Sir Morn Dread hurried away from the main hall, not caring where he went. All that mattered was that he needed to calm down. He was so occupied with his predicament that he failed to notice that he had bumped into Queen Sunlight Radiance.
“Oh, I am sorry, your majesty.” Morn didn’t stop. “I-I have a lot on my mind…”
The queen nodded. “I imagine you do. I was just on my way to see the king myself.”
Sir Morn’s eye twitched. The queen didn’t know yet.
“It may not seem it, but he’s getting up there in years, the king,” Sunlight commented lazily. “I am not quite sure that he will last the next decade, should he continue working himself like this.”
“Er…” Sir Morn mumbled. He was not sure what to say. Would the queen be angry and denounce him like Dawn Saber had? She always seemed like such a calm, quiet person, but in Sir Morn’s career as a knight, he had found that even the calmest of people had a berserk button. Plus, he was the king’s son, not hers. How would she feel about her husband sleeping with someone else?
“Well, I shan’t keep you, good knight,” Queen Sunlight said, sweeping past him. “Give Moon Tide my regards, won’t you?”
Sir Morn nodded as the queen traveled down the stairs, disappearing around the bend. He hadn’t known what to say to her, with his mind currently so clouded with red. After everything the king had said to him earlier, Morn was having difficulty in controlling his emotions. At first, he had wanted to find a wall and punch it until it crumbled, but then he realized that it was a terrible idea. Later, he figured it might be better to just return to Emerald’s room and cool himself off, maybe even with a bath.
Passing by the doors to the rooms of his fellow knights, Morn entered Emerald’s room and shut the door. It was then that he realized Moon Tide was sitting on her bed, idly spinning her staff from hand to hand.
“Dawn Saber wasn’t as receptive as you thought?” she asked, her expression unreadable.
“Mother, he wishes to throw you in the dungeon.” Morn walked up to her and held her hand. “You cannot let him do so. Surely you can talk him out of it?”
“I’ve already notified my sister. She’ll keep me out of the dungeons.”
“Your sister?”
“In law.”
“She already knows? That I am the son of the king?” Morn thought she had yet to find out.
“In this realm,” Moon Tide said mysteriously. “She knows all.”
“She does not have resentment? Towards you? For siring a child with him?”
“Well, actually it was her-” Moon Tide caught herself and shrugged. “No, I don’t think she does.”
Morn walked over to the middle of the room and looked up at the ceiling. “It was chaos, mother. I thought King Dawn Saber would be happy. I thought I would finally have the father I have always wanted. But to avoid harming his image, he denies my being his heir and he would even call you a liar! You are not a liar, mother. All that you have said, I trust you have said it in truth. I know he is the king of Canterlot, but how dare he!”
Sir Morn angrily flipped a low table, sending it crashing against the stone wall, one leg falling off.
“If only there were a way to prove to the entire court that you are his son,” Moon Tide mused.
“He would never admit it, mother. I see that now. The king does not care about us. To save his image, he would gladly throw any one of us to the wolves. And to think I have always thought him a just king who ruled the land fairly? I have fooled myself to think so! Even I, his son, he has pushed away! Is he not glad that he finally has an heir?”
Morn kicked the broken table leg and sent it flying against the opposite wall with a loud klack.
Moon Tide shrugged again. “If you thought the king always ruled fairly and equally, then you’ve been tricking yourself. Tis the basis of a monarchy that the king is at the top, with everyone else at his feet.”
Sir Morn punched the wall, making the room shake. “Tis still not fair.”
“And if you were in charge, I am sure that the kingdom would be in much better straits. Remember how well you handled the druid uprising while the king was defeated by them?”
“But that was not my doing. It was Lady Emerald’s. It was because of her we won that day.”
“Yes, but you were a great leader yourself, rallying the knights against the druids.” Moon Tide sniffed at the air. “Speaking of your lady, I think she would also like to hear of how you are doing after your talk with the king.”
Just then, the door was thrown open and Emerald ran straight into Morn’s arms. The blue haired knight could smell the worry on her before she even spoke.
“Morn, I heard what happened from Sir Ganeighn. Are you alright? I am sure the king does not mean what he said.”
“No. He meant every word, my lady.” Morn bunched up his fists as he remembered the king’s words to him. “When it comes to himself or someone else, he would rather save himself. To think he was the kind and benevolent king I thought he was.”
