Final

What is meant to be

The sun shone brightly on Indels Castle. Everyone inside was busy as usual, making sure that the castle was kept in tip top shape for their king. Minister Noish was the only one who wasn't doing things as they should. Instead of taking his place in the throne room, he was out and about, searching the castle for the king. He questioned various maids and nobles that were here and there. He even checked the lower quarters of the castle but Albert wasn't to be found. Noish knew that he couldn't ask any of the knights, due to the fact that any one of them would freak out at the fact that King Albert couldn't be found. The minister quickly rushed back up to the throne room and on to the balcony. He looked down to see if the king was just walking out of the castle, but once again…he wasn't to be found. The last place to look was his room. Normally, no one was allowed in his room other than a few maids and other servants, but Noish made himself an exception this time. He exited the throne room through the door in the uppermost part of the area and moved over to the door that separated the outside from the private quarters of the king.

Noish calmly knocked…There wasn't an answer so he knocked again….No answer. "I'm sorry you majesty for intruding." Noish muttered to himself. He grasped the bronze handle of the door and quickly opened it. He looked over at the bed. Noish saw a large lump in the center of the bed. By the size it looked as if it could be a human. More than likely this was the king ,but why was he sleeping in so late? Was he sick? Did he stay up too late last night attending to certain affairs of state? What could it be? Noish slowly approached the stationary lump and began to gently shake it. The lump began to wriggle and move around and soon the King revealed himself with horrible bed hair. "Do you have any knowledge of what time it is?" Noish asked sternly. Albert didn't pay him any attention. He slides his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stands up. Minister Noish observes the expression on Albert's face. He looked sad and mad at the same time. He looks closer and notices that his eyes were red and swollen. It'd looked as if he had done some serious crying, but why? Noish was afraid to ask, but what if it is serious? It would be best if he asks and finds out so that he could solve the problem. "Your majesty Albert?" Noish hesitantly calls. Albert turns around and looks back at Noish. "What is it?" By the tone of his voice it was obvious that the King had woken up in a bad mood. The question remained to why he was so pissed this early in the morning.

"What's wrong?" Minister Noish asked. Albert turns around and begins to rummage through the dresser. " Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?" Albert replies. Noish could tell that Albert was just trying to brush off the fact that something was wrong by covering it up. It was obvious that he didn't want anyone to know. "You're lying." Minister Noish broadly puts. Albert stops and quickly turns around. "How would you know?! Tell me that! You're not me! You just work for me and nothing else!" Albert's words cut like a knife when Noish heard them. Never before has the young king acted in such a matter. Before things got any worse, Noish left the room and returned to the throne room.

Minister Noish stood over to the side and his mind began to wander. What could be the problem with his majesty? Was I at fault? No…Couldn't be. Noish thought. On a regular basis, the king's mood was always happy and enjoyable, but today, it was different. There HAD to be a reason for his sour mood, but what was that reason? "Aha!" Noish said as he dashed out of the room. He quickly walked down the hall and into the knight's sleeping quarters. He found one of the knights who recently returned from Hellena prison. "Sir Lucien! Sir Lucien!" Called Noish. The knight turned around in his chair to find out who was calling him. "Hm? Ah! Minister Noish, how are you?" He replies. "I'm good but something concerns me."

"Oh? And what may that be?"

"It's about his Majesty Albert?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's not himself…His bright and happy attitude turned into one that's agitated and temperamental."

"Oh?"

"Yes…I was wondering if you knew what could be wrong with him. Since you are the one who reported to him earlier, maybe it's something that you have said that upset him."

Lucien began to stroke his chin and think deeply. "What could I have said?" He mutters to himself. Noish waits patiently as the knight pondered. Lucien's face lights up and he snaps his fingers. "I remember!" He announces. His face became serious as he continues with what he has to say. "As you know there were a handful of us who was taken in as POWs into Hellena Prison…One of them being Lavitz. Well, I was the only one that was able to escape the prison's clutches, but as for Lavitz… he wasn't so lucky. He was left to fend for himself after he sent me to report back to his Majesty. . . When I came back, I told King Albert everything that happened at Hellena the other day. Once I gave him that little bit of information. Albert's facial expression changed drastically. He wasn't himself from that day until now." Noish turned around and thought for a moment. "He's still alive right?" Noish questions. Lucien folds his arms and crosses his legs. "To tell you the truth…" He begins. "I have no idea…I saw the wardens take him in after I left the area. They could've done anything to him in the amount of time that had passed." Noish faces Lucien again and thanks him for the information, then leaves to return to the throne room.

Noish had all of the information he needed. He found the root of the problem, but now how to solve it. He couldn't go back and assure the king that everything was going to be alright, because he didn't know that. For all he had known the knight could've been deceased. He couldn't tell Albert that Lavitz is going to find a way to escape and return to him safely . . . there was a fifty-fifty chance of that happening and knowing Imperial Sandora…The odds were just decreasing by the hour. Noish continued up the stairs still in deep thought. "What can I say?! What can I do? I've never been in such a situation in my whole life…I don't have many options. Maybe I should just see what happens from here on out." Muttering to himself wasn't going to get anything off of the ground. Minister Noish enters the throne room still in deep thought, but that was brought to an end when he heard the sound of King Albert's voice. "Minister Noish?" The king called with a hint of disappoint in his words. Noish looks up and quickly walks up the final slope of stairs to be by the king's side. "Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"

Albert lays his staff across his lap and then places his hands on top of it. He looks over at Noish and begins to apologize. "I'm very sorry for the way I have treated you earlier. I know that you were only concerned for my well being and you couldn't help, but ask." Noish placed one hand on Albert's right shoulder and began to shake is head. "No, no, no! Don't worry about it! I understand that you were troubled about something and I didn't hold it against you that you scolded me, Sire." Albert turns his attention to the floor. He looked uncertain about something. Noish took note of this and decided to ask him a question. "Is there a problem that needs to be addressed?" Albert gives a heavy sigh and stands up. " Noish, could you come with me to the balcony? I prefer to discuss this in private." Albert began to move to the closest balcony and Noish follows behind him.

