Kingmaker

[WP] The new king was not crowned by a holy man, nor by another monarch. Instead, he asked you, a commoner, to crown him. This was to represent his dedication to his people. But now everyone calls you"King-maker", to the extent that other nations call upon you for your service.

*****

I, just a skinny orphaned girl, walked into the throne room, not knowing why I was there. A maids hand was on my shoulder. The vaulted ceilings of that grand hall reached up so far, and from its shadows came banners with the symbols of noble houses I couldn't name. Symbols of swords and prancing beasts were embroidered with threads that had a luster I'd never seen. Chandeliers and wall details were in filigree gold. The very carpet we walked on was of finer make than anything I'd seen a commoner warm themselves with.

People moved around in a controlled hurry, everyone finely dressed.

I was terrified. I did not belong here. I was a newly hired stable hand, whose job it was to muck shit, sweep floors, and carry water. Now I'd been scrubbed as clean as they could get me, and dressed in clothes that were whole and clean. This was how kids like me disappeared. My head swiveled back and forth, trying, and failing, to take in everything. Most people were too busy to notice me, but a few glanced my way, with various thinly veiled emotions. Contempt, pity.. glee. It chilled me, but I let the maid lead me forward. I tried to think of a way out of this but I couldn't think of anything.

The maid led me all the way through the room. Beneath the stairs leading up to the throne itself, stood two people, hushedly discussing something but stopping as soon as we came close enough to hear them.

The first man was from the church, with a tall hat that probably marked him as important.

The second was a large, grim-looking man with dark hair and dark eyes. His long black coat had a sheen to the fabric, and was embroidered with gold thread and many little gemstones in the shape of constellations. Despite a muscle and a bulk to his frame that would've made most people look brutish, this man carried himself with a certain nobility.

He looked straight at me, and it was like being stared at by a mountain. His gaze was heavy and almost tangible.

"Is this the boy, then?" he asked the maid.

"The girl. Yes." she replied with a nod. "This is the castles newest hire."

"I'll speak with her then. Excuse us." he said and nodded to the people present, before taking the maids position with a hand on my shoulder. I almost stumbled as I walked. He led us into a small room in the back, one bare and sparcely furnished. There was a table with chairs, and a tray with tea and bisquits. He took one chair, motioned me to take the other, and poured us both some tea.

"Right. My apologies for the abrupt summon, it's a busy day to say the least. I know you're wondering why you're here, so I'll just give you the lay of things. The King is dead."

My eyes widened until they wouldn't open further.

"And," he continued, "the coronation can not wait. It'll take place today, before word gets out. Normally - traditionally - the one to crown the next king would be either the Bishop whom you just saw, or his Holiness the Pope, as a symbol that the king has accepted his authority from God. But due to a political situation, we need a symbol to show unity with the people. Which is why we want a commoner to perform the actual crowning ceremony. That commoner is you."

... what.

"That is so stupid." I blurted out before I could bite my tongue. "You didn't even know if I was a boy or a girl. Why'd you pick me?"

The man shrugged. "You're the castles newest hire, simple as that. It's all just to show that the crown is ultimately working for the people."

Gears turned in my head. The newest hire. Stablehand. I thought back at those looks of pity and calculated glee.

"... is this is an insult, somehow?" I asked quietly.

The man barked out a laugh and slapped his thigh, and suddenly a huge grin erupted on his grim face, breaking the somber mood. "Never let it be said that being uneducated is the same as being stupid!" he said, clearly amused. "You're quick on the uptake. To put it short? Yes, it is. This is a demand of the Church, a little power play of a particularly arrogant man to throw shade. His requirement for letting my coronation happen this quickly. I doubt they thought I'd actually agree, but it actually fits me better than you might think.

'My coronation'. Oh. Ohshit. This was Prince Bastion.

"Don't look so bleak, child, we won't force you to do this if you refuse, we'll simply find the next newest hire or some beggar off the street or something. But, Heavens witness my words, you'd be handsomely rewarded for this. You won't have to go another winter without shoes, and you'll never have to clean another stable. I'll personally see to it that you find an apprenticeship under a master in a field that suits you. Your future would be completely different, starting now."

"... what would I have to do?"

"It's a simple task. You'll need to stand next to the throne and look cute for half an hour while the Bishop rambles on about God, all that boring traditional stuff. Then I'll taint my entire reign by kneeling not in front of the Bishop or the Pope as the extention of God himself, but in front of a commoner, a stablehand, and a little girl at that. You'll have to say some words you'll be taught and put the crown on my head. Then you're done, and my people will take over the PR campaign." he said with a wink. "This is actually a pretty good thing for me, too, believe it or not."

I was silent for a bit, swimming in thoughts that wouldn't form while Prince god-damn Bastian himself started drinking his tea in front of me.

It was insane. I knew I couldn't even begin to comprehend this. It was beyond me. I had no chance of knowing what I walked into if I agreed.

But, assuming he kept his word, I knew what I would walk away from. I'd leave the cold, the uncertainty, the helplessness that set in every time I was sick. I was sick a lot. Everyone who was like me got sick a lot. I recalled an old, ever-haunting memory, one of an adult dragging a childs body out of a haystack and into a wheelbarrow. All it took was one wave of the flue and that was a fate.

"Yeah. Okay." I said and looked up at Prince Bastion, who grinned widely.

"You won't regret that." he said.

--------

And so it was that, later that afternoon, I stood in front of the throne, behind the Bishop as he spoke to the crowded hall about the blessing of God resting upon the Kingdom. Flowers were woven into my hair and the lingering smell of shit had been covered with perfume.

Then it was my turn. Trumpets called out, and then there was silence. In my hands was the crown, heavier than it had a right to be, but not as heavy as the eyes of the nobles and dignitaries that suddenly were upon me. Bastian, the grim-looking man who had, stoically and stone-faced, stood as straight as a rod during the Bishops speech, came forward. For a brief second, he looked at me with a wink and a hint of a smile. And then he kneeled.

In front of an orphaned stable hand.

I took a deep breath and tried to still my heart. I raised the crown over his head.

"The Earth, the Seas, and the Heavens themselves are my witnesses in this hour." I said, the words I'd been taught echoing through the hall. "The Matter, the Magic, and the Aether are the heralds of my words, to go out into the world with this declaration. By the will of God, and by the will of the people, I now declare you King Bastian of Oremark."

I placed the crown of gold on his head, and the trumpets played yet again, beginning the uplifting notes of our national anthem. The crowd of nobles and dignitaries stood from their seats to enthusiastically applaud in their next king - though what they actually thought of the event I could only wonder- and Prince Bastian rose as King. With his back still to the others, he gave me a cheeky smile before I bowed to the new King and backed away. Then he took the throne, looking to me like he'd always belonged there. His face was stone, and the man was a mountain.

The rest of the day was a blur to me, one I spent under the watch of that same maid from earlier. In the evening I wasn't to return to the stables, but instead showed a room that was to be mine that day and forward. It was furnished with a luxury I was way too tired to care about.And as for that apprenticeship.. well, that was a promise king Bastian would fulfill in a way I had not expected.

*****

TO BE CONTINUED