Sweet Waters Throne

201 Chapter 20The next day the whole realm was delighted and eager to witness history, a new King was to be crowned today and the good folks flocked to the Holly Sept in numbers. They came from Claydall, Bellward, King’s City and not to mention the countless villages and small towns in Prophis. It was cold but they still showed up to the capital in their fur coats and layers, men, women and children.

The battlement and the main stage of the Sept was occupied by Aprophil dressed in black – green silk robe, he looked so sharp and handsome. On top of it he covered himself with black fur coat, standing beside him was Katarina — the Queen Mother. Katarina wore a grey satin dress, the color of her son’s sigil and today it was the day she had dreamt about since the day she gave birth to Amabel.

Katarina’s eyes were reddish from lack of sleep and also the tears which have been rolling down between her cheeks since last night, but they were tears of joy.

Father Stewart stood tall while surrounded by five Faith Crones and they were all in white. The Faith Crones carried a small bowl which contained the Holly ointment, specifically used in anointing sovereigns throughout the years.

Then Amabel arrived at the Sept using the back door, he was accompanied by Sir Tyriol who was in his armory uniform and a grey cloak — the Lord Commander of the Kingsguards. Good folks cheered for Amabel Taelin when he embraced the battlement, they shouted his name and raised their hands in unison. Some of them didn’t, they were still wounded by what other Taelins have done to the kingdom, they showed up to just to see the whole celebration.

Aprophil welcomed Amabel and Katarina kissed his forehead, her eyes were in amazement at how her son already looked like a King. The same crown which was worn by Aryan, the golden crown with blue sapphires was present in the hands of Sir Tyriol. Amabel chose this crown because he wanted his people to know that he wasn’t going to be like his grandfather or his father, he could have easily taken his grandfather’s crown which was safely stored in King’s City but he opted from that.

Also the crown was voted by his small council, they all thought it was the best decision to take that instead of his grandfather’s. And that’s because King Taelin’s crown would only ignite the hate from the good folks and bring out the bad memories of his cruel reign.

“Are you ready?” asked Aprophil with a smile.

“I am” Amabel replied trying to smile but he was way too nervous to even manage a smirk.

.....

Father Stewart quipped in, “If it will please His Grace to kneel before the gods, he must do so”

Katarina motioned with her head for her son to kneel down while smiling. It seemed everyone was happy today, even Sir Thomas Buken who arrived at the battlement before Amabel took his vows looked happy even though he would have preferred to serve Aryan rather than being a Lord Commander of the city’s watch.

Sir Thomas found his space beside Sir Tyriol and they were the only ones who weren’t in silks and satins, but fully armored as if they were going to war. The last time they talked was just hours before the war, and none of them thought they will be alive now — and more shockingly serving a new ruler.

Amabel knelt down before Father Stewart and the Faith Crones as his people looked. He was anointed with the Holly oils five times on his forehead, this represented the five old gods which the people of Prophis worshipped. These gods were just a myth, but as per custom, he had to be anointed by a High Septon in order to be a true King of Prophis.

After the anointment, the Faith Crones covered Amabel’s shoulders with a white piece of cloth made of wool, the white piece symbolized purity and it was meant to guide the King on his new journey. Then they started chanting in foreign language while circling the King, all five of them. This was tradition for all the rulers of Prophis to be binded by Faith Crones so they may have the Crones protection against harm. Even King Castellan was circled by the Faith Crones, also Gandalf and Aryan too. Now it was Amabel’s turn to receive the protection from the Faith Crones.

Then when the Crones were done binding Amabel. Sir Tyriol handed the golden crown with sapphires to Aprophil, the Hand of the King.

Aprophil carried the crown carefully in his arms, he was just waiting to hand it over to Father Stewart. When he did, the High Septon placed the crown carefully and slowly on Amabel’s head and it fit perfectly as if it was made for him.

Then the whole Sept grew silent, this was the most sacred moment in the coronation ceremony, when finally a boy becomes a King. There were no indistinct chattering in the crowd nor cheering, it’s as if everyone fell dumb for just a few seconds.

Then Father Stewart allowed Amabel to rise with the crown on his head. Those people who witnessed Amabel’s coronation said he rose above everyone else like a true King that he was, tall and strong, no longer a boy but a man grown.

The High Septon announced loudly, “All Hail His Grace King Amabel, first of his name. King of Prophis, Good Folks and Frozen Lands. Lord of Raven and Protector of The Realm” and when he was done, the whole crowd erupted in cheers for Amabel.

It is estimated almost ten thousand people or more attended Amabel’s coronation ceremony. The Sept was fully occupied and hence other people waited to see the King when he comes outside.

Katarina gave Amabel his father’s sword, it was the same sword which Castellan yielded when he went on to fight in the Battle of Stonedance. She wanted him to have something of his father even though Amabel clearly showed he wanted nothing to do with the Taelin legacy. But it was just a sword, no one would notice that the sword belonged to his father.

Hence Amabel rose the sword and his people cheered for him more, the Sept turned to a hall of celebration. The good folks shouted “Amabel! Amabel the King” while raising their hands in unison.

Well, then something unexpected happened. Dragons came to Raven that day, this time two of them and out in the open. It was the screaming and roaring which alerted the people and they fled the Sept and raced outside.

“What is going on?” asked Amabel confused. It seemed none of his small council members knew what was going on, Aprophil quickly summoned the Kingsguards to guard the King from harm.

There was no need since Sir Tyriol can protect the King by himself, but still he told them to shield the king until the chaos stopped.

When the Sept was cleared, that’s when Amabel alongside his Kingsguards walked outside of the Sept using the back door. Aprophil, Katarina and Sir Thomas followed behind and then Father Stewart who was surrounded by his Faith Crones.

The last time Aprophil saw a dragon was when he was in his ship Miranda sailing to Prophis with Prince Amabel. That was before the war and before Amabel was crowned King, and he saw them when they were up in the sky but never that close. This time he and Amabel and everyone else were shocked at the humongous size of Artodo who had grown to over fifteen inches tall and weighed a lump sump of pounds, when he landed the Earth shook as if there was an earthquake.

The other dragon who accompanied Artodo was the pink one, with a touch of red and a bit of maroon. She was colorful and beautiful, while Artodo was black and fearful.

The dragons had landed outside of the Holly Sept, Artemis was on top of his dragon Artodo while the she-dragon had no rider. He didn’t hasten to dismount his dragon, but he took time to create fear amongst the good folks of Raven who came to witness their King’s coronation.

No one knew why Artemis flew to Raven, or what reasons did he have to ruin Amabel’s coronation ceremony. His enemy was Aryan and Aryan was no longer a ruler of Prophis, he didn’t know Amabel Taelin and nor did he support his claim publicly.

Katarina placed her son behind her, as if to protect her from the dragon. That’s what they call mother’s instincts because she knew better that she can’t protect her son from the dragons, yet she placed the guard as if she can stop the dragons and their flames from harming her son.

There was a terror look amongst the good folks. Everyone knew what took place in Lawsend’s City, the men who were burned to ashes and the city which was completely destroyed by just one dragon.

Today there were two of them, both huge and terrifying. Yet still, they kept asking themselves why did Artemis fly to Raven on his dragon’s back?