A Thousand Lives I've Seen

71 - Were I King

Julio wished he could have been surprised. 

He had been helping with the relief effort as he had been instructed by Roland, Frani, and Cordelia. All things considered, it should have been a simple affair. Everyone was set to pass out the relief supplies to the people who needed it most. The capital of Glenbrook was in chaos, but it had been ever since the fall of Aesfrost. Julio did whatever he could to help, reassuring children who cried out at being separated from their parents and trying to find those who had gone missing. Hyzante's forces had done a decent enough job of containing the chaos and keeping the civilians from being hurt, but there was only so much they could do in such miserable circumstances. 

Still, Julio did everything he could to help set it right. He was constantly moving around without much of any time to breathe, but he didn't mind. He was more than fine with doing everything in his power to help those who needed it most. The people of Glenbrook were struggling, and Julio would make sure they were able to recover again in the end. He smiled with each person he was able to help even though the situation was horrible. They needed a bit of hope, and he was more than happy to give it to them. 

Hughette and Maxwell had taken to helping him in their corner of the city. They had spread out through the streets to do whatever they could, but at the end of their small tasks, they would always come back together again to discuss what had just happened. They didn't say much, but Julio knew what they were both thinking about. Much like everyone else in the capital, they were worried about the Royalists. They didn't need to admit it openly; Julio could feel it when he looked up at them. 

It made sense that the two of them would be worried about what the Royalists were planning to do in the near future. Maxwell knew all of the ugly truths of the royal family, including what Frani had done with Patriatte to blackmail Regna. Julio had been doing his best to handle it, but that was much easier said than done. Frani didn't want to talk to him about it, so Julio kept it to himself. Now that Patriatte was dead, they would be able to handle the aftermath of his actions well. No one could get hurt at Patriatte's hands if he was dead, after all. 

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the other Royalists from deciding that now was the perfect time to raise all the hell in the world. Julio had been so focused on his tasks within the city's streets that he barely noticed it when chaos broke out elsewhere, but the undeniable sound of a scream pulled his attention up. Julio shared a glance with Hughette over his shoulder before he ran off down the alleyway to investigate the source of the noise. Somehow, he already knew what he was going to run into, but that didn't make it any easier to stomach. 

Sure enough, a few terrified people of Glenbrook were gathered together and trying to flee from a group of soldiers with weapons in their hands. Judging by the color of their armor, they were soldiers of Glenbrook. The army had been left threadbare and neglected after Gustadolph took over, but the Royalists had done what they could to keep their forces held together. These days, it seemed like the army was much more loyal to the Royalists than the actual royal bloodline. 

Julio wasn't surprised at all when he saw the soldiers under the Royalists' command start to march down the alleyway and onto the streets of the city. He snarled under his breath and pulled his blade free, ready to fight however he needed to in order to defend the people of the capital. They had been through more than enough. Surely even the Royalists could agree that they deserved a break after everything that had happened recently... Though that didn't seem to be enough of a reason for them to back down. 

Julio wasn't going to let them intimidate him into silence though. He couldn't believe he had ever stood back and let the Royalists hurt others in the first place. He hadn't known about it before, but Julio was going to make up for his past ignorance however he could, and that started with keeping the people of the capital safe. "Go," Julio instructed without sparing them a glance. "Go hide, and tell everyone you see to do the same. I'll handle this."