The New World [Magi Fanfic]

A Problem Solver

"We've arrived. Out former king rests here." Narmes said as he held a lantern over the decorated tomb. Everyone gathered around it in suspense.

"Now... to confirm what's carved on the sarcophagus..." Names said. Gafra and a smug smirk on his face, which angered the blonde. The two held glares at each other. King Armakan gripped his staff and Sharkkan bit his lip in worry. Luc broke her stare and looked over at the young boy who glances over at her in worry.

"Don't worry." She mouthed to him as he slowly nodded.

"WHAT!?" Names yelled to find that the sarcophagus was completely empty. No carving of names anywhere.

"I'm sure we were told that the final words of the former king naming his successor were to be carved into his sarcophagus but..." Ja'far said his voice fading of in surprise.

"Yeah... but..." Sinbad sad beside him.

"What... in the world..? There's nothing written here?!" Gafra exclaimed while looking back over to the, in his eyes, suspicious blonde. Who in return kept a blank expression. No surprise, no shock, nothing written on her features.

"Names, what's going on?" Sinbad asked from across the tomb.

"I don't know... this has never happened before..." The consul said worryingly.

"The last words of the former king must be somewhere! Start looking!" Gafra shouted, returning his attention to the tomb. Mystras lifted the lid and found...

"Umm... there is something strange in here..." The knight said, gesturing inside the tomb. Names ran over and looked inside, grabbing a scroll.

"A scroll...? Let me read it..." Narmes said as he opened it.

"I am Atenkumen, now previous king of Heliohapt. This is my final will and testament. This is a deviation from the custom of carvings one's will into the sarcophagus. A custom established by generations of kings. Read carefully, all those of the royal family. I am personally putting an end to this royal custom. I will not choose the next king. The ones to choose the next king, will be you. Armakan and Sharrkan. As the two princes of Heliohapt, you must work together to decide who will be the next king." Names read aloud as he finished reading. The people form the palace looked at the two princes in question. Everyone, excluding the blonde had a shocked expression.

"W-What does this mean...?" Narmes asked with confusion plastered on his face.

"The former king didn't chose a successor... that means... Armakan. Sharrkan. The one to become the next king, has yet to be decided." Lucy explained with a stoic expression.

"Unbelievable.... Nothing like this has ever happened before." Narmes said with a hand on his forehead.

"I can't believe that our long standing custom, one that has continued for centuries, would be broken like this..." The consul said.

"That's impossible. There's no way the former king would do that. Right? Sharrkan's name was supposed to be carved into his sarcophagus, wasn't it??! Sharrkan... you said so, didn't you? You said you would become the next king... Didn't you tell us that!?! Answer me Sharrkan!" The old woman shouted in fury. Lucy stepped beside the young boy. Sharrkan gripped his small staff in his hands, taking a few steps behind the blonde for protection. He looked at the woman with pure fear.

"Oh... is that it...?" She said, stepping closer.

"You deceived me! Even though you're just a puppet!" The woman shouted reaching out to him. Lucy grabbed her wrist before she could put a hand on the boy.

"Enough, this has gone to far, haven't you read the scroll? It was the former king's wish." Lucy calmly said to the woman.

"Please stop Lady Patra!" Narmes yelled as he grabbed her arm to pull her away from the young prince and the blonde.

"Silence Narmes! We're only here because Sharrkan was supposed to be king! If everything has turned out like this, We should have just kept using that dungeon and the curse to drag Armakan from the throne!!" Patra shouted as she tried to keep moving to get to Sharrkan. Lucy kept her, surprisingly, vice grip on the woman's wrist. Gafra and the other man grit their teeth as Patra revealed their plans.

"So, it was you after all... the mysterious deaths that led to rumors of a curse. Even though you're the Dowager Queen, you've agitated our citizens and thrown our country into chaos. That is unforgivable." King Armakan said as he approached Patra, disappointment and anger coated his words.

"Isn't that all your fault, Armakan? We wouldn't have had to use such methods if you hadn't advocated international diplomacy. The last thing our nation needs is for us to encourage negative attention from the Reim Empire. That would be unforgivable. What we did was necessary to protect this country!!" Patra shouted in retaliation.

"You say we shouldn't attract Reim's attention... and yet you belong in the new Reim faction, don't you?" Armakan stated, causing Patra and Gafra to snarl at him.

"New Reim faction?" Ja'far asked Narmes who stood beside him.

"There are a number of individuals in our country that belong to it. The Reim Empire is just north of our country. Compared to it, Heliohapt is just a small nation. Some have tried to develop a close relationship with Reim in order to avoid confrontation and ensure our safety. That group is the New Reim Faction." Narmes explained.

"What's wrong with that!? Without doing so, surviving all these years would have been impossible! Our small nation! There's no way we're a match for that huge empire!! Only through carefully monitoring Reim's mood and playing by their rules, we have been able to protect this country. That is the duty of the royal family! We can't let the centuries-old traditions of Heliohapt royal line come to an end like this! We can't leave this country in the hands of Juveniles who don't understand how to rule!!" Patra yelled, ripping her arms why from the blonde and Narmes she turned to Armakan and pointed at him accusingly. Sharrkan gripped Lucy's dress and she put a calming hand on his head.

"But isn't it also our duty to free ourselves from Reim's control!? If things continue like this, nothing will ever change!!" Narmes shouted back at them.

"Are you saying we should encourage Reim to invade us?! Maintaining our current balance is the best course of action for this country!" Gafra shouted, coming to Patra's rescue.

"Our people are at their limits! Please take their futures into consideration." Narmes shouted back.

"That would be too naive!! Our people may be temporarily impoverished, but in exchange for ensuring the future of our country!" Gafra shouted. Sinbad and his group stood on the side, watching as they broke out into two sides, fighting one another. Lucy stood with Sharrkan at Sinbad's side.

"You should step in." Lucy nudged Sinbad who looked down at her and Sharrkan. He looked at the boy who stared at him with pleading eyes as he gripped tighter onto Lucy's white dress.

'Even though their methods are different, they're all fighting to protect this country... I don't think the endless argument will lead to a compromise. Working together to decide the next king... may be impossible after all...' Ja'far though while glancing at Sinbad who held a small smirk on his face.

"Hold on a minute! I can...solve your problem." Sinbad shouted over their argument, earning a complete silence in the room. Sinbad crossed his arms in a confident way.

"No... The Seven Seas Alliance can!" Sinbad announced, earning shocked expressions from everyone.