Chapter 58

The funeral ceremony took place the next day. We wore dark clothes to attend the event outside. A hole was dug into the cold ground, next to Timothy's parents.

Everyone gathered outside. The castle staff, the royal advisors, as well as commoners from the village. They all wore dark clothes.

I stood next to Orion as we watched Timothy approach the king's body. He rested in a long, decorated chest. He was dressed in his finest garments, his eyes shut. He still looked like he was peacefully sleeping.

I watched Timothy hold back tears with all his might. It was asked to bring something to bury the king with. A trinket, a flower, a memory. Something to send him into death with.

I watched Timothy go first, setting a small, red potato with him.

The staff and advisors went next. They filled his coffin with flowers, and gold coins.

Orion, Galen, and I went together, adding flowers to his already bright arrangement.

They then let the commoners in. They placed many things with the king; bread, sweets, cloth, Darlington flags.

Once the items were placed, he was covered up with a sheet and the gardeners began to dig a spot for him.

"Advisors. I'd like to meet with you." Timothy told a group of people.

"You as well, Zander." He said.

A few minutes later the staff showed me into the meeting room. The long wooden table had various floral and agricultural designs carved into the wood.

Timothy was already there. The advisors filled their way in.

"We are glad you called this meeting, Timothy. We wanted to meet and talk about the line of succession."

"As did I." He said.

"I was rather close to the king." An advisor said in a sharp tone.

"Since the king had no children, I will take it upon myself to step up and become the new king of Darlington." He continued.

"You?" Another advisor wrinkled up his nose.

"Why not me?"

"You are the advisor of agriculture. You hardly know anything about this kingdom. I, however, am the advisor of currency. I know all about the kingdom's finances."

"You know nothing about the people. All you seek is wealth. Darlington is a kind kingdom, I would like to keep it that way."

Timothy looked at me before speaking. I gave him a slight nod in reassurance.

"Both of you. Stop. Neither of you will be king... I will be."

The advisor's eyes widened like they had just witnessed a terrible accident. A couple of the let out a laugh.

"Timothy, you may have been his favorite, but that does not make you fit to rule. Let the adults handle this."

Timothy pulled out the letter, as well as the royal declaration announcing Timothy as king that was found under the king's bed. He scooted them to the end of the table.

"Actually, I am."

They scooped up the documents and analyzed them. Their credibility could not be denied. They read it over and over.

"Timothy. This is a large responsibility. It's not like owning a pet. I think it would be best if you let one of us take over."

"Look again at the documents. If I don't rule, King Zander Bray of Lafayette does. Not that I don't respect him, or what he does. But I would like Darlington to stay independent, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you want Darlington to be entrusted with someone who was raised here?"

They studied the papers for a long time. Looking for some way out, a potential loop hole. A potential argument they may have had. But King Adler made it clear. It was Timothy or me.

"I followed King Adler for a long time. I trust his judgement. If he thinks you are what's best for Darlington, so be it."

A few of the other men nodded in agreement.

"Will you ensure Darlington stays out of the war?" One asked.

"King Adler trusted Zander enough to rule Darlington. I think we can safely trust him to be our ally."

"But sir. The war will cost Darlington greatly."

"It may." I spoke up.

"But if you don't, Vendov will come for you. He will force you to be his ally. If you refuse, he will destroy you. That's what he tried to do with Belmonte and Naporia. Luckily, Lafayette was there to help. Now we're all allies. We are close to ending this war, I can feel it. If you cannot give us soldiers, give us supplies. Darlington is plentiful in food."

"King Adler would say he didn't trust the Vendov king. That he was cruel to all living beings. I don't want to be forced under his rule." Timothy said.

"Alright. I support this plan." Said the advisor of agriculture.

"It will be costly, but I support it." Said the advisor of currency.

They all came to a unanimous decision of support.

"Your coronation will take place tomorrow, Timothy. We will be here to support you in anything you need. The king would be proud." The currency advisor smiled.

The room dispearsed once the meeting was over. Timothy wiped his damp hands onto his slacks. His face returned to its natural color.

"Will you and your friends stay for the coronation? We usually have a festival in town after." Timothy said.

"Thank you, Timothy. But we really should get going."

"I insist. Just one more day. Then you can go home to your family."

Timothy seemed to need the support, swaying my decision. He was going to be king. I had years of preparation, and I still felt overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine how he felt.

"Alright. We will leave right after." I said.

The castle wasted no time for the coronation preparations. They spent the morning decorating the castle with flowers and Darlington banners.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to Belmonte? Form the next part of the plan?" Galen asked me as I was putting on my boots.

"I think Timothy needs some support today. We will leave after today, promise." I said.

"Vendov has Salkon, The Mullis Islands, and Solaris. We have Belmonte, Naporia, and Darlington. Seems like an even split." They said.

"We both have dragons. Vendov may have more money and more soldiers, but we now know the commands of the unrest dragon. This could be the key to our victory. I have been more calm ever since we found it." I explained to them.

"Glad to hear, Zander. I must get ready."

I sat in between Galen and Orion at the coronation. Galen streamed small flowers through their long hair. Orion was dressed handsomely in a dark  blue jacket and top. He appeared less tired than usual, I hoped he had a graceful rest. The dark blue made his amber eyes pop.

