Sir Morn Dread climbed the steps to Canterlot Castle, in his mind replaying everything his mother had just told him. Not only was his father still alive, but he was the king! He had been almost too shocked to speak. He hadn’t pried into why his mother was having relations with her brother, but soon all that became irrelevant.
He was Dawn Saber’s heir, and therefore the king would no longer need to worry about the kingdom after he was too old to rule it. He, Sir Morn, could do it in his stead! Queen Sunlight Radiance had often told him of how good of a leader he was to his fellow knights, and now he had the exact opportunity to prove it. He could be a good king, he reasoned. And someone had to keep Canterlot together after the king died.
Sir Morn was too busy lost in his imagination to notice a pair of queenly eyes watching him from the shadows of a high up balcony.
“So, you have finally told him the truth, sister…” Sunlight said to herself. “Then events are in motion that cannot be stopped. Let’s hope this was the right decision…”
“You are… what?” Emerald Edge leaned back in disbelief as she heard the news straight from her lover’s mouth.
“It is so.” Morn nodded, his face bright with excitement. “My mother had told me herself.”
“This is…” Emerald ran a hand through her shimmering hair as she tried to comprehend what she had just heard. “This is… I am not sure how to put it to words, Morn. Your father, he is the king, which is an amazing thing, yes, but he is… also your… mother’s brother? Your uncle?”
Sir Morn had gone straight to Emerald’s room after learning of his father’s identity, too excited to share this news with the one he held dear. She was already in the process of getting ready for bed, but this could not wait till morning. He needed her to know.
“Yes, I will admit, tis a strange thing.” The male knight scratched his cheek and then began to undo his armor. “I did not think to ask her of it, but Emerald, the king has an heir! And I have a father!”
“Is it… a usual thing here, Morn? For… siblings to have children with siblings…? In Equestria, we… do not exactly do that.”
“Tis not a usual thing, no.”
Emerald glanced aside at Sir Morn, a worried look on her face. But the knight was too busy lost in his own fantasies to notice.
“I’m happy that you’ve found out so much about yourself, Morn, but why do you suppose King Dawn Saber never told you himself? Surely he must know you’re his son… yes?”
Morn finished setting his armor one its rack and hummed a low sound. “But he has never once treated me like a son, my lady. He has never smelt of the love that my mother smells like. I do not think he knows.”
“Smelled of what?” Emerald’s brow furrowed. “Nevermind. You are going to follow up on this, are you not? If the king does indeed not know you are his son, the revelation might… shock him.”
“But will he not be relieved to know he finally will have an heir?” Morn walked over and sat beside the spymaster. “They have been trying for years, the queen and he, but still they produce no heir.”
“I know,” Emerald said, staring at a brick in the wall. “Still, do break it to his majesty gently, will you not? Preferably in private so he has time to get used to the idea.”
“Of course, my lady. Have you known me not to be gentle?” Morn pushed a lock of her glimmering hair behind her right ear. He leaned in and sniffed close to her neck. “Tis such anticipation welling up within me.”
“Oh, you are always so gentle with me, Morn.” Emerald wrapped an arm around his neck. "So whichever choice you decide on, my love, I will be behind you. Know that I have your back.”
Morn placed a hand on her cheek and grinned. “I know, my lady. Soon, I shall be a prince! And I would love nothing more than to have you rule by my side.”
Emerald smiled up at Sir Morn, but her eyes were serious. “Don’t get ahead of yourself now; King Dawn Saber still has a great many years in him. For now, just focus on telling him who you really are. Everything will fall into place after that.”
They spoke a little more after that, but soon decided to go to bed. After all, neither of them could wait for the next day to dawn.
After breakfast the next day, Morn Dread and Emerald Edge swiftly left the dining hall to find King Dawn Saber, walking up the stone steps of the castle, hand in hand.
Morn just could not contain his excitement. He finally knew who his father was and he was going to get to tell him.
“His majesty should still be in his personal dining hall or already in court,” Morn guessed.
