In The End

Chapter Five- Octavian

"You're kidding, right? He can't do that."

"He's the king, if that's the only thing he's done since he got the throne, he has proved he is the king. And can do as he pleases," my mother sighed.

I shook my head, "then he's a bad king, because this kingdom is supposed to be free. Look what King Malcolm has done, he's run us into the ground."

"He has no heirs; the kingdom is his until he dies."

My mother was right, the kingdom was his. Until he dies or until someone overthrows. I remembered the words of one of the history books I had read. It outlined the original laws of the kingdom; these laws were the basis of the country and could not be rewritten based on the vote from the original council. And if the king were to try to have them rewritten it would require a vote from the entire kingdom.

The more I researched the laws of the kingdom the more I wanted to become an advisor. If there was one thing, I was good at it was arguing. My father had shown time and time again that emotion got in the way of arguments. The way to stop that was to have none. Not an easy feat for any sane person. But when you have spent the number of nights that I have listening to my mother cry herself to sleep, could turn anyone cold. Emotion for her, and some for my uncle, but none for anyone else.

"How enlightening, thank you mom for telling me this. But I have to go, I'm looking for a certain elder who is mentioned in some of the books. Or anyone who knew them." I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out the door. If there was one thing I hated, it was liars. And I had just become one in front of my mother no less. If there was one thing my mother, was it was loyal, and if she knew what I was doing then I don't know what would happen. It would be her son or the kingdom.

I walked the same path as I did last night heading to the docks. Hopefully that girl was there again and I would be able to talk to her. The gravel road soon turned to dirt the farther from the castle I got. It was no surprised that the wielders had lived here, the kingdom was almost entirely surrounded by the sea. None of the surrounding countries had as much access to water as we did. But my guess to what happened to the wielders was that they fled. And the king had no jurisdiction in a kingdom that was not his.

Dirt kicked up as I scuffed my feet against the road, vendors lined the streets of the village. A beautiful place to grow up, better than the guard's area. And just on the edge of the village was the docks. And she was there, sitting on the sea wall with a man. Her silhouette was the same as it was last night. She seemed to have the same glow around her as she did in the night. Beautiful. I stopped my way towards her as I saw her stand with her fists clenched.

I took a few more steps forward and paused. She was angry, that much I could tell and I doubted now was the best time to approach her. Before I could think too much about if I wanted to talk to her, she bumped into me.

"Excuse me," she shoved her way past me, the man watching her walk away.

"Don't worry, she has just learned some upsetting news. I thought telling her in a place where she used to love would soften the blow." He gazed on, his eyes not leaving her figure until she was out of sight, "I am her father, sorry about her bumping into you."

"It's no issue, I saw her the other day at the library and finally worked up the courage to talk to her today. I was in the market when I saw her over here. I guess I missed my chance," I sighed, my eyes misting.

"Oh, no, certainly not. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

Hook, line, and sinker. "Not tonight, my uncle is coming over tonight and I promised her I would help. Sorry, sir."

"If you're free tomorrow come to my house around dinner time," I nodded at him as he described the area that his house was. And land markers that would help me figure out which house was theirs. We said our goodbyes as I went past the market. I sneered every time someone would brush past me. My limit for social outings had been reached and all I wanted was to go to my room and research.

If I was going to become an advisor, I needed to get into contact with one of the advisors that was in now. The way to do that was to impress them and stroke their ego. The easiest way to a person was through their ego. The way home always seemed a faster trip than the way to the initial destination. From the way I could hear my uncles laugh I made the educated guess that he was already here. From the half hour walk to the shore, I had been gone longer than I had wanted. The sun was already near the horizon, painting it a shade of orange my mother would love.

"Mom, come look at the sky," I spoke as I entered the house. I sat my bag on the side table by the living area as my mother rose and made her way towards the window. But not towards the door, "It's prettier if you go outside."

She kept staring through the window, if I hadn't seen the subtle flinch of her shoulders when I had spoken than I would have assumed that she hadn't heard me.

"I'm not feeling well Octavian, it is best if I stay inside." She never missed an opportunity to go outside, this was the same women who had brought me outside in a thunderstorm just for us to dance in the rain. I squinted my eyes at her, focusing on her ashen skin, sunken eyes, and her wrinkles that seemed more obvious now than they had earlier today.

"Mother, when did you see a doctor? How long will it take for you to see the sunsets again?"

She shook her head not surprised at my abrupt question, "A week ago, I went a week ago. And I won't. I'm not getting better."

My uncle nodded at her, he knew, "you knew! And didn't tell me."

"Octavian, yes I knew, but this was your mother's news to share."

I glared at him, my gaze softening as I turned back towards my mother, who had seemingly aged ten years in the past four minutes. "What do you have? How long do you have?"

Taking a shaky breath she whispered, 'a week, my lungs and heart are not what they once were."

She was dying of a broken heart. If my father had shown an ounce of care at the family that he had created than she wouldn't be sick. She would have many more years to go. But no, he stopped caring as soon as he had gotten to the position he wanted. And he didn't care about who he hurt along the way.