"You are sure he woke up?" Helios asked, the servant nodding rapidly. The poor man could barely keep up with Helios' greater stride, though slowing down never even entered his mind. "The King?"
"I sent another servant to inform him, my Lord."
Good. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation at all, and it would be best if Edward was there. Partly to face his own guilt, though the guilt belonged to himself as much as the King, and partly so that the Prince wouldn't come looking for him.
It would be for the best if they discussed the situation first, just between the three of them.
"There is something else, my Lord," the servant said. Helios made a 'get on with it' gesture. The man swallowed. "The Prince screamed, my Lord. Screamed like I've never heard anyone scream before."
By the lack of horror on the man's face things weren't as bad as they'd feared, Helios interpreted. Still, it was good they put Marcus in an isolated wing of the castle. Image was important, even during one's weaker moments. "You remember your oath?"
The servant bowed his head. "I saw nothing, have heard nothing and nothing shall leave my lips."
"Good man. Go back to your duties."
Helios nodded in dismissal, rapidly leaving the man behind. Royal guards saluted as he passed them, three dozen permanently stationed to protect the Prince, before he finally entered the room set aside for the young man.
"-ch goes after that, see?" Marcus was saying, nodding to the healer who'd been looking after him. The older woman was, surprisingly, noting down what the Prince was saying. "Thank you, Margaret. Don't hesitate to come ask if you have any issues with the multi-matrix exercise."
The woman nodded, a gleam in her eye, and turned to leave. Spotted Helios, bowing as the Duke lingered near the door. Any excuse to linger vanished when he heard the tell-tale steps of the King behind him, and Helios entered to avoid blocking the doorway.
Marcus said nothing. Just looked at them, sitting in bed with a half-eaten bowl of soup at his side. Helios wasn't sure what he had expected, but silence wasn't it.
Shouting, judgement, hatred and fear, perhaps. Anything other than the usual indifference, some positive change if they were lucky, and in time the hatred could be mended. They could mould the Prince into a worthy successor for the Kingdom, help him accept his bride, actually do something useful with his gift for magic, a-
"Do either of you know anything about the School of Life?"
The question startled him, though it seemed pointed more at the King than Helios himself. The Prince's tone was calm, more cold than desired but not hateful. The King sighed deeply.
"Enough to know it would not be easy," Edward said. "Yet not enough to guarantee your safety, if that is what you are asking."
The Prince took a deep, long breath. "It wasn't, but at this point I kind of expected it. Nothing more important than the Kingdom, right father?"
Edward flinched, the gesture so minute Helios only caught it because of their long friendship. He also noticed that the Prince caught it, which seemed to confirm what Marcus had apparently already suspected. Him touching the artifact hadn't been an accident. Helios spoke to fill the silence, the Prince's eyes turning to him. When had they started seeming so cold?
"How long?"
Marcus hummed, seeming to consider that for a moment. "More than a year, less than two. I stopped keeping track of the exact number somewhere along the way. Would you like to know about the scenarios it put together for me? They were quite detailed. No, I have a better question. How long?"
"Two days, close to three," Helios replied, cautious. "We had our best healer ensure your physical body remained strong, the entire wing was emptied, guards put i-"
"Margaret, yes. We've spoken. She'll be very helpful for my future plans."
The King raised an eyebrow. "Your future plans?"
"Well, you wanted me to rule, yes?" the Prince asked. His eyes turned decidedly colder still, the room seeming to shrink as he looked at them. Light played in his eyes like dancing stars, the sitting form of the skinny youth suddenly seeming to loom over them. "To use my magical abilities to help the kingdom? To marry for political and military gain? Or was this going to be more of a puppet-king situation?"
Edward straightened, tone firming. "No. Whatever else, whatever our differences, you are my son. You will be King, for good or ill."
"Well, that will save me a considerable amount of time and effort," Marcus said. Edward didn't look like he liked the sound of that. The Prince sighed, Helios relaxing marginally when the boy's eyes stopped glowing. "Tell me about my future bride."
