A few days after Salvador left and only a few days before Angelica's mother was scheduled to leave, the Rookery Master received a dove carrying the message that the King of Sersalvon and the Crown Prince were making their way to la'Manse delle Simia to congratulate Prince Benedict on his grand victory over rebels to the empire.

When the news spread through the castle walls the attendants went in a panic to prepare the castle for the coming of the king.

This was unprecedented; the king rarely left the high walls of the Navitium Palace. This step into the outside world would be a shock for all nobility in Sersalvon. Many would wonder if the king was finally going to get a good look into the fractured duchies that was the Kingdom of Sersalvon. Some thought he was spurred by the Evrúopean force that had all but conquered the small Kingdom of Grenasserrat. Benedict was rarely seen as he was tending to the security of the king. There was no doubt that the possibility of an assassin was there.

A few weeks later, when the king arrived, there was a grand procession at la'Manse delle Simia. The attendants of the Manse were able to put up ample decorations and the cooks and chefs had prepared enough food for a large host. There was enough space to house the large host that the king was expected to bring. And a large host it was. A huge line of carriages and wagons followed the king, who was at the head of the procession. There were over a hundred knights and the Leviathan Guard that protected the king and prince along with his entire retinue. The nobles that still attended the king were constantly at his side, trying to curry his favor.

The king himself seemed to be an exact copy of Benedict (except for the beer belly). . . or perhaps it was the other way around. The Crown Prince had little in common with his father, if anything. He did not have the usual gold-flecked green eyes common in members of the Navíste family. His eyes were instead brown and plain with golden brown hair that turned almost blonde at the ends. Angelica assumed he took after his mother. Speaking of the queen, where was she?

Angelica's question was answered when a troop of noble ladies came through the gates of the la'Manse. They were all wearing extravagant dresses of all different colors that represented different houses. Their hairstyles were all in the latest fashion and they all had high-pitched and feminine voices. The queen was in the center of them all, a willowy and feminine woman she was wearing the colors of House Navíste, turquoise and sea-green. Her hair was dirty blonde color found rarely in the Caraíbes and her eyes were a light brown.

The king's brother, Prince Jacquez, followed the queen. He had light brown hair and emerald eyes. He was significantly taller than the king and built like a warrior. He strayed behind the queen, keeping his distance from her lady guards but not straying too far behind.

All fell silent in la'Manse delle Simia as the king dismounted from the carriage which he and the Crown Prince had rode in. As his foot touched the courtyard, everyone present got down on one knee, albeit a bit reluctantly. Angelica had never bowed to a king in her life; for as long she had lived the Duchy of Veroña had pretty much been a sovereign state. It felt strange. . . almost wrong to bow to this king. This man who had never been in her life until life, yet he called himself the King of Sersalvon.

The Crown Prince dismounted from the carriage and surveyed the castle. He seemed unimpressed. "A tiny castle. But I'm glad to hear my brother could conquer something."

Angelica glanced at Benedict and saw his face slowly turn beet red. Benedict lifted his head to look at his brother. "You've yet to conquer a castle, Francisco."

Francisco gave his brother a thin smile. "No, I have not. Yet. I did, however, destroy the thirteen strongholds of the brigand Lone Wolf Company."

Angelica knew of that event. Crown Prince Francisco had destroyed thirteen villages which the Lone Wolves, a free company that had formed in Sersalvon to feast upon the discord in the Kingdom of Sersalvon, had occupied. Francisco had claimed the villages were helping the Lone Wolf Company and had burned them all down, destroying the Lone Wolves along with them. The only reason the Crown Prince had done everything was because six of the thirteen occupied villages had been in his territory; Crown Prince Francisco was Lord of Lux Aestius, the summer home of the royal family.

Benedict bobbed his head in deference. "A great feat, my brother."

Francisco's smile grew. "Indeed."

And then, the king spoke, "Let us see what boon you have earned, my son!" His booming voice carried throughout the courtyard in which they had gathered.

Benedict gave his family a tour of la'Manse delle Simia. Angelica stayed near her family the entire time, watching the royal family from a distance. There was an electric tension in the air, for the Royal House of Sersalvon stood in the same place as perhaps the most powerful House in all of Sersalvon. Through the entire tour, Prince Jacquez spoke little while the queen only congratulated Benedict.

At the end of the tour, the King of Sersalvon finally faced the Florjes family. His face was one of contempt as he stared down the Florjes. "Has House Florjes come to pay homage to their lieges?"

Angelica's mother gave a thin smile. "Homage has already been paid, Your Majesty."

The king stared at them a bit before grunting in satisfaction. "So it has. Now, I assume that my son has prepared a feast for his family?"

"Of course, father," Benedict said, hurriedly. "I was assuming we would wait until the sun had begun to set."

The king held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun's glare. "It seems to be setting to me!"

Benedict bobbed his head. "Yes, father. We shall begin to eat right away." He turned to the castle attendants and began to give orders to begin the feast.

The man sure enjoys his food, Angela noticed not for the first time.

A glance at Inejgo told her he thought the same.

As the king and his family were ushered to their rooms, the crowd slowly began to disperse. Carlos' wife, Lady Angela, stared longingly at the Crown Prince as he walked away with his family. "That did not go to horribly," she commented absently.

Carlos shrugged. "I suppose not. As long as there is not outright war between our two houses, it's all going well."

A small split their mother's face. "A true statement, Carlos."

Inejgo snorted. "We may not find ourselves in an outright military conflict with the Royal House of Sersalvon, but we sure are going to be fighting a different kind of war."

"The one that involves backroom deals and political maneuvers," Angelica finished.

"And one perhaps just as deadly," Myeria put in.

