All I Need ✔️

Chapter 51

Third person POV

Cassius entered his father's study with determination and purpose. After a perfect day of spending time with his new fiancée, including an impromptu candlelight dinner thanks to Emalina's quick thinking, he was ready to convince his father to sign off on their marriage.

"Cassius!" King Theodore exclaimed happily, looking up from his desk. "Good morning! I feel like I've barely seen you this week. I was expecting you to drop by sooner, considering our agreement that you would look into marriage proposals more seriously after the ball. But better late than never of course!"

"That's exactly why I'm here father..." Cassius began.

"Excellent!" his father said, cutting him off. "We have a few matches for you to consider, so let's start with Lady Isadora..."

"Father, I'm going to marry Safania."

The King fell silent. "That's out of the question," he said firmly.

"Father, you know that I am the best option to rule. Orphasius has no mind for strategy, and Alterius's cruelty will turn our own people against us. I will do whatever you ask of me, lead any campaigns you tell me to lead, have heirs, anything you need. But let me marry Safania."

"You're right about Orphasius," his father admitted. "But Alterius has changed. He's much more level-headed now."

"Alterius hasn't changed," Cassius warned. "He's just gotten better at hiding what he is."

King Theodore looked at Cassius harshly. "Are you questioning my perception, son?" he asked evenly. Cassius knew better than to answer. "Alterius has changed. And he's married to Celine, a great strategic match I arranged for him."

"A match that makes them both miserable," Cassius replied.

"And now you're insulting my match-making," King Theodore accused in a pointed tone of voice. Cassius fell silent. "A match with the lady of the second largest city in our Kingdom," the king continued. "A match that secured us the unwavering loyalty of 300,000 of her countrymen."

"That loyalty will only reach so far," Cassius replied. "People will fight for her out of obligation, but once they see the kind of fury and strength Irado has, do you really believe all 300,000 will continue to stand and fight? Especially for her? But the people in the border towns...they want to fight for us. Not because of bloodlines, because they believe in our kingdom. And that is all because of Safania."

"What do you mean?" the King asked.

"I mean that it was Safania's idea to conquer the border towns but spare them and give them the opportunity to join us."

"You took military orders from a runaway slave?" King Theodore asked sternly.

"She didn't order me to do anything," Cassius replied defensively. "She presented a suggestion with her reasoning, I was persuaded, and so I advocated for the position. And it worked father. She was right. Celine may have a pile of people she can force to fight for us because of some oath she swore on their behalf. But Safania has added over 1000 people to your army, and counting, based on pure strategy in only two months. That is who I want by my side."

The King walked over to a small window in the corner of his office. "By your side...it's an interesting phrase, but it doesn't mean what you think it does. A queen is supposed to complement the king. He handles matters of war, politics...thorny issues. And she focuses on event planning, making nice with the nobles, and producing heirs. Both are extremely important for the maintenance of the kingdom. That's why it's essential that the son I choose to succeed me has a queen. But a King doesn't throw tea parties or change diapers the same way a queen doesn't go into battle or negotiate a treaty."

"So that's all my mother was to you? A baby-making party planner?" Cassius asked angrily.

"Your mother..." the king trailed off, then resumed speaking. "Your mother was a fierce, smart, and passionate woman, qualities she certainly shares with Safania. But your mother would also agree with everything I'm telling you. She had no interest in marrying me. Most of the time I'm fairly certain she hated me. But she agreed to the marriage for the sake of her people."

"But you loved her," Cassius replied.

"Yes...incidentally. Perhaps even because she hated me so much. It was, I admit, refreshing. But I didn't marry her out of love. I hadn't even met her before we married. I married her because she was the princess of Pitka – a kingdom that is still technically counted as one of the nine kingdoms, but because of our marriage is essentially just part of Peria. It was a brilliant strategic match. Love had nothing to do with it."

The king walked over to Cassius. "Your mother wanted you to be king. She devoted her life to making you the best option for the throne. Don't throw her years of hard work away for a woman you've known for a couple months."

He put his hand on Cassius's shoulder. "I know you loved your mother son. I did too. And the best way you can honor her legacy is by becoming the ruler she knew you were capable of being."

Cassius's head was throbbing. He knew that his father was right - from the very beginning, his mother had raised him to be king. She saw him as someone who could make the kingdom better. Surrendering the crown to someone like Alterius would go against literally everything she had worked for.

But he needed Safania. Whenever they were apart, whenever she was upset, whenever she was hurt, he felt like the air had been ripped from his lungs. And being with her brought him a peace he hadn't known in years. Something that felt so right couldn't be wrong...could it?

His father interrupted his thoughts. "I have no doubt Safania is a formidable woman. I can understand why you're so taken with her," he said, walking back to his desk. "And by all means, son, keep her as a mistress. I've seen how fiery she can be just at dinner – I can only imagine how that translates to...other pursuits. But she is simply not fit to be your wife."

"You would choose Alterius over me, just because I refuse to marry another woman?" Cassius asked, frustrated at the choice he was being asked to make.

"If you refuse to marry a suitable woman, I would question your premise that you are a better choice to rule than Alterius. Your brother does not like Celine. Yet he puts up with her, he married her because it was what was best for the kingdom. A sacrifice like that is what is expected of a royal. If you are unwilling to make a sacrifice like that..." the King sat back down in his chair. "I question whether you're worthy of any title at all."

Frustration ran through Cassius. He had made it this far with Safania...they had grown this close, just for his father to prove her right about all of her worries. But he had to be king...his mother didn't die for him to fail. He felt like he was going to be ill. "When do you need a decision by?" he asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"I will plan on announcing your engagement during the Oske tournament in a few weeks. Otherwise, I will announce your brother's selection as the new king." The King went back to writing. "Have a good evening Cassius," he said without looking up from his work.

"Good evening father," Cassius said in a dull tone, sensing the argument was over. He left the office, dreading bringing the news back to Safania.