The king sat in the dark, watching Reed's sleeping form.

 

They said the transformation was over and chances are he'd be waking up soon. There were some who said he should never be allowed to wake up, but the king refused all council. He was going to assess the situation, make a determination, then handle this himself. Reed’s awakening was without preamble and made the king jump. King Uther readied the weapon he had asked for. An assassin’s dagger with its own mana stone so anyone could use it. It was hidden up his sleeve as a charm on another magical device called a bracelet of concealment. A weapon could be drawn from it upon mental command and would remain invisible in the user’s grip for several minutes, or until the first time it struck someone. On top of that it was dipped in a rare poison known to quite deadly to those of Reed's nature. The combination of the three, if used properly, should be instantly fatal.

 

Reed appeared to be the same as the few times the king had met him. He had not seen this child much, but for some reason he weighed on the King's mind. He appeared human, at least at first glance. The king stood up and slowly closed in on Reed, looking for any sign of corruption.

 

He listened to Reed's apology and his heart started to break, ~Dear god am I actually going to murder him?~ He walked up behind Reed. The king pretended to scratch the back of his head for the purpose of raising the dagger high. He prepared to drive it deep into Reed’s neck, ~I owe him this much.~ The king had the perfect shot. Even with Reed watching his reflection in the mirror, the lad wouldn’t have enough time to react.

 

~Can I take the chance? I have a kingdom to protect. I should make it quick. That would be merciful.~ Reed asked the king for forgiveness. The king thought for a long time before he closed his eyes in preparation of delivering the death blow.

 

"I forgive you."

 

Reed hugged him.

 

The king stood there, invisible dagger in his hand. This boy had done him a great service and if anyone was going to put him out of his misery, it would be Uther. No one else should do this. This was a king's burden. It was a mercy killing. It was the humane choice. It was the right choice. It was the only choice.

 

Uther slid the dagger back up his sleeve and returned Reed's hug.

 

He sat down on the bed, sinking his face into his hands, ~Sweet Mira above. Please. What do I do?~ The cost of his choice was weighing on him. Reed started giving him a pep talk and one phrase stuck.

 

"It IS that simple."

 

He could see Charity's influence. From the time he saved her life until today, she has proven herself the ever devoted servant. She had spurned any man who would distract her from service. Even when the king tried to arrange a marriage for her, she just talked until the king gave up. She promised to serve him until one of them died and nothing was going to stop her. For about the thousandth time, he thanked the gods she was his servant. He thought about what she would think about all this, ~Do I have a right to feel hope? Do I have the right to take a chance? I'm not the only one who will pay the price if I am wrong.~ He bantered with Reed, slowly feeling better as they talked, ~Maybe. Just maybe...~

 

With the conversation over, Uther left. He just shook his head as he passed the guards outside. The guards returned to their post in the outer room and followed their orders:

 

Give one warning. If he didn't immediately retreat, kill.

 

The king walked out into the hallway to be joined by his regular escort. He moved along to another room where a half dozen people had gathered to wait for him; The chancellor, the headmaster, the first prince, the saintess, Charity and the spymaster. The spymaster lingered in the back of the room, keeping her face covered.

 

The king walked over to the most impressive chair in the room. He spoke as he settled into it, "I didn't kill him."

 

The saintess' face grew darker as she folded her arms, "Someone has to do it."

The king tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, "Are you certain?"

The saintess nodded, "Oh yes. It wasn't supposed to happen this early, but yes. He becomes corrupted by the demon heart, turns evil, and becomes the second biggest threat this kingdom has ever known."

 

Charity chimed in, "I don't believe that."

 

The king noted Charity's remark with a nod. He leaned forward, "Pricilla, you said, 'It wasn't supposed to happen this early.' So that means events have changed. Your predictions aren't set in stone.” He leaned back, “If they can be altered, then he might not become corrupted."

The prince looked at the king, "Father. I know he saved your life. I know it seems cruel to kill him, but is there any case where a human gained demonic power and did NOT turn evil?"

 

The king looked at the Headmaster, "Miles. Please. Give me something to work with." The headmaster stroked his beard and leaned back in his chair, "It is true that there is no case of someone successfully integrating a demonic core in their body and not being corrupted by said demonic energy." The king sighed and covered his eyes with one hand as he slouched in defeat.

 

The headmaster continued, "Also, once integrated, no human has ever survived removal of a demonic core." The Prince nodded as if this was confirmation. The headmaster rolled a hand in the air, "How... ever..." The king's hand fell into his lap as he perked up.

 

The headmaster pulled out a parchment, "I did an updated scan on his mana cores while he was recovering." He offered it to the king, "Not once in recorded history has a demonic core been integrated with any human who already had an active aura or conjuration core." The headmaster held up a finger, "Every single case the one who, either by accident or design, absorbed a demonic core... died. Horribly." He paused then added nonchalantly, "And in a few cases, explosively."

