I am actually surprised by how good this is going! :D

Thanks for the nice reviews and don't be scared to write more, if only a few words!

5.

Disobey And Be Disposed

High above the courtyard, on the balcony of the throne hall, King Severus was observing the scene with interest.

The young woman who was trying to discuss with his soldiers seemed to be as fierce as she was beautiful, something that he found was not being seen very often. Most women were simply obeying to what their fathers or husbands told them, displaying deepest devotion and never dared to speak up.

She, on the other hand, was different – she was not lowering her gaze, but she held her head high, not afraid to look the guard in the eyes. A few sentences were being exchanged and the guard hit her in the face, causing her to fall and for a second, Severus was asking himself if she would jump and attack the soldier.

But to his surprise, the young woman stayed calm and slowly got to her feet again, looking up to the balcony he was standing on.

Their gazes met and her golden eyes caused a odd feeling to rise inside of him, though it was not an unfamiliar one. It simply surprised him to feel it between him and a simple, ordinary woman...

Magic, after all, was not an ordinary art in their days, had never been, and normally, magic searched for remarkable personalities to settle down within them, and its powers were also visible on the outside. But she... she showed no signs of it.

Only as they looked at each other he could feel the magic pulsing between them, but the moment was over so fast that he settled to the thought that he had imagined it. This had happened before from time to time, because magic was a power that somehow longed for company, and if only to defeat the other magic, but nonetheless it always seemed to not want to be alone.

Therefore, the magic inside of him sometimes tricked him, because it wished too much for a companion.

oOo

A whole day passed, on which more prisoners arrived, not only with carriages, but also by foot, guarded by soldiers on horses – there were simply not enough carriages and by now, King Severus had ordered for a camp to be built by the foot of the fortress' hill. There, the less important prisoners were going to be held captive until his men had decided what kind of value these people had, either in skills or informations. It was also going to be determined how dangerous they could be to the new monarch's powers and if they could be released again to help with the task of building a new Ulidia.

The king would need new soldiers to strengthen the strike power of his troops, but good craftsmen and strong workers were required alike.

As soon as the ruins of the villages would have stopped smouldering and his grasp on the kingdom had become tighter and steadier, they would be sent out to start and built all the villages up again as the cities their king dreamed of.

A source of glory and admiration for the Kingdom of Ulidia they were supposed to become, like in the tales of ancient Rome, a symbol of power. The centres of a great empire, flourishing societies blessed with wealth, a place visited by travellers from all over the continent because they wanted to see the imposant buildings and memorials that they had heard of from tales that were carried to every place in the world. Every other cultural centre would be pushed into the shadows by the cities of Ulidia.

At least, that were the imaginations of the emperor, but it would be a long way to achieve that glory he was dreaming of and an even longer one until every stone would be in its place, forming the monuments he wanted to see.

It was clear to everybody who was informed that a lot of blood and sweat would be flowing and that the sacrifices the folk would have to bring in order to fulfill the wishes of their almighty monarch would mean the end of many existences, and even death. Even now, many people had been killed or had lost their houses, farms and homesteads, and this was only the beginning.

oOo

In the dining hall of Blackdown Stronghold, King Severus was brooding over the huge oak table that was standing in the middle of the huge hall. Strewn across the tabletop were wooden plates with his breakfast, consisting of cold meat, bread and fruits, some drafts of impressive buildings and a huge piece of parchment that actually was a map of the big island Ulidia was located on. Ulidia was one of the two kingdoms lying in the north, with Northern Uí Neíll to its west and the smaller Airgialla to its south. He was trying to think of a plan, to find out which neighbouring kingdom he had to attack first to seek the greatest benefits for his intentions for a new, powerful Ulidia. Northern Uí Neíll was the biggest threat, so normally the logical consequence would have been to attack them first, but then, the king of Southern Uí Neíll would surely send troops to support his brother, and this could mean the end of King Severus' highflying plans – together, the Uí Neílls had twice the power where he and his neighbour were normally relatively equal.

