The King sits on the throne and watches the feast unfold with a gracious smile. But behind his mirth, great and terrible thoughts swell.
To his left, his brother who regales his half of the room with bawdy and valiant tales, punctuated with his booming laughter, is hiding a deep and righteous anger. A wrath that, when unleashed, will set him on a course which will assail the kingdom.
Likewise, his brother to his right, oh so pious and cunning, watches silently as the conversations in his half of the room reveal secrets they never intended to give away. He plots and schemes for what he thinks will make better lives for both the nobility and it's people. But it will not.
The King, for as much as he loves his brothers, knows that they are both the doom of this kingdom. Blinded by wrath and pride, they will slaughter their way across a continent to satisfy their lofty ambitions. In doing so, they will destroy the grand visions of the world they began with.
Such is their fate.
He shall spare them from it.
It will not be easy. He will forever hate himself for this. He will forever be known as kinslayer. As traitor. But he will know, upon his deathbed, that he spares the lives of many by taking two.
Paddy Dobson
3rd July 2022