Mornings in the throne room used to be for petitioners with grievances who would come to plead their case to the rulers of the country. For centuries, those rulers would hear the case and make decisions based on the merit of those who had the dispute. But since Hudd had come to power, the decisions became based on whoever bribed him the most. Soon, the common citizens stopped pleading their cases, and the mornings instead became discussions with his most loyal noble and military supporters to determine how to make the money that the kingdom so desperately needed. These meetings were moved to the council room, which was right next to the throne room, as it had a long table if maps or food were to be served during the meeting. The smaller size also made it easier to hear for the older king. There were two thrones on a small dais at the end of the table, and a large fireplace on the wall to lend heat in the cold winters. On a chilly morning like this, a roaring fire was going while King Hudd sat on one of the thrones.

Turning people into slaves to make gold had worked for a few years, but now there were few people left and the town around the castle was mostly empty. Citizens along the northern coast had already rebelled twice and the military was spread thin trying to prevent a third uprising. All because he could never open the damned royal vault. The worst thing was, Hudd knew exactly where it was, it wasn't hidden. The problem was that he assumed it would be easy to open, and he had killed the king and queen before having them show him how to do it.

His own vault in Winterhaven had been dried up when he offered to marry Inez, and he hoped to have access to the riches of Appalya to stockpile the goods he desired. But there was no key. In fact, there wasn't even a keyhole, just a huge stone door with a rough spot the size of his fist next to a handle. Magic seemed to be absorbed by the door, and even enchanted tools bounced right off it. Without the key, there would be no gold.

So, while marrying and bedding Inez would be wonderful after all these years, the gold would be the best part of it.

"King Hudd, I fear I'm going to have to leave the castle until matters with Princess Inez are settled," stated a dark-haired man with a goatee as he bowed low.

Hudd's face turned so red with rage that the rest of his advisors thought his head might burst. "Ilin, I have made Clan Akopa thousands of golds over the years, given you a new supply of slaves that you'd never dreamed of, and now when things get a little difficult, you're ready to leave?" he bellowed.

Ilin's face twisted into a little smirk. The gold had been nice, but he only loved his gold if he could spend it. "Yes, sire that is correct. The princess already took over Tefra, slaughtering most of my relatives and clan. I have little doubt of what she'll do to me when she gets here. I have no desire to become a corpse when she arrives."

The doors to the throne room burst open, startling them all, and revealed Captain Kaspar looking very out of breath. "King Hudd, she is here!"

"What? Already? I thought they were camping for the night?" Hudd exclaimed, standing up with alarm.

"They must have broken camp and rode through the night after setting up their tents, sire. I believe they're already in the palace," Kaspar explained.

"Indeed, we are." Princess Inez strode into the room, pushing Prince Joppa ahead of her till he stumbled and fell sprawling onto the floor. The guards with her fanned out, with weapons drawn, blocking the exit to the room. "My darling husband! It is so good to see you after all these years." Inez walked calmly across the room, her hand on the hilt of her blade in case anyone tried to block her. Walking up next to Hudd, she took a seat on the dusty throne next to the one he had been sitting in.

"Wha... What are you doing?" Hudd stammered.

"I'm taking my rightful place as Queen next to my husband, the King," Inez told him. "We have to discuss the treachery your son proposed though. It seems he wanted me to ride here and kill you, so that he could marry me once I was a widow. All that after I captured Tefra as a wedding present for you."

Hudd stood dumfounded, not understanding the situation. "Tefra? Was a gift?" He finally asked.

"Of course, why else would I capture it?" she asked him.

Hudd sat back down. Truthfully, that was a good question. Why had she attacked a foreign city instead of striking here? Considering it was where her family was from, it had made no sense to him. She had no intelligence as to his dealings there, so perhaps there was another game she was playing. "What are you up to Inez?" he finally growled.

"Is that any way to speak to me after all these years? Do you imagine I'm here for revenge after that curse you put on me? Do I strike you as that petty?" she asked calmly.

