[ WP ] `` They call us monsters , son . ''

My father was standing on the balcony when I found him, silhouetted by the setting sun. His vestments were strewn across a chair and he had a drink in his hand. He sipped thoughtfully as he looked down across the bay where the fleet lay at anchor, the royal crest flapping in the breeze. 
 
 “ Father? ” I ventured, quietly. He never was a particularly sociable man, and I hated interrupting him when he was in one of his moods. To my surprise I was met with a silence that stretched out between us instead of the usual bitter recriminations or cutting remarks. 
 
 “ Yes, son? ” He asked after a while, not turning to look back at me. His shadow stretched across the floor, a silent affirmation of the presence of the man who held the lives of millions in his hands. I was still trying to sort out what I was going to say when he continued, “ Your brother is dead. His party was ambushed on their way to the front. They delivered his head to me in a box. ” Anything else that I had thought to say slipped out of my head immediately. 
 
 “ He… ” 
 
 “ Is dead, yes, please listen when I am speaking. ” My father sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “ I apologize, I am… distraught. ” I must admit I was rather taken aback, my father had never once apologized to me in the twenty or so odd years I had known him. As he turned to me I was suddenly struck by how old he seemed, an eternity of sorrows etched into the creases of his face. “ I have sat on this throne for thirty one years, son. And what have I done in all that time? I ignored the teachings of my own father, believing that the might of our kingdom was unstoppable. When I think back to the days of my youth I feel such foolishness. There is always more to learn, son. Even after all this time. ” 
 
 I tried to stammer a response but I was still being crushed under the enormity of his simple proclamation. He continued on, “ And now look what I have done. The son I groomed and taught all the ways of warfare and rule is dead. Killed in an instant by a lucky pack of scavengers. I have ignored you for too long, I fear. Perhaps I saw in you too much of myself. Your brother was very much like my father, you see. Cunning, ruthless, with a keen eye for strategy. ” 
 
 “ But he was the heir, sir. ” I said, and through a haze of disbelief I remembered my brother ’ s wife. “ His marriage has already been consummated, surely- “ 
 
 “ His wife bears no child. ” He interrupted immediately. “ And as the eldest living male descendent of my house, the throne falls to you. It will be a difficult road, my son, and we have so little time. Perhaps I will come to realize that you will be a greater ruler than even your brother might have been. ” 
 
 I had never considered or even made pretensions to the throne; it had always been my brother ’ s birthright. But standing in my father ’ s quarters with the sea winds blowing in and the last sunset of summer sinking below the horizon, I could almost see myself there. “ I will endeavor to do my best, father. ” 
 
 “ Here is your first lesson: be ever vigilant. Across the sea there are many that would come to our shores and kill our people for wealth and enrichment. To the north and east enemies press in, looting villages and killing as they go. ” He took a long draught and set his empty glass on the railing. “ They call us monsters, son. And you must be ready. ” 