Lilliana swept her gaze across her children in pride. "Good. You understand what we are going against. But do you understand what side of this. . . conflict we are on?"

What? "Conflict?" Angelica questioned.

Lilliana slowly nodded. "Yes, my daughter. Can't you sense it? The tidings of Evrúopeans in the Caraíbes? Prince Benedict's conquest of la'Manse? The king finally retreating from his shell in Navitium? Something is brewing and we blossoms must stick together when the stormwall hits."

Their mother turned on her heel, dress flowing at her ankles, and strode away.

"Good talk," Inejgo muttered. Angelica punched his shoulder. "Ouch!" He rubbed the spot tenderly. "What was that for?"

Angelica took an exasperated breath. "What was mother talking about?"

Inejgo shrugged. "Seemed pretty straightforward to me. There's gonna be some sort of war sooner or later. Over what, I don't know."

Angelica licked her lips anxiously. "She made it seem it had something to do with the royal family."

Inejgo just shrugged again. "Maybe they're going to go on some sort of crusade to stabilize Sersalvon. Did you not think it odd that the king supposedly gave Prince Benedict leave to subdue the Houses Álavar, Herreran, and Canova? Why now when he could've started this. . . crusade years ago?"

As Angelica pondered this, their older brother (along with his wife) and their sister left the courtyard. Soon, it was only them two left. Why did the king send Benedict Carcino? It wasn't the first time she had wondered about it, but she would always dismiss it from her thoughts after a few minutes.

But now. . . she would find out more.

***

The king was not happy.

He was also drunk for that matter.

Benedict stood there with his head bowed, ready for the storm that was about to come.

He has to understand, a part of him said. His kingdom is falling apart. Even he can see that.

But he didn't.

King Gallo Navíste, King of Sersalvon and Benedict's father, did not care that his kingdom was falling apart right in front of him. No he didn't―but the fact that his second son had run off to play the war hero was enough to send him into a drunken rage.

They were in his father's rooms―they technically Benedict's, but they were the closest thing he could find befitting of a king so he had to make due. The smell of fine wine came off of his father's repugnant breath. Along with it was the smell of the heavily sauced flying fish which had been his lunch.

The king walked over to a nearby table and slammed his fist down. The pottery on the table fell to the ground and shattered.

That was nice pottery, Benedict thought remorsefully.

When the king spoke, his voice was deathly low. "Do you know. . . what you've done?"

Benedict kept his head bowed low but his eyes flicked up. He gave no answer.

"Answer me!" the king roared.

Benedict jumped. "I-I don't know. I. . ."

"Your Majesty!" the king interrupted. "You must call me Your Majesty!"

"I don't know, Your Majesty!" Benedict confessed quickly.

"Of course you don't! You're an ignorant little boy who seized a chance for glory!" King Gallo barked.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Benedict answered meekly.

His father rubbed his eyes in frustration. He was so upset and furious, but Benedict didn't know why. He had done nothing wrong except for leaving without permission, but it had turned out well; he had set an example for what happened to those who defied the royal will. He had forged an alliance with House Florjes. Perhaps the other duchies would get in line after that display.

"I. . . I only wanted to help," he explained lamely.

"Help me for what?" his father demanded.

"Help you bring the kingdom together!" Benedict replied almost fervently. Careful, he cautioned himself. Choose your words wisely.

The king's eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Benedict took a deep breath before beginning. "Sersalvon is fractured, Father. The duchies function as separate countries and wage war amongst each other like is nothing. The royal government has been all but forgotten and the dukes and duchesses have all but renounced their claims. It's worst on Luxuano where the island is supposed to be under the direct control of the crown. The lords and ladies wage war like none other even though Navitium is on the same island as their lands!

I saw a chance to begin to cure the illness that has befallen Sersalvon. And now I'm asking you to give me leave to begin a unification! Me, Francisco, and Jacquez can lead the royal armies and bring all of Sersalvon back under our heel. It starts here―in Luxuano. Father, I'm begging you, I can do this. We can do this! Sersalvon shall be a kingdom once more. And now more than ever, for the Evrúopeans seem more of a threat every passing day. We must unite Sersalvon!"

He was out of breath once he finished. He stared at his father, who had no emotion on his face.

I suppose I threw caution to the worms.

The king turned away from him. "Leave."

Benedict stared at him incredulously. "Wha―"

"I said leave!"

Benedict scrambled out of the room. His room. He composed himself in the hallway and walked quickly to one of the many balconies in la'Manse. There he stared out into the distance, one side he saw the Wilderness of Feroxiel and on the other he saw the rolling hills that seemed to provide a path to Navitium. To home.

The land that he saw, everything that the sun's gaze touched, was Sersalvon. It was his home. The land the king was charged to protect. Yet what happens when the king was not doing his job?

Before Benedict was born, his father had been anointed King of Sersalvon by the Angelic Church and swore to protect the land with his life. Benedict had read the oath but never heard it spoken, for only a king could speak it. His father had sworn to give more than he took from the people, to uphold all of the Virtues, to protect those who could not protect themselves, to defend the land, and to be just and righteous at all times. To not indulge himself in needless pleasures, to be a king. . .

. . . but he was not doing that.

And Francisco was no better. The kingdom would continue to suffer once he took the throne. They had to change. They had to.

Benedict stared off into the distance. This was the land they were sworn to protect. His father and brother did not see that. He did.

"I may not be a king," he whispered tenderly to himself, "but I shall be the man this kingdom needs. I swear that I will hold myself true to the Virtues, to be the thing that my father cannot, will not." His eyes found there way to the clouds. "Let Him Up Above witness my oaths and hold me to them. I will not fail this kingdom."