"Anyone would want revenge after something like that!" Hudd admitted with a growl.

All the advisors stood watching the drama unfold, having expected immediate bloodshed. With the focus on the royal conversation, Ilin edged his way towards the door, until he felt the tip of a sword on his back and then looked over his shoulder to see a guard shaking her head at him. He lowered his eyes and made his way back towards his seat.

"Hudd, I'm not going to lie to you. I do want revenge, but not for cursing me. I will even let the death of my parents go. You were ruthless, and we made the mistake of trusting you. But I am going to want revenge for what you've done to the country since you became king. Appalya was flourishing when you took over, and you have run it into the ground," Inez snapped at him, her voice getting louder as she spoke. "To me, that time passed in the blink of an eye. Now I ride through the countryside and the people are terrified because we look like your troops. I see the town around this very castle that used to be filled with craftsmen that were the envy of the rest of the continent, and now it is all but abandoned. This country deserved a leader that could take care of it, not one that would squeeze every gold from it without thought or regard for the consequences. Your rule ends today, and that of your son will never begin."

"It wasn't my fault!" Hudd screamed out. "I couldn't open the damned vault, so we had to get money another way!"

"So, you took over an entire country to get their wealth, and then were too stupid to open it before killing everyone who knew how to open it, and then you ruined the country to make some golds?" Inez was incensed that everything that happened to the country was because of the greed of a single man. "You disgust me."

"Fuck you!" Hudd yelled.

Inez ignored his outburst. He was inconsequential at this point. She just wanted Nahmia to get back with Medya so they could finish this together. "So why did you want your son to marry me?"

Hudd's mind was reeling at the rapid change of direction that the conversation was taking. How much had his foolish son told her? "It doesn't matter now, since you're obviously not going to."

"True. I would have never married any relative of yours. Your bloodline is tainted with disgrace," Inez spat at him.

"So, what now, you kill us both?" Hudd growled.

"Your son answered my questions. Granted, it was under duress, but he did do so. Assuming he doesn't do anything foolish I'll let him get on a ship leaving the country and he can live in exile. But you, you're going to die," Inez admitted. "Most likely in a very painful manner."

Captain Kaspar inched his way over to Prince Joppa, who had finally gotten up on his knees, though he had decided not to stand up at this point for fear of being pushed down again. The older man hooked a hand under the prince's arm and lifted him anyway. "You need to throw the silver sphere he gave you into the fireplace. It is all that can save us now." He whispered.

Joppa looked in confusion at Kasper. "How would that help? There is nobody else who is turned to stone here?"

"A burst of magic like that would distract everyone and let us escape. You may be exiled, but I doubt any others will leave this room alive," Kaspar lied smoothly.

At that moment, booted feet were heard running towards the room, and then Nahmia appeared at the door with the two women she had gone with to the dungeons. "Princess, there was no sign of Medya in the cells. I couldn't find her anywhere else."

It seemed as though that statement was the catalyst for everyone to act at once. Loud boots in the hallway heralded the arrival of more palace guards, who seemed to have been following Nahmia, not knowing if she was an intruder or not. Kaspar was imploring Joppa to finally throw the sphere, while Inez was furiously stalking towards the captain with her sword out. Ilin and the other counselors took their chances by drawing their own weapons, which earned him a slice across the neck from Inez as she walked past him, and soon the council room was a whirling melee, with only Hudd sitting alone on his throne. At his age he wasn't going to get into a fight unless his son finally threw the damned sphere.

Joppa took in the sight of the furious Inez, and assumed it was him she was after, and finally gave into Kaspar's pleas. He fumbled in his pouch and pulled out the silver orb that his father had given him and hurled it at the fireplace. Hudd's eyes lit up when he saw that, knowing he would finally be in the younger body, and have a chance to get away, even if it was in exile. He could always return with his own army.

He'd still have Inez, one way or another.