Helios raised a confused eyebrow. "Elenoir Marsennius, Crown Princess of the Caldir Kingdom. Her fleet will arrive in approximately four weeks, which though delayed is in much better shape than could be reasonably expected. I'm sure we went over this not a few da-"
"It has been more than a year, Duke Helios," the Prince barked, tone turning flat immediately after. "A year of blood and death and fear. A year of seeing friends forget my face over and over, a year of wondering when my humanity had grown so shallow that I stopped caring about death. You will forgive me if some details slipped my mind."
Edward said nothing for a long moment before speaking. "I am sorry, my son. I am not the father you deserve, nor you the son our Kingdom needed. What are your demands?"
Another long moment of silence followed, the Prince looking at the King with a blank face. And while Helios did not know Marcus as well as he had even a few days ago, the Prince seemed surprised. Surprised as if he'd come to a realization.
"You will step down," Marcus finally replied. "Unofficially before the wedding, officially afterwards. Until then you will approve any law I wish to pass, any political action I wish to take and any military order I give. I will take effective control over the treasury, the Royal Guard will be informed alongside the city watch and the court mages will be under my authority. I suppose those are my demands, father."
Helios said nothing, but that had not been the plan. There was to be a long engagement, for one, to allow the Prince and Princess to get to know each other. To become friends, hopefully. Then at least a year of shadowing the King, properly experiencing the court and its politics, before a gradual transition of power.
He had a feeling the Prince wasn't going to agree to any of that. Helios realized why, then felt stupid for not realizing it before they put the plan into action. Or at least not realize that the issue might be too large for the prince to live with.
Trust. The Prince didn't trust his father, and so wouldn't stand for the King to hold power over his life. That was a rather big oversight, actually, and not one he saw any easy way of correcting. Lying about their intent would be foolish, now, and forcefully trying to steer the Prince more foolish still.
His friend had clearly already realized that. Was willing to consider risking political destabilization to ensure the Prince didn't run away. And, as Helios watched what had until very recently been a spoiled child, any hope of stopping him from vanishing into the night died a quiet death.
Even if he had learned not an ounce of magic, there was proper self-confidence in his eyes now. Built from failure and struggle, victory and blood. Someone hardened by a war without any of the physical scars to show for it.
Just the mental ones.
A portal opened next to the bed, making Helios startle as a small bat demon came flying through. It landed on the Prince's bed and screeched at him, Marcus holding up a hand as it did. "I don't speak your language, but you speak mine. Find Vess and release her from the summoning chamber by destroying the moon-shaped rune. I'll summon her later to talk."
The bat screeched again, flapping its wings and taking off. Then it turned invisible, though only Helios seemed to catch that, and the King blinked.
"Who's Vess?" Edward asked. "And the guards are going to shoot that down before it gets out of the wing."
"Vess is, I suppose, the closest thing to a friend I have left. And if anyone manages to kill a Phantom Bat I'm giving them a promotion."
Silence fell, the Prince seemingly content to let it sit, and a long sigh escaped his friend. The King was not a young man, not anymore, but Royal Etiquette usually gave him a certain sense of prestige. Of power. Now the man just seemed old. Old and tired.
"Very well," the King said, letting himself drop into a chair. "There is no teacher quite like practical experience. You know the politics of it will be almost impossible, yes?"
Helios stepped out of the room even as the Prince replied, whispering to the Royal Guard outside to bring his nephew. Who, as it happened, was also their captain. Yonas wasn't overly fond of the Prince, what with them having to clean up after Marcus' experiments, but this was too important to exclude the captain of the Royal Guard.
Yonas was steadfast and loyal. He would do his duty.
He stepped back inside, silence having descended once again. The Prince was seemingly content to remain seated in bed, frowning in pain every once in a while, but the boy didn't complain.
Marcus might very well have grown used to pain, Helios realized. Another stab of guilt went through him, though he wouldn't feel regret. It had been necessary, and it seemed to be working out better than they'd had any right to hope.
The minutes passed in yet more silence until the door opened again, Yonas walking inside. Helios looked at the man. Early thirties, clean shaven and fully armored. As always. His helmet was attached to the hip, Helios' nephew schooling his face into a polite mask of indifference.
The captain saluted first the King then the Prince, nodding to Helios himself afterwards. They'd always been relatively close here in the capital, the two of them. They kind of had to be. Together they were the two most highly ranked Loyalists in the capital.
