Scribbles and Drabbles

Menkar's Princelings Drabble 1

Menkar's forces marched on the capital. Gregor watched them from his balcony. A noose tightened around his neck. Menkar promised he'd kill him quickly enough, but he had no intention of harming his people. Gregor's people weren't warrior people - they dealt in fabrics and dyes, not metal and swords. Menkarians had no use for weaklings. His men would fight. They'd lose, but Menkar wouldn't kill men for fighting for their King. 

Then again, Gregor hadn't expected the man to attack their nation. Hadn't expected him to kill his older sons in battle. Menkar gave no reason for his actions. Menkar fought more significant battles far beyond their little island nation. Menkar's sights included the rest of their sun's planets. He had half of them by now. Gregor's demands for answers went unanswered. 

"The paperwork has been completed?"

The man standing in the shadows nodded. Darius swore his fealty to Gregor long before he'd become King. Darius acted his a left-hand man, his spymaster, the one who got things done that no one could know that their King could ever consider. Including filling in the paperwork to disown his remaining child and remove him from the inheritance line. 

Not that there was much to inherit. His kingdom would end within the next day. It was time to protect his child. 

"Then it's time."

Darius didn't deem that with a response, turning to walk to Jay's room. Gregor winced. Darius wanted to remove Jay long before Menkar's men made planetfall. Maybe Gregor had hesitated too long now. They were in danger of being too close to the deadline to smuggle someone out of the capital. After losing Cody and Theo, he didn't want to let his son go. He promised his wife that he'd look after them, and he got two of them killed.

He followed the man to his son's bedroom. He should have sent him away before now, but he'd hoped this wouldn't happen. He'd never insulted Menkar. He'd kept his borders open and traded freely with the Warlord. He didn't know what else he could have done to avoid this.

"King Gregor," his bodyguard, Peter, stood up to attention. Not much point guarding a man with a countdown on his head, not when someone far more important needed protection.

His son sat on his bed, dressed, ready for the trip ahead. He stood and looked awkward. A child on the edge of teenagehood but intelligent enough to know the dangers surrounding him. Gregor hated seeing him like this. Jay's smile brightened every room it touched, and his laughter lifted his court's spirits. Gregor should have sent him away long before it got to this point. 

"It is done."

Jay nodded, head down and fixed on the floor. He sunk in on himself. Both Darius and Peter gave him looks. Neither of them approved of what Gregor did, but they loved his sons as much as he did. They wouldn't let anything bad happen to Jay. 

Gregor pushed his son's face up to meet his eyes, combing the too-long fringe out of his eyes. "Stay low, stay quiet. Don't be a fool like your brothers," he pressed. 

"Yes, father."

This was the last time he'd see his son, possibly forever, depending on Menkar's plan for him. His eyes were scared and filled with unshed tears that hurt to see, but his options were limited. Gregor kissed his son's forehead and hugged him close for an extra moment. 

"You could come with us," Jay whispered against his chest, clutching onto him. 

"No, I couldn't," Gregor kissed his son's hair firmly. They'd had this conversation. That didn't stop the ache in it. Menkar would hunt them to the ends of the universe. He didn't like loose ends. He wouldn't like this, but the paperwork went through. None of the great powers would hand Jay over to Menkar. As long as he stayed in space, he'd be safe. 

"We'll keep you safe, little man," Peter said, crowding in close to hug Jay from behind and pull him away. Not straight away. He held both of them close. Gregor accepted the gesture. It wasn't like Peter could offer comfort outside of a situation like this. He let him pull his son away. 

Jay held on a little tighter before letting go. 

Peter shook Jay fondly and did one last check that he had everything needed. Darius stood next to him. "You need to go now. We need Menkar to be looking for you, not for us."

"Take care of him."

"Of course." Darius put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay brave. Menkar doesn't respect cowards."

That was entirely true.

-x-

Menkar strode into the room and sat on Gregor's former throne with a layer of confidence that Gregor never held. His wife had the fire. It had killed his sons. They'd wanted to fight, and he let them. She'd hate him. She'd have fought tooth and nail before the soldiers chained her up to Menkar's mercy. 

Gregor sat chained to the side of the throne like a good puppy waiting for his new master. No one else was in the room, so that offered some veneer of dignity. Guards no doubt stood outside the door, but they'd dumped him in here with little more than some basic teasing. 

It should probably be insulting how they treated him with baby gloves.

He wasn't a warrior. He barely fought. 

"Greg."

"Warlord Menkar."

"Emperor," Menkar corrected, pulling out a dagger and twirling it in his fingers. Dramatic bastard.  Gregor ran over the list of lands Menkar owned. By the ruling of the Great Powers, Menkar had enough land to be deemed an Emperor now. He controlled half of a solar system and marched on the way to taking the rest of it. His nation took him over the line. 

"My mistake. Congratulations, Emperor."

Menkar smirked. The charming one he used to sway people to his side and to play games. Gregor's stomach sank. He was the game here, and unlike Jayn and Mosley, he wasn't as handsome or clever. He'd become King by right of birth. Menkar liked collecting those kinds of people. 

"You were never a fighter. That's not an insult," Menkar added in the second statement as Gregor winced at the first. "You have always been a very skilled administrator. I can use that."

"The northern branches giving you grief for trying to implement the same rules of the places with summer all year round?" 

"Among a few other blimps of judgement."

"Right," Gregor's head throbbed.

"We'll obviously have to do the ceremony where I take over first. Get all the visual stuff out of the way before we put you to work. You and your son will move to the harem, and then we'll get you set up from there. Where is your son?"

"I sent him away."

"Greg," Menkar's voice dropped. "You didn't."

"You can't blame me."

Menkar gave him a foul look. "I warn people not to send away heirs. I had high hopes for you being reasonable."

"I disowned him. He's not my heir anymore."

"Unless you castrated him as well, he's carrying royal blood." Menkar pulled out a datapad and started composing something. "You're normally sensible. We really do need your expertise."

"You didn't conquer my lands and kill my other sons for my expertise."

"No, it was a convenient plus. Other sons? Your sons died in battle, Gregor. Not my by hand. An honourable death but," Menkar paused, and a strange look crossed his features. "Are you telling me you didn't trust me not to hurt Jay? I like Jay. He's a sweetheart. Why would you think I'd hurt him?"

"You were fond of Alec and Zack too. You were fond of this country in general, and we never went against your wishes. That didn't stop you from declaring war."

Menkar closed his eyes and put his dagger away. "The invasion was not personal, Gregor. Your son was safe with me, and now I have to send people after him. I'll adjust future declarations to make it clear that disowning an heir doesn't exclude them from this. I won't accept this action again." 

a/n the drabbles won't be connected most likely ignoring the story concept but trying to get stuff typed to put away some notebooks.