"My Lord, your absence was greatly noted." Lord Brutollë said as he took his seat.

Miraz regarded him with cold, cruel eyes. His brown eyes filled with annoyance as they passed over the three other liege Lords who'd sort him out. Like Brutollë, Lords Grainger, Carlson and Vern had dark heavy clocks meant not only to hide their identities as they walked the night but also to keep out the cold.

They were all gathered at his compound. Although within the castle grounds, this compound provided adequate privacy with the secret tunnels that connected it to the castle. And like the castle, not everyone could come and go as they please.

It was here that Miraz had taken up solace after the ridiculous turn of events of the previous day. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. His own brother had conspired with that good for nothing soldier of his to make a fool of him. However, the joke was on them because he would sooner die than kneel to the bastard.

This was why Brutollë's words annoyed him.

"And why the bloody hell would I come? You've all decided to make a mockery of the council so why waste my time?" He spat at the sandy haired Lord.

"But, my Lord, we need to make it seem like we are on their side. What you did made it seem like you are in open rebellion!" Lord Brutollë pointed out.

"Am I not? This whole thing displeases me and they should know it." Miraz stubbornly boasted. "They would sooner name a bastard King rather than me. Me! I know more about being King than my brother's bastard ever will!"

"We are aware of that." Lord Vern replied with a wicked smile. "And we have a plan, my Lord. But you must keep it together until we execute it."

This piqued a new interest in the dark haired Lord.

"And what is your plan, my friends?" He inquired of them.

"The coronation is in a fortnight. The day before, there is a hunting party meant as a celebration of sorts." Lord Vern explained. "That will be our window. We must utilize it to the fullest. If we don't get rid of the bastard then, it will be very hard afterwards."

Miraz was thoughtful for a while as he crafted the mist cunning plan ever. A secret smile spread across his face as it all came together in his mind.

"You are right, Lord Vern. I must pull myself together. Endure the insult a little longer because when the coronation comes, it is me who shall be named King." He said with a smirk. "And my brother's bastard will be nothing more than ancient history."

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He looked at the lump of twisted metal in his hands. With a frustrated groan, he chucked it in the trash with the rest of his scrap metal. He couldn't concentrate and now it was getting to his work.

"Perhaps you should give it a rest for a while before you waste all that iron." Came a voice from behind him.

Turning, he found the proud commander at his door. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he turned back to his work.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see, Henry." The commander said.

"You think?" Henry snapped back. "You took everything from me,Boulivir. I have nothing more for you to take. Whatever brought you here is a waste of time!"

The commander took a deep breath before he spoke.

"These are crucial tines, old friend. We serve a common cause and for that we need to set aside our differences." He said in a solemn voice. "Our new King needs our protection, now more than ever, and on that accord I besiege you to come out if your retirement."

"Why should I? If you are so concerned for his safety then you should have thought about that before you tossed him to the wolves!" Henry said in anger. "I spent sixteen years trying to protect him. Sixteen years! But you didn't think twice about putting him in danger."

"I only did what my king commanded." Commander Boulivir replied weakly.

"Then your king was a fool!" Henry spat.

"Careful, old friend, those are treacherous words and these are treacherous times." Boulivir warned.

"If you want to throw me into a cell just get on with it." Henry said. "Doesn't change anything."

"I'm not here for that, Henry. I know you mean well. You have been a father to Arthur his entire life. I'm asking you not to stop now." The commander continued. "He needs all his friends, now more than ever. And he needs you to continue protecting him."

Henry's gaze dropped as he struggled to push down the anger. He knew the commander was right so he willed himself to calm down. His fists eased up from the balls they had formed as he took a deep breath.

"What do you want me to do then? I don't imagine he'll want to talk to me now." He asked.

"He'll come around. Just give him time." The commander said.

"If you truly believe that then you don't know my son." Henry said sadly. "I'll come out of retirement as you ask, but what exactly did you have in mind?"

"I would like to set up a King's guard." The commander replied.

"Don't you already have one of those?" Henry asked with a raised brow.

"Like I said, these are treacherous times. We need to surround him with people we can trust. People who will gladly give their life for his." The commander said. "That's why we need a new King's guard."

"If you say that." Henry replied. "I will do it. But make no mistake, Boulivir, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for my son."

The commander nodded in acknowledgement.

"I will leave you to get ready. At sunrise I shall send my most trusted to come get you." He said as he turned to leave.

"Very well then." Henry replied as he escorted him out.

When he was gone, Henry went on to prepare as he'd been asked.

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