Just then, Emerald stopped in her steps and yanked on Morn’s hand. “Morn. I think this is something… you must accomplish yourself.”
“What?” Morn raised an eyebrow.
“This is your father you will be speaking to, not just King Dawn Saber.” Emerald squeezed his hand. “This will be a special moment. This is something you have to do on your own. This is your journey, Morn.”
“Oh. But if you think so, my lady.” Morn nodded, giving her a kiss on the lips before parting. “Then I will come find you once I have done so.”
“I look forward to it, Sir Morn.” Emerald bowed and smiled. “I will be in the courtyard with Spectrum.”
With a nod of determination, Morn Dread climbed the steps towards the king’s quarters, one hand on Clarent’s pommel to calm himself. Even a knight such as he was feeling nervous, but his excitement far outweighed any nervousness he held.
Morn had always thought about his father. Yes, his mother loved him so, but he couldn’t help but wonder who exactly his father was. And now, the truth had arisen, and lo and behold, his uncle, his mother’s brother, the king, was his father.
Yes, that proved a slight bit controversial, but it did not bother him. All he wanted to do was to let his father know that he did indeed have a son.
He passed Sunlight Radiance on the way up. Sir Morn bowed to her as she slipped by, though he saw out of the corner of his eye that she wore a rather odd expression, as if she were expecting something.
“Your majesty,” Morn said as she glided past.
Sunlight nodded at him politely, then was gone. For some strange reason, Sir Morn was suddenly grasped by a compulsion to follow her. Then he shook it off, remembering why he was really here. The knight figured if the queen was already out and about, breakfast should have been done, which meant the king was either on the way to the throne room now, or he was likely already there.
And so Morn changed his direction, now heading away from the king’s chambers and back downstairs. On his way down, Morn thought about what might have transpired between his father and his mother that he was now here, a grown adult. He hadn’t asked for the full story before, too excited that his father was alive, but perhaps when next he saw his mother, that was a story to ask about.
The blue haired knight soon arrived in the large hall leading to the throne room. The doors were closed, meaning the king was indeed inside. Stroking at the purple highlight in his hair, Sir Morn took a deep breath and knocked on the doors. It took a while for anyone to answer, but when the door opened, all he saw inside were the castle maids, cleaning up the room.
“Good morning, Sir Morn Dread,” the maid who opened the door said with a bow. “Is it the king you wish to see? I am afraid he has gone to see the training knights in the courtyard. He would be back in about an hour, he had said.”
“Oh. Well, I suppose I can wait an hour. Yes.”
The knight found a bench and sat down on it, the wood creaking under his weight. He put his hands together and leaned back, his mind adrift with all the things he could do once he was crowned prince. If he married Emerald then, she would become a princess! Just like those Lunar and Celestial Princesses she was so fond of talking about. And when Dawn Saber passed, he would become king! How his fellow knights would look up to him once that happened.
The hour passed quickly and soon Sir Morn caught sight of the king leaving the training yard. The knight jumped to his feet, hurrying out to intercept the king as he came inside. However, as he neared the king, a noble appeared from a nearby passageway and engaged Dawn Saber in a deep conversation about some kind of scroll.
Sir Morn stopped and bit the inside of his cheek. He could follow them and wait for the noble to finish, but that might take hours. Sir Morn left the hallway through a side door and went back out to the stables to groom his horse. Windspeed, he knew, would always have time for him.
Later that evening, Sir Morn marched into the castle, a determined expression on his face. He would catch King Dawn Saber after dinner, before he went to bed. That way, no one could get in the way.
He had been foiled at every attempt today, trying to engage the king in conversation. The knight didn’t think it would be so hard to approach him, but today just proved that it was no easy task to have an audience with the king.
He had wanted to give up earlier and just spend the day with Emerald instead, but then he strengthened his resolve.
No. I finally know who my father is. I am not giving up. Not now. Not until I have accomplished what I set out to do.
As Morn waited outside the dining hall, he began to muse as to how he was going to break the news to King Dawn Saber.
