[ WP ] The King is dying and decides to abdicate his throne before he dies . During the coronation ceremony , he places the crown on a servant 's head and declares him king , rather than one of his two sons .

His Majesty's chapel erupted. Fred-Lesser was unsure what to make of the boom that shook his ears. All his years raised in the Kingdom's service and he never heard anything quite like it. To poverty, it even made his head feel heavy. And cozy. Sort of... regal feeling. He had to scratch his head, the velvet was starting to get -- - 
 
 *I did not attend this coronation with a hat. * 
 
 The thought froze him solid. Then he repeated it. *I did not attend this coronation with a hat. * It must be true, because Fred-Lesser had the distinct memory of having donned his servant's tunic. Then his grey pantaloons and equally grey foot slips ( so as not to embarrass the traveling nobility with the sound of his poverty-stricken feet ). He slicked his greasy hair all the way back, and exited the servant's quarter, helping to prepare for the coronation where directed by Bookmaster Ghuile, master of the books, ceremonies and omelette Thursdays. Omelette Thursdays were the worst days. 
 
 Cries of anger and protest in his direction was starting to give him a headache. What could have happened? Did he, *stumble* and hit his head, forgetting where he was? It would explain why his head felt so heavy. And cozy. Sort of... No, equally impossible, Fred-Lesser stood ramrod straight by the princes since the beginning of their coronation ceremony. The very same princes he attended to since Fred-Lesser was old enough to do so. The same princes, who's eyes traced lines where a sword might pass through him. And at him. And -- -- 
 
 *No, the good princes would n't do that to me, where is that thought even coming from. * 
 
 His faith in the young Highness' was quickly shattered by the elder of the Bormenfast sons. `` *How DARE you Father! * Surely you would not have mistaken this *commoner* for one of your sons??'' The words confused Fred-Lesser, but whatever his troubles, he seemed to be the cause of them. 
 
 Must have been a fairly magnificent stumble to draw the ire of this chapel and hit his head with no memory of doing so. 
 
 The younger piped up in his younger, gentler timbre. `` As brother has said good father, this must be some... unfortunate mistake.'' 
 
 `` No.'' In his last dying years, His Majesty has never sounded so resolute. A word that forced a fulcrum of the wisest, purest, most powerful nobles in the entire Kingdom, to *silence. * Fred-Lesser would have been moved, if his life had not felt so threatened by all present. His head was also starting to get fairly heavy, but he dared not move to check himself before he necked himself for disturbing His Majesty mid-speech. 
 
 `` This ceremony, as was the founding of this Kingdom, are directed so by my *will. *'' His breathing searched deeper for air with every sentence. `` I would have the rule of that which I built, maintained by one who *can* maintain my legacy. As he, who knows this castle, it's nobles, it's allies... Yes, he has eavesdropped on more than he should -- -'' *Wait, what? * `` -- -but that only tells *you* my subjects of the resourcefulness demanded of a King. Not the boorish -- -'' he gestured to the elder son, `` -- -or the timid -- -'' then gestured his younger.'' 
 
 Both his hands pointed palms-up to the servant struggling to hold his head up during the ceremony. `` -- -But the *true* servant of Bormenfast.'' 
 
 Fred-Lesser's eyes opened wide when he realized he was that servant. His mouth gaped like the statue of The Drinker at the Court Fountain pavilion. Shoulders, no longer supported by the rigid indoctrination of servant's ways, for the distraction commanded more than his training in that instance, sank low. He could n't believe it. After all his precautions, *all* his mind and manners, and servitude to the family... 
 
... And His Majesty *knew* he was eavesdropping??? 
 
 For the moment, Fred-Lesser was just happy to be alive. For now, anyway. 
 
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 More at r/galokot, and thanks for reading!
