His Royal Majesty

The next two days passed with a mixture of anxiety and a brave facade. King Avery wasn’t the kind of man to call me for pleasantries, there had to be something more formal to his change of tone.

What else could it be but Mai?

I bit my lip as the servants bowed, giving way as those egregiously large golden palace doors my father loved gave way.

Father couldn’t have known what we’d gotten up to. There was no way! Ben was smart enough not to talk, and for better or worse the school dorms were soundproof… assuming someone's door didn’t accidentally get left unlocked.

But I still couldn’t escape that sinking feeling, that what if.

Father was the king, there had to have been thousands of ways for him to spy on us. Worst case, there had to be a way to twist it.

My footsteps were slow as I walked into the throne room. Golden serpents writhed around on the wall, fighting for mere scraps of paint yet unclaimed. Every one eyed my arrival with suspicion.

I kept my pace, keeping my focus straight ahead at the empty throne. Even with him vacant it still sent a shiver up my spine.

Instead, my destination was the small private room concealed behind one of the pillars. At first glance, it was nearly invisible, and even the second barely changed anything. I’d only found out about this place from Felix slipping up a few years ago. It wasn’t the kind of room just anyone could enter.

I paused at the wall, taking a deep breath and pushing down on the small slit near my waist. Steam erupted from the wall as the disturbance sent the magical vines scurrying away.

The doors disappeared into the wall with one final clash, revealing the one room no normal citizen of Mikin could ever enter.

Compared to the rest of the grandiose castle, there was a simplistic feel here. The walls were simply smooth oak, with a plain marble desk seated halfway between the walls. A set of well worn wooden chairs faced the back. There was a lively, lived in feeling here that the magical sterile perfection that dominated the rest of the interior could never achieve.

I quietly took my seat. Papers were scattered on the desk: tax bills, military orders, royal decrees, and numerous other papers I couldn’t quite make out from my seat.

Wood creaked to my left as the king pushed the back door open.

Even for a meeting such as this, Father made sure to let his position be known. His vibrant red robes had an aura to them, cape donned in gold and crown shining from the magical orb of light above us.

“Rio, I thank you for responding so quickly to my summons. How has the breeze treated you, my son?”

“Exceptionally well. I thank you for summoning me Father.”

“Of course. Let’s cut the formality, it’s only the two of us son.”

“A-absolutely,” I said, startled. This was new.

King Avery took his seat–a massive leather chair that would make the average person look like a child–and gathered up some of the scattered papers. “When I gave you the task of watching over that Arhonian scum, I considered it an impossible task Rio, you know how their kind is. But every report I’ve heard has described your job as nothing but exemplary!”

“Thank you Father. I’ve been putting my utmost to it.” Even with my face blank, my insides still cringed at his mention of Mai.

“As you should! I felt bad leaving that filth in your hands Rio, most Mikins would have given up weeks ago, yet from my reports you’ve not let her out of your sights and even put on the facade of being on its side in front of Olivia. My spies also report there's been no data leaks due to your constant efforts.”

Data leaks? I nearly scoffed. How warped was his data if he thought that was even a remote threat?

“Tell me, Rio, you’ve been around that scum for a while now. What are your impressions so far? Anything specific that may point to Arhonia’s future plans?”

“Let me think,” I said, trying my best not to freak out.

One wrong word, one screw up and everything we’d achieved together over the last few days would be gone. Forget Ben’s, forget us talking in the art room! None of that meant anything if the man in front of me decided to take her as a sacrificial pawn for war.

“The Arhonians are trying to play the long game. Mai hasn’t touched on it much, but from the little that bitch said, they apparently think that they can strengthen themselves at a quicker pace than we could. The border skirmishes are where they’re testing our stockpiling capacity.” I grabbed a blank piece of paper, letting lightning flow from my finger as an impromptu pen while hoping my bullshitting didn’t have any holes. “If this line is the main border between the two countries, they’re focusing on hitting on the eastern flank, assuming her diary is correct and the Arhonian plans haven't changed.” I drew a sizzling line across the paper, marking small Xs where they were supposedly focusing their efforts.

It was all bullshit of course, but with just enough plausible deniability to hopefully let my story slide.

Hopefully.

“Interesting,” King Avery picked up my hastily drawn map, giving it a long once over. “This is more valuable than you know Rio, you’ve just saved the lives of hundreds of our soldiers! I’m proud to call you my son.”

“T-thank you, Father!” What the hell was wrong with me? This man, this damned man was talking about plans to murder everyone Mai loved, yet at one singular compliment, I felt a sense of pride. I’d never dreamed I’d do something well enough to get this.

Yet, why did it feel so wrong, this sense of pride?

“I must return to my duties, but I'll let your personal assistant know to plan for weekly meetings to discuss your observation of our Arhonian guest.” He stood, letting his leather chair scrape against the ground. “If there’s any urgent updates, report those immediately to me and me alone.”

“Of course father. May the breeze bless you.” I gave a small bow before walking to the door.

As I walked out, a sinking feeling weighed down on my stomach. I was still Mikin. Sure, this place was a corrupt mess in so many ways, yet it was still home. The King was still my father at the end of the day.

Yet, just these few weeks with Mai had been the best time of my life.