The Kingdom

The King had not been the man I thought him to be and it was now true, as I had expected, that he had no love for me anymore, because of his daughter's crushed aspirations. It was no fault of mine for her built-up fantasies of make-believe to come to an end, but as I had expected I was the villain in it all.

I paused by a window to stare out at a city still loud with a joyous uproar at the news of peace. All I felt was anger.

People were rejoicing in the Kingdomer Nation of Philanthia, not for the victory over great evil that had been achieved or the fact that Crona was even now being made over into a nation that was hearkening in droves to the voice of El Elyon and redefining their lives by His statutes. No, they celebrated because peace meant the return of prosperity.

No doubt there were mothers supremely grateful of their sons not going off to war, I understood that. But even as they were justified I also felt that they were of the minority of those glad at the sound of peace ringing out in the streets.

I stared bitterly at the city that I had helped serve and keep safe for four years now. What was worth protecting in a city so filled with selfishness and the pursuit of riches?

Truly, I felt more at home in Crona than I now did in this kingdom. I'd had good times here, but the people and the King were not what I had built them up to be. I felt sure that if it had not been for the gratuitous gifting of all of Crona's riches that there would have been no peace accord hammered out today in the king's court.

For months the King had said how peace was all he wanted, but that had been a lie as, when faced with a generous peace proposal, he had gone on to demand a heavy tribute to be paid annually by Crona to Philanthia as well as a reduction of profits by Crona merchants on all products traded between the two countries.

I would have objected outright, but Artaxis had held me back and agreed to each item of what I felt to be egregious insults to any nation. How could peace last into the next generation when the current generation of Crona was going to live without what every nation needed in terms of respect?

It did not bode well for the future. I turned from the window and continued on to my room.

I slipped the bolts on the door shut as I closed it behind me. The room was dark and Susori was no doubt asleep. Leaning back against the door I felt peace for the first time today.