" The reason behind my horrible disposition is because I-" Albert began but was cut off by Noish who said. "Don't worry…I know everything about what is going on."

"W-who told you?"

"Sir Lucien."

" I'll talk to him about that later. I'm glad that you're the only one that knows though."

"Is there anything on your mind that you wish to discuss?"

"I just want to tell you that…I care for all of you deeply, just as I care for all of my loyal subjects. And when someone, such as, my best knight goes out and is captured…I can't help but to feel this way."

" You really care for your subjects don't you?"

"Yes…I do."

"I understand. It's alright."

Minister Noish was wrong…He didn't understand how I felt for my subjects… Especially Lavitz. At times I would have an urge to see my loyal knight. These feelings soon turn into strange feelings that crave for Lavitz's attention. I never really understood why I have those feelings. I have thought long and hard about it and it could only mean one thing…That I have fallen for the young knight. BUT! How could this have happened. . .I would've never thought that feelings could get this way. Yet now I know and I question…If I ever told Lavitz this, how would he react? Would he push me away? Say nothing? Or accept it. If he were to come back…I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to tell him. This is no way for a king to be acting. I won't know exactly what to do until the day comes and I am faced with this issue…Hopefully, I am given the answer that I expect.

That night, Albert roamed through the castle. His mind was uneasy and he thought that a simple walk to the kitchen for a glass of milk would put his mind at ease. He guided himself to his destination by feeling around for objects, just to make sure that he didn't run into them. Eventually he successfully made it to the kitchen. The light from The Moon that Never sets beamed through the window and brightened the room a little, just enough for Albert to see what he was doing. Albert reached for a glass, but something then caught his eye. A familiar reflection was on the glass. He knew this figure! The reflection wasn't perfect though. The ridges, grooves, and designs on the glass gave the reflection a weird deformity. The suspense was killing him, he had to know who it was. He quickly turned around to see that nobody was there…The room was empty. It was completely quiet except for the small sound of sleeping knights, snoring in the distance. Albert shook his head and continued with what he was doing. He had changed his mind, instead of trying to find milk he decided to have a glass of spirits. Albert picked up a bottle and popped the cork. He slowly poured the strong scented alcohol into the glass until it was half full. After closing the container he leaned on the counter and began to stare at the sky through the window. He took one sip from his glass and almost choked on it. He began to cough, trying his best to calm down and not disturb the knights. Even though he was king, he got in trouble just like the other people that resided in Indels Castle.

" How do people drink this stuff?!" Albert muttered. " It's so strong! Well, I guess that I will take time to get used to it." Albert downed the glass and set it gently with the other unwashed dishes. He took one last look at the beautiful sky and guided himself back to his room.

The sun shone brightly into Albert's room. The king turned himself to face away from the bright sun. A knock came from the door. It was one of the maids that served Albert, she was responsible for waking the king up each morning. Nobody knows why she didn't wake him up the previous morning. "Sire! Tis morning! It's time go get up and start your daily routine." She said with a high pitched voice. " Breakfast shall be served soon, sire. Please be ready." After her message she left quickly. Her fast paced footsteps could be heard getting softer and softer. Albert pulled the sheets over his head and then tossed them off. He leaned forward and looked at how the bright sunlight spilled into the room, making everything brighter and livelier. The young king scratched his head and then decided to get out of bed and get ready.

Once he was fully dressed and squared away he made his way down stairs to get breakfast…That little event went by pretty fast and soon the busy king was able to carry out the next plan of the day.

Throne duty…Albert disliked the fact of sitting in that same place for hours on end doing nothing but looking at the same scenery. Occasionally you have a few people who come in hoping to discuss important matters, but that seems to be happening once in a blue moon now. You'd think that with the war going on, people would be visiting him more frequently. On the other hand, it wasn't too bad. Minister Noish had his fair share of stories of when he was with King Carlo, Albert's father, but just like any person… he told stories until he ran out. Now they were back to square one. Nobody said a word…Hardly anybody moved an inch from where they stood or sat. Let's just say that today…was dull as hell.

"Your Majesty Albert!" Called one of the knights. He rushed into the throne room looking as if he was in distress. Albert responded in a hasty manner by asking, " What's wrong?! Are we under attack?!" He stood up and approached the edge of the platform. The knight huffed and puffed and gathered his breath. "No." He said. Albert flopped onto his throne and crossed his legs. "This is much better!" continued the knight. " Sir Lavitz is back! He has just entered Basil!" Both Albert and Minster Noish's face lit up with joy. " Great! When will he arrive at the castle?!" Albert asks. The knight takes one deep breath and then responds with. " Momentarily…." Albert dismisses the knight and then turns to Noish giving him a huge smile. " I can't wait to see him." Albert states. Noish gives a warm smile and replies with " Neither can I, your highness. Neither can I."

Part 1 End