"How many men do you command, captain?" the Prince asked. Yonas seemed somewhat startled by the tone, straightening as the boy's eyes landed on the captain. "How many are non-Human?"
"Three hundred and ninety two, my Prince. Two non-Humans, both possessing Dwarven blood."
"And the city watch?"
"I am not in command of the city watch, my Prince," the captain replied. Marcus raised an eyebrow, managing the look of mild annoyance with surprising effectiveness. Yonas cleared his throat. "Four thousand one hundred and two. Approximately fifty non-Humans of various lineages."
"How long would it take to fetch the commander of the city watch?"
Yonas turned to the King, who only waved his hand. "The Prince asked you a question, captain."
"Yes, of course. It would take approximately fifteen minutes for a messenger to travel to commander Mirre's office and return with her."
"Make it so. I'm in no particular hurry," the Prince said. Yonas looked at the King again, Marcus speaking when Edward said nothing. "I do not blame you for your confusion, captain, but you will do as I say. Send the messenger."
The captain stiffened, Helios knowing this wouldn't endear his nephew to the Prince. But then it wasn't a King's job to be friends with those under him, either. The captain saluted, stepping outside to speak with the guards before entering again.
It took almost twenty minutes for the commander to arrive. Twenty minutes that passed in near absolute silence. Helios wasn't a stranger to it, Edward seemed happy to look at nothing and brood while the captain had defaulted to standing very still.
But the Prince, the one who should have been the most uncomfortable with it, showed no signs of it. Just sat there, eyes inspecting the room and occasionally going unfocused. Unfocused in that way mages often did when they were focused on magic and matrixes.
It wasn't Helios' area of expertise, not nearly, but he knew enough to get by. To know what to expect from the mages in his household. He had no real idea what to expect from the Prince now, though. Not anymore.
A twinge of doubt rose. The fear they might be moving a cruel sorcerer king into power, one who would grip the realm for a lifetime. Of towering rituals, undead armies and enslaved peasants. Helios pushed it down.
Everything was possible, but Marcus had never been cruel. Impatient, impulsive and quick to anger, but not cruel. There was always risk in the transition of power, and it would be navigated as when Edward had taken the throne.
Helios had been young then, and filled with fire, but now he had wisdom. Experience.
His thoughts were interrupted when the commander finally entered, the woman taking in the room. Mirre was a soldier still, he recognized that every time he saw her, and while she wasn't part of the Loyalists she was loyal to the King. A small distinction, but an important one.
The city watch had done well under her, too. Nine years she'd held the post, and in the first two their size had doubled while their quality improved. Now it was more army than militia, and corruption had been scoured from the ranks.
They were, alongside Redwater itself, the Loyalists greatest military asset.
"Commander," the Prince greeted, nodding. He seemed to inspect the woman's salute, which was strange, but the man didn't comment on it. "How are the men?"
If the commander found that a strange question, she didn't show it. "Well fed and tired, my Prince."
"Good, good. Bored soldiers find their amusement easily enough, often to the detriment of discipline. You are here, commander, because alongside the captain you will be the first to witness the change of Royal power."
He'd said it with all the enthusiasm of a bored scribe, which Helios found somewhat impressive, and the two officers went silent. The King said nothing, Helios said nothing, the Royal Guards outside had seemingly stopped moving entirely.
"You are too young," the commander replied bluntly. The captain looked up with a sharp twist, giving her half-glare, but she seemed unrepentant. The King continued to be silent and Helios frowned at the woman. The Prince didn't look insulted, though Mirre seemed to realize that had been a little too blunt. She inclined her head in a bow. "My Prince."
Helios suppressed a flinch when the woman's sword unsheathed itself, the commander growing still as it drifted over towards the Prince. It was gripped with a familiarity Helios knew the Prince did not possess. Hadn't possessed.
"I am young, though I don't feel it anymore," Marcus replied, inspecting the weapon. "Swords. I'm no expert on martial weapons, in truth, but I prefer the mace. Prefer how it can shatter bone regardless of armor, how mages underestimate the force it can exert. How many mages serve in the city watch, commander?"
