

  “It seems like it,” Marna admitted, “we’re heading straight for civil war.”

  “We will destroy him! He’s got some nerve! Does he really think he stands any chance against the might of Logres?” the captain yelled.

  “I just don’t understand,” the Steward brought her hands to her cheeks, “Why Count Clement of all people? He’s influential, sure, but he’s always been so cautious... And far more pragmatic than this.”

  “Fedlow must have filled with his mind with treasonous lies,” Hakon shrugged, “that snake had connections across the entire realm. The only thing that matters is that both are traitors. And both will die.”

  “No,” Marna shook her head, “Clement is many things, but he isn’t rash. He wouldn’t do this just out of shock. No matter what Fedlow told him.”

  “And what if he hadn’t done this out of shock?” Varre said, causing the Steward to look up at him, “what if he had planned this all out?”

  The implications of this were left in the air, as the conversation got interrupted. The doors opened and a pair of Royal Guards pushed a confused Nilo inside. They clearly just woke him up. He wasn’t given time to dress either. He had to walk all the way here in his bed clothes.

  “Varre?” the aristocrat asked, “what the hell is going on? These guys…”

  “Silence, cur!” the captain stood up in anger.

  “No! You shut up, Hakon!” the king answered, “as for you Nilo, take a seat. Please.”

  The noble understood that the situation was serious, so he followed without complaint. He was quickly brought up to speed on the herald’s investigation. Just like Varre, he was frowning more, the more he heard, until the story finally reached his father’s involvement.

  “What?” the noble pulled back in his seat, “my father said that? No… that’s... just no…”

  “The evidence is clear,” the captain said, though he tried to keep his fury in check. He could see the monarch staring at him the entire time, ready to jump in to defend his friend, “your father is… accused… of treason,” he even had to pause to come up with the right word.

  “I can’t believe it! I mean, I know I don’t see him very often, but he wouldn’t… I…” Nilo shook his head, “Varre, I had nothing to do with this! Please believe me!”

  “I believe him,” Lester cut-in, “think about this! His own father tried to have him kidnapped just a few days ago, remember? Ever since then, Nilo has been living in the castle.”

  “Right under our noses,” Hakon interrupted, still suspicious, “watching our every move.”

  “Be reasonable,” the king grimaced, “how would he even get any messages out to his father? You’ve seen how much time it took for our own herald to get there,” he paused and looked at his friend, “I believe you, Nilo. I know you wouldn’t have betrayed me.”

  “Thank you Varre! Thank you!” the young noble cheered.

  “At least now we know why your father wanted you out of the capital so badly,” the king smiled to lighten up the mood.

  “And that’s why he freaked out so much when you refused… makes sense Varre!” Lester clasped his hands.

  “I agree,” Marna nodded, “right now, we can use you in potential negotiations. He couldn’t let that happen. And yet he failed.”

  “So I’m just a pawn after all?” Nilo frowned.

  Varre instead, glared at the steward. “Or maybe your father just wanted to protect you. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Marna made a strange face and cleared her throat. “Of course not. I apologize, your majesty. I would never suggest anything to harm your friends.”

  With the atmosphere warming up a bit, the king called for a short break. There was no need to humiliate Nilo any further. Even if today’s revelations had already woken him up fully, the aristocrat still needed to get dressed.

  Even Hakon supported this idea. Though he still didn’t trust the young noble. At least this way, he could get a potential spy out of the meeting.

  Varre also ordered Benjamin to arrange a quick breakfast for the council. Now that everyone was made aware of what happened out West, they needed to prepare for war. And for that, they needed every advisor here. Especially the Treasurer.

  War was expensive. Even the former student knew that. Perhaps even more so than the rest of his councilors. He needed Gruber here to understand the full picture.

  The two remaining advisors arrived during the meal. They were both brought up to speed as Varre finished up his plate. Now, with everyone satiated, the meeting could begin in earnest.

  Today’s agenda: crushing the rebellion.

  Count Clement, Nilo's father, started a civil war.

  The situation will be discussed in detail, to set the stage of the conflict.