It was a rather fresh morning, yet the sun was shining brightly through the thin layer of white clouds in the pale blue sky. 'What a waste to hold a meeting right now, while I could just wander around the gardens in peace...' the king thought, looking at the already vermillion and gold trees absentmindedly, but he really couldn't afford to skip meetings. After all, he was the head of state; and what state, on top of that! The Kingdom of Diamond, whose commercial empire spread across the whole world. A pain to rule, in fact, and he was already regretting his words from a few years ago. He remembers clearly: it was a stressful day, everything seemed to go against him, his people were starting to revolt against the government. In a desperate attempt to calm things down, he declared: "I am the State". While this had the expected effect on both the people and the government and brought peace upon the kingdom, it also meant for him that he was to decide everything now -which was extremely tiring-, granting him total power and freedom regarding all government matters, but chaining him to his duty as a King.
"Now on to our next topic," his counsel declared, "About tomorrow's reception..."
"Everything is going smoothly, Sir, and will be done by tomorrow morning," the Superintendent answered.
"Perfect, make sure everyone does a perfect job for our guest. He..." the counsel noticed his king's expression "Um... please pardon my impudence, Your Highness, but... could you listen, please?"
The King quickly reported his attention back to the meeting. "What were we discussing about?" he genuinely asked.
The counsel hardly refrained a sigh "We were discussing about tomorrow's meeting with the newly crowned King of Heart. I hope Your Highness didn't forget about this event, for His Highness will stay a whole week, to discuss partnership between your kingdom and the Kingdom of Heart..." he said.
"By all means We would remember such a thing," the King interrupted him. "We deeply studied the case, and look forward to build strong bonds between our kingdoms. An alliance would be advantageous for both party, as our army is not as strong as it was a decade ago, and they need financial support to rebuild a stable kingdom and government. Considering the borders are becoming dangerous as well, we should ask quickly for at least a military collaboration, offering them a privileged trading relationship in return." he pursued.
"As one could expect from the King of Diamond," the counsel remarked. "Such seriousness will be extremely useful tomorrow and next week. I heard the new King of Heart was in nothing similar to his predecessor... he is much more rigorous and definitely more stable," he added.
"Well, his kingdom does need a ruler like him," said the king "After all the Kingdom of Heart just went through a civil war and lost their former leader."
"At this day we still don't exactly know what caused this. But for now your Highness, I suggest that you rest until tomorrow, the next week will weight on your health if you do not get proper rest," the counsel said.
"Well Sir, We will make sure to take your advice for gospel. Until then, farewell," the king said as he left the room.
He yawned as soon as he entered the salon of the private section of the palace. He hadn't slept more than three hours every night for the past week, being kept busy by state affairs and the preparations of the week's discussions with the new King of Heart. He somehow made it to one of the fancy couches and drowned in the cloud-like flashy pillows, rubbing his temple and trying not to fall asleep on the moment. He let out a sigh.
"Oh Francis, you're here!" a bird-like voice said, before it's owner appeared: a small, short-haired blonde girl with big eyes like pure turquoise gemstones. "You look tired, are you okay?"
The king smiled. "Don't worry little queen, big brother is doing well, he just needs a little nap and he will be as strong as ever!" he said in an attempt to comfort her.
"Don't overwork yourself, Francis. What would this kingdom do without its leader?" a more boyish voice added.
"Basch, you know I would always be up to the task, even if I was dying," he retorted.
The boy sighed. "Francis, this is not funny! We are worried for you!" the girl cried. The boy had now made his way to the couch where Francis could see him; and if the later hadn't known them for all these years, he would believe the lack of sleep made him see double.
"You could at least let us help you for the small matters. What you are doing will end up destroying you for sure," Bash said with an extremely serious voice.
"It's not like I can help it, I have to keep my word, or else I'll lose all credibility and the faith of my people," the king sighed. "Besides, you know what the people think about you two; it was already very hazardous for me to give you these titles of Queen and Jack, even though they don't mean anything anymore..."
"I know what they think! I just don't get why!" the boy cried.
"Brother, calm down... It's like this, it can't be helped..." his twin sister stumbled.
"Lucio left because of this, I can't just ignore it! Why do people hate us? Is it just because we have a different mother from the rightful heir? She didn't deserve all of this hate..."
"Listen now, Basch, Lily. Your mother was a wonderful woman, but she was too innocent for the court. She was like a sheep, eaten by the jealous wolves that are courtiers. This is why I want to protect you from them and all the evil they can do by just opening their mouths," Francis said gravely. "This is for your sake, so please understand... As your brother I love you as my only family and don't want you two to end up being crushed by those same people that pushed your mother to the very edge. It is my duty as a big brother to protect my dear little brother and sister, even though the family is..."
"Why are you always talking about duty? Please Francis, tell me you won't end up like mother! You don't owe anything to anyone, you didn't ask to be part of the royal family, and neither did us..." Lily cried.
"Enough!" the king said with an authoritative voice. In a calmer tone, he continued, "There are fates that you can't avoid, that's all. And I love this kingdom from the bottom of my soul." He looked at them before carrying on. "But I promise I'll take it easy if I ever feel it's necessary. Now why don't you go drink hot cocoa in the playroom? Big brother will take a nice nap here..."
The boy sighed. "We are not children anymore..." he thought of something that would annoy Francis as he helped his sister move an ottoman for him to rest well, "... Old man!"
Lily giggled. "I am not old!" the king said before the two left the room. "Kids these days..." he muttered to himself, before falling fast asleep.
In his dreams, he saw his family, in its entirety. He saw the happy smiles on their faces, bright, carefree, innocent smiles, like if nothing ever happened. And he gazed upon his kingdom, a beautiful land where the trees grew big juicy fruits, where the earth gave good harvest, where the cattle was big and strong. Everywhere there would be flowers, and in every street of every city you could smell the delicious scent of a warm meal coming from the lively taverns, where people were singing and drinking together as friends and neighbors. Colorful fabrics from all around the world would adorn the streets and the people, and the loud voices of the merchants would be stirred with the sound of the entertainers' instruments and the exclamations of their public. Everyone across the kingdom would have a roof to sleep under and warm food waiting for them. The trade would be even more flourishing that it already was, and the roads safer for the caravans to travel. The ports in the south would see everyday dozens of ships arrive and leave, transporting passengers and goods from all around the world, and fishing boats would come back filled with delicious fishes that people would grill outside and sell to the passerby's. He wished that everyone in the kingdom was happy, blessed with a loving family, caring friends and kind neighbors, had a job that they liked and that they could live from. He wanted everyone to have what they deserved, and that everyone would be granted human rights from their birth to their death. He didn't care about how hard it was to make this dream come true.
He didn't care about how his dream probably won't be realized, or how he probably wouldn't live enough to see it become real. All he cared about was the sake of his kingdom. He thought that when everyone will be happy, he would be complete. He would be a true king, and not a despot like a lot of his predecessors. He lived for this goal, because he believed it was his destiny as a king. He was well aware that he was an idealist, and that if he confessed this dream to anyone, they would laugh at how candid it was. But he still believed it was possible that one day, people would be able to push aside their hate and embrace the love they all had deep inside their hearts. This dream was what forged him, from the young boy he was back then, into the man he was now.