“Father, I am your son,” he rehearsed to himself. “No, no, I should not start with father. Your majesty, I am your son. Or maybe tis too sudden…”
“Ah, Sir Morn, good evening.” Sir Lionheart stepped out of the hall, twisting his golden moustache between two fingers. “How fares you? Have you consumed your dinner?”
“I had a small bite, yes. There is something more important than dinner in my mind right now. Something I need to tell the king.”
Lionheart inspected his fellow knight’s expression and raised an eyebrow. “Tis of an urgent matter?”
“Hmm, quite so, I believe.”
“We are not under attack again, are we?” Lionheart reached a hand back and tapped the golden shield. “If not, I am at the ready, though I must soon give this up for the tournament, I shall still stand at the ready, shield or no.”
Morn shook his head and clapped him on the shoulder. “No, tis not that sort of urgent matter. The king, I… I have recently learnt that he is my father.”
Lionheart seemed to choke on something, then cleared his throat. “He is… King Dawn Saber is… What?”
“Tis true,” Morn Dread nodded. “My mother had told me herself. I finally know who my father is.”
“Your uncle is your father…” But then Lionheart waltzed around and put an arm around Sir Morn’s neck. “Why, that is news indeed! Why are you still out here? Go on, tell him!”
“Because he is busy. I wanted to wait for the best time to tell him. Lady Emerald thinks it should be told quietly.”
At this point, the blue muse came wandering by, holding up two bent metal rods. She was staring at them intently as they swiveled around and pointed to the main hall. Both knights stood aside as she passed, listening to the muse mutter about something under her breath.
“Hello, muse,” Lionheart greeted, looking at her curiously. “What are you doing, may I ask?”
“Oh, Sir Lionheart!” Sonata jumped and almost dropped her metal rods. “I’m looking for water. Aria told me that after I find it, we can go on a snipe hunt!”
“A snipe hunt, you say?” Lionheart grinned. “Well, I wish you the best of luck, muse. I shall need to aid Sir Morn in an urgent matter. Come, Morn. The king awaits you!”
“Sir Lionheart, wait!”
Following behind the blonde haired knight, Morn spotted the king sitting at the dining table with Sir Ganeighn, Sir Boercival, and a cluster of Canterlot’s nobles, seemingly discussing something. From the smell coming from them, he could guess it was of political matters.
“Like I said, there shall be no equal shares, nor will I be giving out free country sides,” Dawn Saber said, placing his goblet back on the table. “I never promised any of that. And if I ever find out who started that rumor, I’ll have them clapped in irons.”
“But your majesty, what king are you if you will not have equal rights?” one noble asked.
“What king am I to suggest equal rights? I am the king. This is a monarchy. Do I not provide enough as it is?”
There was an indistinct round of agreement, with some of the nobles warily eyeing Excalibur.
Sir Morn did not want to intrude on such a heated discussion, but Sir Lionheart was nothing like him.
“Your majesty, I return with some exciting news!” the courageous knight stopped beside him and waved a hand to Morn. “Sir Morn Dread has something to say to you. Something of great importance!”
“Uh, well, tis not that important that it cannot wait until later…” Morn said quickly. Then he hissed at Lionheart, “Not here, I don’t want everyone to hear.”
“How can it wait? You have been waiting to tell him, have you not?”
“What importance, Sir Morn.” King Dawn Saber flipped around and looked at the blue haired knight, taking the bait.
“Well, the thing is, your majesty, I wanted to tell you later. Yes. Later. You look busy now, so I will just leave you to it…”
“Morn, you must tell him!” Sir Lionheart flipped him around before he could leave. “Your majesty, you have an heir to the throne! At long last!”
The king’s eyes widened and he stood up. “The queen is finally with child?”
There was an array of murmurs amongst the nobles. Morn picked out a few disappointed scents among them.
“Tell him!” Lionheart nudged him.
“Get on with it, sir knight,” one of the nobles said, a tone of impatience in his voice. It seemed he direly wanted to get back to the conversation they were having with the king.
