Rosalis and Edmund sat at a table, opposite each other. “Tell me,” He asked her. “how can we protect the kingdom from another war? Too many lives were lost.”
“We have no fear of Wolfholde any longer, and the rest of the kingdoms are our allies, so, we have nothing to worry about.”
“Okay, say, in theory, if there was an attack. If some madman would want to start a war.”
“Then we shall protect the kingdom with whatever it takes. Tar, hot sand, gunpowder, quicklime, ballistas, arquebuses.”
Edmund frowned. “What’s an arquebus, pray tell?” He asked, confused.
“It is a step forward as the world’s first firearm. Apart from hand cannons, obviously. With it, we will revolutionise the way that war is fought.” She gestured with her head, standing up. “Come, I will show you.”
Edmund stood up and followed her.
The king and the custodian entered the armoury and Rosalis opened up a large cupboard. Inside, placed in a rack, were ten arquebuses. Rosalis took one and handed it to Edmund. He took it and immediately, he almost dropped it. He looked at it. “I did not expect it to be this heavy.” He remarked.
“We need the firepower.” Rosalis replied. “Arrows are good, but gunpowder is better.”
Edmund gave a small smile, nodding. “This pleases me.”
Rosalis took the arquebus and put it back into its place, closed the cupboard. “Wolfgrimm was the worst enemy that the kingdom has ever faced, so the next enemy to attack would be much easier to take out.”
Edmund sighed and groaned, seeming to wipe an invisible substance from his face with both hands.
“You need to rest.”
“Yes. You are right.” He got up and proceeded to make his way to his chambers. Rosalis looked at him as he left the room, worry in her eyes, fearing for the poor boy. She made her way to the throne room and sat down at the throne, taking over his duties.
The evening had dawned and Rosalis stared at the countless rows of knights that stood in front of her, prepared for the meeting that they had been called for. “I want you all to be diligent in our duties.” She told them. “If we should face another enemy such as Wolfgrimm, then the kingdom will surely be done for.”
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“You do not trust us?” One knight at the front suddenly asked. She looked at him.
“Yes, I do, but you will need to be better in your duties should the kingdom survive. After all, you are the first line of defence against an onslaught.”
“Why should I listen to a custodian? Where is the king?”
“He is resting. If you have any problems, you should come to me.”
The knight walked up to her. “Why should I listen to a custodian?” He repeated.
“If I can protect a king, then you should have no reason not to listen to me.”
“I almost died in the war against Wolfgrimm.”
“But you are still alive, are you not?”
“Where were you during the war? Where were your great skills when we needed them? Where were you when you were meant to be protecting your king?”
“I was on the front line, trying to survive. By the time that I got to Wolfgrimm, it was already too late to save Edmund. There was nothing that I could have done.”
“Nothing?!” The knight suddenly yelled, his voice echoing through the hall. “You want the throne for yourself. You’re secretly conspiring against the kingdom.”
“Guards!” She suddenly shouted. “Take him away!”
Two knights walked up to him and grabbed his arms. The knight suddenly wriggled free, punching one of them in the face. Suddenly, a huge brawl erupted. Knights began to punch other knights. One knight suddenly grabbed another one and fell onto his back with him. One knight gestured with his hands, beckoning another to come forward. Furious, Rosalis stood up from the throne.
“Stop this madness!” She yelled, anger beyond belief. Everyone immediately stopped and looked at her. There was silence for some moments as everyone trudged back to their original places. Rosalis looked at the two guards. “What are you two still doing here?” She asked them. Without a second thought, they took away the protestor. Rosalis sighed and looked at the knights. “The kingdom needs to be protected. We can ensure its survival by working together. Take a look at yourselves. You’re knights of the kingdom, not some sort of animals that turn on each other at the sight of a chunk of meat. You’re sworn to protect the kingdom and its people, not destroy it. We already have had one war, we do not need another one. We need not start a civil war. We are the inhabitants of Frinnor, a kingdom of justice and freedom, not inhabitants of Wolfholde, a kingdom of fear and tyranny.”
There were some nods and murmurs of agreement amongst the knights. Rosalis sighed. “Think about your actions. Think about the people that you are supposed to protect. Maybe one of them is a member of your family, or an old friend. What would you do if you saw them in trouble? You would help them, would you not? That is the same with the kingdom. It is a place that should be protected at all costs. Too many lives have already been lost because of Wolfgrimm. There need not be any more bloodshed.”
