"Reunited..." - Chapter Sixty-Six

Reunited...

Chapter Sixty-Six

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Prince William stayed with his father's men during their time at the capitol. They were on a break from the peninsula's civil war. He tried not to participate in their bullying, but he dared not chastise them for it. After all, they were ruthless and cruel, but they had no reason to remain loyal to the former throne of Lakeland. For some reason, he felt a connection with the men.

Nonetheless, it was apparent to him that these men were after their own power. They had a form of respect. It was out of fear, but no one questioned their power. Whatever these men wanted, they took. No one even questioned it. This amazed the Prince. These men had garnered a reputation in a very short time. Further, they took advantage of this fear.

After a few weeks, the men stated that they had to get back to business. The war was not over, there was simply an armistice. The negotiation period was over, and the fighting may return. They asked the Prince to join them. He declined the generous offer. When they insisted, he joined them.

The Prince left his aircar behind, and traveled in one of the other vehicles. He felt that traveling with them made more sense than attempting to follow. Further, he did not think he could escape them with his own vehicle. So, he just went along for the ride.

As the men traveled south, the damage from the war was much more apparent. There were still corpses lying out in the open. Further, there were bodies hung on poles as a warning to others. There was much cruelty in this war, and the Prince was stepping right into the middle of it.

After several hours of driving, the convoy of aircars pulled up to a compound. The guard waved them right through. They traveled to the center of the compound where an open spot for them was waiting. It was near a large makeshift building with a few guards protecting the entrance.

The group walked right past the guard and broke into a negotiation session. The reaction in the room was the same as in the bar. The tension level rose to a great extent. Even the leaders of the opposing factions feared these men.

"Times up!" the leader of Prince William's group said.

There were lots of But and we need more time, but the smart ones scrambled out of the room. The Prince was not sure what they were going to do. They did not have any firing weapons to just open fire on the negotiating parties. However, he noticed that they had not even drawn what weapons they had. Instead, the men started a big brawl in the midst of this negotiation room. Apparently, they did not want to kill the men they were fighting. At least, not kill them quickly. They wanted to take their time. That is why they did not simply open fire with some sort of gun.

A few men eventually drew knives. However, more regularly they used their bare hands. These men were outnumbered by 5 to 1, but the individuals at this meeting were not match for these seasoned fighting men. Further, the men did not discriminate. They were fighting everyone in the room. If an individual was in the room before they got there, they were a target. When the fighting was over, they outright killed 3 men and left dozens more injured.

When the fighting was finished, the leader spoke to the remaining conscious people.

"Diplomats!" he shouted. "This is Prince William Thorbjornson! He is your new king! If you have any questions, we will be happy to hear them."

This announcement stunned Prince William. Just like everyone, he feared these men. He did not expect them to instill him in power. He thought they would take it for themselves. He was not sure how far their loyalty went. It turned out they were still loyal, and still considered him worthy of rule. It was quite a surprise.

The thought of having his own kingdom left the Prince reeling. It is what he fantasized about for years. Now he was close to it becoming a reality. The only drawback was he would be beholding to these brutes. He was not sure whether he could live with the situation -- both literally and figuratively.

He stood there gazing off into space as the men continued to negotiate with the surviving individuals in the room. Eventually, they all agreed to pass along the proposal. They would inform their constituents of the situation. However, the Prince did not hear any of the conversations. He was living in his own world.

When the room cleared out, he was still standing there looking off. One of the men shook him out of his daydream. He asked what happened, and the men replied. The peninsula civil war may be over, but the factions would have to accept the offer before them. The men explained that it was not likely that they would. Hence, there would likely be more fighting. It seem to the Prince that this was what these men hoped.

This revelation knocked some sense into him. He thought they wished to instill him as sovereign. However, what they really wanted was to present an unacceptable offer to all parties. In this way, the war would continue. Reality smacked the Prince in the face again. He asked what happens next.

They would give the factions a couple of days to decide. If they rejected the offer, the war would continue. If they accepted, they did not know what would happen. They had never thought that they would accept the Prince as their king. Thus, they did not know what to expect should the parties accept the offer and end the war.

The men patted the Prince on the back and escorted him to a nearby pub. In this way, it was no different here than it was in the capitol. The men did what they wanted, and no one asked questions. The Prince began to get used to the situation. He had a group of very powerful men who surrounded him. They seemed to respect him. At the very least, they accepted his company.

He loosened up and began acting more regal. This delighted the group. He did not know anyone there, so he did not feel bad about abusing them. He made orders, and expected them to be fulfilled without question. Soon, he was drunk with his new found power. However, like everything in his life, it could not last forever.