A Dance of Princes (The Heir, Book 1)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

I dreamt of myself sitting on the throne; I was from another point of view. The dream was more of a blur, but I only remembered some of the details from it. It was almost a nightmare. I was holding a golden staff that was topped with a lotus-shaped jewel that was inside a crown. Two guards stood on either side of the foot of the stairs that ascended my throne. There were lower castes in the Throne Room that made a line to tell me about their complaints. I had rejected all of them. I was a tyrant; I didn't care about their needs. All I wanted was power.

I awoke from a slight chill that passed through a crack in the bedroom windows. It was still dark out, but when I looked at the clock, it indicated that I only had four hours of sleep. I grabbed my robe on the rack and shrugged it on before heading outside the empty hallways. I walked aimlessly through the halls, the only light shining was the moonlight that was piercing the windows. The night made the Roman architecture look ancient, almost as if the palace was in a state of ruin.

A guard that was on duty outside of my door had escorted me to the back of the palace, where the courtyard shone under the gleaming moon. I walked along the wide paths, the bushes, shrubs, and perfectly trimmed hedges rustling in the night wind. It was peaceful out here. I could think without getting in trouble.

I was still unsure about this whole thing. So far, I've only learned about how to get around the mansion and some information and history about Allyria. That, to me, wasn't an accomplishment, and that thought made me feel like a failure. I guaranteed myself that people were spewing negative comments about me, saying that I'm unfit to sit on the throne and rule their country; horrible things like homophobic slurs and cruel jokes. If I was going to be King one day, then I'd have to try and push those thoughts aside. But my negative vibe about this whole scenario is just pulling towards a deep endless abyss of hopelessness.

I needed strength, but where do I start finding it?

When the day finally took over, Jack came to get me for the second day of touring. This time he was going to go over some details about what there is to do around the palace and what I should expect.

"There's an abundance of things that you'd need to know while living in the palace, and since you're blood of King Lawrence, you'll need to know that he loves to host parties."

"My dad was a party animal?" I said with raised brow.

"I wouldn't put it like that. It's not the type of parties where people go and get drunk; they're more social and formal."

"Sounds pretty boring," I said blatantly.

"Not at all! You'd get to meet a lot of people, make some new friends-"

"I don't really see myself making friends with people who have lots of money."

"Well, you'd have no choice. You have lots of money now so you can add that to your new list of advantages you can use whenever you feel like."

"Advantages? How do you mean?" I asked as I gazed upon a vintage tapestry hanging from the ceiling.

Jack sighed hopelessly. "You really have lots to learn. You can use money for starting charities, giving back to the people, start a good cause, that sort of stuff."

I thought about it. Maybe for those types of purposes, I guess having a lot of money that you could burn does have its upsides to it. I could even help Mom get out of her debt. Just thinking about her makes me homesick. I wonder what she's doing right now. She's probably at the table sorting out the bills and trying to balance the checkbook, something that I'd always help her with. I should call her later.