The Forged King

And Phoenix King Ovren, after suffering rejection from Dusk Violet, joined the war against the fey, believing King Arthur of Avalon to have suffered similar rejection from Dusk’s twin sister Cinder Black.

“Wasn’t Arthur married?” Reuben asked, “Why would he have pursued Cinder Black.”

“That’s just what King Ovren believed. We think of the Elanoreis as legendary figures for their achievements now, but in their time they were mostly known for their beauty.”

“Isn’t Princess Marina an Elanorei?” Reuben asked. She was certainly beautiful.

Ava smacked her pencil on his wrist.

“Yes, she’s descended from Sea Green, but you must remember that she’s betrothed.”

“What’s that—”

“You asked about her after I mentioned their beauty. You have a long way to go before you’re savvy to the ways of court politics.”

Reuben felt properly chided. Ava was incredibly direct for someone he technically outranked, but he wouldn’t have listened to her otherwise. She felt most like someone from the Forge out of anyone here.

“Speaking of politics,” she leaned closer, with hushed tone, “What did you discuss with your brother?”

Reuben flinched, but said nothing.

“You are both extremely obvious. Never try lying to me again.”

He laughed a little.

“How did you know?”

“I heard the Ilvan twins call him Garret. Princess Ivy seems to be taken with him.”

“I noticed that.” In fact Garret seemed more comfortable with Ivy than with Reuben.

“So what did you discuss?” Ava asked again.

“That we were brothers, he didn’t want to return to Phoenix, and that my mother had died before I could ever meet her.”

“That’s not possible,” Ava said.

“I assure you, that’s what we talked about.”

“Queen Ariana can’t be dead.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on your brother since he became a master scribe before me. He might be the only reason I graduated before this council, because our chief scribe wanted to save face.”

Reuben wished he could assure her that she was a good scribe, but he didn’t know what made a good scribe really. Instead, he placed a comforting hand on hers.

“My point is,” she said, pulling her hand away, “Garret Kitaba was Garret Forge until the day of your discovery. He chose to hide.”

“And…”

“If he had feelings for a princess, looked the mirror of one confirmed to be the king’s son, and lived alone, why would he hide?”

“He’s an air mage, like—”

“Whatever magek he has doesn’t change that he is the twin of someone undoubtedly Solam’s son. As a scribe, he would naturally be curious about his father, so again, why hide?”

“Because he had someone to protect,” Reuben accepted.

“Ariana.”

But why say she was dead?

“The other option is that you have a younger half-sibling whose other parent is from Armath.”

Reuben couldn’t hide a scowl at the idea. That would mean his mother really had abandoned him.

“I doubt it though,” Ava insisted, “I suspect she’s alive, or if she really has passed, it’s only been in the past season.”

Reuben hated the idea.

“Besides, if any kingdom knew who she was, they would have announced her passing out of respect for Solam and Phoenix. The king doesn’t bother hiding that he still carries a torch for her. She could probably return with no risk of harm to her or Garret.”

Probably wasn’t definitely.

“Garret says that someone worked against my mother,” Reuben said, “Someone with the king’s ear. That’s why he’s still hiding.”

“He told me the same thing,” Ava noted, “Do you think if we remove the traitor then your mother would return?”

He wasn’t yet convinced his mother was still alive to return.

“I have no idea. I think Garret is happy in Ilva, with Ivy.”

He hadn’t outright said it, but Garret definitely cared for her, and she definitely cared for him in return. That was probably how Ivy recognized him.

Ivy recognized him as Solam’s son before she saw the ring.

Ivy knew Garret was Solam’s son before she even came to the Forge.

“Ariana’s chin…” That’s the trait she said he shared with his mother, claiming she’d seen a portrait.

“What about your mother’s chin?”

“There’s a mirror in my room, right?” if it wasn’t enchanted for communication already, he knew the runes.

Ava grabbed his arm, causing him to drag her chair a little.

“What?”

Everything would be easier if he could hear it straight from his mother. This was a practical decision. Maybe he could finally see his mother’s face too.

“Be careful,” Ava said, before letting go.

