♔𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓈 𝒮𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉♔

~2~

"Listen, Ember," My father says, the two of us sitting down at opposite sides of his desk. The guard, who's name I discovered was Raine, stood on my right. "I'm going to tell you some things that you might not like."

I swallow. He wouldn't keep secrets from me, It shouldn't be anything terrible, right?

"Go on," I say, trying to hide the shakiness in my voice.

"Our kingdom was born off of a lie. My grandfather was..." He pauses, considering his words. "An interesting man who had to make some difficult choices. I'm sure you've heard of the Day of Peace?"

I nod. "The day Evermoon was founded. When Great-Grandfather defeated the rebellion and brought peace to the tribes who'd been fighting on these lands for so long before."

He sighs. "This land wasn't ours to begin with, and certain people are upset with that."

"Is that why the rebels are attacking? They want their land back?" I ask. How have I not heard of this before? I was eighteen afterall. I'd always assumed that the rebels were just against the monarchy.

"Yes, Ember. Most of the rebels are descendants of the native tribes who roamed these lands long before King Maceyn, your great-grandfather, became the ruler."

"They're saying he stole their land? But he was just trying to bring peace!"

"That isn't entirely true. Sure the native tribes fought from time to time, but that's just life. King Maceyn wanted to civilize these lands, just like the kingdoms from his homelands, even if that meant taking land from people who'd lived there since the beginning of time."

I was in shock. "So... he did steal their lands? Evermoon was stolen?"

"I'm afraid so, Ember."

"W-we need to make this right!" I exclaimed, standing up from my chair.

"And that's what we're doing, sweet-pea. These things just take time."

"How can you be so calm about this?" I shout. "We're ruling based on a lie! If the people find out about this,"

"Your highness, If I may interject," Raine begins, speaking for the first time since entering my father's office. I'd almost forgotten she was here. "Eighty-five percent of Evermoon's citizens have migrated from the western kingdoms after the Day of Peace. Another five percent are descendants of King Maceyn's army and other explorers from his time. Two percent are living here illegally, likely runaways from other kingdoms, and another two percent are awaiting citizenship. This leaves only six percent of the population that are descended from people of the native tribes. Since day one, we have always taught citizens of the peace that King Maceyn had brought to our people, and over the hundred-year timespan between the start of King Maceyn's rule 'til now, the likelihood of our people believing these rumors are slim."

"But they're not rumors! It's the truth!"

"As of now, they are to our people." Father says, giving me a sincere glance. "This is just some of the weight that comes with ruling." He sighs.

"And you're just okay with this?" I ask, looking towards Raine.

"There's no way to change the past, your highness. Our only choice is to move forward and hope for the best."

I am in disbelief. How can my father rule with the weight of King Maceyn's actions resting on his back? How am I supposed to do the same? Can I really just move on from this and forget the whole thing happened?

"Excuse me," I say, trying to calm myself.