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20 Truths About Jonathan of Conté
1.When he is five years old, his father has him banished to his room for spilling wine in the presence of a foreign ambassador. Roger finds him crying underneath his bed, and Jon looks up with angry blue eyes and pronounces defiantly that he never wants to be king. Years later, watching the servants cart out the body of the cousin he'd loved, Jon wonders if things would be different if he'd stuck to that declaration.
2.He used to be considered the "hellion of the palace," always getting into trouble or creating it on his own. Years later, during his coronation, some of the older noble patriarchs still shake their head in amusement when they kneel before him.
3.He knows very well that some of the other pages resent his inner circle of friends, but ever since he saw the way his father struggled with backstabbing in his court he's been determined that he'll have a select few that he can trust. They better get used to listening to his friends, because they'll rule Tortall with him. (Then, of course, Francis dies and Alex betrays him and Alanna turns female and breaks his heart, but then again, nothing is perfect.)
4.For the longest time, he assumed Alan liked boys. For the longest time, he assumed that the younger "boy" had a crush on him. Later, when Alanna's secret is revealed, he's gratified to find out that at least he was half right.
5.He's never been as sharp as Gary, as strong as Raoul, as skilled as Alanna, or as clever as Alex—but being Crown Prince means that he has to be very close in all the areas. (Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, George is the only one who truly understands the pressure he's under. It's why he agrees to beat Jon to a pulp and train him to fight back whenever the Prince walks into the Dancing Dove.)
6.Sometimes, Jon wants to just get on his horse and ride until Tortall is behind him and he's so far away that no one knows who he is. Sometimes, the burden of the entire country—plus the mental strain of maintaining the Dominion Jewel and being the Voice of the Bahzir—is so much that he feels like ending it all. Alanna doesn't realize how serious he is when he tells her that he needs her to make him laugh.
7.Gary is his older cousin, and despite the fact that he outranks the bigger boy, Jon grew up watching the younger Naxen mouth-off to anyone and everyone he disagreed with. Perhaps this is why he's not quite as diplomatic as he could be. Or, at least, that's the story he's going with. After all, what are older cousins for if not as a scapegoat for all one's moral failings?
8.When they're fighting in the Black City and the demoness makes Alanna's clothes disappear, Jon has to admit that behind the shock and incredulity, he's just a bit attracted this female version of Alan. He is a normal teenage boy.
9.He realizes that his feelings for his squire is far more than hormonal urges when his stomach clenches at her admission that she trusted George Cooper with her secret. Suddenly, the King of Thieves is less of the friend he'd trust his life to and the rival he'd previously only acknowledged subconsciously.
10.If he's completely honest, he'd have to admit that he never liked the admiration in Alan's eyes when he, (she?) spoke of George. He just never let himself wonder why until the Black City.
11.Delia of Eldorn plays with his passions, Alanna takes and breaks his heart, but Thayet's the one who sits beside him, proud and strong, the queen to his king. Still, at time, he still wonders how different Tortall would be if his bride had fiery locks and an even hotter temper rather than serene smiles and graceful elegance.
12. When he denies Kalasin her chance at knighthood, he knows he will lose his daughter and probably his wife as well. Lying alone in bed, hearing Thayet's quiet tears as she lies coldly beside him, he remembers all those the throne has taken away from him (father, mother, Alanna, Roger, Francis, Alex, Kalasin…) and wonders if he can survive if his queen decides to leave as well.
13.He's secretly glad when Raoul takes Keladry of Mindelan on as his page, because if she'd been forced to squire at the castle he just knows that Roald would have found a way to achieve knighthood early and take her as his squire—and he's learned from experience taking a female squire who's already a close friend and helps you forget the burden of the throne is not a good idea.
14.He suspects that deep down, he's just a little bit sexist. The women in his life are working on beating it out of him.
15.George Cooper is very tired of checking Jon's chocolate boxes for poisons. The Tortallan King's sweet tooth is just a bit too well-known.
16.Thom is the scariest man Jon's ever met, and he manages to achieve this status with one conversation. "You may be the King of Tortall, but I'm the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Break my sister's heart, and I'll break your kingdom."
17.The Dominion Jewel is too much power for any normal man to handle alone, but Jon has Alanna's goddess-touched magic, Numair's vast power, and even Daine's wild magic if he really needs it—so he's protected from the risk of going mad from the jewel's touch. Roald, however, doesn't have this luxury, which is why Jon is so reluctant to appoint his oldest son heir.
18.Keladry of Mindelan wins his respect long before she becomes a knight—but she gains his everlasting gratitude when she turns Roald's relationship with Shinko into love. Jon knows very well the loneliness at the top of the kingdom, and he's glad that Roald will have someone to share it with.
19.During bad days, when the court is as toxic as the snakes they are and he just needs to get away, he calls Gary up and they spar until their silken robes are wet with sweat and probably ruined. Thayet clucks at him afterwards for wasting a perfectly good pair of clothes, but never too hard because he knows she knows that she could never survive without her daily matches with Buri either.
20.When History remembers the "Golden Age of Tortall," they will remember the Lioness, the Whisper Man, the Wild Mage, and the Black-Robed Salmalin. And they will remember King Jonathan the Great, ruling over his subjects with wisdom and power. With everything the throne has taken from him, it just doesn't seem enough.
