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Chapter 1.11

Maximus

They wept for her for days. The palace bells rang every day every five minutes for three days. No one could talk to Maximus, Romulus was furious and trying to keep his job, Gala was infuriated that she found out through a letter, and Nero sat in his library counting down until the funeral.

The rescue failed. Not in the sense of taking the tunnels, they were able to do that, but they failed to get Claudia. All they found was a Dymish woman of the same shape and size as Claudia. They were tricked, deceived, and brought to their knees at the hands of the People’s Lord. They initially kept looking, but despite all the anger in the aftermath of the rescue and confusion, it was impossible to track her down. It didn’t matter in the end when a Borzor man approached the capital and claimed to have information on Claudia’s location. He talked to Maximus personally when he opened a box he brought with him and revealed Claudia’s head neatly packed in blood-absorbent material. Maximus arrested the man and had him executed the next day.

Gala’s regency ceremony was canceled in favor of a simple oath, as Maximus recalled her to plan and attend the funeral. Everyone was at a standstill. Nothing could occupy their minds except the queen’s death.

Claudia's funeral took place on August 10th, year 500 of the 3rd era. The temple held 2,000 people, but it was nowhere close to having enough room. People were shoulder to shoulder for kilometers trying to shove their way through the crowd. It seemed as if there was a sea trying to flood the land it encroached upon. Maximus and the family left the palace at noon and made the kilometer walk to the temple. They needed fifty soldiers to clear the people out of the way.

When the temple came within sight, it reminded Maximus of Titus’s funeral. Only the best temples for the most honorable people. The temple was named The Grand Temple of Mydrazan as it was the biggest and most beautiful of the temples in the Kingdom of Qar. It was 100 meters tall with stained glass on all its walls. In the front were two large wooden doors outlined in purple leather, and above it was the nine-pointed star of Mydrazan. It represents the nine mythical beings that first landed on Riverward. The griffins, the pegasuses, and the dragons. It was a shame the faith divided into three, with the Borzors only worshiping the dragons deeming the griffins and pegasus as false idols, and believing the dragons came from a different god—Cayo. Unlike Mydrazan, Cayo had a physical description, which so happened to be a dragon, and its children were Iyo the Ice Sire, Zorokon the Iron Melter, and Walik the Water Whisperer. The true believers in Mydrazan weren’t united either. The people of Leozan believed that the griffins were the first to fall on Riverward while the people of Roran believed the pegasuses were the first. It didn’t help that the divide was along continent lines, so any hope of reconciliation was small.

There were three platforms on top of the temple made for the griffins to land on. Now there was only one of them to occupy the space. Lucius looked down in pity as the royal family entered the temple. Maximus thought about Lucius and what he was going through right now. A great being wanted justice for his brother’s death leading to the fall of the queen. Maximus couldn’t help but think that if Lucius never publicly demanded justice Claudia would still be alive. The only time Maximus and Nero talked between Claudia’s death and her funeral was when Maximus asked if Iyo was coming. Nero said no, saying that he wouldn’t step foot inside a Mydrazan temple, no matter the person.

The funeral commenced as usual, and they wrapped up with the long walk to the Palace’s graveyard, where all the previous kings, queens, princes, and princesses were buried. Only royals or earls were allowed at this point, and the small crowd watched as Claudia was given the dignity that commoners were rarely afforded. A burial, not a cremation.

The sun set as everybody went back to their chambers. Maximus sat on his bed quietly mourning the empty side of the bed. No more tugging on the sheets or late-night conversation, and though he tried to go to sleep very early that night, he couldn’t. He needed to talk to his children, and one in particular.

Gala was first. She needed to go to sleep early to go back to Wailing Wind, and so Maximus wanted to get her out of the way. He knocked on her door, and he sat down on one of the two leather couches. They sat across from each other and talked about Claudia. Gala went first talking about the time she was first brought into the family and how Claudia obsessed over her well-being. She didn’t realize it then, but she now was grateful for her and thanked Maximus for bringing her in. Now and again, tears peeked out of her eyelids, but she shoved them back in.

Maximus then talked and went on about all the good times, but then he stopped for a moment to prepare. He needed to breathe in a heavy breath before talking about how they first met.

“When my dad was still alive, he would host giant parties every time he or my mom would have a birthday. I was twenty-five at the time. I had a couple of relationships, but even though any other prince would be married off at the first instance, my father refused, believing that the best marriage was the one I wanted. I also think it was a power thing,” he laughed. “It didn’t matter though. I saw a girl at a table full of princesses and she was talking, but not as much as the other ones. It’s like the one person who is on the edge of a friend group. Not the main attraction or someone’s best friend, but is there, in case someone needs a second choice.

“Long story short, I talked to her, and we hit it off immediately. At first, I was too worried to ask for a date because I didn’t want to mess it up. She wasn’t like the other girls who were brought to me so I could ‘try them out' so I wanted to see if she liked me. Well, it turned out that every time there was a party or gathering, she would always come to me first, and we would talk for hours by ourselves. Eventually, I worked up the courage to ask her out, and there was no turning back.”

It was the first time Gala saw Maximus in anything resembling a sorrowful mood without any hint of anger, but it was starting to get late, and she needed to go to sleep. They said their goodbyes and the night ended for Gala.

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Maximus left the room before Gala could say more and made his way to Romulus, who was in his room looking at several documents on his desk in his chambers. Romulus welcomed him in, and they sat next to each other as Romulus kept pouring over more papers. “You should get some sleep,” said Maximus.

“I’ll try,” Romulus responded.

