Sweet Waters Throne

167 Chapter 16The talk of wars and revenge may have been put on hold in Prophis after Aryan suffered a great defeat in the hands of Artemis and his dragon, but across the Silent Sea it had just began. Katarina learned of her son’s secret endeavors which included sending a letter to Artemis and she was fumed with rage.

That was a fortnight after all that happened and she blamed Amabel with all she had, yet she knew that wouldn’t solve it. After an encounter with Aryan who advised her she should lay low, her son did exactly opposite of what she intended to do and now they were fully exposed. “It’s only a matter of time until your uncle finds you and take your head” Katarina screamed at Amabel.

However, she knew better that screaming and being angry at Amabel won’t solve a thing. Hence one particular evening she dragged Amabel and they entered inside a palanquin which was fully covered, five of their servants carried them towards Aprophil’s manor. It was just a short distance from their manse to the huge castle which belonged to Lord of Free Hall and Master of the Sea.

Since they were well known to the guards of the castle, they were allowed inside without questioning. And Katarina chose a great time of the day because Aprophil was out in his gardens playing with his son, young Arteides. Aprophi’s mother Jody was out for a walk with her daughter in law, there has never been a more perfect timing.

Aprophil invited Katarina and her son to the gardens. It was cool and refreshing, a small walk from the garden and one may come upon the waves of the Silent Sea which were usually calm for this time of the day.

“This must be Amabel, right?” asked Aprophil with a smile on his face.

Katarina replied nervously “Yes, my first son” she said looking at Amabel whose head was down with shame. It only took a few seconds for Aprophil to notice that something wasn’t right, however he wanted Katarina to speak it herself without feeling like she was pressured.

“Come on, let’s sit down like civilized people” Aprophil called out two female servants and handed his son to them.

Katarina was the first one to sit down and then Amabel followed, still his head down. Without wasting any more time Katarina started to speak, “I came here to seek your help my lord”

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“If it’s within my reach then I shall be delighted to help you, my lady”

Katarina sighed softly then she continued “My son is the true heir to the Silver throne of Prophis. I know you must be aware of the Battle of Stonedance”

“Not in details, I just heard about two twins who emerged victorious and then turned on the King they initially supported”

Amabel quipped unexpectedly “That King was my father, Castellan Taelin” he said with a straight face looking at Aprophil. At fourteen he was still a boy, yet he acted like a grown up and that pissed off his mother but somehow it made Aprophil excited to know more about Amabel.

“You are Amabel Taelin?” asked Aprophil. Amabel nodded, then Aprophil looked at Katarina as if to want validation to what her son just said.

But she seemed to have way more ambitious things to say “That’s not what brought us here, it’s what he did a fortnight ago” she said bitterly. “He sent a letter to King Artemis of Maldonia without my consent and asked him not to support his uncle who apparently went to Blackmount to seek the King’s help in taking back the throne. He told Artemis that he was alive and if he wanted to support House Taelin then he must support him”

To this time Amabel interrupted “I did what I had to do ─” but he was met with a more surprising reaction when Aprophil slapped him just before he could continue. Amabel was caught off-guard by this, he held his right cheek with wonderment.

“You do not speak when grownups are speaking. Do you understand Amabel? Or do you consider yourself a man grown?” Aprophil now turned to a parent and sided with Katarina. He knew what Amabel did was reckless and it didn’t matter what he had in mind, it was still reckless and he didn’t like it how he was speaking to his mother. “Are you a man grown?” he asked this time with an angry tone.

Silently Amabel replied with tears falling down between his cheeks “No my Lord” while holding his cheek.

“Now apologize to your mother for doing something reckless” This was an order, and Amabel knew better than to decline.

Hence he turned to Katarina with his eyes wet and reddish, his skin suddenly turning red and pale. Amabel apologized to his mother for writing a letter to Artemis without her consent and he admitted what he did was reckless. Then after that, Aprophil dismissed him and ordered his servants to look after him.

With Amabel’s departure, now Aprophil was ready to listen to Katarina and they could speak plainly and open as two grownups.

“A ship docked a week ago in my harbor, it carried a Prince and Princess famously referred to as Thelma and Ambrose Taelin. My men addressed them as the Taelins and the Prince as the true heir to the Silver throne. They are here and my first guess will be to find your son and slit his throat, be done with it” said Aprophil while crossing his legs.

This was exactly what Katarina wanted to be clear off, yet it seemed to be following her everywhere. “We have to leave; this place isn’t safe anymore for my sons” she said in a somber tone.

“Leave? My Lady you can’t leave. These Lords and rich men in Whitebridge will support Prince Ambrose because they think he is the true heir to the throne, but they won’t do so if they learn your sons exists”

“To which I should never let them learn of their existence” suddenly Katarina stood up. She was crumbling her fingers and clearly showed that she was anxious and afraid at the same time. “I shall have them live not die on battlefield”

Aprophil understood Katarina’s fear as a mother. She reminded him of his own mother who prohibited him from even saying it aloud that he was the true heir to Sweet Waters throne and not a bastard as many people were led to believe. Jody did this because she was scared that her son would be murdered, and now Katarina wanted to do the same for her sons.

This was her choice to make and Aprophil would never advise her otherwise, but the moment he looked at Amabel, he knew the boy was different. Unlike him, Amabel yearned for the throne and he was ready to do anything to get it. At his age he was already seeking allies to retrieve his father’s throne, and Aprophil respected that.

He took Katarina’s arms to his, “Lawsend’s City which is in Raven was ambushed by Artemis on his dragon’s back. Aryan Squire was set to ambush his friend and for that Artemis flew to his rescue, in return he burned sixty thousand men and forty of them belonged to the lady Squire” he paused as if to see Katarina’s reaction.

After a few seconds he continued, “I received this news from the very secret member of the King’s circle and he assured me that Prophis now is weak. The lady Squire has barely thirty thousand men in the whole realm and all her lions were burned in the ambush. Her coffers are empty and just recently I received a note that she was selling slaves and outlaws in return for gold, she is preparing for the winter”

There was a sight of hope on Katarina’s face, and she even added, “These are winter times in Prophis, and they are set to last for six moons”

“Indeed my Lady, and winters are cruel when your coffers are empty and you are sitting on frozen lands where not even a flower can grow. She will reach out for the Liberty Cities for food in no time, this is the time where your son comes in” Aprophil let go of Katarina’s hands and walked back to his chair.

Katarina sat down too since all of this was new to her and it’s something she didn’t expect to hear from Aprophil. “What do you mean this is where my son comes in?”

“Forget about his uncle and aunt, and focus on the prize in front of you. The kingdom is weak and it’s Queen has just been defeated, she must be licking her wounds now and possibly she wouldn’t be expecting wars any time soon. I shall grant your son fifty thousand of my trained slaves, very obedient and skilled fighters. You will move into my castle with your sons and my powerful friends will meet you here discreetly, and then when we are ready, we shall sail to Prophis when no one knows anything and sack the capital. By then your son will be King”