Of Kings & Queens

Can We Pretend To Leave And Then We'll Meet Again When Both Our Cars Collide?

Percival ran his fingers through Solis' feathers in a comforting motion, both to calm himself and the bird. Solis gave a sad sound as she sat on his arm, which the other phoenixes echoed. Many phoenixes were usually off on their own and partnered with no one, but they knew the importance of this day and had complied at Solis' asking to help in the ceremony. Speaking of which, it was about to begin, but one person was missing.

"Percival, do you suppose we should start without him?" asked Paul, "It does not look like he is coming to the funeral of his best friend." Percival glanced around to see no sign of Gervasius in the crowd that had gathered, made up of various people from the four kingdoms, most of which were from Scorxus. However, unlike Paul, he also looked up, as was his habit from having a bird as your constant companion. Above, in the Tapestry Hall that went over the courtyard, he could see someone in black watching them. As this was a day of mourning, the hall had been closed off, but as he looked closer, Percival realized that that was no ordinary man.

"He is here." Percival nodded to the hall, "He only wishes to be left alone with his grief." Paul followed Percival's gaze to see the man in black in the Tapestry Hall. Slowly, the older king nodded.

"I see. I suppose I will start the ceremony now." he looked back at the king of Phonicamy, "Are you sure you wish to have no speaking parts? Your voice carries more than mine."

"Perhaps, but your words have greater weight. Someone needs to comfort Scorxus in this dark time and I cannot do that too well."

"As you wish." Paul walked away from the younger king and up the steps of the stage. The music stopped and the crowd quieted as the second-oldest king prepared to speak.

"Hello, everyone." Paul began slowly, "I cannot express in words how terrible this day is, having to bury one of our own. Ferdinand was a great man and a great king who did his best to protect his kingdom and his subjects. Though I cannot speak for Percival or even Gervasius, I can say for myself that my heart has been crushed by this turn of events. Yet we must be strong!" Paul lifted a fist, "Scorxus is still at war with the invaders and if it falls, then so will Phonicamy, Deecadia, and even Spidantia! Our kingdoms are tied together in many, many ways and if one falls, we all do. We cannot let Ferdinand's sacrifice be in vain! Do you all hear me?!" He was met with enthused cheers of the crowd, who had gotten pumped up by his speech. He smiled at their brave faces.

"However, we cannot consider this as our vengeance." he continued, "Ferdinand would not have wanted it that way. We are only to drive them out and that is all! And, though I do not wish to go on to this, there is also the problem of who will be the next Scorxus king. Ferdinand had no heirs, so his crown will be given to Gervasius for the time being. It may be stressful on him to run two kingdoms at once, as well as having the shock of Ferdinand's death, so please be easy with him. He cannot be here to speak, but I can say Gervasius cared greatly for Ferdinand, as did I and Percival, but he cared the most. They were the greatest of friends and it was because of this friendship that Ferdinand decided to only send his own warriors to fight the invaders. Scorxus fought on its own because Ferdinand did not want any of our people to be hurt, yet we did what we could by sending him supplies and such. And I do not mean to say his name in vain when I speak this, but now that he is gone, Spidantia, Deecadia, and Phonicamy are now free to help the ragged warriors of Scorxus! Let us celebrate his life by defeating the invaders!" Another cheer rose up from the crowd that caused Paul to smile before he went on to one more thing.

"Another terrible thing I must address is Axal's disappearance. He and Ferdinand were separated in the battle that eventually cost Ferdinand his life, and though no one knows if he is alive or not, I am sure Axal is still out on the battlefield, fighting to avenge his partner. He cared much for Ferdinand and Ferdinand cared much for him. I cannot express in words how much our animal friends mean to us or how much we mean to them, but I can say this: We would all protect each other and avenge one another. Tollin would avenge me if I died in battle and I would avenge him if he died, as would Romulus to Gervasius and Solis to Percival. This funeral was not organized only to celebrate Ferdinand, but to celebrate Axal as well if the Great Scorpion does not survive and to celebrate how he fights on for his partner." Paul nodded to him and Percival took that as his cue.