"Shhhh…." A mother shushed her eight-year-old son, frightened by the clash of swords outside.
"Calm, my love," the mother whispered, her back resting against the hard, sharp throne behind her while her fingers ran across his cheeks.
"They're still fighting…," the boy mumbled, nestling into his mother's arms, moving a little closer, their blonde hair tangling with each other.
"No one is going to hurt you," the mother soothed, calming her son with a reassuring smile, "I'll tell you a story."
"A story about a mother lion and her cub," she began, turning to her son, "they lived in the woods—"
"Kingswood?" the son interjected; it was the only wood he knew.
CHUCKLE
The mother chuckled, "Yes, my love…." She then took a brief pause before continuing, "In the woods, the mother and the cub, she loved him very much. But there were other things that lived in the woods…evil things!"
Her emerald green eyes gleamed with hatred, her hands clenching on instinct while her son asked, "Like what?"
The mother smiled, turning to her son, her eyes returning to kind and loving, "like stags…"
But the eight-year-old child tilted his head, confused by his mother's words, "stags aren't evil," he said, looking at her, "they only eat grass."
But the mother only smiled at her son; he was so cute and innocent.
"....wolves," she continued, ignoring him, "he could hear them howling in the night. The little cub was frightened!" she said as she looked at the giant door in front.
She could hear them, the swords, the howls of pain and the roars of victory; it's just that she didn't know who was winning.
But then, turning back to him, she ran her thumb across his cheek while the rest of her fingers tightly curled around a small, white vial, "But her mother said, you are a lion, my son; you mustn't be afraid."
Tears began to pool in her eyes, glistening against the fire flickering around the massive pillars supporting the hall, "For one day, all the beasts will bow to you, and you will be their king!"
"The stags will bow; the wolves will bow; the bears in the north, the foxes in the south, the birds in the sky and the beasts in the sea. They will all come to you, my little lion, to rest a crown upon your head."
SNIFF
She then kissed her son on his forehead as she pulled him closer in her embrace, "Then the cub said, will I be strong and fierce as my father?"
"Y-Yes," her voice broke, a single tear leaving her eye, "You will be as strong and fierce as your father, the mother said."
Pulling him out of her embrace, she raised her hand, showing him the vial she whispered, "I'll keep us safe, my love."
She had no other choice; her son was innocent, just an eight-year-old boy. But the beasts outside would not spare him for being a child; they would kill him and rape her in front of him.
Her hands trembled, prying out the vial's cap; she beckoned it to her son, "I-I promise you…."
She didn't want to end this way; she didn't want her son to die! She wanted him to become king! Her sweet Tommen! Her innocent cub! He was to be king after her brother! He would make a good king! A kind king! But she has no other choice! If it wasn't done, they would…. they would—-
BANG
The giant doors burst open and a train of soldiers barged in, their armour coated in blood and flesh.
The mother jerked, her green eyes wide with shock as she tightly hugged her son, who were they? Enemies?!
They filled the hall, their backs to the pillars and their gazes on the door.
The mother panicked; her chest heaved as she tightly clutched the vial. She had to do it, or else…
But the woman didn't notice one thing; she was panicking after all. She didn't notice the expressions in those soldiers' eyes—they were all… shocked!
And suddenly,
THUD
Everything became silent; the clash of swords, the roars, everything went silent, almost as if afraid of something or someone.
THUD
The mother furrowed her brows, looking down at her feet as her heart thumped against her chest; was the ground trembling? She didn't know, but she felt as if it were!
THUD
"M-Mother…" the boy was afraid, tightly hugging his mother's waist. Those soldiers, they were scary.
It continued for a few moments, and each passing one felt longer and scarier than the last.
THUD
"W-Wha…." The mother exclaimed aloud, her eyes widening in shock as the vial slipped through her fingers, crashing on the ground.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing; it was… it was…
THUD
….it was a boy. A boy no older than thirteen. He had blonde hair, just like the mother and her own emerald green eyes.
But unlike hers, which were panicked, ragged and astonished, his were calm, regal…and commanding!
The soldiers shivered, glancing at the boy. Their hearts thumped, their breaths stuck in their throats.
Some forced their gazes down at his feet; they couldn't stare at him long, those images were still fresh in their eyes: the river of blood and a sea of corpses; and standing on top of them was the boy—No, their king!
Behind the boy were two men, following behind, a tall man and an imp. Their hardened expressions broke as they stared at his back, their green eyes mixed with awe and pride, while the imp's were filled with surprise and doubt.
Yet the boy—no, the king—ignored them, his back straight and his steps measured and slow.
His face was smeared with grime while his sword dripped blood, trailing his path as he walked towards the throne.
BADUMP
"J-Joff–" The mother tried to call him. What happened to him? What happened? Didn't she order him to return to the castle? Is he injured?
A thousand questions flashed in her mind, but the king ignored her and walked past her.
'....huh?'
He just ignored her? Her own cub?
The mother turned around, her movements strained as if she couldn't believe it.
The king stood in front of the throne for a moment, his eyes scanning his seat made of swords before he turned around and sat on the throne.
BOOM
An explosion went off in everyone's mind as they glanced at their king; it was as if the throne itself had bent to his strength, it felt… full. This wasn't a cub pretending king!
No! This was a grown male lion who had slaughtered the hyenas that had eyed his crown!
The King's gaze fell on each soldier and man before it landed on the mother as he opened his mouth and said,
"The war is over…. I've won!"