“You did what?” Clari nearly dropped the tray when a slight slip of the tongue meant he had to tell her what had happened after she fell asleep. “This is the kind of stuff that gets you in trouble with the king! You can’t talk your way out of everything—one day that’s not going to work and you know it. I would’ve been fine as long as you were back as soon as possible. You’re hoping that you’ll be able to convince them to let you stay, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan,” he replied honestly.
“Every morning I wake up and wonder how you’re still alive and why I associate myself with you…”
“But then you realize you love me and it’s all okay?”
She sighed and sat the tray on the table. “I realize that love can be a strength and a flaw.” She pulled out some frosting she’d made earlier and began to decorate the cupcakes.
When someone knocked on the door, Lucas immediately went to get it; he knew it wasn’t quite noon, but he would’ve rather been the one to answer if it happened to be any soldiers.
“Now, I know I said I would come with you, but I’ve been thinking and—“ He paused when he actually saw who he was talking to. “Hey, wait a minute. You’re not Svend. Sidyn?”
There was hardly anything different from when they last saw each other. His green hair was in that same style, his eyes still held that disconcerting glare, and he seemed just as interested in whatever Lucas was going to say as he had been years before. “I take it you’re still getting in trouble with the soldiers, then? Here I thought that might be something you’d grow out of. Serves my goal rather well, though.”
Lucas gestured for him to come inside. “So, what brings you back to Alyselin? When you left you made it sound like you had no intention of ever coming back.”
“I suppose you can say that I’ve had a minor change in heart,” Sidyn remarked. “For once I find myself in need of your… services.”
“Well, what can I do for an old friend?” Lucas left him for a moment to poke his head back into the kitchen to get Clari’s attention. “Turns out it’s not one of the soldiers, is there something we can get for our guest while he’s here?”
She finished what she was doing, put it away, and brought out a basket from the pantry. She walked out and sat it on the table, then gestured for Sidyn to take what he wanted. “It sounds like you two know each other. Care to introduce me?”
Lucas took one of the rolls from the basket and sat down next to Sidyn. “Clari, this is Sidyn. We both grew up here. He left five years ago, though, and for some reason he’s decided to come back. And Sidyn, this is Clari, I met her a few years after you left. She’s living with me as my fiancée.”
“Bea said your mother mentioned her in one of the letters,” Sidyn said casually. “Honestly I didn’t think you’d move out at all, let alone find someone to be your wife one day.”
The name of another thought-to-be-forgotten individual sparked his attention. “You know where Bea is?”
“She’s somewhere safe for now. But you should’ve already known that—the rest of your family does. They’ve been writing letters to her since she left. Unless, of course, you’re implying that you haven’t actually talked to any of them since you moved out.”
Lucas paused, mumbling slowly, “I think you already know the answer to that one.” Reverting back to a merrier tone, he added, “Are you ready to actually tell us what you’re doing back here now?”
“I’ve traveled all around Seothia and a bit of Fleyw Bresh since I left,” Sidyn mused. “I’ve seen the mixed reactions they all have towards the king; how some of them idolize him, others only do so to stay safe, some fear him and run at his name, and fewer still take that fear and turn it into the will to fight. I used to think you were stupid to dream of raising a sword against him, but now I realize that you are far from alone in that wish. Slowly I’ve come to agree with the sentiment and I’m finally willing to do something about it—and you’re the perfect person to make it happen.”
Clari didn’t look excited at all, but Lucas was definitely interested. “Why would you choose me? Sounds important.”
“For one, you’re the stupidest person I know. No one is quite as willing to rush into danger like you are, even after getting caught countless times. After all these years, it seems that you still haven’t strayed away from that. Second, people will listen to you. I’ve seen how, intentionally or not, those who were once afraid rallied behind you. They saw past their fear and decided that you could help them get rid of it for good. If anyone’s going to take down the king, it needs to be someone like that—someone that they believe can truly save them.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Let me get this straight. You want me to lead a rebellion for you?” Lucas didn’t know if he wanted to be surprised or excited.
“Once I made the realization myself, I tried searching for someone to lead the people. You’re the only one I know can do it. The fact that you already have a history of causing trouble doesn’t really help in terms of being someone the king doesn’t expect, but I know I can trust you.” Sidyn gestured to Clari. “Though I didn’t quite take her into account.”
Lucas was already one step ahead. “Just to make sure, we can hit the road before noon, right?”
