章 5: Prince Arson

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. We, Fire Royals, woke up with the sun. The Ice Royals, not so much. I forgot how early Thaliah got up. Another annoying quality of hers. As a kid, she used to sneak into my room and snoop around in my stuff. Imagined a nine-year-old waking up to a seven-year-old girl touching his stuff. It never went well. Ever.

I used the morning to explore the Ice Castle grounds. It gave me a chance to assess my options with my dilemma. The two choices I had in my court: I could run. Say fuck the Fire Kingdom and Thaliah. It was not like I liked her either way. Then option two kept popping up in the midst of that fantasy. Anubis would find me and punish me if I ran. I had seen the most powerful of men try to hide from my brother. He loved the thrill of hunting another. Reveled in it. No matter where I went or how hard I traveled, he would find me. The results would not be to my liking.

I wanted my freedom more than anything else. Needed it. Thaliah had grown a lot from the selfish brat that cared about her needs. It amazed me when she spoke about her Kingdom with such pride. A true Queen. I wasn't born to be a king. The only reason I knew how to run a Kingdom was because of selfish reasons. Father only found interest in me when I followed him and Anubis around. At the time, he thought I found interest in his duties. A lie. I did it, so he could see that I, too, was his child. I, too, needed his smile and pat on the back. He did those things only after I pushed my way into his space.

I learnt a lot in those days. One thing more than the lessons. I was not cut out to be a ruler. I was and will always be the third son of the Fire Kingdom. The misfit. The odd one out. I came to terms with my position a long time ago and wished not to play a part I had no business in doing.

I perched on the edge of the land, overlooking the ebb and flow of water that surrounded the lands of the Palace. The sea cocooned Ice Kingdom. Its best asset. Not only were the royals of Cordal ice wielders but they could manipulate liquids as well. A phenomenal factor. Thaliah once bragged that the source of the ocean protected and nourished Cordal. Not something she should have told someone outside of her Kingdom, but it was Thaliah. She wouldn't shut up.

God, how the hell was I supposed to marry her?

My conversation with Baron came back to me.

***

We relaxed near the lava lake on the outskirts of the Fire Palace. Baron handed me a paper bag of cookies we got from the bakery in town. I leaned against an oak tree and crossed my legs at the ankles. Baron propped a hand behind his head and took a swing of the bottle of liquid. He squinted at the taste of the substance. I chuckled. Unlike other warriors, he was never a drinker.

My smile vanished when he spoke.

"Something's wrong in that Kingdom. Anubis and Thaliah have been conversing for the past few months. Every letter got worse. Her Kingdom is retaliating against her. The Ice Kingdom has always been one of the strongest Kingdoms on our globe. They fear their ranks will drop at the hands of Thaliah. Cordal has never been run by a Queen before and they feel like Thaliah is not powerful enough to rule. Ridiculous if you ask me. That girl is smarter than any of the leaders before her. But knowledge comes second to power."

I fidgeted against the tree. "Why me, though? Why don't you go?"

He made a far better fit. He knew the ins and out of being a King. He had the mindset and the skills to be a better King than I ever would. Not to mention, he was great at combat and strategizing. His power outweighed mine. I was the weakling of the Fire Royals. I never possessed much power.

His face crinkled at the idea. "I can't. When I see her, I will always see the curious little girl who followed you around. I'll see the one I used to give piggyback rides and taught how to hold a sword. She'll be the little girl I often scolded when she cursed because she heard you or someone else do it. No matter how old she gets, I will never see her as an adult. Instead of being her husband, I'll be the older guy reprimanding her for everything. That would be too weird."

He did always see her as the little sister he never had. She loved him too. I used to hate it when she pretended he was her brother. She hogged his attention, and he never refused her. I often got jealous and counted the days she would return to her Kingdom. Thirteen years older than her, Baron cared for her more than any of us. Sometimes I wondered if he could, he would have had her stay here with us as a family.

"I can't marry her," I whined. "Can't you find someone else?"

"Anubis wouldn't be sending you if this wasn't something important to him. He's always done what you ask up until now. There must be a reason for this. You just have to trust him."

I pouted. There was no escaping this. "I won't be happy."

"Yeah, you will," Baron watched the lake. "You're Arson, the adventurer. No matter where you go or who you're with, you can always find happiness. When the town outside the city was having problems, you went to their rescue. When that boy went missing, you found him. No one else but you, Arson, got the people to cooperate on many occasions. Not me or Anubis but you. Were you sad in those times?"

I shook my head.

"Exactly. Now another kingdom needs your help. My little brother is not the type of person to turn down aiding someone because of happiness."

It wasn't so simple this time. They wanted me to be king. I couldn't…

"You'll do great," Baron said. "I might not be there with you, but I'll be with you. Every step of the way. Thaliah needs us and you're the only one that can help. So, help. We both know if the tables were turned, Thaliah would run to our rescue. She was always helping you when you were kids. Even when you were ungrateful. She came back whenever you came calling. Don't turn your back on her people or her when she wants your help. That's not our way."

I closed my eyes. Baron could not have put it better. This was why people shouldn't have older siblings. They gave the best advice for the worst situations.

"I'll try," I murmured.

"That's good enough for me."

Fucking hell.

***

Baron was right. The Fire Kingdom was never known to not aid when a fellow kingdom needed it. Thaliah may be annoying, but she cared about her Kingdom. Velron didn't. God knows what would happen to the Ice Kingdom if he ruled. I didn't want to find out. One psycho was already reigning over Azoria. The Ice Kingdom didn't need one too.

I could help. Thaliah made a valid offer. She could be Cordal's true leader while I took the King's title. As long as she didn't expect me to act stuffy with boring Kings stuff, I could do it. I could help. I had to. Anubis could get off my back. It would put Baron's mind at ease. When things settled down, I could leave. Yeah. It would work out. First, I had to do what I always said I would do before marriage. A proper proposal.

Strapped with a plan, I returned to the Ice Palace. I found the kitchen busy with chefs. They froze at the sight of me. Who wouldn't? I doubt the royals of this palace visited the servant quarters. Why would they when everything was brought to them? Anubis never had unless it was in search of me.

"Your Highness," the head chef bowed. The stiff act never went unnoticed. I brushed it off as nerves.

"I want to make treats for a picnic." I surveyed the large kitchen, analyzing where they had everything set up.

"Pardon, sir?" He forced a smile.

I ran a finger across the counter and checked it. Clean. "You heard me. Are you going to show me where everything is or are you going to stand there staring?"

The lean man's eyes widened. "Right away, sir."

The kitchen came alive. A girl who had her dress on too tight at the waist helped me through most of everything. Her stiff movements and forced breathing scared me. I knew peasants wore hand-me-downs, but anyone could see the damn dress was killing her.

"You're not what we expected," she whispered next to me.

I smiled. They always said that phrase. "What do you mean?"

"You're cooking," the man who looked around my age explained for her.

I shrugged. "Yeah, royals do cook. My dad could do it. He taught me and my brothers."

The kitchen went silent. A shocker. No one knew the mighty King of Azoria knew how to handle himself in a kitchen.

"Yeah," I went on. "It was the only time he spent with all three of his children together without talking politics. He loved the idea of knowing how to do something for himself. Cooking helped him to relax. He passed the art to me. I mean, you can't find my brothers in the kitchen, not even to save their lives."

A round of laughter surrounded us.

I couldn't help but smile either. The people of this kingdom were welcoming. It was hard not to enjoy myself around them. Things would be less complicated if I got to stay around them all the time. But life wasn't that fair.