So, this left Airgialla – it was not connected to any of the other kingdoms by marriage and the diplomatic connections, he knew, had been rather cool in the last years, causing it to be a good and also easy target.

But Severus found himself not being able to concentrate on the map in front of him the way he wanted to, affecting his ability to work efficiently. It was something that did not happen very often to him – normally, he had a sharp mind that focussed on a task trouble-free, allowing him to think about the most complex problems.

However, this morning it was different - every time he looked at the map, the outlines of Northern Uí Neíll became blurred in front of his eyes and formed the face of the young woman he had seen in the courtyard the previous day. She did not seem to leave his mind, the memory of her beautiful face was clinging to him and so did the distant feeling of the magic he had thought he had sensed about her. It actually discomforted him that a woman he had only seen for a few seconds seemed to have so much influence on his mind, on his skills and that the mere thought of her caused his concentration to vanish.

He had more important things to think of, he had a new kingdom to built, enemies to deal with... but no matter how hard he tried to wipe the memory of her golden eyes away, she was staying, keeping him away from his work.

About to scream in frustration, Severus wanted to shove the plate with the fruits off the table, and his arm had already started to move as Ronan entered the dining hall, bowing hastily while trying to calm down his breathing.

"Your highness..."

Severus looked up, and Ronan smiled slightly and nodded – the only communication the two of them needed in this moment.

oOo

Only a few minutes later, Severus had changed location to the throne hall, taking seat on his throne and was just fixing some wrinkles in his cloak and also made sure that his crown was sitting straight on his black hair as a man was lead into the throne hall.

His hands were in heavy chains, just as his feet, but for a prisoner he looked relatively calm and unscathed considering that the soldiers had found it necessary to use chains to restrain him.

Severus opened his arms as if he was greeting an old friend and not a prisoner who obviously was an enemy to him, grinning widely.

"What a wonderful sight, Ronan, isn't it?!" He exclaimed and Ronan bowed his head, not caring to hide his relief about seeing his master truly pleased for the first time.

"Kneel down for your king," Ronan snarled at the man, shoving him forwards. "My king, he was literally coming towards our men. Did not even try to put up a fight when they spotted him."

But Severus seemed not to be interested in how the man had been captured – he seemed to be way too occupied with relishing in the sight of the chained one, even as he disobeyed openly, holding his head high.

"I, Niall of Ulidia, will never kneel down or even bow my head for you, my brother. I will always be loyal to the rightful king of Ulidia, our brother Quinn!"

Severus rolled his eyes, looking more annoyed than furious and gestured to one of the soldiers who were flanking his brother Niall, whereupon one of them painfully rammed the wooden handle of his lance into the back of Niall's knees. The dark haired prince released a cry of pain as his knees hit the stone floor and his green eyes filled with tears as he gritted his teeth.

"Well, my dear Niall, I feel like it would be a little bit complicated to bow to our beloved Quinn, as our oldest brother decided to move on to a new realm – the one in which Death is reigning. I must admit that I may have encouraged him in his choice..."

He said it rather casually and observed Niall's reaction with a grin. It was pretty clear that Niall had already suspected that his brother and king was dead, but hearing it from Severus' mouth seemed to finalise everything.

"So my feeling about you was right, Severus. Quinn simply had too much trust into the good side in you, and now it shows how wrong he was with his beliefs! He never wanted to listen to me when I told him my worries about your loyalty, that you would never stay in your exile without ever causing any problems!" Niall whispered, his voice growing louder and more furious with every word that came over his lips. "You never completely coped with the fact that you are a bastard, Severus, and therefore would never be in the line of succession for the throne of Ulidia! Since we were children, you were not able to accept this fact, and now you showed us how far you are willing to go to give yourself a little bit more meaning! But this does not change anything, Severus! You are still a bastard, and there will always be people who will rise against you, because they want the rightful king to sit on their throne, not the son of a witch!"