“Luke,” Clari hissed, “that’s part of the reason you’re in trouble in the first place! When they realize you’re sneaking off—”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to him if he stays here, but there’s really only one of two ways it can play out if he leaves. He’ll either stop the king’s tyranny and replace him on the throne, or he’ll be caught and executed for the highest treason offense. They won’t consider what he was running away from, just what he ran away to do. But if we succeed—and you should know I wouldn’t suggest something I didn’t know will work—Lucas will be a hero. He will be their Saint-King, guided on by the spirits of the rebels that died before him.” Sidyn held his hand out. “So, are you ready to finally do something?”
Clari pulled Lucas aside and whispered, “Please don’t tell me you’re actually going to go through with this.”
“Why wouldn’t I? This is perfect! I told you the time of change was soon and, well, it’s here. I’m ready to make a better future for everyone.” It sounded so heroic in his head; at that moment, he wasn’t worried about what it might cost. This was his chance to fix everything, become someone other than just that stupid kid who dared to stand up against the king.
She didn’t show a single fragment of the same kind of enthusiasm. “What if you get hurt?”
“What if I win?” he countered. He pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear and said, smiling, “You’re already my queen. Imagine having everything you could ever want if I can kill the king and take his throne.”
“I already have everything I want right here, and I don’t want to lose him.”
“But is it better to live in a world of fear or a world that actually has a chance of a bright future? Think of them, Clari. Don’t you want them to be able to live in a world without fear of the king? We have a chance of changing the way things work. Shouldn’t we take the opportunity to keep them from having to experience the same things we did?”
She sighed. “Alright. But if you’re going to be out there risking your life, then I want to be there. I don’t think I can stand being somewhere else while I know what you’re doing… and I don’t want anyone to have to tell me if something happens to you.”
Lucas hid his shock and nodded. “Just try not to draw too much attention to yourself. If this fails… I want to be the only one paying for it. I don’t want you to get hurt for something I dragged you into.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Sidyn interjected, seemingly paying no mind to the fact the conversation didn’t include him. “As far as I’m aware, Clari doesn’t have any hostile encounters with anyone. Even if she aided the rebellion in lesser ways, as long as she wasn’t what they appeared to be rallying around, they wouldn’t care about her. She might get a few years in jail but she’d be treated much nicer than most men would.”
Lucas turned to Sidyn and finally took his hand. “What’s the first step in this, and how quickly can we leave?”
Sidyn glanced at Clari. “Since you’re coming with us, would you mind packing supplies for a couple days? I don’t know how many times you’ve had to travel in the past, but only get the necessities.”
“I’m familiar with the concept,” Clari remarked before walking back into the kitchen.
Sidyn stood up, moved the basket aside, took out a map, and spread it across the table. He pointed to one spot—Alyselin—then traced a path to another, unmarked village. “We won’t be able to do anything without enough manpower to back us up. In my travels, I found a village that, while lacking the kind of leadership I was looking for, still offered to help us. It’s previously been given the reputation for a safe haven for the Fleyw Bresh, so they flocked to it. Of course, more soldiers were stationed there to keep their magic under control. They’re willing to offer us some of their information and magic users as long as they approve of the leader I chose. But we’ll have to be subtle; your reputation for being a troublemaker stretches much further than Alyselin.”
“We’re getting magic users involved in this?”
“I don’t like it either—I’m certain they breed trouble—but they’re human like the rest of us, and they definitely don’t deserve the kind of treatment the king is giving them. I’ve seen for myself what their magic can do. It’s better to befriend them than to have an enemy on both sides.”
“What if the king has special defenses for their magic? He obviously believes that they’re a threat because of the way he treats them. Given their conditions, I would think they would be even more willing to fight than I am, and he’s smart enough to realize that. Wouldn’t he be prepared if they tried to do something?”
Sidyn smirked. “See, things aren’t always what they seem. The king’s defenses against magic are the soldiers themselves; their very presence in those villages repress most wishes of rebelling. He expects them to follow the advice of the commandments of their gods and that they won’t want to fight. He’ll be prepared for a battle of arms, not a battle of the elements.” He rolled the map back up and shoved it in Lucas’s hand. “Now, you’ve got to get going. Don’t alert anyone and don’t stop until nightfall. We’ll meet up with you when everything’s ready.”
“What about Clari?” Lucas looked back to the kitchen.
“I’ll be fine,” her voice answered. “The soldiers are looking for you, and you’re not going to be able to convince them to let you leave. You should go now before they get here.” She came out to give him a kiss. “Stay safe.”
Lucas nodded. “I will.”