Glory in Our Defiance • Zarry

9. - Wishing For You

(just a little note - the names of the lords and dukes are real but the characters aren't)

Skipton Castle, March 1485

Zayn feels like a prisoner in Skipton. Ever since he came back from York, his mother has refused to let him leave the town properly. Why? The answer is always the same - the war.

For more than a month, all he's done is study, train and attend meetings with the members of the privy council and his mother. It's just war, war and war. Talks of spies, of troops, of claims. For someone it might even be exciting but Zayn has been listening to all this drivel for almost seven years.

Ever since his father died, Zayn's every action had the be one that would contribute to his future reign. He was just a boy then and yet, he wasn't given even a moment to grieve. His mother started scheming even before the funeral took place and hasn't stopped since.

"Zayn, are you listening?"

Zayn turns his head away from the window at the sound of his mother's voice. He looks over the long table full of his advisors. His mother is sitting at the head of the table, opposite Zayn.

"Yes, mother," Zayn replies. "What else is new, gentlemen?"

"Well, Your Grace," Lord Audley says. The burly man with a grey beard seems nervous. "You need to prepare for a battle."

"Is another bloodshed really necessary?" Zayn asks.

"It is, Your Grace," Duke of Somerset joins in. "And as your military commander, it is my duty to make sure all things are in orded and this battle can be the last one."

Zayn sighs. "Has any of you even considered what I told you last week? That we should try and arrange some peaceful negotiations?"

Some of the men at the table have the audacity to chuckle. Duke of Somerset even has the guts to slap his fat thigh. Zayn sometimes truly wonders how such a fat man climbs on a horse, let alone leads an army.

His mother on the other hand, is staring at Zayn with daggers in her eyes. She knows something has changed since Zayn's visit to York, she just doesn't know what. It must be why she doesn't let him leave the castle grounds. Zayn would be majorly fucked if she found the letter from Harry hidden under a floorboard in his room.

"Why is it all so funny to you all, My Lords?" Zayn asks coldly. "Is the mere thought of peace so appalling that you will not even consider it?"

"My apologies, Your Grace, but that is just childish wishful thinking," Duke of Somerset says.

"Childish?" Zayn asks, raising his brows. "When I was eleven and my father died you all expected me to be an adult and now when I am of age I am suddenly a child?"

"No one implied that, my son," Zayn's mother, Melisende, says.

Zayn just sighs and rests his chin on his hand. "Alright. We are all adults so let us speak like ones. Why is a battle the better option to negotiation? I want to know your reasoning behind your decisions. It is my throne we are fighting for after all."

The men look at each other with wide eyes, clearly not knowing where to start. Or how to arrange their lies so Zayn keeps believing them like he did when he was a boy.

"Your Grace, we believe a battle is the best way to ultimately defeat Lord Wawrick," Duke of Exeter says at last.

His skinny face is pale, his brown eyes trying to avoid Zayn's chilling gaze. Funny how the worst liar spoke.

"Really?" Zayn drawls. "Why? Because he has much less troops than we do? How is a mindless slaughter of an a couple of thousands of soldiers better than negotiation? We know that our army is much greater in both size and ammunition. We will win the battle if there is no one on one combat between the commanders. And as far as we know, Lord Wawrick wants their own prince to command the army in the next battle and no offense, Duke of Somerset, but he is much more younger and agile than you are. So why? Why can't we settle this inside a room with no one dying in vain?"