Status: COMPLETE
The King
Dawn of an Era
Back at the castle, upon word from Winston that the prince was assuredly dead, Bartholomew had to use all of his strength from appearing too overjoyed. For only a few moments, he would be rapping on the king and queen's bedchamber door to announce to the queen the immense tragedy that had ensued.
Knuckles hitting the hard wood, he waited for a moment before it was slowly pulled open, Queen Suzanna's wide-eyed face peeking at him through the crack.
"Your highness, if I could have a moment," Bartholomew requested gravely. Relief flooding through her that she hadn't opened the door to a renegade, unsure as to whether or not the siege was still raging through the castle, the queen nodded and quietly let him in.
Bartholomew noticed Lyndsey and her mother huddled together on the queen's bed, and had to fight harder for the smile to stay hidden on his face. The reward was only too great as it were, Bartholomew would now have the pleasure of breaking the young girl's heart.
"Is it over?" the queen asked, wringing her hands together.
"Indeed. But there is some grave news that I regret being the one to inform you of," Bartholomew said solemnly, his face matching the sadness in his voice. Swallowing hard, the queen waited for him to continue on.
"I'm sorry, but…the king is dead. I found his body in the throne room once the siege was over."
The queen felt akin to pure ice as her blood ran cold, heart stopping at the words Bartholomew spoke.
"No," she whispered, knees shaking as they threatened to give way beneath her quivering body.
"I'm afraid it is so," Bartholomew muttered, hanging his head as he really played out the act well.
"And what of my Brian? I lost track of him somewhere during my escape. Please, tell me he is alright…" the queen whispered, eyes pleading to hear that he was safe after such terrible news.
"I…" Bartholomew started, enabling himself to look even more distraught, if possible, "I'm afraid the news I have is not good news, your majesty. In my discovery of the late king, I also found the young prince slaughtered at his side."
At the words, an audible gasp escaped Lyndsey, her throat seeming to constrict, her heart growing feint. Silently she hid her face in her hands and wept, remembering how only a few hours back she had been in the gardens with Brian, no care in the world troubling them. And now he was gone. It all felt too surreal.
The queen, on the other hand, fell to her knees as she finally wept openly, not bothering to hide her tears at the loss of not only her husband, but her only child as well.
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Bartholomew whispered, and without another word he left the women to weep, closing the chamber door behind him. Slowly, a wicked grin formed on his lips as he headed toward the throne room, where he had ordered some of his men to clean the mess that had been made. The room could not be seen by the queen in such a state, or else the lie would fall through, and Bartholomew's plan would be thwarted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days later, all the royal subjects were gathered in the grand hall, the slain bodies long removed from their resting places, the blood cleaned away.
At the top of the grand staircase were two white and gold caskets, the one containing the king's body, and the other empty. No one was allowed to look inside, and all in attendance believed it to hold the lifeless body of the young prince. Bartholomew knew that in order to keep the entire charade afloat, he would have to go to dire lengths, and thus had an extra casket specially made for the funeral service.
The queen and most of the women of the court were draped in all black, Lyndsey among them as she mourned the loss of her only friend.
Among the two caskets stood Bartholomew, preparing the address he was about to make to the court and its subjects.
"The death of the king is a tragedy of great magnitude. He was fair and just, and to lose him was a fate none of us were ready for. But to lose the young Prince Brian as well…at such a young age.
"And so, it seems, that the bloodline has come to an end. Which is why it is I, with a heavy, burdened heart, who must now ascend the throne, as the last living member of the bloodline. Throughout these trying times, I will do all that is in my power to pull the kingdom out of despair," Bartholomew announced, internally marveling at the looks of shock that passed over the crowd.
"It is time now…for a new era," he continued, and he knew behind him the Renegades were beginning to file in to the hall, causing many gasps to erupt throughout the room. "It is time now for all reaches of the kingdom to band together. Do not fear, for I have signed a treaty of loyalty and peace with the Renegades. And it is together that we shall create a kingdom the likes of which has never been seen before. And we shall prevail."
Knuckles hitting the hard wood, he waited for a moment before it was slowly pulled open, Queen Suzanna's wide-eyed face peeking at him through the crack.