Reuben carefully watched the mirror, holding the cuff Garret gave him in his hand. He’d checked the runes of the mirror to make sure it was just for communication.

Even if the mirror didn’t work, it didn’t mean his mother was truly dead. It just meant she didn’t have a reflective surface close enough, or he didn’t know her full name.

He had two ideas of what her surname could be.

“Ariana Forge,” he told the mirror.

The mirror showed the inside of a cabin, with a woman making some kind of food. Reuben wanted to call out to her, but he remained silent. Luckily she looked over to him, dropping her bowl as she ran over, touching the mirror on her end.

She was crying, sobbing at the sight of him.

“Mom?” he managed to ask.

She cried harder.

“I’m Reuben,” he said as if she couldn’t figure that out.

She kept crying, so Reuben was starting to tear up. He thought he’d be angrier at her. That’s what he was sure he’d felt all this time, but maybe…

Maybe all he felt was lonely.

“I know,” Ariana said, wiping away tears, “You look so much like—”

“Garret—”

“Home. You’re a Forge through and through.”

Home, the Forge was home. No one else seemed to understand that.

“Why did you leave me?” Reuben asked.

“I planned to leave both of you,” she admitted, “I would be found, eventually, but you were too young to be tracked on your own. I hadn’t even named you by the time I ran away. Then as I left the note with you, Garret reached for me, and I didn’t have the strength to be alone. I rewrote the note as if you were an only child and ran to Armath.”

She shook her head.

“I should have just taken both of you. A Phoenix King doesn’t need an heir.”

Left alone on the sheer chance that he didn’t lift his arms at the right time.

Would he have been happy in Armath, with his mom and brother beside him? He would never have a chance to become a smith, or meet his father. He wouldn’t have met Ava, or any of the royalty around his age. Would he even be a fire mage if he’d been raised in Armath?

He spiraled a small string of fire around his arm to calm himself.

“Thank you for letting me be a Forge,” he said.

Ariana cried again. Reuben found himself crying too. He placed his hand on the glass, and his mother placed her hand across from it. For a second he could imagine feeling her warmth.

Every other question he had disappeared. His mother was alive. He thanked Ava for assuring him of it, and avoided cursing Garret for doing his best to keep them safe.

“I love you,” his mother whispered, “I have missed you. I still miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Reuben whispered back.

Their reunion was interrupted by a knock on the door. Ariana ended the call immediately.

“Who is it?” Reuben asked, rubbing away what signs he could of his tears.

“The king asks to speak with you, your highness.”

It had been a moment since he spoke with his father last. They’d both been busy after the council.

“I will be there in a moment.”

He watched the mirror, hiding the cuff in his drawer. He would call his mother again, maybe get an explanation from Garret on why he lied.

He needed to make this place safe for both of them. Even if Garret didn’t want to return, he needed to help his mother get back to the Forge, to home.

Reuben disliked waiting for the guard to open his father’s door. He should at least get the option to knock for himself, and he still hadn’t learned the guards’ names, so the best he could do was nod as they bowed to him.

“How did you ever get used to this formality?” he asked as he stepped inside Solam’s office.

“He has me to help direct him,” Sophron answered.

“If this were a casual visit, I would have come to you myself,” Solam said, handing a document to Sophron, who presented it to Reuben.

“What is this about?” Reuben asked.

“The Phoenix can read any private documents among the scribes if he so desires,” Sophron explained.

Reuben looked at the document now. The text was obscured from his vision, but he recognized Ava’s hand, and the appearance of recent ink.

Ava had written down their entire conversation.

“Why would you hide your brother from me?” Solam asked.

“I made a vow,” Reuben explained, “He didn’t feel safe, claims there’s someone you trust working against our mother.”

The curtains behind Solam caught fire.

“That’s quite the insult,” Solam said, “That’s a claim that the king is incompetent.”

“No,” Reuben insisted, “Besides, he’s your son, not a subject, right?”

That was the wrong thing to say. The room was heating up.

“Is Ariana really dead?” Solam asked.

Reuben couldn’t possibly tell him the truth.

“Yes, I tried to contact her directly, but it was impossible.”

