Later than usual, sorry. I've got midterms coming up, and won't be able to update until after Tuesday, and I won't have a new chapter started by then. Btw, the title of this chapter is called Wars of Faith, and it's a song for a trailer by a group called Audiomachine. I just thought it reflected the mood of the chapter. I'll be doing chapter titles like this frequently. Until that comes, enjoy an angsty chapter, my little... I don't know what to call you guys. 873 words.
Outcries of chaos reached every corner of the castle as more royals and nobles were shoved into the room Yuuri and Phichit had been locked in. Yuuri's eyes darted around frantically as he searched for his father, in the hopes he had some family left.
The door to the room opened again, and Phichit's father, Benz, the advisor to Yuuri's father stumbled in, carrying a body. Benz set the body down, eliciting a tired groan from the person.
Yuuri rushed forwards to his father. "Are you alright? What happened?"
Toshiya groaned again and managed to turn onto his back. Yuuri crouched and his eyes were immediately drawn to the blood trickling down his father's fingers from a wound in his stomach. Yuuri gasped lightly as his hand brushed the wound and Toshiya grunted in pain. "Who did this?"
The king drew in a deep breath and spoke shakily, to the people in the room, "I need to speak to my son alone."
Everyone else in the room drew away to a corner. Yuuri leaned down to his father, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over his cheeks. "Who?"
"His name is Knise. He was a dream guardian some time ago, before his family was replaced by the Nishigoris. He…" Toshiya drew another breath, panting now. "He tried to destroy the kingdom once, before you were born. We survived, but barely. Only thanks to the assistance from Solis did we survive." He winced as he tried to lie flat on his back, aggravating the bloody wound on his stomach. "Benz can explain the rest to you. I'm so sorry, Yuuri. There's… there's so much more to explain that I can't."
A tear managed to break through Yuuri's defenses. "What do you want me to do?"
Toshiya smiled proudly at his son through a grimace. "Take it…. Yuuri… I know that you don't want it… You have no choice now… I'm so sorry…."
Toshiya managed one more breath, and then lost his fight. His head fell back, his shoulders relaxed and his bloody hands slipped to his side as the reaper took him away. Yuuri was left seeing his own reflection in his father's dead, glassy eyes.
Gasps filled the room, but Yuuri did not move from his place by his father's side.
About 3 hours later
The same page from before slipped into the room quietly and walked up to Benz. The room had been silent since Toshiya's last words. "The offender has been held off and arrested. You need to take him," the boy nodded at Yuuri, "and get him back to Lunis. It's safer there. The carriages are being pulled around the front of the castle ready to take him back."
Benz nodded silently and walked to Yuuri's side. "Yuuri."
Yuuri did not answer, but only blinked. His face showed no emotion, but the silent tears that slipped down his cheeks gave him away. "Yuuri, we need to leave. We don't know if Knise had others and we need to get you to a safer place back in Lunis."
A slight dip of a head was all Benz got in response. The advisor stood up, and pulled a shaky Yuuri up after him. He nodded to his son. "Bring Yuuri to the carriages. You heard the rest."
Phichit nodded and grabbed his friend. Once they had left the room, Yuuri tugged his arm away from Phichit. "Yuuri? Are you alright?"
Yuuri said nothing in response. A few minutes later, as Benz promised, a small carriage was waiting for them outside the stables, two smoky horses pawing the ground restlessly. Once they had climbed inside, they were surprised to see the page from before squeeze in.
"Alright who are you?" Phichit questioned as the carriage began to move on the rocky path to their home kingdom.
The young page looked at them. "My name is Otabek Altin. My job is to protect the prince until we get back to Lunis. Depending on my success, I may be placed as his bodyguard when he is crowned king."
Yuuri stared at Otabek. "Hang on, kid. Since when am I going to be crowned king?"
"Because King Toshiya is dead, the position normally would have gone on to your sister, Princess Mari. But because she, and Queen Hiroko, died in the beginnings of the skirmish, you, the prince, will be the next ruler of Lunis."
This had not occurred to Yuuri, what his duty to his kingdom would be now that the rest of his family was dead. Yuuri felt tears brimming in his eyes. "I… I can't lead."
Phichit stared at him. "Why not?! This is what everyone has been telling you your entire life, that you'll never lead. This is such an opportunity!"
"An opportunity that I never saw myself coming to, Phichit! I don't know the first thing about leading a country, and now that my family is gone…" The tears fought harder against his efforts, threatening to spill over his cheeks. "I-I…" His voice cracked and a sob tore through his throat.
The tears started to come, hot and wet, running down his face and onto his clothes. Phichit held him close, pulling his friend in close to his shoulder.