The rhythmic sound of several horse hoofs broke the silence in the room.
"That must be his majesty." Said Kerron, looking out of the window.
Approaching the manor gates was a group of around fifty mounted men in pristine full plate armor. All their horses marched in step, making for an imposing sight. They carried banners displaying the crest of the Kingdom of Aristia. The crest sported a black lion sejant, sitting against a large golden sword, on a field that was of the same shade of burgundy as the Aristum house crest.
"This should be the King's advance guard." Thought Damon.
The group of them left the study and made their way down to the manor's reception area. There was a grand staircase which led down to a large, open foyer. The tile-work on the foyer floor was pristine marble, and it had been cleaned to the point that it shone. All the manor's maids, butlers and servants were lined up along the walls of the main foyer, waiting to receive the king.
Near the main doors stood Alan. He nodded a greeting at the group, took one look around the room to ensure everything was in order, then opened the main doors.
They were greeted by a view of King's advance guard as they filed down the main path, flanking it on both sides. Once they were all in place, they steadied their horses, then unsheathed their swords in unison raising them in the air.
Two mounted men in lighter, stylized armour approached the gate. They held a trumpet to their lips and blew forcefully. Once the trumpeting died down, the guards sheathed their swords and saluted.
In unison, the trumpeters announced the king.
"Announcing King Kane Maximillian Aristum, Sovereign of the Black Sword, and the Blood Lion of Aristia - Long may he reign."
The entire crowd bowed down at the announcement.
A rhythmic thudding sound echoed through the compound and building, getting closer the doors. The thudding slowed and then stopped and there was a short silence.
"You may rise." A sonorous voice gave them permission to look up.
In the time that they had bowed, the King had marched up the path and had dismounted his horse. He stood by the main entrance, with his horse's reigns in one of his hands.
Damon had never seen his father, but he had heard many stories about him. He was one of the few Level 9 warriors in the world, and was often hailed as the world's strongest man. Damon had heard about his large build but seeing it in person was different from just hearing about it.
Kane Aristum was a massive man. He stood at over seven feet tall, and his figure was made all the more imposing by how muscular he was. His shoulders, arms chest and back were like boulders, and yet, he had a litheness to his build that made is impossible to refer to him as 'bulky'. Despite his size, he was very well proportioned. He wore a military uniform, much like Damon's, but his shoulder pads and tassels were gold in color, and a tapestry of medals adorned his chest.
Damon could grudgingly admit that his father was handsome in a very traditional – defined jaw sort of way. Defined to the extent that it was noticeable despite his thick black beard. He looked to be in his early thirties, and he had the same jet-black eyes and hair as Damon. He wore his hair tied back in a ponytail. On his head was a simple, circular gold crown.
Kane's horse was even more monstrously big than he was. A pure white steed with thick bands of visible muscle below its glossy coat. Strapped across the back of the horse was a truly gigantic sword. Six feet in length and about a foot wide, it was the black war-sword that was responsible for Kane's title, 'sovereign of the black sword'.
Kane patted the horse to calm it as team of his servants approached and gently coaxed the animal away.
Damon's mother approached her husband, with a demure smile on her face. She gave a deep curtsy, and then welcomed him, gesturing for him to enter.
"Welcome, your majesty, please, do come inside." She said.
Damon noticed that his father's grave eyes lit up slightly when he looked at his mother, but he kept a straight face as he nodded at her invitation.
The King followed his wife into the main foyer, where Kerron and Beren bowed deeply towards him.
"Good morning your majesty!" They said.
Kane nodded at the two of them but remained expressionless. It was likely that he did not even know who they were. King Kane was a man who boasted great strength and military might, but was not very politically savvy. This was a big reason why the first Queen had managed to gain so much influence over the Kingdom.
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After Kerron and Beren stepped back, Damon, William and Lucy approached. The two boys bowed and Lucy giving a curtsy.
"Good morning your majesty." They said, before rising.
Kane was slightly taken aback to see his three-year-old son bowing and greeting him so formally, but took it in stride.
"Rise children, rise." He said.
They stood and looked up at him and he looked at Lucy and William, appraising them.
"I have heard that the two of you are especially talented. How is your training going?" He asked them.
"It is going well your majesty; we thank you for your support." Both responded in unison – it seemed that they had been briefed on what to say should they be asked this.
The fact was that there was nothing they could say to really complain about Kerron or the first Queen's influence over their tutors. The king would not be around long enough to enforce any punishment. It would just serve to paint a bigger target on William and Lucy.
Damon could see Kerron smile to himself at their response.
