189 In This Life (1/2)

During the Age of Chaos, at King Philip's court

Madonia's court was celebrating the wedding of King Philip with the descendant of one of the most important Merchant Guilds on the planet.

The great hall was full of guests, princes and dignitaries from all over the known world, who came to celebrate such an important union, which would have led to the expansion of the kingdom of Madonia. The wine flowed between amphorae and cups, and there was not even one guest sober or able to walk without staggering.

However, the most drunk was the King himself, who was too enthusiastic about the dowry that the new marriage had brought him: huge funds to finance his expeditions for the conquest to the neighbouring kingdoms.

Beside the King, on the right, was sitting his first wife, derelict and sad, who could not pronounce even a word; next to her was her son Alexander, the King's eldest son, a handsome boy of sixteen, with a proud and indomitable temperament. On the King's left sat Philip's new wife, with a delicate smile, and her father, almost as drunk as Philip.

Alexander's mother looked at the new Queen out of the corner of her eye and could not hold back an expression of disgust. She, descended from a noble lineage, who had begotten and raised the greatest hero in the universe, had been substituted by a sissy that had nothing to do with her in delicacy and bearing. How could a woman like her, born among the Dragons, be compared to those sheep without honour?

Having more than one wife, at the time, was more than normal, especially for a King: marriages were nothing more than ways of signing treaties and obtaining wealth and possessions. However, the Queen felt betrayed, put aside. She felt she had by now a marginal role in her husband's life. And, which annoyed her even more, not even her son Alexander cared about what that new marriage meant to her.

”You will see, as soon as another child is born, he will put you aside just as he did with me,” said the woman to her son, in a moment of anger.

There and then, Alexander had given no importance to it and had judged that phrase only as the angry outburst of a woman; but those words, so harsh and poisonous, had crept into his head, crawling silently. As much as the young man tried to chase them away, he never totally succeeded.

Now that the marriage had taken place, that uncomfortable feeling of mistrust towards his father had come back: the fear that his position as an heir would be somehow affected was growing. The mere sight of the King of Madonia made Alexander nervous: his every gesture, unsteady because of the wine, embarrassed him and Philip's mere presence made him feel uncomfortable.

However, Alexander patiently endured and controlled that feeling by holding his mother's hand.

Suddenly, the new bride's father asked aloud for silence, and all those invited to the banquet became silent. The man stood up, staggering, and raised the chalice towards the heaven: ”I hope that tomorrow Madonia will have a legitimate heir from this marriage!”

Hearing those words, Philip got up too and toasted with a cry of joy, followed by the whole court.

Alexander's dichromatic eyes became as small as pins. The young heir to the throne went blind with anger.

Alexander was sixteen and his blood was boiling in restlessness. His explosive temper was a nightmare for his enemies in battle, but also reason of anguish for his friends in peace. The words of Philip's new father-in-law had implicitly called Alexander an illegitimate heir, to be replaced as soon as possible with a baby born from the new union.

The old man had dared to publicly offend Alexander, the eldest son of King Philip, as if he had been an ordinary bastard.

At that moment, all the suspicion accumulated for months, all the repressed hatred towards his father, exploded in a snarl: ”Look! The one who was about to conquer the world, now cannot even put two steps in a row without falling on his ass! Is this the man you want to follow?!”

Philip put his hand on his waist, ready to pull out his sword, but he realized he didn't have it.

”Surrounded by sheep and flatterers, even a tiger can lose strength and be devoured by hyenas!” Went on Alexander, and then added towards the bride's father: ”If Madonia does not already have an heir worthy of its name, I recommend you to lower my father's trousers and start sucking his dick, because with all the alcohol he has ingested I doubt that tonight he will be able to generate another bastard of the calibre of the one standing in front of you.”

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Philip lost his mind.

However, even Philip's Ninth Phase was unable to cope with the litres of wine the King had swallowed. Taking a step forward, Philip tripped on cushions resting on the ground, and fell face first on the floor.

”Look at him! He is your King!” laughed Alexander. His anger had now become mockery.

”You ungrateful brat!” Shouted Philip, trying to stand up. His generals approached him in order to help, but the King refused. ”Give me a sword, I'll kill him!”