the harder the rain, the sweeter the sun

the beginning

"My son, long ago, in this world, there was a kingdom ruled by men, named the Sanders Kingdom. This kingdom ruled over all of the humans, the purest of the races.

But, across the border lay the realm of Alimagia, where the wicked magic creatures lived and plotted. Years and years ago, they had free reign over all of the world, but a single man refused to bow down to their evil.

He gathered an army, and defeated the wicked Alimagians, pushing them behind the border and allowing the humans to be free. This man was named Thomas Sanders, and it was him that the kingdom was named after. He ruled for the rest of his life as a kind, just leader, and it is him that the kings have always looked up to.

You, my son, are the descendant of the great King Thomas, and one day, it will be you who will be the kind and just king our people need."

The young prince looked up to his father with bright eyes, a wide smile on his face.

"I will, papa! I'll defeat the evil Ali...Alimag..."

His mother helped him, "Alimagians, dear." as she played with his little brother, Remus, near the king and prince.

"Yeah, I'll defeat them, mama! I'll make sure you never get hurt!!"

The queen chuckled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes as she held her child close to her breast, "Alright, Roman. Alright."

Roman sat, his back completely straight as he listened to the court talk about new taxes and what have you. The prince didn't care much for such meetings, but, if he was to be king one day, it was important he learned of every aspect that there was to rule the beautiful kingdom of Sanders.

However, his mind loved to wander during them, and so off it went, imagining a world of fun and freedom. Roman wished that he could just hop onto a horse and ride into the sunset, but he couldn't. He had his people to think of, and his father and brother to worry about. He'd love to at least know what was beyond the forest that grew wild on their northern border, because at least then the people wouldn't have to be afraid of it. Alimagia was a dangerous place, but how dangerous could it-

"Roman!" The king barked, and the prince jumped, his mind clearing and returning back to his head. The court all stared at him, awaiting his response, most relaxed but some annoyed.

Roma sheepishly grinned, "I apologize, what was the question at hand?"

His father took a deep breath, pinching his brow, "The court asked if you had any other idea of what the increase on the people's income tax should be or how it should be announced."

Roman's hand went to his chin, his thumb sweeping across his lips as he thought.

The court liked him enough. It was a mixture of people, one leader representing each village in the kingdom, some poor and some filthy rich. Roman, as a prince, would consider himself to be wealthy, but he was born into wealth and had done nothing to gain it. He had spoken with the poorest villages of the castle's adjoining town and he wanted to speak for their plight, because Roman knew that they needed the loudest voices to speak for them.

"Well, it shouldn't be one general number. The very poor shouldn't pay the same as the very richest. One-tenth of everyone's income if their income passes..." Roman hummed, "Let's say fifty-thousand gold per year should probably be enough to sustain our kingdom comfortably if everyone does their share."

His father nodded, many representatives smiling gratefully at him while others scowled.

"I see your point, my son. We will continue to speak on the subject another day, however, as this day's time has almost run out."