A new beginning
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"I have decided to let you live - despite what you have done - but you will be banned from these grounds permanently, Leo!", Tex said and withdrew his own sword.
"I will never let you take MY throne, brother! It was foolish of you to have let me live, and you didn't even disarm me!" the king said with a smirk of regained hope, "I am a desperate man, Tex, you must not blame me for what I'm going to do-". The king swung his sword to kill, but another sword stopped him.
"Why, hello, Leo. A little quick with cutting off the hand that just spared your life, aren't we?" Remy, a famous warrior and a close friend of Tex, said, while disarming the fallen king. Tex sent a grateful smile to Remy before he turned to his brother again, "Dear brother, you have taken your thirst for power too far, and I can no longer let you keep playing these sick games. You did well in the beginning, but you should have stopped when the tables turned. Now, what is left, you should have treasured - Not wasted in battle against other nations! The people of this land have almost been extinct, and all because your pride would not let you accept defeat? Pitiful. You are no longer fit to be king... Perhaps you never were".
The remaining guards had now found their way to the throne room, and froze in their positions as if not actually understanding what was going on before their very eyes. They saw their king on the ground, threatened by the sword of a powerful warrior and the king's brother. Unsure of how to handle the situation, some of them started to unsheathed their swords.
"Wait, my men! I have come to claim the throne that rightfully should have been mine, as I have seen that my elder brother is unsuited for it. For the sake of rebuilding this country, I promise to do my best for the castle and all the villages surrounding it, but first I must gain peace with our neighbouring countries, else may everything we will decide to do be in vain. Will you join me?" Tex asked, reaching out his hand.
"You speak great words for someone who has been absent for eight years. How do we know we can trust someone like you?" one of the guards standing in the background replied. His features reminded one of a snake, and his hair was long and black. The other guards turned towards him, and nodded amongst themselves.
"He's right! This guy is probably just after the throne. Why should we trust him?" another one shouted. "Yeah, why?" a third one jumped the bandwagon.
"... Well, there isn't much of a throne left, my fellow warriors... Anyone who claim it would have to answer to our neighbouring lands for the sins of our present king, and be the new target of hatred of our people. Not a very ideal position to be aiming for, when there's not even any gold to collect from it" the youngest guard spoke, leaving the others in deep thought.
Tex decided to give them a few minutes to think things over, before he asked them again where their loyalties lay. The guards glanced at each other, and the young guard was the first to respond, kneeling before the fallen king's brother - "I pledge my allegiance to king Tex". Some of the guards still weren't convinced, but others slowly began to accept Tex as the new king. In the end there were only the snake guard and a couple of others that refused to acknowledge Tex.
"I'll never pledge my allegiance with that hypocrite who speaks such sweet words, but has done nothing to prevent the situation before it was too late! I vowed to follow the one and only king Leo to the day I die, and a true warrior does not go back on his word. Rest assured that we will leave now and take king Leo with us – But one day, when this fallen king has seen a new beginning, we will return more powerful and glorious than ever and take back his kingdom!" the snake promised, and left the castle with the fallen and his minions towards the horizon.