Krippled Kingdom

Chapter 21

Palace

King George and his wife Hannah sit outside in their front garden. The large garden is a sight to behold with its large flower beds full of flowers of all kinds and a little bit of odd plants here and there.
They sit under a large outdoor umbrella eating a range of delicacies provided by their cooks on a large silver platter.

After only a few minutes, Hannah begins to sense something off about her husband. She puts a hand on his shoulder. "My dear, is everything well?" When he doesn't reply she continues on. "Something tells me you're not yourself." She waits again for a response but the only sign of life coming form him was the  heavy heaving of him breathing. She hesitates before saying, "I am your wife. We share everything, whether good or bad..."
She is soon cut off by the banging of the gates. The side door of the gates fly open and the old sorcerer Gus steps in muttering foreign words to himself.

George jumps out of his chair roughly almost throwing back the chair. "What is that mad old man doing in my palace? Who let him past the main gates! Guards!!"
Gus walks towards the raging king and his pale faced wife still chanting something under his breath. "Guards..."
"No need for that. I put a sleeping spell on them, so if I were you I'll rest my voice," he responds a smile meeting his lips.

"I wasn't referring to those guards, I mean them..." As he says that two bulky men walk out from behind the house and grab ahold of him. "Now, throw him out of here," he says a devious smile arising.
Before the guards could drag him away, his wife speaks up. "Stop! Bring him back."
"Hannah?what are you doing!"
"He's obviously here for a reason, let him speak and then he may leave." She turns from a bewildered George and faces the old man. "Why are you here?"

The old man looks from the queen to the king several times before shaking his head no and lowering his head. This in turn makes George even more mad than he already was. He storms up to the old man and points a wagging finger at him. "You come in here and act like a fool wasting my precious time without a good enough reason?" He scoffs and gives the man a dirty look. "And how dare you enter in my palace without my knowing!"
Gus looks back up at him with his head tilted to the side. "Well now you know..."
"Take him out!!"

"Wait..."
"I said take him away!"
As the guards begin dragging him away he chants something to himself and the guards go down with a large thud.
He steps away from the two and retreats back over to the king.
"What did you do!"
"Nothing damaging... It'll wear of eventually."

The queen grips tightly on George's arm. "What do you want from us?"
"Nothing. I have something important to tell you. I had a dream. And in that dream a man with a vision spoke to me. He shared something with me that could change the future of this country. So really, I am only a messenger from an unknown source."

George turns to his wife and mutters, "old fool."
She tells Gus, "so what does this have to do with us?"
"A lot!"
George steps in. "You're a man with foolish dreams. Please leave my..."
Gus cuts him of and continues with his message.

"The sign of life is about to rise in this very land. Let everyone be aware and prepare themselves to embrace what is to come, for what is to come will be a transformation that will affect every living soul that lives in this country. So be aware and be woke.  That is the message."
"What are you implying..."
But with his last words and a snap of his fingers the old man disappears out of sight.

"Did you see that or am I being fooled..."
"Ye-yes, I did," she replies in a shaky voice.
"The old fool knows how to play."
"You think he's messing around with you?" She asks still stunned.
"Indeed. He was never fond of me becoming king. He's trying to sabotage my kingship with words that don't make sense. So stay far away from that man!" He Storms back up to his sitting position.

"What are we going to do with the guards?" She calls out to him. The two men lay on the hard ground groaning and regaining consciousness.
"It'll wear off. Don't worry about them dear, why don't you go rest up."
"If you say so..."
He watches her until she's gone.
He then starts to talk to himself.
"This is my time, whether they like it or not. This, is my time!"

_________________________________

John, a close friend of the past king and a former council member  walks down from his home to go meet up with Peter to discuss more about the their new king and the future of their country. The two men, upon leaving the council, have since been working on ideas and recruiting other men to create their own council in order to overthrow the new king.

As he walks from just a block down from his street a large car comes flying towards him and pulls over abruptly. The old man jumps back and trips over his own feet. The driver of the car rushes out and goes to give him a hand. "I'm sorry sir, I never meant for that to happen..."

John steps back away from the man furious.
"Are you trying to kill me? I bet George is behind this, he is isn't he?"
The man is confused. "What? Uh... No. I don't know what you're saying but no. I spotted you a few blocks back and..."
"And what? Are you stalking me?"
"What? No john..."
"How do you know my name? Who are you?"
"You haven't really given me the chance to explain myself."
John stares at him without another word.

"John, it's me, Michael Riverstone."
John leans back astonished. "Michael... As in the lost prince Michael?!"
He was puzzled. "Lost prince? Uh... But yes it's me, I've returned," he says a grin spreading across his rough face.

He was about three years older then Charles but the pair could of been mistaken as twins. If it wasn't for Michaels bigger build and his blonde hair, the two were strikingly alike in appearance.

John grabs ahold of his hands and starts shaking it with might. "The future of this country has been saved! The kingdom is saved!"
"What are you on about?" Where is my father and family! I want to see my brother."
John sighs dreading what he had to tell Michael. "Come with me, there are things you need to know. A lot has changed since you took off."
"Took off? I never..."
"Just come with me, we'll fetch Peter and go back to my place where its safe."
"Safe?"
"You'll know why soon enough, now let's get moving, times running."