The last time Talon saw Arthur and Peitar was over a year ago. Once his father had fallen sick, he stopped sneaking out to visit them. How would they react when they realized their friend, Tibold, was actually the king?
The royal guards numbered twelve today. Talon led the way with four guards behind him and four on each side. Nobody was in front of him because he had commanded them to let him lead. If Rickard had been on duty, he would have fought much harder than the current commander, Rukan.
Men, women, and children all looked at him with awe. It was rare for nobles to strut around in areas like this, let alone the king himself. None of the citizens spoke and some tried to follow him. The guards made sure nobody made it too close.
Everything looked the same. The people, the buildings, the children playing in the streets. Some looked older and he recognized a few. None of them remembered him as Tibold.
Finally, they made it to his friends’ place. Despite being king, Talon was surprised to discover he was nervous. He had no idea how Peitar or Arthur would react to him and he needed them, far more than they could know. He stepped up to the door and knocked on it.
An older woman opened the door. This was Arthur’s mother, Petra, and her eyes widened. She quickly bowed. “Your grace! I didn’t expect, what are you… sorry, how can I help you?” she stammered.
“Please, no need to be so formal,” Talon said awkwardly. “I’m looking for your son, Arthur.”
Fear ran over Petra’s face and her breathing quickened. “Oh no. Don’t tell me he did something—”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Talon reassured her, smiling. “He’s a friend of mine.”
“A friend?” Petra looked confused, trying to figure out how her son could be friends with a king. “I never knew.”
“He didn’t either,” Talon said. “I need to speak with him.”
“Of course.” Petra gathered herself and pointed down an alleyway. “He went with Peitar that way. Most likely to play with swords again.”
That sounds like them. Talon was glad to hear his friends hadn’t changed. He would need their enthusiasm to train with a sword. His plans involved them. “Thank you, I think I know where they are.” Talon then headed down the alleyway, and the guards followed behind.
It was the same alleyway they always went to when practicing with their wooden swords. Peitar and Arthur were old enough to carry weapons now. Would they train with real swords now? Talon hoped so.
After a few minutes, he arrived at their old practice spot. There was a dead end, with a giant area to play around. Arthur and Peitar were practicing there, with real swords this time.
They were much more skilled than before. Talon watched Peitar defend far more gracefully than he had the last time Talon observed him. Arthur was more balanced. He appeared to have the upper hand in this engagement and was more muscular than before. Peitar looked to have more muscle too and didn’t look like the awkward teen from before. Their fight ended abruptly when they realized there were guards and Talon himself watching.
Arthur was the first to react. He bowed deeply. “Your grace,” he said as if this was an expected meeting.
Peitar was not as formal. “Your grace,” he stammered, then, upon realizing he had forgotten to bow, awkwardly dipped down.
“My friends, you have no reason to bow to me,” Talon said. Both looked at him oddly, not wanting to contradict their king. “You don’t recognize me. I was the one called Tibold.”
Recognition shone through their eyes. “You’re Tibold?” Arthur asked. “I figured he had run off or that something happened to him.”
“You mean… Every time we practiced with Tibold it was you?” Peitar said. He shook his head and looked at Talon more closely. “I can see the resemblance now. Why?”
Talon was glad to see the two relax somewhat, though Peitar was more nervous than Arthur. “I see you two haven’t changed, other than using real swords now.”
Arthur held out his sword with a laugh. “I got this a year ago. Saved all the money I had. I plan to join the royal army.”
“Me too!” Peitar added, though he fumbled with his sword for a moment. “I got this from my grandfather when he died.”
“If we’d known you were a prince, we wouldn’t have played those pranks on you,” Arthur said.
He remembered some of the pranks, like pushing him into the fountain or tricking him into taking a bite of mud that looked like a pie. “That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Talon said. Reminiscing about old times was pleasant, but it was time to move toward his purpose. “I wanted friends who would treat me like a person, not a prince or king. Now, I have a question for you two. You said you would join the royal army. Are you still interested in fighting for Azzellia?”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Both nodded vigorously.
“Good. I have a proposition for you. I will have you both trained by some of the best swordsmen in all of Aidris. In return, I want you to swear loyalty to me and join me in the battles that will be fought in the future.”
Peitar and Arthur shot each other uneasy looks. “Won’t that make the other lords angry?” Peitar asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… Won’t the lords be unhappy to see two commoners like us fighting beside you?” Arthur said.
“I don’t care what they think,” Talon said. “Will you accept? You’ll be paid well.”
“Of course. This is what we’ve been wanting, right?” Arthur said and put his arm around Peitar.
“Yes!” Peitar said excitedly. “We were going to join the royal army within the year anyway.”
“Excellent!” Talon smiled. It would be good to have them. They would be loyal and not try to backstab him like a lot of nobles. At least, that was his hope. “You’ll have a week to prepare. My personal guard will come by then to collect you and your training will begin.”
