CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Kentario hadn’t put his hair back into its usual ponytail this morning, the dark strands falling about his ears.
But as Ryu ran his fingers through the silky mass, he kept an ear out for Oris, ever wary that he could return at any moment.
Though their newfound relationship was still very much a private affair, he hadn’t been able to resist the need to seek a little physical comfort.
If nothing else, it kept his mind off what was going on back at the palace. And the thought that his parents were…
“Thank you,” he muttered, as his fingers drifted downwards to stroke the light dusting of stubble across Kentario’s jaw. “I didn’t really get around to saying it earlier, but I’d be dead without you.”
Kentario turned and pressed a light kiss against his forehead. “Sorry if I got a little rough back there. You know, manhandling you out of the palace.”
Ryu shrugged. “You did what you had to do. I’m not going to hold any grudges about getting pushed around a bit.”
There was a pause. “What about…” Kentario stopped and made a noise of disquiet.
“What about what?”
“What about… last night?” he asked, glancing apprehensively at Ryu and lowering his voice, lest Oris somehow overhear them. “It wasn’t exactly planned. So… any regrets?”
Ryu shook his head. “No. I love you,” he said, running a hand across Kentario’s chest. “And as far as I’m concerned, if the Goddess Selene doesn’t want us to be together, she can go fuck herself.”
Kentario chuckled. “Not exactly a noble sentiment,” he said wryly. But something in his expression made Ryu look twice. He opened his mouth to ask whether Kentario was having any second thoughts… but suddenly, Kentario sat up, the move so abrupt it nearly knocked Ryu off the sofa.
“News report,” Kentario said, reaching for the remote and turning up the volume. Ryu righted himself, turning his attention to the television, all thoughts of his question for Kentario forgotten.
“Further to our breaking news story,” the reporter was saying, “we’ve just received word that Captain Maro Landis of the Royal Guard is about to make an announcement. Aki? Can you hear me?”
The camera cut to an anxious journalist standing outside the palace, where a bevy of news reporters and spectators had gathered, eagerly waiting for the latest snippets of information. A crowd of civilians were trying to get a glimpse inside the palace gates, while a line of police held them back.
“Loud and clear, Rieta. That’s right, Maro Landis is just behind me, and in a few moments, he’ll be addressing the media.
Speculation has been rampant all morning, with reports confirmed that there was a coordinated, military-style attack against the palace late last night, though we have yet to hear any official comment on either injuries or casualties, or on who the perpetrators of the attack may have been.
It looks like he’s ready to start, so let’s hear what he has to say. ”
The camera zoomed in on Maro, standing stiffly behind a podium that had hastily been set up on the steps outside the palace.
He’d cleaned himself up and changed his clothes, no traces of the earlier blood splatter to be seen, though he looked a far cry from his usual, composed self.
His hair was mussed, his face unshaven, and his hands shook as he gripped a sheaf of papers, no doubt containing a hastily compiled statement.
He wasn’t accustomed to addressing the media, with palace announcements far more often delivered by a spokesperson specifically assigned to the post, but Ryu guessed that the usual man for the job was either unavailable this morning, with Maro no doubt banning any unnecessary personnel from the palace, or as a far less optimistic possibility, dead.
Maro opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, shuffling his papers in agitation.
“Thank you for coming. I have just a short statement to read to you this morning,” he said, staring at the report in his hand.
“Uh… As you would be aware by now, the Royal Palace came under attack at approximately 11:15 last night.” He took a steadying breath.
“It was a well-coordinated attack, and we have determined that it was carried out by the Nalmagian rebel group ‘Noctavia’. The Nalmaga Disputed Territory has recently been involved in various conflicts related to the civil war in Biermarg, and our current understanding is that this attack was a direct retaliation against Galandeen for perceived slights against the Nalmagian people.”
Oris appeared in the doorway, having heard the television, and he took a seat beside Ryu, staring intently at the screen.
“I must now report that the-” He stopped suddenly, lips pressed into a tight line. “I must unfortunately now report that both King Sou and Queen Elise… have been killed.”
A sudden wave of shouting broke out from the crowd of reporters, and several members of the Guard stepped forward to control the unrest. Once the noise settled down, Maro continued. “Furthermore, the king’s bodyguard, Lord Danag Amagarda, was also killed in the attempt to protect the king’s life.”
Immediately, Ryu glanced across at Kentario. He was watching the screen, with no discernible reaction to the news. “Kentario?” He put a tentative hand on his bodyguard’s leg.
“It’s the only way it could be,” Kentario said, without taking his eyes off the screen. “He’d never voluntarily leave the king’s side.”
“I’m sorry,” Oris muttered, running a hand over his eyes. “He was a good man.”
The crowd was getting restless again. The Amagarda name was well known throughout Galandeen, and Danag in particular had earned a huge amount of respect.
“A number of the Royal Guard were also killed during their efforts to secure the palace, and I would like to commend those brave men and women for their sacrifice in attempting to defend the royal family and safeguard the Kingdom of Galandeen. Their efforts have not been in vain; I can confirm that all members of the insurgent group infiltrating the palace have been either killed or arrested. We will continue our efforts to restore order to the palace and to see that justice is carried out against these criminals. Thank you, that is all.”
Ryu watched as Maro stepped away from the microphone, ignoring the chorus of questions shouted at him from the media throng.
“How were the rebels able to get past the Guard?” a woman demanded.
“Do you consider yourself to have failed the royal family?” a tactless man shouted at Maro’s retreating back.
“What about Prince Ryu?” one particularly insistent reporter wanted to know, shoving her way to the front. “Can you confirm his whereabouts?”
“No comment,” Maro muttered, as he pushed his way back towards the palace gate.
