A Dance of Princes (The Heir, Book 1)

Chapter 14

I wasn't able to sleep that much last night; so many things were bouncing back and forth in my thoughts that I ended up watching television in the living room even though my mind wasn't with the program. There were things I had to consider before taking the crown, that was if I really wanted it.

The main thing that I focused on was Mom. For years we've been living through the minimum wage we both were making bi-weekly, and the apartment we were living in was at a decent rental rate that was included with free Wi-Fi and 24hour electricity & water. Minus that expense along with the food that we buy every two weeks to stock the cupboards, cabinets, and refrigerator and we have just about enough to allow us to at least go out for one night and have dinner at a good three-star restaurant.

And then when they raised the apartment rent, it threw everything that was stable off course. With the extra two hundred dollars that was supposed to go to our food added to the rent, Mom had to start taking night shifts at the hospital. We said goodbye to the once-a-week night outs and ordering pizzas. We stuck to canned foods, fried chicken, and soup. Lots of soup, and also an array of different salads.

If I were to accept this crown, I could help Mom a whole lot. I could even try to convince her to retire into that condo she always dreamt of buying. But most importantly, I could help her pay off all debts and expenses for the rest of her life. She wouldn't need to be paying anything else anymore. She wouldn't have to result in borrowing money from the bank (which she has considered lots of times even though I keep advising her not to). Ultimately, the only positive outcome I could think of if I decide to accept the crown is that I could pull Mom out of destitution and barely ever getting by.

Then there was the choice of rejecting the crown. There would be a lot of possibilities and outcomes that would come out of this. If I do reject the crown, I would be known as a coward, a disgrace to the bloodline of the family. I would be like Jason: someone who steps down from the throne, someone who seems to not care about their country even though they do but was too much under the pressure that it drove them over the edge.

I didn't want to reject the crown for one of two reasons; one: I would be able to start over and live a new life even though there would be a lot of things that I'd have to carry on my back, and two: I'd show all those people back home, those people who constantly kept pulling me down and tearing me apart because they thought I was weak, that I wasn't weak at all. I'd prove them wrong and show them just how far I am from cowardice.

There was also the reason of wanting to make Dad proud. I wanted to carry on his image, to let his memory live through me and remind the people that he wasn't gone, but just watching over them, over me, over Grandma. I wanted to keep his memory alive even though I never got to know him.

After putting on a fleece sweater and jeans, I walked towards the living room to get the phone, dialing my home's phone number. It took a couple of rings before Mom answered the phone.

"Hello?" She sounded tired.

"Mom?"

"Vincent?" Her voice was hoarse and I heard rustling of bed sheets. She must've been sleeping.

"Hey mom."

"Vincent, oh my goodness, I miss you, honey!"

"I miss you too, mom. Sorry if I'm calling this late."

"No, it's totally fine. How's uh, how's Allyria?"

"Well, it's fancy, I'll give you that. But it still doesn't feel like home. They don't make breakfast like you do."

She laughed softly. "Nothing's better than a mom's home cooked meal." There was a few seconds of short silence. "Your boss called me the other day. He sent in your last pay check through the mail."