He wanted nothing more than to stay by Luna’s side, but he also knew he was needed elsewhere. Cassian and Light entered the palace dungeons and returned to the cell he had left his father in. The prince was fully expecting to get quite the earful from his enraged father, after all, locking your father in a prison cell isn’t usually looked upon fondly. The situation was likely looked at much less fondly when your father is the king.

As he limped around the corner, Cassian was surprised to find that the cell was now empty. “This…is not good…” He muttered under his breath. If I were my father where would I be? That is the golden question.

Cassian couldn’t be sure, but he knew one place his father might be. He patted Light on the back and the pair made their way through the abandoned palace. Peeking into the throne room Cassian’s eyes narrowed.

On the mezzanine above the throne room stood his father tied up and high chancellor Grimwald stood over him with a knife in his wrinkled hands. Above the king and Grimwald was an ornate chandelier made of amethite, and in the corners stood two decorative suits of plate mail.

Quickly, Cassian ducked back behind the door and signaled for Light to remain quiet. “This is bad, we need to save my father,” he whispered. After the ordeal he had just been through his mind felt like it had shut down. No perfect plan was coming to him, and he was worried that any moment could be his father’s last. Screw it. I don’t have time for this. Time to act and hope a plan comes to me.

Cassian and Light disappeared down a passageway which led them to a steep stairway. They began climbing the many stairs that led to the mezzanine. Light’s limp looked pretty bad, and he was struggling to make it up the stairs. Cassian went over the scenario in his head repeatedly, considering his options and attempting to determine the best one. Unfortunately, each scenario ended with his dad getting his throat slit or thrown out the window.

Come on! There must be a solution that might work. Suddenly he took a step and it felt like he was struck by lightning, he stopped and pumped his fist in the air celebrating silently. Njal you clever old man! The stairs really are the perfect place to think!

Cassian and Light reached the top of the stairs and stepped out onto the mezzanine. The grin on his face felt almost inappropriate given the circumstance, but despite his throbbing arm and the fact that he thought he might pass out at any moment from exhaustion, he felt confident for once. The old Cassian didn’t believe in himself, he let the opinions of others weigh him down and negatively impact his self-worth. But after all that he had been through over the past month, he knew one thing for certain—he was capable of accomplishing incredible things.

Grimwald held the king in front of him with the knife at his throat. “Don’t come any closer, princeling! I will kill him.”

Cassian stopped where he was and brought his hands up slowly. “Don’t do anything you might regret, Grimwald.” His brow furrowed and he tilted his head slightly. “Tell me one thing, why have you done all of this? I thought you and my father were childhood friends.”

“Regret? What do you know of regret?”

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“I know that I regret not taking a more active interest in my kingdom sooner. I know that I regret never considering why the citizens of the Undercity deserved to be treated like garbage. I have a great many regrets. What I lack is an understanding. An understanding of why you would commit such heinous crimes against your own people?”

Grimwald’s face wrinkled up and he spit at the prince. “Your father took everything from me. No one knows that I truly discovered the amethite. Your deadbeat father just stepped in and took credit for the discovery.”

“No…you lie. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, but he did do that. And the oaf never even realized that his betrayal poisoned my heart worse than the deadliest venom ever could.” Grimwald’s anger was building quickly. “When my son was born, my heart finally began to heal.”

“I didn’t know you had a son.”

“No….you wouldn’t.” Grimwald whispered, sinking like a shipwreck into the dark depths of despair.

Cassian reached into a pouch tied to his belt, being careful to move as slowly as possible. Closing his eyes, he breathed in calmly.

Grimwald noticed the movement. “Stop! I will kill him.”

As the wrinkled old man’s hand holding the knife began trembling, a suit of armor behind him silently came to life. A graceful plate mail gauntlet flashed and smacked into the shaking hand.

The knife clattered to the marble floor and Grimwald screamed at the prince. Cassian’s eyes glowed violet and the armor wrapped Grimwald up, lifting him off his feet. Kicking and flailing the frail man tried to free himself but it was no use. Light pounced over towards the hysterical old man and offered him a low growl of warning. Grimwald’s face went pale, and he stopped squirming. Fear gripped him as he watched the horned snow leopard.

Prince Cassian rushed over to his father and untied him. “It’s okay, dad. I’m here, everything is going to be alright.”

“You…” King Denethor found himself speechless. Grappling with the notion his son had saved him had him visibly confused. “But…how?”

“I couldn’t blow up the Undercity,” Cassian said, with pain in his eyes. “I led the miners of Deadwood into the Undercity and faced the Bohlkovian forces. We did it, father. For now, the city is safe…”

King Denethor tried to speak but no words would come out. After trying three times, he gave up on words and embraced his son warmly. All around them the throne room was covered in blood-stained tapestries and flame-sigiled banners. Eventually, the king whispered into his son's ear, “I’m proud of you, Cassian”

A realization dawned on the prince, those five words were all Cassian had ever wanted to hear. After everything that had happened, he felt like a city-sized weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

Denethor ran his hand over his son's face gently. “I wish your mother could’ve seen the man you’ve become.” A single tear rolled down the king's wrinkled cheek. “She wouldn’t be surprised at all. She always saw your potential.”

Now it was Cassian's turn to be left speechless.

Denethor brought his hand to his mouth and coughed violently. Drawing his hand away revealed it was covered in blood. Cassian’s eyes went wide and he tried to say something reassuring, but his father put a single finger to his lips, silencing him. The king took the crown from his head and placed it atop Cassian’s bloody and soot-stained head, “You’ve shown yourself to be a man with character beyond my wildest dreams. After everything you’ve done, it’s time for you to lead this kingdom.”

Cassian cupped his hand behind his father’s head and pressed his forehead to Denethor’s. With the grace of an auroch, Light tiptoed over and pressed his nose against Cassian’s side. The prince laughed and patted his friend’s head.