“I see you learned to lie from your peers,” Sophron said, “But lying to your king is a matter of treason.”

Solam’s eyes flitted from Sophron to Reuben.

“Why would I lie?” Reuben asked.

“Because you are your mother’s child, and just like she did, you fear your father’s power.”

“If I was afraid, I would say what I think he wants to hear, not the truth.”

Maybe Reuben wasn’t politically savvy in the way someone raised in this environment would be, but that didn’t mean he was an idiot. If he wanted to protect his family, he would have to stand his ground. He was Solam’s son. Why wouldn’t Solam believe him?

Sophron was glaring at him.

“Maybe Garret was lying to me,” Reuben said. As long as he hid the cuff, they wouldn’t be able to prove he was lying, “I hope that was the case, but I don’t think he was lying about someone influencing you.”

Solam was taking audible breaths.

“You are my son, Reuben, and I love you dearly, but you must understand that you have accused me of incompetence and my inner circle of sedition.”

“You said yourself that you don’t know why you got jealous. You regret what you’ve done to hurt your family. If you regret it, can’t you understand why Garret wouldn’t feel safe?”

Solam’s breathing seemed less on edge. He was listening.

“If you want him to feel safe, to come with you, you have to prove his safety. If you’ve been manipulated, isn’t it better to root it out now so you can have both sons with you?”

“And if no such manipulator exists, are you willing to take responsibility for your accusations?” Sophron asked.

“He’s a child,” Solam insisted.

“I would take responsibility,” Reuben accepted. He would gladly take whatever punishment in exchange for saving his father.

“No,” Solam said, “You won’t. This conversation stays between us.”

“You aren’t going to—”

“If you truly accuse me of failing in my duties to Phoenix, then you will have to fight me for the throne, Reuben, and a Phoenix cannot lose that fight.”

Reuben took a step back.

“Why can’t—”

“The battle is to the death,” Sophron explained, “Like the first Phoenix king fought to found the kingdom. So long as a Phoenix has will to live, they cannot lose such a battle. I assumed you’d already studied that fact.”

Reuben shook his head.

“Then go ahead,” he said, “If it comes to a fight then I’ll concede.”

“That’s not an option,” Sophron said, “The challenger is not allowed to concede.”

Solam’s expression had turned sorrowful. Strange how the most powerful being in the room could seem so pitiful.

Reuben returned his focus to Sophron. Why was Sophron so insistent on this fight? It couldn’t just be about propriety.

“If they insist on being fugitives, then that is how I will treat them.” Solam said suddenly.

“What does that—”

“Sophron, draft an announcement that Ariana Forge is a traitor to the Phoenix King to be returned alive, and that the same goes for her son, Garret.”

“Of course, my king.” Sophron bowed, barely hiding a grin.

“If he was serving princess Ivy, than Ilva must be hiding them.”

“Shall we inform Avalon they’ve broken the treaty?” Sophron prompted.

“That requires giving them warning,” Solam said, “If Ilva has warning, they’ll gain the upper hand.”

“Excellent, your majesty.”

“You’re invading Ilva?” Reuben asked.

“We have to,” Sophron said, offering no further explanation.

Reuben looked to his father, but Solam’s gaze had turned dull.

He wasn’t an idiot. He needed to stand his ground. If he was wrong, he was willing to pay with his life.

“Ava’s your granddaughter,” Reuben told Sophron.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t find a new document just after it was submitted,” he told Solam, still watching Sophron closely, “It was given to you by the grandfather of the scribe who wrote it.”

“Sophron handed it to me, yes,” his father’s eyes began to light up again.

“How did he know what it said if he doesn’t have permission to read it?” Reuben asked.

“Ava told me, worried you were keeping secrets from the king.”

“And she prompted me to believe my mother was alive,” Reuben said. She made good points, but it was truly just luck that she was correct, “Making it the perfect document to pique the king’s interest.”

“You are insistent, aren’t you?” Sophron asked.

“I don’t know why,” he told his father, still focused on Sophron, “But Sophron is influencing you to start a war, using Ariana and Garret as the catalyst, just like he tried over sixteen years ago.”

