A lot more
Before you knew it, you and him were in a deep conversation about his plans, you almost even began to outtalk him when it came to his plans on merely letting the kingdom fall before rising to power. He gave you sharp side glares as you suggested more and more things the two of you could have done with the kingdom.
“You know, if we were able to own at least half of the kingdom, then we would be able to fully manage everything on our own, like our parents but y’know siblings.” you continued, awkwardly, and not nearly as well spoken as your younger brother. Something felt awkward to you about this conversation, though your excitement may have got the better of you.
“Uhm, Yeah of course.” At this point his talkativeness had died down, and he shifted to a more listening mode, as you continued to rant. “Well I mean, have you even read most of the books in the library like me? The thing is I’d need someone as skilled as myself in order for you to handle the situation properly. It’s kind of a big task.” you were taken aback! Something about this felt wrong to you, as if he was insulting your intelligence.
“Of course!” you protested even harder before you caught a glimpse of your brother rolling his eyes and muttering something to himself.
“Can’t argue with an idiot.” you thought you heard, pushing you even farther, though due to you being unsure, you just let it go and walked in silence.
By the time you two had returned, the ball had ended, and to your surprise you and your brother were left alone, with a castle full of destruction and desolation, only leaving a hand full of his court left behind to help clean up the mess.
You had tried your best to assist with the remnants of your court, still feeling uncomfortable about the entire situation, though you knew that helping out would put you in a better position for ruling the kingdom. It was made up in your mind that you would have gotten a slice of the pie if you were to work at least somewhat hard, while getting this free ride from your brother. Something still felt off the way he distanced himself with you as you both worked to rebuild what was lost.
“Hey sis,” He said as he approached you, “you know, I don’t think you’re fit to be another ruler of the kingdom.” he said solemnly, though his tone was enough to portray how sure he was about this situation.
“What?” you said. “I thought-” your voice sounded panicked.
“Listen… You thought wrong. I don’t think you have the right uhh. Qualifications for this job, don’t take it personally I am just one who would rather rule alone.” your pupils shrunk in betrayal.
“Well then what am I supposed to do?” he shrugged and began to walk away.
“You can figure that out, I’m the king now so I ultimately get the final ruling, I mean how much do you even know about the history of our kingdom?” that statement stopped you in your tracks. You thought about how much you had read those history books, though your mind couldn’t fall upon a single topic of study.
“Guess I shouldn’t have just skimmed.” you said to yourself quietly as he left, a thick lump of ice began to form in your stomach as you clutched it close to you. “Well now what.” you say to yourself as you tried to figure out what it was that you were to do after having lost everything, not only your parents and kingdom, but also your birthright and your sibling.
You spend the rest of your days working in the castle as if you were one of the court members, fading away into the background as you watched your brother- the new and ruthless king apply the rules of power to every aspect of the kingdom, and even your own life. Miserable, you decided to go for a walk one day, before confronting your previous regret about your decisions. Before you knew it, your world went blank; a bag over your head, and a multitude of gruff voices began to surround you. Bandits. You knew the situation as if it were as clear as day, regardless of your vision being completely blacked out.
“Here's another good one.” you make out a gruff voice.
“Yep this one should be quite a catch” another one responded
“Bet we can get a lot off er” a final even deeper voice laughed.
You had heard about this before, but the ruthless bandits seeking random bodies for trading had just simply found you at the wrong place at the wrong time. Having nothing else to lose, you close your eyes as you are dragged away into a nearby cart. Spending the rest of your days working from palace to palace throughout the remaining five kingdoms, you realized that this life wasn’t too far from your previous one after your brother had taken over. Completely defeated you had nothing better to do but be subservient as your higher-ups barked orders at you far into your old age. Every day your sore body laid down on your cot-bed was just another tick on your subliminal wall, until the day you finally were able to get your rest.
Written by Driftingdragon on 15 May 2020
The end (for now)