It had been two months since his coronation, and nothing had changed. He was their king, the most powerful ruler of Arenia, but the people of the land went about their business unconcerned with who sat on the throne, as long as they were left alone to live their lives, and the tax man was not too demanding. While he knew the council treated him with suspicion, he would make them all take notice yet.
He could not understand Beth’s purpose in making him king, or her continuing support. He glanced over his shoulder as he thought of her. Behind him Beth stirred, and he waited. He listened to her rise from her rest and did not look back again as he heard her cross the room on bare feet to stand beside him in silence. Together they watched the traffic on the east avenue, the growing throng of horses, people, carts and wagons as they jockeyed for position or made their way to their many destinations. He wrapped his arm around her naked body and felt her nestle into his shoulder. Eventually Beth broke the silence of the room.
“What troubles my king’s mind?”
Last night, in a moment of sudden clarity, he saw the time had come to begin the next stage of the plan he had for his life. Recalling that moment, he felt the surge of anticipation wash over him again. He had told no one yet, but he knew what he must do. In his mind, he had planned this moment for years but Beth was a shrewd woman and he didn’t want her to see his confidence yet.
He didn’t reply. He would not allow her to know of his hopes and desires until he was sure of her motives. He preferred she see the weaknesses he presented rather than the strength he felt.
To distract her, he asked a question of his own.
“The north is quiet. Has there been any word from Jaimz?”
He knew there had been none, but wanted to set his mind for his coming words. He half listened as she told him they had received no reports from the north, but that her people were prepared to bring word as soon as it arrived. He suspected she had spies in each of the fingers of the Fist. He had been surprised when the council had encouraged his plan to build this army with its five Fingers, but the military had given him the power he needed.
Looking into her eyes, his head dropped and his shoulders slumped. His own eyes suddenly filled with the vulnerability and fear he put there.
“The Society does not grow,” he complained. “The people do not care that we now try to show them the true way. They lack the drive to be better.” His brow furrowed and he turned back to the window, as if to hide his feelings. “Our race cannot remain dominant without conviction. Why do they care so little about their own lives?”
Beth took his arms and turned him back to look up into his eyes.
“If there is anyone who can make the people care, it is you.”
Xavier smiled at her confidence and allowed his face to change. She stood close and watched the thoughts come to him.
“You are planning something,” Beth stated, very much seeming to be assuring herself more than asking. Xavier smiled again, a twisted grin that wrapped his mouth around his long, pointed nose and binding his red hair that fell on either side of his face into a frame for his eyes. The result made him look more like a dog that had pleased his master, except for his eyes, his shrewd and calculating eyes. The time had come for The Society to secure its hold on Arenia, and the world, and at the same time make him the most powerful king in all the lands. But not even Beth could be allowed to appreciate the full extent of his dreams. He must give her enough, and no more.
It was better that way.
“What have you got in mind, and more importantly, will I like it?” she asked with a frown creasing her face.
“An idea has been growing in the darkness of my mind for the last few days, and now it has come out into the light,” he told her.
This was a lie. In truth, his dream had first come to him not long after he heard Piaz speak many years ago, but then it was only a wild dream, an ambition that even he doubted could ever come to pass. But dreams provide hope and now he had the chance to make this hopes become reality. He had been carefully preparing his words.
“The time has come to take the next step. We must tell the world of the importance of the principles of the forefathers. We cannot rest if The Society is to prosper.”
He allowed the confidence to suddenly appear and waited to see her reaction.
“An idea has come to me, but to make the people understand will require much more. It will need the agreement and support of the council and the members. Can you ask the council to meet with me at noon? Trust me, I know what I am doing and you will like what I propose.”
Beth gave him a strange look and he laughed at the hint of doubt on her face.
“As I stated, trust me. I won’t let you down. I need to develop my thoughts and think now of how I will present this idea to the council and I must insist you will wait until then to hear it. But without the council, nothing can happen. Not yet, anyway. Not until they are ready.”
At his strange words, Beth gave him another curious look before nodding her trust. He had proven his abilities as a tactician and a politician as well as a soldier. She turned back to the room to dress before slipping out into the wide corridor without another word. Two guards standing either side of the door did not move or acknowledge her presence as she walked away.
Back in the room Xavier watched the movement of the city without seeing it. He had not expected Beth to murder King Arwen, or to step forward on the balcony and name him king. None of this had been discussed and, in his plan, he had expected it would be two or three years before he could attempt to take the throne.
She had unexpectedly fulfilled his first hope. Beth being a woman of action, while he knew she had her own agenda, had seen an opportunity and seized it but he wondered what role he played in her ambitions, because he would need her and her people. Much depended on the spies of The Society and she must have had more in mind than seeing The Society take the throne of Arenia because they had achieved that when they ousted Leopold and named Arwen king. He would need to watch her and, until she revealed her plans, he could not allow her to see his. But he would enjoy their time together.
He pushed the thoughts aside. This was not the time to not trust her, at least a little. He had his own dreams, and they were large enough to keep him occupied.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. In his mind he looked over a land where the people walked proudly, and praised him as their king. He saw the massive black clad armies ready to do his bidding, and the other races cower at the mention of his name.
The world had changed when The Society took control of Arenia, but it had changed again when they named him king.
He knew what it was like to live on the streets and trust his own ability to survive, and he knew the power of leadership. But more than anything else, he knew deep within himself that he was born to rule this world.
Chapter 2
Beth sank into the deep padded chair and while she waited, she looked around the new room Xavier had provided for the council’s use. The dark timber walls were punctuated by heavy wooden posts and beams. No windows provided light and no artworks hung to soften the oppressive feel. The polished walnut timber floor held no sculptures and even the chairs were upholstered in dark leather. If not for the plain blue rug, the room would be without all colour, as it was without life. The candles in their brackets wasted their energy as the room drank up their light.
Xavier had told them that this would keep the council aware of the responsibility they had to guide while not seeking the light of glory, but she could see this room for what it was. This