Kane nodded at them, then knelt down to get closer to Damon.
Damon noticed his mother smile at this, whilst both Beren and Kerron creased their eyebrows. Obviously, they had not expected the King to show any sort of affection or special treatment to his second son. He was famous for being quite cold to his first son and wife.
"You must be little Damon. I see you have my hair and eyes." He said, reaching his arms out to Damon.
Damon stepped back slightly, then bowed once more. "Reporting to your majesty my name is indeed Damon, and we do indeed share similar eye and hair color."
There was an awkward silence, and the King scratched his head then tried reaching out again.
"There is no need to be so formal son." He said.
At this, Damon bowed again, smiling maliciously to himself.
"My apologies, but I was informed by Lord Stenbrig that your visit here today was an official visit in your capacity as a King. You are my father, but you are also the king of this kingdom. Because you are visiting for the sake of an official duty, I must treat you as the King, not as my father." Said Damon.
He looked like he was reciting whilst he spoke, as if someone had repeated these words to him multiple times.
Kerron went pale at this, and the King narrowed his eyes.
"And who is this Lord Stenbrig?" Kane asked.
Damon pointed at Kerron, an innocent smile on his face.
"It's him! Lord Stenbrig is here all the time making sure the building is clean and repaired and that everyone is doing their work. He reminded me this morning that I should be on my best behavior and be careful not to make a mistake because he is sure that you aren't visiting just for the sake of visiting or to see and spend time with me or my mother. It is an official visit so I have to be extra careful."
The more Damon spoke, the colder the King's gaze grew, and the paler Kerron got.
Truly, a child's innocence was a wonderful weapon. Anyone else bringing this up would be doing so as a formal complaint and would spark some kind of political back and forth. But a child simply repeating what they hear? There was no defense to that.
The King turned to Kerron. "Good, good, good! So, in my absence we have gained a mind reader in the kingdom! Perhaps I should reassign you to the front lines and we can use your clear understanding of the thoughts and intents of others to help direct our military campaign." His face was still expressionless, but his eyes had grown steely.
Lord Kerron dropped to his knees, a cold sweat breaking about his neck and his face pale with fear at the thought of being moved to front lines.
"It was my mistake my lord! I deserve a thousand deaths for presuming to know your mind. It was out of my devotion for the dignity of you, the kingdom, and our dear prince that I miss-spoke!" Kerron plead.
Lady Ariel walked forward and curtsied to the King.
"Lord Stenbrig can be a little excitable in his actions, but he is doing quite a good job. I think rather than removing him from his post a light punishment will do." Kerron and Beren were both surprised to hear her speaking up for Kerron, and even Damon was a little confused at what she was doing.
King Kane stared at Kerron, then assented to his wife's request. "Very well, I will leave the punishment in your hands. Send me a report when you have decided." He said.
Queen Ariel smiled brightly. "Of course."
She turned to Kerron.
"Get up Lord Stenbrig, the King is a gracious man." She said, smiling at him.
"Thank you, my Queen, thank you my King!" Said Kerron, getting up on his feet stepping backwards, his back still dripping with sweat.
"I see" thought Damon.
Even with the King's threat, it would be a bureaucratic issue to move Kerron to the front lines. It may frustrate Kerron for a few months with the procedure, but the first Queen and her faction would work to block the move once the King was away and had forgotten about it. With this move, however, his mother had put the punishment in her own hands, which mean that she now had a bargaining chip in hand when it came to dealing with Kerron in future.
Kane did not spare him a second glance, instead approaching Damon again.
"I am here as a King, for as long as I live, all my actions will be in the capacity of a king. There is not changing that." He said with one hand on Damon's shoulder.
"However, regardless of what I am, it doesn't change the fact that who I am is your father." He continued, reaching out to Damon once more.
This time, Damon allowed himself to be picked up. But in his mind, he was still irritated. If what his father had just said was truly the case, he would not have let his son live as he had in his previous life.
"In that case, it's very nice to meet you father" said Damon, not quite able to smile as he fought down his irritation.
"Well, isn't this a sight, how could two troublemakers give birth to such a polite boy?" A soft, feathery voice came from behind the King.
A tall, old man with short white hair, a neatly trimmed white beard and deep brown eyes stepped out from behind Kane. He wore a long blue robe that shimmered ever-so slightly as he moved.
Despite his clearly rude words, no one in the room made a move to reprimand or attack him. Even the King simply shook his head at the old man's comments.
Damon looked curiously at him. He could not remember ever having met such a figure in his previous life, but he knew that this old man must be of high standing to be able to say what he had just said.