"Your highness, if I could have a moment," Bartholomew requested gravely. Relief flooding through her that she hadn't opened the door to a renegade, unsure as to whether or not the siege was still raging through the castle, the queen nodded and quietly let him in.
Bartholomew noticed Lyndsey and her mother huddled together on the queen's bed, and had to fight harder for the smile to stay hidden on his face. The reward was only too great as it were, Bartholomew would now have the pleasure of breaking the young girl's heart.
"Is it over?" the queen asked, wringing her hands together.
"Indeed. But there is some grave news that I regret being the one to inform you of," Bartholomew said solemnly, his face matching the sadness in his voice. Swallowing hard, the queen waited for him to continue on.
"I'm sorry, but…the king is dead. I found his body in the throne room once the siege was over."
The queen felt akin to pure ice as her blood ran cold, heart stopping at the words Bartholomew spoke.
"No," she whispered, knees shaking as they threatened to give way beneath her quivering body.
"I'm afraid it is so," Bartholomew muttered, hanging his head as he really played out the act well.
"And what of my Brian? I lost track of him somewhere during my escape. Please, tell me he is alright…" the queen whispered, eyes pleading to hear that he was safe after such terrible news.
"I…" Bartholomew started, enabling himself to look even more distraught, if possible, "I'm afraid the news I have is not good news, your majesty. In my discovery of the late king, I also found the young prince slaughtered at his side."
At the words, an audible gasp escaped Lyndsey, her throat seeming to constrict, her heart growing feint. Silently she hid her face in her hands and wept, remembering how only a few hours back she had been in the gardens with Brian, no care in the world troubling them. And now he was gone. It all felt too surreal.
The queen, on the other hand, fell to her knees as she finally wept openly, not bothering to hide her tears at the loss of not only her husband, but her only child as well.
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Bartholomew whispered, and without another word he left the women to weep, closing the chamber door behind him. Slowly, a wicked grin formed on his lips as he headed toward the throne room, where he had ordered some of his men to clean the mess that had been made. The room could not be seen by the queen in such a state, or else the lie would fall through, and Bartholomew's plan would be thwarted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days later, all the royal subjects were gathered in the grand hall, the slain bodies long removed from their resting places, the blood cleaned away.
At the top of the grand staircase were two white and gold caskets, the one containing the king's body, and the other empty. No one was allowed to look inside, and all in attendance believed it to hold the lifeless body of the young prince. Bartholomew knew that in order to keep the entire charade afloat, he would have to go to dire lengths, and thus had an extra casket specially made for the funeral service.
The queen and most of the women of the court were draped in all black, Lyndsey among them as she mourned the loss of her only friend.
Among the two caskets stood Bartholomew, preparing the address he was about to make to the court and its subjects.
"The death of the king is a tragedy of great magnitude. He was fair and just, and to lose him was a fate none of us were ready for. But to lose the young Prince Brian as well…at such a young age.
"And so, it seems, that the bloodline has come to an end. Which is why it is I, with a heavy, burdened heart, who must now ascend the throne, as the last living member of the bloodline. Throughout these trying times, I will do all that is in my power to pull the kingdom out of despair," Bartholomew announced, internally marveling at the looks of shock that passed over the crowd.
"It is time now…for a new era," he continued, and he knew behind him the Renegades were beginning to file in to the hall, causing many gasps to erupt throughout the room. "It is time now for all reaches of the kingdom to band together. Do not fear, for I have signed a treaty of loyalty and peace with the Renegades. And it is together that we shall create a kingdom the likes of which has never been seen before. And we shall prevail."
♠ ♠ ♠
Oh...my...God. I am terribly terribly sorry that it has taken SO FREAKING LONG for me to update this story and the rest of them. It's a lot of work, completing a four-year college degree in 20 months. Not a whole lot of time to do other things that I would have liked to. BUT. Now that I am waiting to get a job... I have plenty of time on my hands, when I'm not making music. lolSO. Don't get hopes up for updates as regularly as they always used to be, BUT... DO be prepared for more updates in the near future. I will try to stay on top of things as much as possible :)
xoxo Thank you to all of you who are still subscribed and still reading!!
And this chapter is dedicated to Dezi Demize, for had she not questioned this story in particular, it would not have gotten out nearly as fast for it wouldn't have been on my mind.