Devoted Nobility

Chapter 49

Alexander

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I had to put on a strong face, emotionless. It was one of the first things my father taught me. To be a good King, you must be able to make the decisions best for your people, not for yourself. I wish he was able to follow those notions. He had almost seemed to be getting better, but the news of Elizabeth brought on a fit of rage. He wasn’t upset that the Portuguese had killed his child, but that they had cost him the chance of adding thousands of men to his armies. He had retreated to his room in anger last night and I haven’t seen him yet this morning.

Like usual, I have been acting as the King while my father plays around with whatever woman he was able to trick this time. I hid my true pain for the loss of my sister. I was close with all my siblings, but especially Elizabeth. I was intrigued by her way of thinking. She wasn’t exactly a pessimist, but a realist. She understood the reality of our lives more than anyone else.

She taught me to be grateful for what I have. Those lessons were more important than anything my father told me. I would always remember that when I ruled over the country. Beyond that, she was honest. Behind the backs of the adults who kept a close watch on us as children, she would mock my father. She even gave him the nickname Tyrant in Hiding because of his strict way of controlling the government and his lust for power. All of those things crept into my mind as I tried to settle the matter of her death with my father’s advisors. The matter of her death. They made it sound like a political situation instead of the horror it was.

“Your grace?” I was brought out of my trance by an advisor named Henry.

I blinked a few times. “I’m sorry gentlemen. What was the question?”

He sighed. “The one on everyone’s mind- what do we do? Does this mean war?”

I bit my tongue. “Does this mean war? They killed my innocent sister based on the gossip of their idiot countrymen. Even if they thought the choice they were making was best, did they think it would help them avoid England? They were after my fiancée, the girl I love. The only response is war.”

Another advisor spoke up. “Well, they send their sincerest apologizes on the mistake.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care if they send their King’s right hand to us as a sign of remorse. They must learn.”

“Then shall we present the notion to the King?”

I shifted my weight. “You all know just as well as I that he would turn it down. He has a more important use for his armies instead of fighting over what he believes is insignificant.”

 I was powerless.