The Key to Ruling a Broken Kingdom (Girl x Girl)

24: Cedric

Alright, so Megan's back, and word has gotten around the castle. Oh! Remember Charles? The one Queen Sophia slapped? He's back too. Happy reading!

Song: Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers (I'm not a fan of this song but I couldn't think of anything else that fits. Let me know if you do!)

She is back. That wretched woman, Megan, is back. After Persephonie had stopped going to the courtyard, I thought it was all over. I thought Megan was gone for good. I thought the Princess was all mine.

But apparently not. I didn't understand why. Why was that low- life commoner back? Why had she left in the first place if she was only going to return?

The questions boiled inside of me, and I wanted to confront Persephonie. But she was somewhere with her precious Megan. Why did the princess prefer a commoner over a prince? I didn't understand. This wasn't making any sense.

I decided to look for Persephonie, and started for the courtyard, but King Patrick stopped me. "Cedric? If you have a moment to spare, I would like to see you in the Map room."

Honestly? I didn't really have a moment to spare. I needed to find my princess, but there was a hint of urgency in the king's voice, so I followed him to the Map room.

The Map room was exactly what it sounded like: a map room, or, a room with maps. Lots of maps. Some maps were hand- drawn, others were constructed from wood, and some others were constructed from a strange stone. There were maps of the entire world, drawn out on parchment or constructed from stone. Maps of certain kingdoms, and certain regions. In the middle of the room stood a huge, rectangular table with parchments containing different maps. There were chairs all around the table, but the chair at the top of the table was bigger than the others, and looked more comfortable. King Patrick took a seat on that chair, and the chair directly to his right was occupied by General Colt. Most of the other chairs were occupied by members of the king's Avisory Council.

I hesitantly sat down on the chair across from Colt, and directly to the left of King Patrick. General Colt was an extremely muscular man, and I envied him. He would have been perfectly handsome, with his curled blonde locks and blue eyes, had it not been for the scar along the left side of his face. I never really knew how he had gotten that scar. I had never really cared to ask either.

The king cleared his throat. "I have brought you here today to discuss the recent attacks in Crotis." Patrick looked directly into my eyes. "As you know, King Charles of the now renamed Charlissa has ambushed one of my villages."

I did not know this. But I didn't say anything as Patrick continued. He probably knew that I was not aware of this ambush, because he said, "Charles was supposed to marry my eldest daughter, Princess Venus, but he was rejected. It is my theory that this rampage is out of vengeance. Now, the council suggests that we rally our own army and go to war with him- but King Charles' army is much more powerful and numerous than mine."

"Your Majesty" a councilman interrupted. "We can expand our ranks- get the people to become our soldiers."

"I am not putting helpless men in the first-line!" Patrick roared. "They are my people! They are humans, and they do not have the training my knights and soldiers have."

The councilman fell quiet and King Patrick turned his attention to Colt. "You have organized parties to back up King Charles' possible locations?"

Colt nodded. "Knight Connor is leading them at the moment to Farncombe. I have also sent a smaller party with Knight Benjamin to Harrowgate."

My throat clenched. Conner. I knew how honored he must feel right now, but I didn't want him to get hurt. I wouldn't be able to bare it if he died.

"Prince Cedric" The king said, and I puffed my chest out proudly as he addressed me. "I got word that Charles has made an alliance with Bruvia. Although Bruvia's Advisory Council has decreased the kingdom's status, your military is still strong. I think that it is time you took back your kingdom, and become it's rightful ruler."

"I agree, King Patrick" I replied, a feeling of pride swelling in me. I tried to not let it show. "And I look forward to creating an alliance with you- with Crotis" I corrected myself.

Patrick flashed me a small smile, before his face returned to its serious expression. He turned his attention to General Colt again. "I want to set a course for Varac. I have heard great things about the country's military, and am seeking to create an alliance with them."

"Consider it done, your majesty" Colt said.

"But, sir" the councilman from before interrupted. "The cost to make it to Varac will leave the kingdom in a very high debt. Especially since you are not taxing people as much as King James did."

"We will travel at a low cost" the King retorted. "We will take an existing sail boat and repair it, and our gifts will be elegant yet cheap. One of Sophia's headdress for the queen, and a gilded cup should do it.

"And while we are there, I would also like to find Venus a suitor" Patrick continued. Suddenly there was a knocking on the door, and Queen Sophia entered. Patrick nodded at the Advisory Council, signaling them to leave him and the queen alone. Colt stood up and I followed him out the door.

Colt curtly whispered, "Your Highness" as he walked past the queen, so I did the same. Once out the door, the General and I parted ways, and I walked to my room, with a goofy smile on my face, and the thought of becoming King on my mind.

I know that I'm ready now. Or at least, more ready than I was three years ago. I know that I am ready to rule a fallen kingdom and build it up again. With Persephonie as my queen, nothing can go wrong, right?

A/N: Firstly, I have an apology. I copy and paste these chapters from google docs, and for some reason when I do that, the formatting isn't working (italic words and stuff). I'm trying to figure out how to get that fixed. Now with that aside, I wanted to show how Cedric feels about Persephonie. There hasn't been much about his character in this book, but yes, he is a bit sassy. Now at least. Different from the first time we saw him. I'm thinking about maybe adding a couple Persephonie/Cedric scenes. Thoughts? And if you have a different song for this chapter, let me know. Lastly, Vote and comment!!