Chapter 3: Chapter 2
"Where the hell is he?! I know he arrived and I have given him enough time to clean up, so where is he?!" A woman screeched. I could hear the loud tappings of her heels as she grew closer to my room.
"My lady, he must rest. He'd been gone for almost a week. I'm sure he'll-" a softer and more quiet voice called out.
"No! I don't want to wait for him to call me! I wanna talk to him now!" My sister whined.
I huffed a breath and pulled myself from the bed. I looked out the window to see the sun rising. I must have slept through the night past sun up.
As I walked to the door, I tied the robe together but didn't bother making it tidy.
I opened the door to see my sister, about half a head shorter than I was, looking up at me expectedly. My sister's lady-in-waiting next to her gasped as she looked upon my messy state.
The sleeves are barely hanging onto my shoulders but at least I had the decency to cover up my bottom half!
"You wanted to talk to me, dear sister?" I asked her as I leaned against the door frame.
"I do. I need to talk to you about your current rulings" she stated
I blinked. This wouldn't be the first time she's complained to me and it wouldn't be the last.
I looked over at the lady in waiting who had composed herself. She bowed and walked off.
I walked back inside and my sister, taking it as an invitation, walked in behind me.
I sat on the couch and looked over the papers that were stacked upon each other on the coffee table. I liked to hoard documents, even if they were years old and unimportant.
"Ugh! Why don't you clean out what's unimportant? Do you need all this?" She asked as she held up a random paper.
"That paper showed a record of how much crops were shipped to Big Pebble Kingdom and how much of an income was collected back," I explained
"And you just proved my point of why all this is unimportant." She said
"Even if it were unimportant, I would still not throw it away," I said
"Whatever," she said and dropped the paper back on the table.
I looked up as she stood above me. She looked so much like my mother that I almost hugged her. Her dark red hair shines so brightly like a ruby. She kept it in a bun near her nape but when we were younger, she would leave it loose, flowing around her shoulders. Her dark green eyes stared into my hazel ones. Other than our eye and hair color, we could almost pass as twins.
I noticed a few strands of her hair come loose. I stood and put them back into place.
She sighed, "Why do you always want to kill? Where's my little brother who would always follow me around like a little duckling?"
I dropped my hand, did she think I wanted to kill?
"It's not like I want to kill people," I said
"Then why do it? Why take lives when you're supposed to protect them.? Tell me. I just want to understand!" She cried.
"A king must have a cold heart to keep others from freezing as well," I said
"That does not make sense. Why not warm yours so you can warm others?" She asked
"Don't take it so literally, big sister" I chuckled
She didn't laugh. Instead, she combed through a few strands of my hair. An ombré from black on top, to dark red, to dark orange, and finally into a pale yellow on the ends. It's long enough to brush just past my waist.
"Is it because of the phoenix? Is that what makes you different?" She asked
My hair is a symbol of the phoenix within me. It's what makes me king. It's what defines me as the guardian of this kingdom.
"Naeva…You don't need to understand me. You just need to be there for me. Please support me." I pleaded
She threw her hands up and waved them around, "How could I support a murderer? You've torn so many families! Those soldiers were only following your commands and you led them to death." She said,
There have been many soldiers who have lost their lives because of my poor judgment in my early days, I will be the first to admit that. But…"They were soldiers who were prepared to lay down their lives for the safety of this kingdom."
"No shame! None! Do you not think about their families when you take them to murder others who might also have families?" She cried
"What about our family? They already took half my family and I won't let them take my other half!" I yelled
"But what if you are going about this the wrong way? Did you not think of another way to end this brink-of-war bloodshed? I bet you haven't even thought of that!" She yelled back. Her face flushed red and her eyes brimming with tears she always got when she was angry.
Her voice echoed throughout the room and possibly down the hall.
I stayed silent. Of course, I've come up with ways to try and end this war. But a few pretty words cannot end thousands of years of rivalry and grudges.
Naeva stomped her foot and left the room. But not before calling me a few colorful names.
The butler came in and asked if everything was alright. I sat back down on the couch with a long sigh. I waved him off and waited for the next course of action to take place.
A month goes by with no word from Soft Shore Kingdom. Things had cooled off in the castle but were in no way better. Naeva hadn't bothered to come back to the palace. She stayed out with her friends in the village. She has always been an extrovert since she was a child, always surrounded by people. The complete opposite of me, always holed up in my room with a book or listening to music and singing from afar.
I didn't mind it much. I'd rather her get along with people than stay home.
I left my room to walk around the gardens and get some fresh air.
"Did you hear?" One of the maids whispered from behind me.
"Hm? What?" Another asked
"Well, there's a rumor being spread that someone will attack during the fall festival."
"Seriously? By who?"
I turned back and waited for her reply.
The maid opened her mouth to speak but froze when she saw me intensely staring at her from the other maid's shoulder.
"Well? Spit it out! Who?" The other maid asked, unaware of my presence.
"Yes. Tell us who." I said
Both maids flinched and mumbled something before trying to run off. I caught the first maid before she got too far.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to speak in your presence! I didn't know!" She kept apologizing.
"Who?" I asked
"…oh. Um. It's just a rumor but I think it was someone from the Soft Shore Kingdom…but it's just a rumor! Nothing more." She said
"Most rumors have some truth behind them" I said
I felt something looming behind me but when I turned back, there was nothing.
I turned back to the maid who was still crying and told her to go back to her duties. She bowed and scurried off.
I walked towards where I felt the presence and turned the corner. That's where I saw the butler fumbling with the tea cups he carried on a tray. When he saw me, he shoved something in his pocket and bowed.
"Your majesty, I wasn't aware you were still here. I thought you would be tired from your walk and would want a cup of tea." He smiled and lifted the tea in his hands.
I peered down at the cups before looking back at the older man's smiling face.
I smiled back "I would be delighted. Come. Bring it to the green room."
We walked together to the green room which was filled with exotic plants and trees which were taken careful care of.
I sat at a small table in the midst of the messy plants.
The butler set the cups down and poured the tea in. I raised one of the cups to my lips and sniffed it. Nothing. I couldn't smell anything.
I looked at the butler who was watching me with hawk eyes.
I squinted at him and asked, "What are you up to?"
He flinched and his eyes widened as he stammered a reply, "I-I'm sorry sir? I do not understand. What do you mean?"
"Who told you to do this? Who are you working for?" I set the cup on fire. A soft blue hue rose from the cup and a strong odor of rotting corpses erupted from the drink.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone