Kingmaker (& Aristide)

Separate

and

ever deadly

Clings onto my throat
and won't let go

Jasper was a smuggler the last time he visited Navarre (and he had left the country of mountains and valleys with a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth the first-time round, only hoping this meeting would replace his last memory of the north-western kingdom of Fallen Skies). A low-class criminal, the worst of his kind, meeting shady clients in even shadier cafés and alleyways.

And here he was now, standing in front of the gigantic staircase of the castle on the windswept hill, wearing clothes and jewellery fit for someone of his title. A governor. The ruler of a city.

To meet a king. Jasper had had his fair share of meetings and semi-formal lunches with grand dukes and grand duchesses and lords and ladies lately (since the Rhoynish peninsula seemed to be scattered with his so-called colleagues and he simply needed to meet them all) - but he had never met royalty. Someone with blue blood, like the commoners liked to call them.  

Kings and queens like the protagonists in the stories he was told as a child. Sitting on their thrones, solemn and elegant like relics of a vanished age.
Untouchable. Or not so untouchable as they appeared to be – the royals and city rulers seemed to fall by bushes lately. Trystane Bayard. Dacosta Laendaerys. Thriumph Medici. All of them dead or on the run, leaving the younger generations to clean up the mess they had made.

Meeting the new king of Navarre was actually his own initiative, an idea sparked by the fact Aristide Delacroix seemed to be young (and maybe a little bit stupid) and unexperienced and probably looking for allies to help him rule his kingdom or at least a few new trading partners – and Jasper had to admit, it was a beautiful opportunity to get away from his own city, reeking of rotten flesh and the sharp smell of disinfectant, only exaggerated by the almost always burning sun as the mysterious disease seemed to have Rhoynar as its hotbed, leaving death wherever it spread.  

Was it something a good governor would do, leaving his city in times of crisis like these?
Of course it wasn’t - but he wasn’t exactly a role model governor, was he?

He almost felt strengthened by the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs the palace was built on – as if he had brought the element of Rhoynar with him on his journey. Jasper took a deep breath as he walked up the marble steps of the staircase – not even bothering to count them – before halting in front of the gigantic wooden, gold-lacquered door that seemed to stretch across the wall like an entrance to heaven. ‘My name is governor Jasper Ethelwin of Sunfall,’ he told the knight guarding the door, dressed in the typically Navarran colours of red and gold. Oh, how very official. ‘Tell king Delacroix his visitor is here.’

"What hurt you once will hurt you twice.

This is not the beginning but the beginning's end."

From his spot near the window he had a good view over the city. There was happening so much at once on the streets, yet he was not paying attention to any of it. Only an hour ago he had been in a meeting with his council, debating the raising treat - the sickness - and their relationships with the other cities and lands. It had been a long and tiresome meeting and the fact that it was still new to him made it even harder. The difference between having a meeting as a council member or as King was big. Normally he would have discussed his ideas and interpretations but someone else would make the final call. Now he was that person. He had to decide what he was going to do based upon others.
What if he made the wrong choices? What would happen then? He might lose his people. Bring chaos upon them. So much pressure.

A guard entered the throne room and made him look up. Right, he almost forgot he was expecting visitors. “From Sunfall?” he asked from his spot by the window. His guard assured him they would inspect him further before letting him in. With the sickness spreading through the continent and Rhoynar being hit the worst, it was only normal they checked for any symptoms.
He gave a small nod and put a smile on his face. “Good, make sure you explain why.” He wouldn’t want to give the Governor of Sunfall the feeling he didn’t trust him. It was only normal he was paranoid because he was. The thought that a sickness that killed many could also invade his Kingdom, scared him. And it should scare him. It should scare everyone because it was a huge treat and people didn’t know what was going on or how to cure it. After Governor Ethelwin his visit he needed to look for more healers. A personal one. Someone that didn’t come in contact with other sick people.

He could hear the doors close behind him and a sigh rolled over his lips. All that pressure, he still wasn’t used to it and he was nervous about the meeting that was about to happen. He never met this man, had only heard from him during meetings.
For a moment he closed his eyes and folded his hands behind his back. Deep breaths. In and out. That man was human just like he was. Things would be alright.

The door behind him opened.

At least he hoped everything would go alright. Aristide turned around to face the man and walked away from the window. Breath in and out. A smile danced on his face.
“Good afternoon, I hope you didn’t have much trouble getting here.” He stopped a few meters in front of him and was debating giving de man a hand or not. “I am Arist- King Aristide Delacroix,” he corrected himself and decided to stick out his hand.

“Nice meeting you.”

Separate

and

ever deadly

Clings onto my throat
and won't let go

The guard looked at him, wide-eyed (and to that Jasper could only respond by raising his eyebrows) until the governor showed him the golden falcon ring on his index finger, unmistakably a Sunfallian symbol, not wanting to waste any words on his sceptical reaction. The man nodded and made his way into the palace again. Jasper decided to pay some attention to his surroundings as he knew he needed to wait a bit longer. It truly felt surreal, standing in front of a castle that belonged to a city almost unknown to him.

The knight returned quicker than he thought, and Jasper couldn’t help but grimace as he heard the man talk about ‘Rhoynar’ and ‘high contamination risk’ as he was taken to another room. He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched a doctor, who was obviously trained to do his work as efficiently as he could, check his skin for any signs of the disease (and even having unbuttoned his blouse and cloak). It felt like he had stood in the secluded room for hours when the doctor decided he was free of the plague and let him out of the room – was the new king a bit of a hypochondriac himself?

As the governor was again accompanied by the knight who now led him to a room Jasper recognized to be something of an office, he observed the young man from the place he was standing at – a sweet, nervous, young thing. Jasper pulled up the corners of his mouth in a smile, copying the facial expression of the new king when he initially introduced himself with his first name – something that reminded Jasper of his first months as the new governor of Sunfall, when he almost automatically introduced himself as Maverick.
Old habits died hard, apparently.

The brunet (with hair so long and shiny Jasper figured more than a few Navarran maidens envied him) obviously didn’t know how to handle his newly gained position just yet, shifting awkwardly around the room as if he was the king’s page boy and not the actual Navarran king himself. It meant the rumours were true: former king Thriumph’s council had elected an unexperienced council member. But why exactly? Didn’t they have other royal families in Navarre, with princes and nobles more… Suitable for this rather important position? Or did the council members want to use him as one of their play dolls, and were they the ones that made the real decisions while poor king Aristide would only sign documents, pretending to be useful?

’My journey here was surprisingly pleasant.’ Jasper answered him, letting his gaze pierce the young man’s eyes, curiously tilting his head. ’The sea was… Quite calm.’
Jasper took his hand, which meant he had to close the distance that had formed between the two men. ’It’s an honour to meet you, my Grace.’ His raw voice almost sounded like it was slathered with honey as he tried to adjust his timbre to a more formal situation.