3. Alphecca, painted in love

Two days after meeting the Prince of Stars, King Alph held a meeting with his First Knight in the throne room.

Whilst the king was painting a war ship, he wanted to get his most trusted man up to speed.

“Every ruler on the Silver River has some sort of power,” he began his explanation as he switched brushes, “And every one of them hides their impediment. After all, how could you lead the weak by parading your own weakness?”

The king’s words mostly rang true. Every ruler was bestowed with great power of different sorts, yet all of them had a certain counterweight for balance.

“As you know, I can make my paintings come to life. Guess what my drawback is.”

The knight hesitantly proposed, “Is it perhaps your imagination?”

King Alph splashed the cup of water his paintbrush rested in onto the knight’s face.

“My drawback is the speed of painting. If I could use my limitless imagination at the snap of a finger, I would be a million armies strong. With the time it takes to complete a single painting, I might be about half a million strong.”

“…Right.”

“The other rulers have them as well. Drawbacks, I mean. Seirios of Great Canis burns like the sun, but where do you think a star’s end lies? Whenever he explodes with fire, it’s himself who burns the most.”

On the map of the world behind him, with the tiny country of Borealis centred and dramatically enlarged, he pointed at the country right next to Great Canis.

“The king of Aquilla has an invincible eagle the size of a dragon, but its drawback is that the king himself takes a portion of the damage instead.”

“Your Majesty, how do you know all of this?”

He turned back to his canvas.

“I witnessed it during the last war. Regulus warned me about a total of five rulers, I’m sure those two are included, but I fear I don’t know where the other two’s powers lie, but frankly, I can’t imagine one stronger than myself. Perhaps my imagination does have its limits.”

“Thank you for explaining, Your Majesty, but why did you tell me all of this?”

“Because we will conquer the Land of Stars.”

His knight jumped out of his chair, “You jest, Your Majesty…”

“We will conquer the land of stars,” he repeated.

“…Alphecca,” in disbelief, he dropped the formalities and murmured the name he used to call his best friend. “A war with Aquilla, Great Canis and two more countries? All of us, Alphecca, all of us will die.”

Lingering in silence, he stood still in the empty throne room. Only when he sat down again did the king continue the conversation.

“My father was painted in greed. If I were asked to paint greed personified, my canvas would be a mirror for my father. He had four sons. I, the youngest of them.”

“I know, Your Majesty… where are you going with this story?”

“His sole achievement in life was never spending pennies too many. He bought the cheapest items he could find for my oldest brother and those would be handed down to the second oldest, to the third and then to me.”

“…Your Majesty?”

“Never as a child had I been given something I wished for. Love doesn’t solely transpire in the tangible, so much I know,” the knight lowered his gaze away from his king’s teary eyes, “but when love doesn’t transpire at all, is it so wrong to wish for something tangible? Am I at fault?”
Before his knight could reply, Alph pointed at him to shut him up.

“Am I at fault for wishing a land of riches that could turn anyone a dreamer? When gold seeps out of your pockets there’s no such thing as a dream out of reach. Raise your eyes and gaze at an example.”

He took the crown off his head and caressed the largest and most priced jewel with his finger.
“It was never my wish to be crowned king—I merely wished to make a difference! A change, a change filled with meaning, filled with love!”

It was hard to argue with King Alph once he made his point. His first knight knew that better than anyone else.

“I understand, Your Majesty. We have no guarantee that the so-called Prince of Stars wasn’t lying, nor that we will be victorious in claiming his land. And yet you persist and insist we go all out. Am I correct, Your Majesty?”

“Don’t hold anything back, don’t leave a single knife ashore. I want all of us together fighting for a common desire.”

Perfectly timed at the end of his speech, one of his guards entered the throne room.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty, Prince Altair of Aquilla requests an audience.”

“Where is he now?”

The guard glanced over his shoulder as if he was there, only to say, “We have him waiting outside of the castle.”

“Good. Don’t let him in until I give the word and kindly close the door again.”

As soon as it closed, the king spoke to his knight.

“The King of Aquilla is painted in pride, he would never lower himself to a battle of wits over a battle of fists.”

“…Meaning?”

“The crown prince is acting out of his own accord, meaning the king still hasn’t recovered from the war.” Uncharacteristically, he smiled from ear to ear, “Change of plans.”