“Don’t take it too personally,” Moon Tide said carelessly. “Humans in general aren’t exactly paragons of goodness even at the best of times.”
“Yes, I have seen the king make many a wrong choice at times, but he still tries his best to manage the kingdom.” Emerald soothingly rubbed Sir Morn’s arm.
“He was willing to throw you in the dungeon, mother! His own sister!” Morn countered, very much upset at how his father would treat him.
“He is getting up there in years,” Moon Tide said. “And with no other heir to the throne, what happens to the kingdom after Dawn Saber is no longer fit to rule is in heavy dispute. Many nobles want the throne for themselves, and are just waiting for the king to step down.”
“But doesn’t the king of Canterlot need to be able to wield Excalibur?” Emerald asked.
“It might,” Moon Tide agreed. “But you can wield Excalibur. Does that make you the king?”
“Well, no, but-”
“Seeing as Excalibur belongs to your world, Emerald, I think being able to wield it is just a happy coincidence. There’s no prior link between kingship and that sword at all, making the whole thing rather sketchy,” Moon Tide rolled her staff from her right hand to her left.
“The king has spread the tale of receiving the sword from the Lady of the Lake far and wide,” Emerald said, scratching at her cheek. “He says she gave him the right to rule Canterlot.”
“And what do you think?” Moon Tide asked calmly.
“I do not see anything wrong with that.” The spymaster shrugged. “But even the king cannot use Excalibur without tiring himself out, so perhaps it is no requirement to be able to use it.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Sir Morn put his hand on Clarent’s grip and was halfway through drawing it when the door opened and the queen stepped into the room.
“The king is resting in his quarters,” Sunlight muttered, barely audibly. “Now, let’s get started sorting out this mess.”
“Your majesty, you know about this too?” Emerald looked at her quizzically.
“In this realm, I know all,” Sunlight said mystically. She waved her hands around her face dramatically.
“I find it hard to believe the king would just go to sleep after what he learned,” Emerald pointed out.
Sunlight chuckled. “Tis fine. I left the muses with him. He won’t be wakening any time soon.”
Morn relaxed his grip on his sword and breathed. “Your majesty, you cannot put my mother in the dungeons. She has done so much for the kingdom. Surely the king can overlook this one thing and remember that.”
“No, having Moon Tide in the dungeons would be detrimental to everyone,” Sunlight agreed. “Who else would do the healing, the stalking, the seeing, the saying? You?”
Moon Tide flashed her a sharp look, but then coughed and smiled again. “Tis a relief. I do not enjoy being in the dungeon.”
Morn looked between both of them and raised an eyebrow. It seemed almost strange that the two of them would not be at each other’s throats after the news he had revealed to the king.
“You… hold nothing against my mother, your majesty?” he decided to ask. “For… siring a child with King Dawn Saber?”
“I think we would all agree, that the game of blame is not one we should be playing right now. What is done is done, and what matters now is what we do next.”
“Yes, her majesty is correct.” Moon Tide nodded. Though Morn could smell a shift in her emotions. She smelt more tired and just a little bit irritated. “We need to plan forward. The king does not want to accept my son now. Once again, he has no heir, because the queen cannot have a child.” The mage looked pointedly at Queen Sunlight, who put on an air of casual innocence.
“What else is there to do?” Morn angrily brushed a hand through his hair. “The king will not accept me as his son. He does not love me. It would have been better if I had still thought of my father as a dead man.”
“Morn, don’t talk like this.” Emerald put a hand against his cheek. “I am sure once the king comes to his senses, he will see things in a different light.”
“A man like that should not even be the king,” Morn snapped. “How can he claim to rule the land with peace and wisdom when he cannot even maintain his own family? Tis a disgrace.”
Morn expected Queen Sunlight to say something, since he was essentially slandering her husband, but to his surprise, she said nothing. In fact, a spark of satisfaction seemed to linger in the queen of Canterlot’s eyes.
Moon Tide blinked slowly at Emerald. “Still, the king isn’t going anywhere. Canterlot will be saddled with him for quite a few years to come. Well, unless…”
Emerald’s face grew worried for a moment. “Perhaps I should talk to the king? Maybe I could settle things down a bit.”
“Tis not your problem, Lady Emerald,” Morn muttered. “I shan’t have the king on you just because you tried to help me.”
“But that is what friends do!” Emerald insisted. “Moon Tide, will you let me speak to the king on your son’s behalf?”
