A Dragon's Treasure

Chapter 28 - A Funeral and a Future

Roman adjusted the tie on his formal outfit, looking himself over in the mirror. The past few weeks had been stressful, a true test of his character as he answered questions regarding his mother's death, as he answered questions about his disappearance, as he told his country that he had a twin, and that he would not be casting him aside. Surprisingly, the news of Remus didn't seem to get out, no one in the castle seemed to want to talk to others about the possibility of a royal twin. Roman realized that there were superstitions, he just didn't realize that it ran that deep. He would have to work to change that, Remus deserved respect... even if he was a menace. Everyone in his life had been supportive of his decisions, even Virgil, though it came in sarcastic comments that the prince had come to expect. Roman rolled his eyes at the thought. How had he gone from surrounding himself with people who were afraid to speak out against him, to surrounding himself with sarcasm.

He looked up at the crow perched on his mirror, not Virgil but still a sign from him. It tilted it's head to look at Roman and he couldn't help but smile softly.

Most of what Roman had done over the past few weeks had been for other people, to appease them, to assuage their fears, but today, he did something just for himself. Today, he was taking over the throne, becoming king, and officiating his mother's funeral. Endings, and new beginnings.

There was a knock on his door, before it was slowly pushed open, either Logan or Remus then. He looked into the mirror and saw Logan behind him, nodding softly.

"All of the arrangements are taking care of, everyone knows of the schedule. There are a few more documents that I need you to sign," He said quietly, everything had been quiet since his mother had died, a lot of people walked around him like they were walking on eggshells, or like they were walking past a ghost. That would change. He had mourned his mother, but today he would hold the official funeral, and he would walk forward into being the man he wanted to become.

"Thank you Logan." He walked over to his friend, his best friend, and pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly. "I couldn't have done any of this with out you and I am so thankful to have you by my side."

Logan hesitated before wrapping his arms around Roman, holding him close and nodding. "Try not to forget that when Remus is attempting to fill your kings guard with dragons."

Roman laughed, actually laughed, and it felt good, even a week ago it had felt wrong to laugh, it had felt like an injustice, but now, he could do it freely. "Please try to control your husband."

Logan's face grew red and he began to sputter. Roman already knew what he wanted to say, to try to explain that they weren't even engaged, that it was far too soon for that. Roman just chuckled again, he had known, from the moment that he caught his brother and Logan kissing in the library, he knew what their fate was. "Is there anything else we need?" He asked, thankfully giving Logan an out and business to focus on.

"Not for today, I made sure that every dignitary knew that expecting anything of you today would be cruel and paint them as an unsympathetic villain that the people would never trust. Thankfully that seems to have worked on most of them." That was something Logan was very good at. He knew his calm and kept his decorum he had a way of making people feel like his word was law.

"Thank you Logan, I appreciate everything you've done."

"Of course." He gently put his hand on Roman's shoulder, a question he didn't need to speak lingering in his eyes.

Roman nodded again, squaring his shoulders and walking out of his room to the coronation hall. It was all so normal, so surreal, but when the crown was on his head, it felt right. His crowing ceremony didn't take long, and honestly, he didn't think he would remember much about that part of the day, but the next part that was coming up... this was harder.

He stood up and turned to look at everyone in attendance, the doors open so that even if a person could not be in the building they could still see the events. He wanted everyone in the kingdom to hear this, but he would have to start with everyone in town. He turned to Patton, who gave him a nod, and then he turned back to the room at large.

"People of this country, those whom I serve. We gather here today at the close of a chapter and the opening of a new. By now you are aware of what happened to my mother, what I was forced to do to defend myself and those whom I care for. She fought as a queen to maintain her station, and her power, and somewhere along the way, she lost sight of the people that she was doing this all for. In the name that I will not do the same, I have asked Logan [check last name] and my brother Remus, to stand by my side and hold me accountable each step of the way. I am your king, and my position is to serve you. If there comes a time when I am not acting in the best interest of the people of this country, I give my life up to these two men." There were murmurs around the crowd, some wondering how serious Roman was, some explaining their disbelief that he would make this choice, and far too many who were concerned about Remus, concerned about the twin.

Roman couldn't ignore it.

"For those of you concerned about the fact that I have a twin who was hidden from you for all of this time, he was hidden from me as well, but I can say, without a single doubt in my mind, that he has been a blessing on my life. Remus has helped me become the person I am, and you may not see the benefit of that yet, but I ask that you give me just a bit of time to convince you, and once I have done so, maybe we can have open arms for all of those in our kingdom born of many." He was going to change his country's views on twins. It was the least that they deserved.

"For my first act as king, I would like to take survey of the country, so please be prepared for that. We recently had a curse lifted, and although we will have many hands come next fall that will be willing and able to help, for now we will have to work together." Roman continued, talking about changes he was making, and everything the people needed to know from their new king. He was making this declaration in public so that he could be held accountable in the future. No more secrets, no more closed doors.

He could see the crows flying through the city and he stood taller. He would bring around an era of communication and prosperity.