 

The king took the parchment and looked at the sketch of Reed's body. The mana lines were all over the place. It looked like a three year old with a box of crayons scribbled all over the outline of a human.

The headmaster gestured to the parchment, "And yet... Here we are. Someone with THREE mana cores." The Headmaster shrugged, "You want me to predict what is going to happen? I cannot. We are in uncharted waters and I for one wish for him to be kept alive, if for no other reason than to see how this progresses."

Priscilla glared at the headmaster, "And if your curiosity happens to destroy the kingdom?" The headmaster pressed his lips together into a thin line and humphed.

 

The king looked at his spymaster, "Thoughts?"

The spymaster shrugged, "If he's useful, keep him. If not, kill 'em."

The king eyed his spymaster, "Insightful."

She shrugged, "He's... cute?"

The king gave his spymaster a double take.

She snorted, "Hey. I like young men, what can I say?"

The prince rolled his eyes and made a sound like he was disgusted.

The spymaster snickered, "Don't worry. You're not my type." The prince's expression became as disgusted as the sound he made.

The king sighed and glanced at Kyle, "You've been quiet. C'mon. Give me your thoughts. I know you don't like or trust him. So spit it out."

 

The chancellor declared, "Let him live."

 

Everyone in the room turned to stare at him. The prince voiced what everyone was thinking, "What???"

The chancellor stopped leaning against the wall and straightened up, "In case everyone has missed it, we are fucked.” The king's eyes went wide. It was a rare occurrence when his right hand man cursed.

 

Kyle gestured all about, “We have to look at the big picture. In a few years the demon lord will arrive to destroy this kingdom. He has already sent one assassin to kill the king." He pointed at the saintess, "Our oracle is telling us that things are happening sooner than expected. That means maybe we DON'T have three years."

 

He walked to the center of the room, "Furthermore we have been in contact with the surrounding kingdoms in search of allies. Not only do they NOT believe that we have a proper chosen of Mira, they don't believe in her prophecies and I suspect will instead wait until the Demon lord has weakened or destroyed us then stab us in the back."

 

He turned to face the king, "Sire, our list of allies grows thin. This boy has proven to be quite the genius. If he can help improve our defenses, strengthen our armies, or we can use his unique condition to figure out HOW he got so powerful in such a short amount of time..." He held out his palms to the king, "Think of the possibilities."

The king just stared at Kyle, "Who are you and what have you done with my chancellor?"

 

The chancellor let his hands drop as he rolled his eyes, "I get it. I'm the one who always says let's play it safe." He walked over to point at the map on the wall, "By the numbers, playing it safe this time means we have already lost!” He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand as he stared at the tactical display of troop strengths, “We need to start taking chances! If we're going to survive we need to gamble and gamble big." He relaxed and returned to speaking in his usual, moderate tone, "I propose we keep him alive..." He turned to face the king, "With a precaution."

The king raised an eyebrow, "Which would be?"

 

Kyle glanced around the room, then back at the king, "We know his true birth name. It is in the royal records."

 

The king looked confused for a second, then his eyes flared, "No. HELL no. We abolished that spell for a reason! We-"

Kyle held up a hand, "I'm not saying we put a slave collar ON him. I'm saying we just... make one and keep it handy." The chancellor glanced around, then back at the king, "Just in case."

The prince bobbed his head, "I like it. I'd like it more if we used it immediately but..."

The headmaster leaned forward in his chair, "An abominable device. If you do make it, do not keep it at my school. I won't have such a thing anywhere near it. Someone might find, study, and learn how to reproduce it." He looked dower and disgusted, "If rumor is to be believed, too many still know too much about its design."

Charity quipped, "The tools of evil cannot be used for good."

The king sighed and closed his eyes, "Why do I feel like I am just digging a deeper grave to bury myself in?"

Kyle squared his shoulders, "Because the right thing and the necessary thing aren't always the same."

 

With a defeated tone, the King nodded his head in agreement, "Fine. Make the damn collar, but make sure he doesn't find out." He paused, "In fact, Nobody even tell him what happened." They all looked at each other confused.

Kyle interjected, "Wait. Do you mean-"

 

The king cut him off, "He seems convinced the young lady here cured him. He has no idea he has a third mana core." Murmuring filled the room, "And this parchment, if correct, shows his demonic core dormant. Maybe it will never activate. Maybe it is possible we are all worried about something that will never come to pass. Regardless, I have made my choice. Do not tell him he died. Do not tell him that the Saintess killed him. And most importantly..." He eyed the room with a stern expression to drive the point home.

 

"No one can ever tell him that the damnable demonic core is what brought him back to life."