Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Sovereign - The Palace | August of the Third Year

"He was the true king. Braver than any man I knew, Lexus was more to me than a friend. He was a father. He would always stop to help those in need and he saved me from falling into despair. I bless his journey and I hope the spirits are kind."

The royal tomb underneath the palace echoed Terran's words as if it had its own soul, beautiful and melancholy: sanctuary. Stone, tall, gothic arches crested the ceiling and torches lit the tombs of those in the Embassy who had passed on. Stone and marble mausoleums that marked where his parents lay had just been carved, but the coffins inside sat empty. Terran did not even know where their bodies had been discarded. The room made him somber, and he hated the place. His father, his father's father, and their fathers before them all lay there. Silence was a disease. Terran watched as The King was lowered into his stone prison where he would rest forever with sleeping warriors.

Terran threw in a white rose, as did others, and turned away from the mausoleum. His heart ached with an indescribable sadness. He had no tears left. What he felt passed as pain but may have been some sort of sullen apathy. He didn't know. As he looked at the others, he could not comfort them. Vena wept silently, oceans and waterfalls of tears running down her face as if she threatened to cry away the entire water supply of Segeno. Occasionally, a loud sob would break forth from her mouth. Parisa and Perseus held each other and could not pull their eyes away from the coffin.

Esmond stood in front of the group and ushered them into the throne room after everyone had time to grieve. Days passed and people moved through the palace like ghosts. Terran stood for hours in Talbot's old bedroom, instructing his new servants to throw everything out. He would have artisans in Dza'ya make new furniture, sheets, everything. He didn't want any remnant of Talbot in his life. Until the bed was ready, he slept on the floor. After he had settled, Esmond encouraged him to make the next step in his transition to being the ruler of Segeno. It didn't feel right, but he had no choice. It was time.

"I don't want to be Sovereign," Terran had confided in Parisa before he stepped before the throne. "It doesn't feel right."

"You'll do great."

"What if... what if you did it?"

"I can't, Terran. I won't sit in the chair my father did."

Terran moved in front of his throne, the eyes of thousands of citizens of Segeno on him as he paused there. Widow Corine's servants rose at the front, heading the crowd of those who had helped take Segeno back from a tyrant. Sunlight streamed down through the windows and gave the room a heavenly air, but Terran did not feel enlightened. He was to be coronated that day. He spoke against it, but Esmond insisted. The sooner that Terran became the Sovereign, the sooner he could fix the messes that Talbot had made. The throne room fell silent as Terran stood there. Nausea bubbled up in his stomach, and he did not want to speak to or look at anyone. Esmond took the crown that had been worn by his parents' killer and placed it onto Terran's head. "Before you stands the true Sovereign of Segeno!" he proclaimed.

People clapped, and a few bowed. Terran bowed his head in response. He did not want to make it a spectacle. The King was more important than he was. The job he now undertook was more important.

Soon, people began to file out. The event was done and now the real work began. Esmond looked to Terran with empathy in his eyes. "So," he asked. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to run this city the best I can... I know I'm young, but I'm aware of what I have to fix," Terran replied and turned to his throne. "Run it better. Clean it up."

"We're here for you. I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you. Lexus... Lexus is proud."

"Thank you."

Terran remained in the throne room even after Esmond left and, after all had gone, walked back to the tomb. Justice. Truth. What did it mean? What had it ever meant? This did not feel like Justice. When he arrived, he looked desolately at Lexus' coffin, a broken smile on his face. He pulled his cards from his pocket. There had to be something that he could do.

He shuffled and drew, pulling a card from the top. When he flipped it over, his jaw dropped. The King of Swords. Tears formed in his eyes, and he held the card to his chest. He sobbed, his cries echoing off the stone. What would he do with the card? He could not use it. His deck was not even supposed to allow him to draw such a card. He looked at the card again, the friendly face of the little king etched into its surface, and then to the stone on Lexus' grave. He was not alone. Terran would never be alone. He held the card close to him again and looked to where The King lay.

"I won't let you down. Rest in peace, friend. See you in a lifetime."