“Is the prince alive?” the reporter asked again, planting herself in front of Maro.
“Get out of my way,” he snarled at her, then, when she refused to move, he simply pushed her aside, marching up the drive and back through the arching gateway that led to the main courtyard.
“Quite a shocking report there,” the news reader back in the studio concluded, as the camera cut away from the palace. “We’re joined by a political expert now, to comment on the captain’s report and the implications for the future of Galandeen.”
The camera panned to a man in a blue suit, with a nose so sharp it looked like a beak.
“It was an interesting comment there about the dispute with Nalmaga,” he began, and Ryu rolled his eyes.
Not thirty seconds after Maro had announced the death of his parents, the media was already drifting off to gnaw at side issues, speculating on ideas that had yet to be validated in even the most rudimentary way.
“Now, as we know,” the man went on, “Nalmaga is a small region in the southern plains which has attempted to claim independence from Galandeen. As recently as three months ago, both Galandeen and Biermarg rejected their declaration of self-sovereignty, and the late King Sou also rejected their application for regional laws to be implemented recognising Nalmaga’s distinct cultural heritage-”
Ryu grabbed the remote and switched the television off. The late King Sou. The bastards couldn’t even spare a few words of sympathy before they started dissecting his political decisions and undermining his character.
“Don’t let it get to you,” Kentario said, running a soothing hand down Ryu’s back. “Deliberately maintaining a free press in this country means they’re necessarily going to be assholes now and then.”
Ryu said nothing, huffing in disdain as he curled in against Kentario’s side, not caring for the moment what Oris might think of the move.
“Shit, I’m tired,” he muttered into Kentario’s jacket, the sleepless night and the ongoing stress of the day suddenly catching up to him.
Kentario put his arm around Ryu’s shoulders, a rock in the midst of a wild storm.
“I think we need to do some serious planning, now that the news is public,” Oris said, his tone cautious.
He wasn’t an insensitive man and was no doubt well aware of too many raw nerves, but at the same time, he was right.
“People are going to start wondering where Ryu is, and if he doesn’t resurface soon, it leaves a power vacuum that other nobles are going to start taking advantage of. ”
“We have a couple of days, at least,” Ryu said.
“Uncle Admos is next in line to the throne, and while it’s a basic certainty that he’d never be allowed to take power, there has to be a two-thirds majority in the noble council to overrule him and name a new successor.
If any of my cousins want the throne, they’ll have to convince at least twenty-three people on the council to vote for them, and none of the nobles would be in a hurry to make a decision.
They’d be more likely to wait it out and see who’s going to offer them the most perks for their vote. ”
“True,” Oris agreed. “But the fact remains; sooner or later, Galandeen needs you to step up to the plate.”
King. Ryu was going to be king, crowned just days after his eighteenth birthday.
But Kentario shook his head, a dark frown on his face. “It’s too early for you to go back. Maro says the attack was caused by the Nalmagians, but it’s just his word at this point.”
“You think he’s lying?” Oris asked.
“Either way, he’s currently in charge of the palace,” Ryu said. “If he’s telling the truth, then I need to go and assure the public that the line of kings is unbroken, and if he’s not, then we can’t leave him there to run riot over the proper legal processes.”
Silence followed, as they all tried to come up with a workable solution. “You can’t go back,” Kentario said finally. “If Maro’s involved in all this, he could just have you killed the moment you set foot back inside the palace.”
“Then what do we do?” Oris said.
“I’ll go,” Kentario said, his expression set, determination in his voice.
“What if they kill you?” Ryu asked immediately. “If he’s willing to kill me, he’d have no qualms about taking out the crown prince’s bodyguard. And based on his recent behaviour, he’s not particularly fond of you in the first place.”
“The fact that I’m still alive strongly suggests that you are, too,” Kentario pointed out. “The code of honour of the Amagardas states that if we fail in protecting the crown, we’re required to take our own life.”
Ryu winced at the grim reminder. When he’d first been told about the condition of service two years ago, when Kentario had been assigned as his bodyguard, he’d been horrified.
But as his father had patiently explained to him, it was the only way to assure that the bodyguard did his job with the utmost diligence.
Without it, it was entirely possible that a bodyguard would attempt to save his own life, rather than risking his life to save his king.
This way, if the king died, the bodyguard’s life was forfeit anyway, so the only plausible course of action remaining was to risk everything to save the monarchy.
“So Maro won’t kill me until he knows where you are,” Kentario said. “Which gives me time to figure out whether he’s telling the truth or not.”
“There’s one other thing you should do,” Oris said, a crafty gleam in his eye.
“Before you enter the palace grounds, make sure that throng of reporters gets a good solid look at you. Get yourself on camera, if at all possible. If people know you were alive after the raid was over, it’ll raise a hell of a lot of thorny questions if you show up dead hours or days later. ”
“Goddess, I love the way you think,” Kentario said, and even Ryu had to be impressed.
No doubt this was one of the reasons why Kentario had chosen to come here in the first place.
“So that’s the plan,” Kentario said. “I go back, have it out with Maro, figure out what’s really going on, and then, if it’s all clear, I’ll call Oris and let you know it’s safe.
If you don’t hear from me, or if the news is bad, I want you to get the hell out of Galandeen.
Head for Iderheil. They’re close allies, and the queen will grant you asylum.
Ryu snarled. “So I’m supposed to just run away and leave Galandeen to burn?”
“No. You’re supposed to gather support from overseas and then come back and crush that lying son-of-a-bitch, as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”
“Sounds like the best option we’ve got,” Oris said. “Not without its risks, but it’s a good step up from where we were last night. When are you planning on leaving?”
“In about an hour,” Kentario said. “There’s just a couple of things I need from you first.”