A councilman by the name of Stephus hurriedly made his way down the bustling halls of the Castle of Urswic to the area known as The Queen’s Court, the place where the Queen gathered with council. Dressed in his fine blue robe, he avoided eye contact with all passersby. Entering into the Queen’s Court, which housed the place known as the Center, quickly heading up the stairs to the empty six-hundred seats of the Council that surrounded the Center. Reaching the top, he paused as he observed Titus, who appeared occupied with something. Stephus slowly approached Titus. “I just received word that the queen is on her way from undergoing the Talek,” he said softly. But Titus didn’t lift his head from the document he was reading.
“Is there anyway I can, perhaps, discourage you from this madness?” he asked Titus.
Titus lifted his eyes slowly from the document. “Madness? Are you suggesting that I have gone mad?”
But Stephus held his silence.
“Dear man, there should be a tingling of gleefulness that resonates throughout this empty room,” Titus exclaimed, holding the document high in his hand in front of the curious eyes of Stephus. “Today, the honor that has been consistently denied me, shall be mine.”
“By attempting to blackmail our Queen?” Stephus asked.
“Stephus, you have grown content with groveling, prostrating yourself on the floor like a servant to appease this oppressive bitch. To satisfy her arrogance and abhorrence to anything and anyone with a cock between its legs. Well, I no longer will do it.”
“Titus, what do you expect to gain from any of this?”
“What is rightfully mine.”
“To have rule over a province? You're risking everything, including your life, for simple rule?”
“No!” Titus shouted as he slammed his hand forcefully on the desk. “This is more than just that. This is about the fundamental survival of the dignity of mortals, especially male mortals.”
He rose to his feet, motioning with a hand towards the throne. “We were told that the Talek was the gift of the Myathians. If it is truly a gift, then why does it remain exclusively the right of the queen and is only shared with those whom she deems fit? What if it were meant to be shared by all of the citizens of Twells? How would we know? Have the Myathians decided that Twells is undeserving of ever having another King rule over her? Or was this simply the decision of two Queens with strong aversions to men?”
Titus cuffed the sides of Stephus’ face with his hands. “Stephus, open your eyes! Queen Katrina has taken the Talek. She is no longer a mortal, which means that she cannot bear an heir to her throne. She will outlive the both of us, Stephus.”
He released Stephus' face. “A famine has broken out around Twells, the sick and elderly have perished first. What will happen when the Queen and her army are required to make their sacraments and there are no elderly to be found, aside from those conveniently trapped behind the very walls of Twells?”
“Titus, what you speak of has never happened. There have been famines in the days of Karlise, but never has such a thing been in the mind of the queen or her Army.”
Titus's eyes slammed shut as he exhaled loudly. “Are you not tired of living under the heavy feet of this delicate queen? Of being treated with less honor than the woman who runs the Castle in the queen’s absence?
I am only seeking a small measure of compliance from this queen. To be respected, not because of barbaric skills with the sword, but simply because I am a man.”
“You are truly a man. However, Katrina is Queen, the granddaughter of our great King. Titus, I beg of you, give up this thing. Seek another way to find peace with our Queen.”