"Presenting the new appointed king of Darlington, Timothy Rusen. Appointed by late King Adler. Timothy will rule with the kindness and grace as the royals before him." A royal advisor inducted him.

Timothy stood up stiff. He was no longer wearing his knight uniform. His hair was slicked back and hardened, not a hair out of place. His clothes were polished. A golden crown was set on top of his head. The gold tops were shaped like autumn leaves.

"Thank you. I will rule with all the grace and kindness that I have learned from the late king. He raised me as a son, and I want nothing more than to make him proud."

Everyone clapped for him and tossed flowers, as well as leaves.

Outside the castle, the village was decorated. Darlington banners were strung up from house to house. The center of the village was marked by a giant tree. It was carved with various shapes and names on it. Lanterns, along with the evening light made the village shine. Cobblestone paths circled the tree and paced the village.

A small band played. The fiddler played fast, creating an upbeat tune. The commoners danced with the advisors and staff.

Two little children were carving their name into the giant oak tree. One of them approached me and Orion with a wide mouth.

"Come carve your name!" The child demanded.

I followed them to the tree. A couple other kids were creating a rock pile next to it. We both kneeled in front of the majestic oak.

Orion pulled out his black dagger and handed it to me.

"You first." He said.

I took it out of his hand. His sister's name stared at me.

I took it and carved a 'Z' into the tree.

"Not going to put your whole name?"

"Perhaps not now. Don't want the enemies to know where I've been. Maybe I'll come back one day when it's safe and add to it." I handed the dagger back to Orion. He copied me, only carving the first letter of his name into it.

"I'll come back here with you, then." He smiled, putting his dagger away.

The fiddle slowed from a folky medley to a slower beat.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked, extending his hand.

My brain quickly tried to find a reason to say no. But there wasn't one. I wanted to dance with Orion, why did I insist on denying myself that?

"Uh. Alright. Sure. Why not?" I took his hand and we stood up together.

With my hand in his, Orion took me to the path circling the tree, where other couples were paired off and dancing. He placed his other hand on my shoulder and we began to dance to the tune of the fiddle. My heart raced. I tried to focus on staying calm, avoiding my hands to become sweaty in his.

The children giggled as they watched us. One of them took a sharp stone and began carving a heart around our initials.

The blood rushed to my cheeks upon seeing it.

"You're good at dancing. Guess I shouldn't be surprised." Orion said.

"I could say the same to you."

"My father never cared for parties. He would only celebrate his war victories."

"My parents had too many parties. Spent the kingdom's wealth on lavish parties anytime they had the opportunity. Let our people go hungry so they could flaunt their wealth." I said.

His ember eyes looked into mine.

"You will be different than your parents. We will be different than our parents." He said.

His kind words made my insides melt. I attempted to distract myself to avoid my hands from sweating.

Galen was sitting with a few other children around the tree. They were playfully interrogating them about their healing abilities.

"Can you bring someone back from the dead?"

"Can you breathe fire?"

"Can you see dead people?"

Galen was getting overwhelmed with the childrens questions.

"No, no. And what?" They said.

Timothy stood over them. He cleared his voice for attention.

"Hello, Galen. I was wondering if you would like to dance with me?" Timothy asked.

"I don't really know how to."

"It's not hard, I promise."

"But we have more questions!" The children stomped.

"On second thought, I'll take you up on that."

Galen took the new king by the hand and joined us in dancing around the tree.

"So. I've been meaning to ask.. What happened to your eye?" He asked, staring at their glazed over eye.

Galen frowned. They just ended a game of a thousand questions, and did not seem thrilled to begin another.

"I was born with it." They said shifting with their head down.

"Well. I think you look lovely tonight." Timothy said.

Their head rose, and their discomfort eased for a moment.

"I don't think anyone has ever said that to me. Thank you." They said.

"Never? How?"

"I'm unsure. I lived alone for a long time."

"Well then, they're missing out. You're the most beautiful girl in the land." Timothy smiled.

Galen stopped dancing.

"Please don't call me that. I'm not a girl." Galen said, pulling their hands

"Oh.. Sorry. But what? Really?" Timothy questioned.

Galen lowered their hands.

"Perhaps I should go." They said, breaking apart from Timothy.

"No, wait! I didn't mean to offend." Timothy said. Galen continued to walk, leaving him alone.

"Should we help them? I don't think Timothy understands." I said, my eyes returning to Orion.

"Yes. In a moment.. Let me enjoy this for a second longer." Orion smiled at me.

My heart sped up the longer we danced. I stared into his eyes, wondering how the monstrous King of Vendov created such a fantastic man.

A small drop of cold tapped my head. I looked up to the sky. Tiny white snow flakes began to drop upon us. The snow had gotten everyone's attention.

"It's snowing?"

"It appears an early snow fall is upon us." Orion said, studying the sky, his hands still in mine.

I regretted it the second I did so, but I pulled away from Orion, reminding myself of the task at hand.

"We better go. Winter is on its way. We can't travel as well in the snow." I said.

"I'll go talk to Galen. Then we can head out." Orion offered.

"And I'll go talk to Timothy."