H̶e̶l̶l̶ Hail King || ONC 2021(Longlister)

XII. Call me by my name

Try as hard as he might, Edward could not reign in his chuckles, a hint of levity ever present in the sound. Jupiter was sulking in the corner, his hunched form and red face sent the King into another fit of giggles.

"Stop!" Jupiter mumbled, discouraged. His words held no value and his feeble attempt to deter the King? A disastrous flop.

Edward was rigorous. He had learned of the soldier's weak spot and he would be very well exploiting it. He felt evil to the core, but the temptation to indulge in wickedness was heavy. The weight was bringing him down. Towards his doom and perhaps his doom was named Jupiter. The young man was as fierce as a tiger and as scaredy as a wet cat. All claws and sass, bravery and grace, yet at the mercy of its master. The thought drew a mischievous grin to his face.

"Does my happiness bother you that much? If it is so, then you can quit."

"So this is what it is about." Jupiter laughed wryly. Fortunately, he registered that he was about to lose himself to lese-majesty. The mere notion of him almost going into a scolding tirade sent his body into a temporary spasm and short, quavery breaths left his mouth. It did not matter, he could gamble on the last drop of his blood that the King had caught on.

Edward's face turned serious and it could be a trick of the light or simply Jupiter's imagination, but a shadow had befallen his face, presenting him as vicious and cynical. "You are talking to your king. Do not forget your manners. Your ways are not seeming like a servant's anymore and I do not appreciate you treating me as your equal."

"I am sorry, My Majesty."

A slight bow and all was forgiven. Edward was unable to hold grudges, it was against his nature. He could not hold anger for long either. It was the anger that holds him and had been doing so for a long time.

"Ah!" The king gushed in delight. "There are the manners your mother taught you." The delight vanished a second later as he scoped out Jupiter's expressions. The boy looked like a volcano - ready to erupt. Once again he turned red, but this time it was fury that had blood rushing to his face and boiling inside his veins. The intensity with which he was shaking had Edward believe that he might have a seizure. Too late did he come to the conclusion that he must take his words back.

Uh oh.

"Do. Not. Talk. About. My. Mother."

Albeit feeling guilty, Edward could not stay calm. The way Jupiter spoke to him ruffled his feathers.

"I will talk however I want. I am the king."

"Shut up!" The shock of getting shouted at clamped Edward's mouth shut. Never in his whole life did anyone yell at him, not even his father. Jupiter got the opportunity to speak as he went quiet. "I am the king," Jupiter mimicked. "Even if you are the king, you have no right to talk to anyone like that and hurt their feelings. You don't touch the touchy subjects as they are called touchy for a reason. And you especially do not talk about anyone's mother when you don't want them to talk about yours!" He added as an afterthought - "Your...Majesty." He was breathing hard. Years of training in the sizzling hot summer in the burning sand under his feet, in the whipping rain and in the mountains during winter snow made him tougher than he ever imagined. Physically, he was not tired, but emotionally he was. He was tired of the King. He did not want to deal with it all, at least not today. As if God had heard his desperation, a knock was heard. Somebody was at the King's door.

Edward cleared his throat before uttering a ruler-fashioned "Enter."

"Hello, My King."

"Renard. What is it?"

In reply, Renard pushed open the door completely. A man wearing the kingdom's khaki soldier uniform was standing there in an attentive position and eyes focused on a spot behind the king.

Edward never understood the action. Therefore, he always pretended to peek over his shoulder with confusion, turn his head back and shrug. For years he did with almost every soldier in the castle. By now, they were used to his taunting.  Sadly, he could do it at the moment or any moment in the future. No more was he the spoiled Prince, he was the King. Being an image of one was necessary.

"Will you make the introductions today, Ren?"

"I apologize, sir. This is Callum. He will fill in for Jupiter."

"I did not know you would make him quit so early."

"We are not firing him, sir. He needs proper sleep to guard you, so Callum will be your sentry only during the time of Jupiter's rest."

"Of course, he needs to unwind."

"Jupiter."

"Sir."

"Come, I will show you to your new room. Shall I take him, My King?"

"In a minute. Wait outside with Callum."

Renard and Callum left to wait on the other side of the door.

"You can talk about my mother all you want as long as you listen to me and obey."

Jupiter stood with his mouth ajar, gaping at the apathetic man in front of him with one thought in mind: He never called me by my name.