“I do not see what good it will do,” Queen Sunlight piped up. “The king can be a very stubborn man. It would take many days of singing to get him to change his mind on something as big as this.” The queen seemed to balk, owing to another glare from Moon Tide. “Oh. Did I say singing? I meant talking. Yes, that is what I meant to say.”
Under more ordinary circumstances, Emerald would have thought that something was wrong, but her human partner was in dire straits and she could not spare any thoughts for the queen and Moon Tide’s strange behavior.
“Morn, you know I will go anywhere you go. If the king were to have a problem with me as well, then so be it.” Emerald placed a hand against his chest. “Morn, I love you. I will be by your side, whether the king accepts you or not.”
Sunlight smiled, closing her eyes and leaning back. “Ah, love. Were my marriage as strong as your affection… well, let us not talk about that. The king is free to do as he wishes, though not all may agree. It’s a monarchy, not a dem… deo… thing where people vote.”
“Democracy,” Moon Tide supplied.
“That is what I said.” The queen smiled proudly.
“Monarchy or no…” Morn sighed and looked out the window, taking one of Emerald’s hands in his. “I do not care that he is the king, but I wanted my father to accept me. I wanted a father in my life. But he will not.”
“Tis a powerful shame that the king will remain on the throne after this,” Moon Tide lamented. “He will make our lives difficult now, dungeons or no.”
“Why so?” Emerald asked, trying her best to sort this out.
“Do you really think the king will simply forget about this?” Sunlight said impatiently. “Humans have the most annoying knack for holding onto old grudges and remembering things they should not. If you want things to go back to the way they were, the only solution is either traveling back in time to stop Morn Dread from telling the king he is his son, or by killing the man. One of those you can do.”
“Your majesty, how could you say that, even about your own husband.” Emerald was shocked at what the queen had said.
“I simply speak the truth,” Sunlight said defensively.
Moon Tide exhaled and reached out a hand and placed it on Morn’s waist. “Truth or no… this is not helping my son with making him feel better. Perhaps it is best that we give him time to clear his thoughts to decide what to do next.”
“Very well. I, should go see if my husband is still sleeping.” Queen Sunlight stood up and dusted her dress.
“Then I will bid you a good night, your majesty. And you, Moon Tide.” Emerald followed them to the door and waved before shutting it. “Morn, are you feeling any better?”
The male knight sat down on the bed and sighed again. “No. No I am not, my lady. The king has shown me a side of himself I have never expected to see. No, the king is not the kind man I thought he was. He is a selfish and cruel man.”
Rather than try to refute his claims, Emerald simply put her hand on his shoulder and sighed. To think that only yesterday, he had been a totally different human.
“Morn. You do know it, yes? That I am here for you?”
“I… yes, I do, my lady.” The knight leaned back and stomped a foot, the greave echoing against the stone floor. “But the king… What he has done today, it has shown me how incapable of a man he really is.”
“Do not let him hear you saying all this about him,” Emerald told him. “It would only make matters worse. Please, just… go to bed, yes? You will feel better when you wake tomorrow.”
“I will… try my best, Emerald. “Morn Dread fell back against her bed. “I do not know if I will be able to.”
Emerald chuckled and leaned down against him, stroking the purple streak in his blue hair. “Then I will lie here with you until the sun arises if that is what it takes.”
Morn sniffed and placed a hand on Emerald’s. “Thank you, my lady. Tis good to know that while I am disowned, at least you are here with me.”
“Always, Morn. I will always be by your side.”
“And so you think you should be in the dungeons?” Sunlight Radiance raised both eyebrows in surprise. This, by far, was the strangest of requests.
“Our first plan has already failed.” Moon Tide peeked out the window at the moon. It would likely be a while until she would see it again. “As I had said before I conceived, the king would not accept an illegitimate son. It would have been better if the boy was of royal blood.”
The queen put a hand on her chest and huffed. “And as I had said, I do not want to sully my hands with a child. That is what I have you for.”
“And that is why I am asking you now to place me in the dungeons as the king would want,” Moon Tide said again. “With our first plan being a failure, we need to hasten and move to the second plan. This would surely speed things up.”
“Oh, very well, then. To the dungeons you go.”
“Make sure you look distressed when you give the order. And it must be known that it was the king who ordered this.”
“You do not need to tell me this, sister. As queen, I already know this.” Sunlight dusted her clothes and then took a deep breath before yelling, “GUARDS!”