Sophron was still smiling. Why was he smiling?

“If you don’t remove him at once, you put Phoenix in danger as well as your family,” Reuben insisted.

“Sophron has assisted me since I was your age,” Solam said, “If he wanted me to start a war, he wouldn’t have waited this long.”

He was blind. Sophron needed to be removed.

“If you won’t do it—”

Sophron turned suddenly to Solam.

“Guards!” Solam said, “Take prince Reuben to his room, and ensure he doesn’t leave.”

“What?”

“This needs to be done,” Solam wasn’t even looking at him, “It’s our only chance to be all together again.”

Reuben glared at the door. The guards made it clear they weren’t going to show leniency. He’d already checked the window, finding that exit was gone.

He heard a girl’s voice outside the door. The moment the door opened he shot a ball of fire at her head. Dissipating it before it actually hit.

“You told your grandfather.”

“No,” she said, as the doors closed, “I didn’t.”

“Then your grandfather told you to convince me my mother was alive.”

“Is she?”

“No!” at least she probably wouldn’t be for long. Solam wanted her alive, but Sophron probably wanted the three of them dead.

They’d all die because Reuben had decided to meet his father.

“You didn’t become a better liar in the past four hours,” Ava said, “She must be amazing if you decided to defend the one who abandoned you in such a short—”

Ava yelped as Reuben reached a flaming hand in front of her face, not bothering to snuff it this time.

“You’re under the mistaken impression that I tolerate traitors. Get out of my sight.”

He stepped back.

“Is it betrayal if I had no say in it?” Ava asked, quietly.

“It is when I trusted you.”

“I’m sorry!”

Ava started crying. He didn’t want her to cry, but he couldn’t let her think he forgave her.

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” she asked, “You’re no match for him.”

What did Sophron have that Reuben couldn’t match. It wouldn’t be wrong to turn the spy back on his enemy, would it?

“Why not?”

“If you were any threat to grandfather’s influence, you wouldn’t be locked up.”

“He would have me die in a fight with my father.”

Ava nodded.

“What does he even want?” Reuben asked.

“War.”

“Who would want a war?”

Ava shook her head.

“He wants a different map. He needs someone else to break the treaty to insure Phoenix’s victory, and greater territory.”

“So having my mother run away was all part of his plan?”

“I don’t know,” Ava whimpered, “I was too young for him to—”

She shook her head.

“You can’t do anything here,” she said, “Solam can’t see reason, and will keep you locked up until he’s done, maybe even after.”

“If you can help me get out, I can hide at the Forge.”

“Do you think all my advice was nonsense? Solam will burn the Forge down to get you, and he’ll declare you a fugitive to attack any kingdom that tries to keep you. If you’re to do anything, you need to leave Magek.”

Here he was, a fool listening to Ava again. She was right that he couldn’t go to the Forge, but to leave Magek? How was he supposed to navigate another world when he could barely navigate this one?

Ava handed him a stone.

“That will take you to Earth. Even grandfather wouldn’t start a fight there.”

“Did your grandfather tell you to make me leave? Am I more of a threat than you say?”

“Phoenix Born, Forge Raised,” Ava began.

“What are you—”

“Unite the peoples.”

That prophecy.

“Endure the praise.”

How was he supposed to unite anyone while stuck on Earth? This stone couldn’t make a return trip.

“Forge the bonds you’ll have to break.”

He’d broken many bonds already.

“Defeat the Tyrant—”

“For his own sake,” Reuben finished, “You mean—”

Ava covered his mouth.

“Don’t say anything you don’t want him to hear.”

“Why don’t you have a say?” Reuben asked.

“My grandfather is a mind-mage, and he has little struggle using his kin.”

A mind-mage. Reuben hadn’t thought—of course he hadn’t thought anything around a mind-mage.

He gripped the stone tighter.

“Does he know where this goes?”

“Earth.”

Hopefully she was right about Sophron.

“I’ll remember everything you’ve done, Ava.”

Reuben grabbed the cuff from his vanity, took one last look at his room and traitorous guest, and activated the stone.