Twilight had spread across the sky like a red wound, and a thin slash of a moon shone weakly just above the eastern horizon. Crows were flying back to their faraway nests tiredly, etching patches of blackness across the dull red sky.
Around the blazing fireplace of Sabrina's home, Shivam, Aparajita, and Josh were seated on comfortably cushioned chairs, wrapped in cozy blankets made of Miracloth. Josh had a fever, and he sneezed from time to time, and Aparajita was silent, pondering over the things Shivam had told her. The impossible things that included dragons and parallel worlds. As Sylvia brought them a tray of hot home-made cookies to go with the cups of tea they were already sipping, Aparajita asked: "Ok, let me get this straight. I had turned into a dragon, and flown into a parallel world, you defeated an evil emperor while looking for me, and currently we are sipping tea in a world that's not earth?"
"Yeah," Shivam said simply.
"I don't believe it," Aparajita declared.
"Why don't you, sister?" Josh asked. Sylvia sat on a chair beside Josh, and said, "Eat the cookies, guys. I helped my mom to bake them. They are good."
"I don't know..." Aparajita said, picking up a cookie and looking at Josh. "All of it is a bit too much for me...it feels like you guys are pulling my leg for some reason."
"Well, here's what you can try," Shivam said. "Remove that Miracloth blanket, and go outside. The cold will freeze your eyes. Then wrap it again around yourself, and instantly, the cold disappears. If that isn't magic in a parallel world, I don't know what is."
"I don't have any intention of following this idea, whatsoever," Aparajita said, making Shivam smirk with satisfaction.
Sabrina walked into the room, carrying a fresh tea-pot, and asked, "Which idea are you talking about, dear?"
Aparajita opened her lips for answering, but before she could, there was a hammering on the door.
"Coming!" Sabrina said, settling the teapot down, and then went to open the door. "Oh, it's Arthur..." she muttered.
Arthur walked in hurriedly, and said, "Shivam! It's time for you to come and meet the crowd. They don't want to listen to my talks. They want the Shadowblade Soldier, the People's Hope."
"Not again," Shivam sighed, covering his eyes with his hand.
"Come! They are quite impatient!"
"About what, exactly? What do they want?"
"Do I have to spoon-feed everything to you?" Arthur groaned in frustration. "The people want you to be the next king, Shivam. You don't have time for cookies and tea."
***
After a few minutes, Shivam, holding the Shadowblade and wearing its armour, climbed a few steps to a kind of temporary stage, before which hundreds of people, including Infernos, had gathered. As Shivam climbed to the stage (and he had no idea where the hell it had come from, it certainly wasn't there when he and Blikrot had been fighting) there was a significantly loud cheer that emerged from the crowd.
Shivam faced the crowd, trying to look smart, but there was a peculiar sensation in his stomach. Stage fright.
"I heard from Arthur that you people wanted me to come and meet you. Well, here I am. What is it that you want?" Shivam asked.
"You are our king," someone shouted, and others followed. "Our King! Our King!" Waves of cheering ensued.
"I am not a ruler. I cannot be your king..." Shivam began, but the people were not listening.
"YES YOU ARE!"
"PEOPLE'S HOPE!"
"SHADOWBLADE SOLDIER!"
The cheering drowned the words of Shivam. He had to raise a hand to hush them, and obediently, the crowd silenced itself.
"I will select for you your next king," Shivam said, looking at Arthur, who was standing beside Josh.
"Josh will be your new Emperor. He will guide Heart to prosperity and peace," Shivam said.
Arthur winked, and began dragging Josh to the stage, whose jaw was in danger of falling to the ground. There was a stunned silence among the gathering.
"HE'S ONLY A KID!"
"WE DON'T WANT KIDS RULING US!"
"HE'S NOT OUR KING!"
The voices came, angry, exasperated. "Are you crazy?" Josh asked his big brother, but Shivam ignored both him and the shouts.
"From now on, Josh will possess the Shadowblade. Arthur will be his Commander-in-Chief. He will guide him both in ruling and defending you people," Shivam said.
The crowd still seemed about to burst into more protests, but Arthur stepped forward and silenced them.
"I once asked for the blessing of the Resident Dragon of the Forest of Falling Leaves," he said. "The Dragon blessed me that if I survived until Blikrot's next reign was over, I will get to be the new King. And I did. Before coming to meet you all, Shivam offered me both the Shadowblade, and the kingship. But I now want none of it. Once I believed I am the ruler Heart deserves. But the truth is, Heart deserves someone who has struggled and suffered more than me. Only one who has suffered in a bad rule knows the need for a better rule. I renounce my blessing now. Josh is your king now. I am only his guardian, counsellor, and mentor."
Silence followed at first. Then someone clapped.
"HEAR, HEAR!" someone shouted.
And then thunderous cherring and clapping began, as Josh stood dumbly, looking from Arthur to his big brother to Arthur again, wishing he could just chat with Sylvia.