“Yes, get on with it!” the rest of them added in.
Sir Morn poked the tips of his fingers together, a most unknightly gesture of self-doubt.
“Well, you see, your majesty, the queen… is not with child. No.”
There was a concealed relieved sigh from one of the nobles.
“You see, mother has told me everything,” Sir Morn continued, hoping the nobles wouldn’t interfere too much with what he was about to say. “You are my father, your majesty.”
“I’m your what…?” Dawn Saber was taken aback.
“Yes, your majesty. I… I have no words to express my elation on this news.” Morn nodded. Now that he had said it, the rest seemed to come easier. “My mother had never spoken of my father since the day I was born. I had always wanted to know who it was, and now, now I know. Your majesty, tis no greater honor than to be your son.”
King Dawn Saber said nothing, staying rooted to the spot in silence, staring at Sir Morn thunderstruck. His mouth opened, but no words came out. A bead of sweat rolled down the king’s face.
The various nobles, Sir Ganeighn and Sir Boercival stared at the king and Morn Dread, their faces growing more and more apprehensive as the silence wore on.
“The king’s son?” Morn could hear the nobles whispering with each other. “The king and the king’s sister… had a son?”
“To know that you are my father, your majesty,” Morn continued, a smile forming on his face. “Has brought me such joy. I would have it no other way, your majesty. To be the son of such a great man, tis truly amazing.”
“Is it not, your majesty!” Lionheart clapped Morn on the back. “You finally have an heir to your throne!”
King Dawn Saber looked over to his nobles, who were still muttering amongst themselves. He wiped a drop of sweat from the corner of his brow and then cleared his throat.
“I-I have no idea on that which you speak, Sir Morn Dread. Never once I have lain with my sister. I am afraid you must have… misheard her.”
Morn raised an eyebrow in question. “But your majesty, I did not. My mother had mentioned your name. Tis hard to mishear the name of our great king.”
“N-No.” Dawn Saber stood and adjusted his crown. “I have done no such thing. I am king of Canterlot and I am loyal to the queen and only the queen. I have done no such thing with my sister.”
The nobles and other knights looked on at the king, as if still trying to decide if they wanted to believe Morn or Dawn Saber.
“My king,” Lionheart started. “Perhaps there is a possibility-”
“No, there is not!” The king retorted, making Lionheart cringe. “This whole claim is impossible! As king, I would never do anything of that sort with anyone but the queen! And especially not my own sister.”
Morn was taken aback by the king’s sudden outburst. He definitely hadn’t expected it to go this way. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but as he inhaled, he smelt a waft of something hot coming from the king, along with something else. Something only Morn could describe as fear. The king was afraid.
“That woman should be thrown into the dungeons for spreading such outrageous lies,” the king continued, planting a fist on the table. “I am your king! Do not think I would do such lowly things as the rest of you.”
The nobles looked at each other, the whispers among them already dying down, but something Dawn Saber had said struck a chord within Morn. Something he didn’t like.
“Your majesty,” he interrupted, taking a step forward. “My mother is no liar. I know what she said is true.”
“No! No tis not!” Dawn Saber yelled again, this time, Morn smelt more fear coming from him. “Who are you to stake such claims, sir knight? Do you think your status as a Knight of the Round Table allows you to rebel against your king?!”
“Your majesty, I am not-”
“Leave my sight! You are no honorable knight and you are certainly no son of mine! Begone, or join your mother in the dungeons!”
The silence that followed was deafening. To hear such words from the king, his father, was like a sword had just been plunged through his chest. This was the man that was supposed to be proud of him. This man, like all fathers he had seen in Canterlot, was supposed to be someone Morn would look up to. In fact, the king had always been someone he looked up to, as a Knight of the Round Table.
Until this moment.
Morn felt the hot taste from the king continue to pulsate, and as he breathed, the knight began feeling it within himself too. This was no way a father was to treat his son.
No, I need to get out of here. I cannot be around his majesty like this…
Turning on his heel, Sir Morn began for the doors, his vision already starting to blur.