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

36: Cedric

Cedric has just been corinated. And don't forget his little face-off with Persephonie. Also don't forgot: King Charles has a plan to kill all the heirs of Bruvia.

I collapsed onto my bed, going over the week's events. It had been surprisingly easy to convince the Advisory Council to let me get coronated, despite the fact that I am not yet sixteen. It had just felt... too easy. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right.

I pulled my bed covers up to my chin and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come. But it didn't. Finally, I gave up and got off the bed. I walked out of my old sleeping chambers in just my breeches.

The halls were empty. Not even a guard was in sight. I felt my stomach turn in panic. I hurried back into my sleeping chambers and grabbed my sword, and headed out again. I cautiously made my way through the halls. I heard footsteps and pressed my back against a wall. The footsteps stopped and I heard whispering.

"Its down this hall" a vaguely familiar voice said.

"Then go and do it." another man said.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I'm certainly not getting my hands dirty. This is your job after all. This is what you volunteered for-"

"I didn't volunteer for anything!" the familiar voice yelled. Then lowering it to a whisper again, he said, "Councilman Ger forced me to. He said that if I didn't join the Advisory Council's military, he would kill my wife and child. I really did not have a choice."

"You could have run away with your wife and child" the second man continued. "But that is beside the point. You better go do your job or your wife and child will have it- not from Ger. But from the King himself."

I heard the first man sigh in defeat and the footsteps got closer to the wall I was leant back against. My breathing became faster and heavier as the footsteps got closer. I took a deep breath, and stepped out into plain sight with my sword raised, and ready to strike.

The two grown men took sight of me, and I realized why one of the voices sounded familiar. Because it belonged to the guard I had spoken to all those years ago, and instructed him to take his helmet off. I could not forget the close-cropped blond hair and his formerly pity-filled blue eyes. The same eyes that I had looked into after realizing my father had died.

I looked to the man standing behind the guard. He was extremely bulky, making me self-conscious, and had dark hair. I did not know who he was.

But I looked to the more familiar guard, whose eyes were now filled with guilt. "Why did you leave your post?" I demanded.

"My post, sire?" he asked, evidently confused.

"By my chamber" I clarified. "Why did you leave your post by my sleeping chambers?"

The guard cleared his throat and produced his sword. "I have a job to do, your Majesty" he said, looking past me at nothing. I waited for him to explain what the job was.

When he did not, I said, "And what job could you possibly have, that required you to leave your post unattended?"

The guard took a deep breath and looked me directly in the eye. I sensed movement, and turned my eyes away from his, just in time to see his sword making its way to my stomach. I quickly brought my own sword up to deflect his.

The guard took a step back, surprised. "What are you doing?" I asked, and despite my attempting not to, terror and panic leaked into my voice.

"Forgive me, your highness, but I have to" the guard replied, with a straight face.

"Why?"

"Jack" the other man warned the guard. "You know what hangs at risk."

Jack the guard looked into my eyes again, and his blue ones glazed over. I waited for the tears to fall down his cheeks, but they didn't. Instead, in an instant, he positioned his sword so it was in line with where his heart would be, and penetrated it. I gaped at him as he well onto his knees, then his side- the tears finally left his eyes. "Take care of my wife and... son" Jack said, with his last breath.

I turned my attention to the dark- haired, bulky man standing a few ways from Jack. "Who are you?" I yelled at him, my voice shaking. "And what do you want?"

The man's lips formed a smirk. "I am General Edward of Charlissa, and I want you dead."

"W-W-Why?" I asked, trembling. I wished I was wearing something more than just my breeches.

"It is my king's orders."

A/N: How would you react in Cedric's shoes? What do you think will happen next? Stay tuned to find out. Vote and Comment!