Queen of Penury

p r o l o g u e

"Enter!" The voice of the king was harsh, exhausted. He'd been betrayed, and he finally knew who'd done it.

There were few people King James trusted in the world, for good reason. Power was an evil, conniving thing, worming into the most loyal of hearts and minds. People were consumed with jealousy of his power, his wife, his children, his guard.

His guard.

James had spent years looking for the most capable captain, and he thought he'd found him. Karl was strong, intelligent, and his childhood best friend. Again and again, Karl proved himself a worthy candidate, even taking a bullet for James once.

The day Karl was sworn in as Captain of the Guard was a deceptively beautiful one, showing no hint of the betrayal to come. Just like today. The sun was radiant, streaming in through the windows and bathing the dull gray stone in golden honey light.

The door creaking open snapped the King back to the matters at hand and he sighed, dreading what was to come.

Karl stepped into the throne room, proud and handsome, flanked by two of his guards.

Not his guards anymore, the king reminded himself.

The guards gave short, stiff bows and stepped back, butting their guns into the back of Karl's knees. He fell to the ground, and the king winced. The purple streak across Karl's cheekbone was a testament to the treatment he'd received since news of his actions had been released.

"Leave us," the king barked at the two guards, who immediately complied.

"Karl, is there anything you wish to say in your defense before I throw you in front of my trigger-happy guards? Tell me, what exactly did you do, and why?" The last part was a hopeless plea. A small part of the King hoped this was all a misunderstanding. His hope quickly faded as Karl began telling his version of the events.

"Your Majesty, first off, I deeply apologize. I had no intention of taking things this far." Karl's voice was obsequious, slightly begging. "When Lord Jameson approached to ask for the correspondence, I was angry with the way you'd been handling the slums, so I agreed. I never imagined it'd escalate to him leaking the documents, and blackmailing me to demand more."

As the King listened, he realized how truly weak Karl was. Jameson was dead, a war was now in the works, and all Karl could think about was damned Kramer, his daughter.