“So fast?” Arthur asked.
“Yes. Do you have any questions before I go?”
“We’ll be ready,” Peitar said.
“Good.” Talon turned around and faced his guards. “It’s time to head back to the palace.”
Things are moving rapidly, Talon thought as he walked down the hallway. Six guards were with him. He was heading to another council meeting, the first one since his uncle’s betrayal. There would be questions about his uncle and he would need to lie.
As usual, he was last to arrive at the meeting. Alayna and Hectar were seated at the table, with no wine in hand this time. For the first time in many months, Corvin was also there, already seated. Talon had asked the commander to take a more active role in these meetings, including making him return from leading the army against the rebels in Malvarian.
Alayna was wearing a dark green dress and her hair was flowing freely. Hectar was looking nervous. Corvin was sitting upright, studying the room as if expecting a trap of some kind. The commander was always alert.
Lerin had told Talon that Corvin Malice was the one person he could trust completely. His father had said that Corvin had no plans for power. Nobody knew his motivations but Lerin told him the man was loyal and smart. If Corvin wanted to gain power, he would have attempted it already. Talon hoped his father was right.
The council greeted him and Talon took his seat. It was time to get started. “I know you all have questions. First, I want to let you all know that Corvin will be taking a more active role in our council sessions from now on. Normally, the commander of our forces misses a lot of these meetings. Don’t expect him to be missing as many meetings, at least until our next war.”
“It will be good to have four of us again,” Alayna said smoothly. “It would have felt weird with only the three of us.”
Talon continued, ignoring the comment. “I’m sure you have questions about my uncle. First, my uncle tried to kill me after our last council meeting. I was unscathed, though he was able to escape. There is a manhunt for him, though I suspect he’s long gone.” While everything Talon said was true, he only had a few people looking for Besurlde. There was no point wasting efforts on a dead man, after all.
“How did he try to kill you?” Alayna asked.
“We were having an argument, one I’m sure you’re familiar with in regards to Azzellia’s future. Besurlde pulled a knife on me when my back was turned and I was able to avoid the thrust and run away,” Talon said.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Besurlde was a good man,” Hectar said.
“Either way, Besurlde killed my father and we’ll deal with him once he’s captured. Now we have other matters to discuss,” Talon said.
“Of course,” Hectar said, then cleared his throat. “Word from the streets says you visited a couple of commoners and offered them positions. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Times are changing. These recent betrayals made me re-evaluate some things,” Talon said. “But that isn’t important. Corvin, do we have word on Malvarian?”
“We do,” Corvin said and took out a letter. “I received a report that Malvarian has secured their lands and our forces are headed back now.”
“Excellent. Did they say anything about a meeting?”
“Not yet,” Corvin said.
Talon didn’t expect to hear from them. If the Malvarians did betray their word, he would have to rectify that. A problem for another time. “To clarify, our forces in Malvarian were the last ones there? The rest should be back here?”
“That is correct,” Corvin said.
“What changed your mind?” Hectar asked with visible shock. “You discussed this before but changed your mind.”
“This is another change of policy. Recent events have opened my eyes and I realize I’ve been approaching this problem wrong.” Talon didn’t expand on how he was going to fix that problem of uniting the nations. Vandalor was his primary concern, then Eshil Domain. After those two were resolved, he would focus on Malvarian and Skahad. “That reminds me. What did Durran’s relatives say? Have we heard back yet?”
“We have,” Alayna said, and brought out a letter. “They would be willing to discuss a treaty if Durran were willing. They do not want a response for fear of Durran’s wrath.”
“Not unexpected,” Talon sighed. He would have to move on with his plan against Vandalor. At least the family seemed behind the idea. “I do have another announcement. I am building our army to prepare for the upcoming war. Corvin will give you the details.”
“Thank you.” Corvin stood up before continuing. “I have been given the directive to begin actively recruiting for the royal army. The pay will be enough to encourage many volunteers. Each of them will be trained hard. War is coming and we must be ready.”
“May I ask with whom we are going to war?” Alayna asked.
“With whoever raided Arindall and the other cities across Aidris. The enemy our former king, Lerin, spoke of,” Corvin said.
“The other nations may take our recruitment effort as a threat. I’ve sent messages to everyone except Vandalor explaining why we are building up our forces. There is a chance things might escalate with the other nations. If you here from anyone, be sure to reiterate that we have no plans to declare war against them,” Talon said. “That being said, I think conflicts with some of the other nations are inevitable.”
Talon did not voice why he thought this. His father had been wrong in his approach to the other nations. Lerin should have changed tactics when the other nations abused his generosity. He hated admitting it, but his uncle had been right. There was only one way to get all the nations to work together. He would need to force the other nations to sign a treaty with him. Those plans were coming to fruition and it wouldn’t be long before Vandalor would have no choice but accept Talon’s offer. Then the other nations would follow.