Chapter 1971: The Old Dragon – Part 7
“Say what you will, Lord Pendragon. If you wish for the crown back, and you are filled with condemnation, then have it back. It matters not. We will see this war finished regardless, and we shall do all that we think is sensible in the process,” Oliver said. “But if you speak of Queen Asabel once more, accusing us of enjoying her passing for our own benefit. Or if you say the sa of Lord Blackwell, then I shall do very foolish things indeed. For you are right. I am not suited to any crown, I was not born to wear it, nor have I any right to it. We are still creatures of war, and until this war is done, I find myself reckless.”
“So I see,” Lord Pendragon said. “In front of my son, despite his youth, do you wield such an anger.”
Oliver caught Benjamin looking in his direction with big round eyes, and he felt the harshest stab of regret in his heart.
“This is no longer my crown,” King Pendragon said. “When I abdicated it for Asabel, I made sure of that. By rights, it should belong to this boy here. It is not that you rob, in putting it upon your own head as you have. It is this boy here, whose hands you take it from.”
The Lord Pendragon passed the crown to his son, and Benjamin received it with a bemused look on his face. He ran his finger along its etchings, and around its jewels, looking occasionally to his mother for reassurance, and then to Oliver.
“Will you see it given to him, Patrick?” King Pendragon said. “You have your opportunity to make your honourable intents known, if they do exist at all. Will you put a rightful King back on the throne?”
“To what end?” Oliver said. “Will you swear to see this war seen out to its conclusion with us?”
“He will swear to nothing, nor shall you be able to force him to, for he is King, and you are not even a Pillar.”
“…Then I will sully myself,” Oliver said darkly. “You shall accuse of all you wish, King Pendragon, but we have a single purpose now. We will see this war seen all the way to its conclusion. For the sake of those that we loved, and for the sake of the justice that saw this war started in the first place. We are far better placed to see that done with a crown in our faction – for it lends credence to our alliance with King Erson, and it lends credence to our bid for the High King’s throne. If we find the Treeants in agreent with us, then we shall have three Silver Kings joined together for our cause.”
“Interesting,” the Pendragon King remarked. “I wonder, Patrick, if you realize that, just because you take sothing does not necessarily an that it belongs to you? I do recall, during the ti of your father, the High King experienced the sa thing, when he secured Princess Persephone more as a piece of property than a wife.”
Oliver’s eyebrow raised. An undeniable look of surprise, one that even the Pendragon King could decipher.
The Pendragon man studied him. “I thought as much. You know precious little about those tis of past, just like the rest of the realm. That is the sort of man Dominus Patrick was, and that is what my brother admired in him. That endless capacity for self-sacrifice. He would not have burdened his son. So I do wonder, why is it you fight? What is it about you that your n trust? For I see the greedy hands of a young man in search of power, and for you, I feel only contempt.”
“Corruption is existent not only as a single act, but a process,” Oliver said. “The High King did not commit only one cri. His corruption has sat for decades. That we only learn now of the true extent of his cris seems hardly a surprise. I do not think that we will uncover all he has done unchecked until the man himself is cast down from the throne.”
“I wonder what Arthur would make of your actions. Would he praise you, or would he draw up his sword against you?” Viktor said, genuinely considering it himself for a few monts. “That brother of mine was always unreadable. He seed to see things that the rest of us could not. He certainly did not operate on logic. I, however, prefer to trust that which is in front of . To consider the facts. You, a low-borne noble, have stolen the crown of my House, and now you co to to beg for my support, so that you might rule these Pendragon lands justly?”
“I have co to beg for nothing,” Oliver said. “We have co too far to pause here. A conclusion is what we seek.”
“Then, I must make my position clear,” Lord Pendragon said. “I find your actions contemplable. Your victory over Tiberius might have been comndable – but that is the only thing worthy of comndation. If you had any sha at all, you would take your life and follow the Queen that you failed to protect in death. You certainly would not wear her crown as freely as you do.”
Oliver pulled his face, and sat back down. “I can see that we are not likely to co to an agreent.”
The Pendragon King continued, a cold look in his eye. “For every day that you wear that crown, with a heart as volatile as yours, I predict there will be chaos. You are not built to rule, Oliver Patrick. You are a lower sort of creature. Your place is elsewhere. I will not give you the backing you see. You will not be able to rule these Pendragon lands in the way that you wish.”
“Then you would see them descend into chaos, for their lack of governance?” Oliver asked.
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