Severus slowly rose from the throne, his eyes sparking dangerously as he walked down the steps, glaring down at Niall through squinted eyes. He looked like a predator that was stalking up to its prey, ready to strike. The two soldiers and also Ronan shuffled nervously.

"You dare to call your king a bastard?!" Severus whispered perilously, only to scream so loudly one second later that his deep voice resounded from the stone walls. "YOU DARE?! YOU FILTHY, WORTHLESS COWARD!"

His fist hit Niall right in the face, breaking his nose and causing blood to rush out of his nostrils in thick streams, and then, in one flowing movement, Severus had grabbed the handle of Ronan's sword to pull it out of its leather scabbard.

"You dare to call me a bastard in a moment in which you are less worth than a bastard yourself?! As you see, Niall, I don't need to have the same clear, royal blood to flow through my veins in order to possess power, in order to have people following my lead with all their loyalty! And I, I am not afraid of using all possibilities the power over a kingdom can offer. But you will never see these wonders I will be able to create."

If anybody had been present while Severus had killed Quinn not long ago, the scene that followed would have been a déjà-vu – with seemingly the exact same movement, Severus drilled the blade into Niall's chest, releasing a scream of anger.

Niall stared at him with wide eyes as Severus bowed down and grabbed Niall's chin with one hand, forcing the dying man to look at him as he whispered: "I will find Lorcan and Fianna as well, as the same fate awaits them and then, my beloved brother, you three will be reunited in death. And then, nobody will be able to end my power. So, take a seat on a cloud, Niall, and watch how this bastard takes control over the whole world. Enjoy the show."

Niall cried out in agony as Severus pulled the blade out of his chest, but he was dead before he hit the floor and Severus stepped over his limp body, handing Ronan his bloody sword before turning towards his throne to sit down again.

"Send servants to clean up this mess, Ronan. And I want you to display his body on a stake on the castle hill. Let everybody see him, let them see what happens to people who do not show their loyalty to me!"

As Ronan did not answer, Severus stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around, his expression dark. Ronan and the two other men looked shocked – it definitely had not been the first time they had become witnesses to the cruelty Severus was able to display, but it seemed to be something different to them to see their king killing his own brother without any signs of hesitation or regret.

"Are there any problems?!" Severus asked, his tone sounding dangerously, and Ronan hurried to shake his head, bowing hastily before gesturing to the two soldiers who stepped forwards and carried Niall's body away, their faces pale and white like freshly fallen snow.

Severus continued his way up and sat down on his throne, looking calm again for a moment before he jumped to his feet, grabbing a jug of wine that had been standing on a small table next to his throne and threw it through the hall. The jug crashed to the floor, causing wine to flow over the stones and shards to flow everywhere.

"This calculative piece of wastage! He knew exactly I would be too excited upon him being brought to me to think of questioning him about Lorcan and Fianna! He was buying them time! He shall burn in the flames of hell!" he screamed, his eyes adapting a wild expression as he started to pace in front of his throne, his hands balled up into fists. "And I walked straight into his little trap..."

"My king... we... we will surely find a way to succeed without... without your brother's informations," Ronan mumbled, his eyes fixed on the floor, his voice and hands shaking. Severus turned around, his black hair flying around him.

"Of course we will!" he agreed, suddenly sounding shockingly different, causing Ronan to stare at his king in concern and surprise. Severus threw up his arms and exclaimed: "A feast! Prepare a big feast with food and drink for all my most loyal warriors! I want only the best wine, the most tasteful meat, the most talented musicians and the most beautiful dancers! Tonight! Hush, Ronan! MOVE!"

Ronan gulped and bowed before he literally ran out of the throne hall, away from his master who had now sat down again and stared into the air.

Severus was sending silent curses to the heavens as he realised that it had not entirely been Niall who had distracted him from taking in the situation in the way he should have.

He had to find a way to shove these golden eyes into the back of his mind, to lock them in, so they would not get into his way any more. There was no more room for errors on his behalf, and from now on, he would try and close his mind, no matter how much these scaringly intriguing eyes tried to penetrate their way into his thoughts.