The Secret Prince: The Story of Galen Nightwater

The Decision

Galen had made up his mind. The only thing was, he wished he felt more confident about it. As it was, he felt as if he was making too big of a mistake and yet there was no other course available to him. At least not in his mind. But Lord Stronghallow had explained to him this morning that they needed to start planning, and any developments hinged on his decision.

He thought about it during his lunch with Aunt Mary, Jade, and Jaxson. He thought about the people that it would affect should he choose to be king. He considered them his family and he knew they returned the feeling. It did not feel right to make this decision without first considering the way his decision might affect them. He saw Jaxson and the pain that he was enduring from the heavy hand of Lord Barnes and thought about all the people that were enduring the same and even worse under the command of the Steward. He thought of how he could stop that if he were king. And he realized the great privilege that life had awarded him. While most people dreamed of being king to fix their circumstance, he actually had the choice laid out before him. He could make things better if he had the guts to do it. But it all boiled down to ability. In truth, his upbringing, while precious and irreplaceable, did not contain all of the education a king needed. He was not brought up in diplomacy and high-born society. And mostly, he felt extremely incompetent to rule. And should he decide to take the throne, he could not go back if he decided he did not like it. This was a choice for life. It would be a sacrifice.

Then there was the thought of Jade that almost superseded every other thought. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But he did not know how she would feel about being asked to give up everything she knew here to go to another place and live. He did not know how she would feel about being queen.

As he reclined on the huge chair by the fire, he watched her as she diligently made alterations to Jaxson's clothes.   Every now and then a soft melody would come from her direction and it lulled him into a deeper sense of peace. In the adjacent couch, Jaxson lay sleeping. His small snores make him smile. He would tease the boy later. 

"So are you going to tell me now?" Jade said softly, looking at him. 

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" He asked. 

"Of course, I do." She insisted. 

He nodded and got up from his chair and sat beside her. "It seems that Marcus had some friends in Eleamar that have been planning for me to return, Nicholas and Sebastian. They came last night while I was asleep to tell him of all the arrangements. But Marcus told them that it was my decision whether I wanted to return or not. So this morning they tried to persuade me. They told me of all the horrible atrocities that the people have had to endure under the Stewards rule. They have no power to change it under his tyranny because he will kill anyone that he suspects of treason." 

Jade's head snapped up to his, pale and taut with worry. But she said nothing and Galen continued. 

"Because I am the rightful heir I am the only one who can challenge him for the throne." 

Jade interrupted then. "But I thought that in order for the Steward to obtain the throne he would have to have an heir." 

"It seems that the Steward had planned for that and found one. Nick, that is Marcus's friend, didn't really explain what happened. But there is great urgency to move fast. The Steward plans to announce his heir by the new year. Nick, says that he needs my decision in two days. That is the longest he can give me." 

"I see." Jade took in all of that information. She didn't know what to think. She knew that Galen would make a great king and that he could save all of those people from the horrible plight they were living in. But she didn't want him to leave her. She knew she shouldn't be selfish but she could not bear the thought of not seeing him everyday, or at least knowing he was close by.