To this day, this question still remains unanswered to me.
A battle for something so insignificant.
Something that really did not belong to any of us. The more I thought about it, the more I withdrew into myself.
The thought of so many deaths for a piece of land became incomprehensible.
Of course, when you are the one giving the commands, everything seems correct but when you are the one fighting, the reality sets in quickly.
Life had to be more meaningful than this.
That is what I believe.
But my life as I knew it would never be the same.
I went from Prince to Soldier overnight.
A life I could never get accustomed to.
But as a good soldier and future King, I needed to show pride and valor.
I adapted to my surroundings and in doing so I became another person. Killing became a routine for me. My mind became conditioned to kill for survival and that was all I did. It may sound like an excuse but when dropped into that situation, everything is totally different.
In a moment of total confusion and absent-mindedness, I was captured and became a prisoner of Schillingburg.
The moment King Erich discovered who I was he knew using me as one of his soldiers would be a plus for him.
His ultimatum was kill or be killed.
So I did as I was instructed.
As for killing, I killed many for Landford and Schillingburg.
As for King Michael of Willshire, I was only protecting myself. I did not know him to be a Royal or even to be Amelia’s brother. I fought him as I did any other and he was a challenge, if I may say. Either way, a King would have died that night.
Willshire’s Soldiers were upon me in seconds and I was imprisoned for the murder of their King. I was sure to be put to death or so I thought.
Imagine the surprise I received when the Queen of Landford, came to retrieve me from Willshire Castle.
To my knowledge there was no Queen in Landford until Amelia walked through that door.
As I was turned into a Soldier, Amelia was turned into a Queen.
We were two totally different people.
Two people in two life choices they did not choose.
My world was turned upside down.
This was proof I was totally stripped of my monarchy.
I felt anger and betrayal but also a strange feeling of happiness. I was elated to see my Amelia even though my actions spoke differently. My life was spared, thanks to her, but what kind of life was this?
A King with no power.
Since Father handed my Kingdom to Amelia, she was not willing or trusting to put me in command. There was no convincing Father either. To him, she would be the better monarch. I tried to convince Father but it was to no avail. He had made his decision to completely restrict me from being King and it was not to be dishonored. Unfortunately, that decision would never get to Amelia because Father passed on unexpectedly with assistance. I did not murder him for his power because at this point, he had none. I was playing God, I could not bear to see him in pain any longer. If it were possible to go back and change things, I would but at this point, I was in very deep and Amelia suspected it. My actions were extreme but they were for the good of Landford.
Father in his illness had neglected our kingdom and Amelia as the new monarch really did not know what to do with it. I felt like I was the only hope for Landford and I became obsessed with it. I had demonstrated I was worthy of the crown to my subjects but in doing so I ignored who was most important. Amelia… Without her approval, Landford’s Monarchy would have no value.
I became stern with Amelia, so grim she began to fear me. And believe me, Amelia feared no person.
As a soldier, I was taught fear is the best tactic, little did I know that with fear, respect is lost.
I could never subject her to any actual harm though.
Believe it or not, I love her very much, in my own way and Amelia knew this but I felt she had forgotten due to my absence.
Even though she betrayed my trust and helped David escape his fate, I still felt love for her.
How could I not?
She always stood her ground.
That was one of the reasons I fell in love with her.
Either way, I forgave her for all her past indiscretions but I also let her know if she ever thought of deceiving me again, her demise would be inevitable.
From here on there was no turning back. I became King. I forcefully took the monarchy away from Amelia. She did not resist because she knew I was the rightful heir, now that Father was gone. Plus it was unheard of to have a Queen reign on her own especially when there was a true blood King available.
Landford had been neglected. It was time for Landford to return to its previous state and I as King was the only and correct way for it to happen.