There was silence for quite a bit as Romulus tried to read, but it became too difficult, and he shoved the papers aside. “I don’t know what to do anymore Dad. I’ve had a plan for my entire adult life, but now I feel like I can’t see a day ahead of me. Everything is on automatic.”

Maximus turned to Romulus and put his hand on his shoulder. “I felt the same way when your grandfather died. I became king and things I thought that I would know everything that was going on, but the scary thing was that people moved on with their day while I sat there doing nothing.”

“How did you get out of it?” Romulus asked.

“I found a goal. A goal bigger than myself and bigger than a king. I take our kingdom’s motto more seriously than any earl. For them, it’s just a tool to keep the poor in line, but for me, for me, it is my purpose. I know I wasn’t the first to pursue this goal, and I know I won’t be the last.”

“I know that reunification is the goal Dad, but I am not king. What am I supposed to do right now?”

“Eliminate the threats, and we both know who the biggest threat is right now. Eliminate them, Romulus. I am too old to go out myself, and your siblings don’t have the right skills for this. Hell, the generals are stuck in the past, afraid to have even one of their men die.” Maximus looked into Romulus’s eyes when he said this and grabbed his shoulder tighter. “Kill the People’s Lord and everyone around him. Do it for reunification, but for now, do it for your mother and queen.” He didn’t sound proud when he said this, but desperate and vengeful.

Romulus nodded, and Maximus stood up. “You should probably get some extra sleep for tomorrow. It’s a big day.”

“Alright,” Romulus said as he walked Maximus out.

One more stop and it was over. Nero: the disappointment. He first checked his chambers, but he wasn’t there so Maximus walked to the only place where he could be: his library.

Though Maximus despised nearly everything about his son, the library was not one. The Royal Library contained elsewhere in the palace dwarfed Nero’s with its high ceiling, statues, skylight, and dozens of soft couches, but Nero’s felt more personal and cozier.

Every inch of the walls was covered in books from all genres, but the ones that always remained within reach were the architecture and historical books. Nero didn’t move his head as Maximus took a seat diagonal from Nero. “Hello, Nero,” Maximus said.

“Hi, Dad,” Nero plainly responded. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Maximus scoffed. “My wife just died, and you ask me what I want?”

“She was also my mom,” Nero responded. “You act like I am not in shambles myself.”

Maximus was ticked off. Nero was born into a family of luxury and privilege, and yet, he squandered it. He hid away most of the day and would go days without seeing anyone. When he was out, the things he did around other people were an embarrassment most of the time and made the family look mad. “Oh, and I’m sure Atticus was a hard day for you too. A thief who showed you an ounce of generosity just to deceive you the next minute. I’m sure you had a lot of empathy that day too.”

“You’re bringing this up now?” Nero asked. “He was my friend. Of course, I was sad.” Nero quietly said.

“You’re friend? Were you his? It didn’t seem like it. He stole from you.”

Nero snapped his head toward Maximus while looking past him. “He was a boy trying to feed his poor family.”

“And you believed him?”

“He was eight!” Nero yelled. The voice echoed through the library and caused a standstill in the conversation. For a moment, the two stared at each other and waited for each other to continue.

“He—” Maximus tried to say.

“He would have grown out of it,” Nero said as he tripped over his voice. “If you let him.”

“He committed a crime against a royal.”

“And the penalty is death? What sober man makes that decision?”

“He still insulted the crown, even a dead man could figure that out.”

“You sentenced a young boy along with his family to be executed in front of the eyes of the public. Is that the image you wanted to send? Fear in people who don’t understand the word?” Nero argued.

“The lack of fear is what led to Claudia’s death.” Maximus rebutted.

“Or maybe, just maybe, it was the overflow of fear. People were so afraid they would do anything to get rid of it. They would try to overthrow a king who is oppressing them.”

“Enough!” Maximus exclaimed. Nero pulled his head back and slid a little down his chair. “I will not hear of such treasonous talk.” Maximus glared at Nero. “You know why I came here? To talk to such a liability. It’s because I wanted to know what talking to such an idiot would feel like. We fell right into their trap. They knew we would tail them, and we followed them like idiots, but I wonder who was there to suggest such a meeting in the first place?”

Maximus stood up and walked in front of Nero, who was still looking down. “She would be alive if it wasn’t for you. We would have found her true location, and we would have saved her. You have the audacity to say the things you suggest to the crown. I am not an idiot. You’re too far gone Nero, and I can’t have you anymore. Every day I wake up, I wish you would disappear, and Gala would take your place. You don’t deserve to rule or even be the backup to rule.”

This last comment seemed to hurt Nero. All the other comments he had heard before, but Maximus never insulted his place in the family. The uttering of such an insult would be too risky for the line of succession, but now it seemed like everything the Qar family took for granted was whisked away. “What do you want me to do, Dad?” Nero asked. “Be your puppet?”

“Claudia has a friend in Writer’s End. Her name is Raya Webster, and you shall live with her until my death.” Maximus responded. Nero pulled his head to the write and bit his fist. “As servant and order given by Mydrazan, I King Maximus Qar, originator of the name, king of the Dymish and Borzor people, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan herby declare Nero Qar, prince of the Dymish and Borzor people, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan exiled from the Kingdom of Qar. He is to leave the city by the end of tomorrow and leave the country by the end of the month or else face execution.”

The moment was bitter-sweet for Maximus. He was finally ridding himself of a son who took everything for granted, but he was still exiling his son, and this news certainly wouldn’t go over well with the other earls, but in Maximus’s mind, they were still too busy with Claudia’s death, and the threat of the People’s Lord.

He left the library, leaving Nero to his thoughts, whatever they may be.