99 Chapter 99 William Returns! (1/2)

A revolt was such a terrible idea. The king had been so popular with the people. They can kill the king, but the people won't stand for it. They were going to cause so much bloodshed.

William arrived at dusk. He had pushed hard to make it with the whole caravan only one day after the messenger. His train was huge.

As Joseph ran out to meet them, he could see wagon after wagon full of food. He must have picked up all the harvest taxes on his way as well. With all the people William brought Joseph had estimated almost 50,000 people were going to be moving now.

A figure separated itself from the crowd of newcomers, and started running towards him.

”MOM!”

”JOSEPH!”

They barreled into each other with a huge hug.

”Mom, I've missed you!”

”Oh, Joseph!”

Daniel and the others looked stunned. They seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't even 8 yet.

William was right behind her, and was pulled into the hug, too.

”Dad.” Joseph sniffed a little. ”I tried so hard to do everything right. I had the city and the towns, and the people were working.”

”Shh. Joseph, you have done a wonderful job, and I am very proud of you! The king being killed isn't your fault.”

Sniffing again, he gave his dad a nod. He had wanted them to be so proud of him when they saw the city.

Joseph heard Daniel muttering to another one of the council members.

”With how he normally acts, I had forgotten about the fact he is just a boy. We should be ashamed of ourselves for putting so much on him.”

”It's hard not to. He's been too good at everything.”

”Oh!” Joseph squirmed to be let down. ”Mom, this is Stella. She is my best friend. Stella, this is mom. She is my best mom!”

He smiled brighter than he thought he would be able to. William and Stella understood just how much that statement meant but his mom just laughed.

”It looks like everyone you brought needs rest, but we should be ready to leave first thing in the morning. If you come with me, I can fill you in on the details. Stella, would you please take mom to the estate? She can try and get some rest. I'm sure the trip was crazy for her. Take any maids and servants she may have as well. We'll join you as soon as we're done.”

The bags under his mom's eyes were testimony to her exhaustion. A trip to town and back used to exhaust her, so Joseph could only imagine how tired she must be.

”We'll catch up soon,” his mother said as she left with Stella.

The last few days had been especially hard on them all, as they scattered to try and get some rest.

Seeing his father, made everyone feel more relieved. Joseph couldn't blame them, he made him breathe easier, too. He had been in charge for months, but filling his dad in took only about an hour, even with everyone coming to interrupt and ask for new directions. Joseph couldn't even imagine what he had to buy from the system to pull that trip off.

Stella was back, after only ten minutes, and looked somewhat drained. Once his dad fully took over, Joseph turned to her, to check on her.