"None, my Prince, though we work with the Court Mages should an injury be life-threatening or magical assistance be required."
"I see. I plan to build an academy, commander. A Royal Academy to train those with the gift for magic. I will want you to send some of your men there. Those who are literate, if possible. Those who are willing to learn and those who possess the gift in the first place. I will teach them basic magical healing, summoning and more, which I doubt someone of your tactical experience will fail to see the benefit in."
"I will do as the King commands."
The Prince shrugged at her tone. "Ah, forgive me. I seem to have failed to address your concerns. Yes, I am young. I am also the only mage in this kingdom capable of holding four spell matrices at once, have been at war for six months and spent another six studying an artefact so powerful it borders on the divine. Hells, I even hunted a centuries-old shapeshifter for a few weeks, though that seems almost tame in comparison."
"I see," the commander said, clearly not seeing. She looked at Helios, who offered a nod, and turned her gaze back on the Prince. "War against whom, my Prince?"
"The Empire. Technically against their creation, though I wasn't in a position to question politics at the time. Just drills, assaulting that damned castle and death. Death by Elven arrows, death by Orcish iron, death by siege mages without any magic to defend myself with. I could give you a detailed recounting of what it felt like to press my back against a stone wall, desperately hoping the defenders wouldn't look down. What it felt like when my mace broke skulls and what it felt like to hunt people through the woods like wild game. But I don't need to, do I?"
Mirre, to Helios' surprise, shook her head. "No, my Prince. You do not. I have met old men who never matured past fifteen and children as wise as village elders. You are not that, but neither are you a child. I will need to hear it from the King, but I withdraw my objection."
"My son will rule," the King murmured, eyes flickering to the commander. "I am glad you approve, Mirre, but he would have ruled regardless."
The commander stiffened, the implied threat clear, and Helios shook his head. Mirre could be rather… focused, at times. A good trait for any commander, but it could also make her seem brash. Brash like questioning the Crown Prince to his face in the presence of the King, the Captain of the Royal Guard and himself.
Marcus clapped his hands together. "Excellent. Yonas, Mirre, keep doing as you're doing. I'm going to need a few weeks to prepare and travel, which will give all the nobles time to get to Redwater to complain. In that sense, Helios. Send out the letters, would you? Better to face scheming nobility on our terms, not theirs."
"Is that wise?" Helios asked. "You've only just awakened. Your absence would be noted."
The Prince shrugged. "Undoubtedly so. But I need a break, fresh air and physical proof that this world doesn't end after a few thousand feet. To live and breathe without death hanging over me."
"I see. Captain Yonas will assemble a squad to accompany you, if that is agreeable?"
"It isn't. And no, I'm not saying that to sound arrogant," the Prince sighed. "I need to find some mental balance after everything. To miss people who I'll never see again, stretch my legs in a place where death isn't just a convenient reset. I need to be me, at least for a little while."
"I have a few squads of rangers," Mirre half offered, eyes flickering to the captain. "The discrete, quiet kind. They won't get in the way and could prove helpful when it comes to navigation."
"An offer I would normally take, but I plan to summon a demonic steed. One that regular horses won't be able to keep up with. Something which I need in turn to actually travel as far as I'm planning in only a few weeks."
The King straightened. "Your safe-"
"Is not a concern," the Prince interrupted, waving his hand. A hellhound stepped out of a shimmering portal, making Helios lean back even though it only curled at the foot of the bed. "And no, I am not limited to the lesser creatures of the Hells. Nor any of the other planes, though I will admit I have a fondness for the demonic. I will not get lost, I will not get killed, this is not up for discussion."
Helios clicked his mouth shut, heaving an internal sigh. Well, they did want the boy to rule. It was a welcome change, almost, compared to the prior indifference. They could hardly expect to forge a King, then wish for him to bow to their every desire, even if said desire was for the sake of his own health.
And something told him there was little in this Kingdom the Prince couldn't kill. Not anymore.
The Prince stood, legs shaking as another flash of pain was somewhat-badly hidden, and sighed. "Solid food, a bath and maps. I've seen what we could be, people. What other people have already achieved centuries ago. What properly integrated mages can do for warfare and prosperity. Gods help us all, there will be progress."