Am I only now taking the time to plot each individual chapter because I don't know what I'm doing? Absolutely. I'm in a weird phase between plotting and worldbuilding/writing and kind of trying to decide where to go from here. I realized I really want to flesh things out and have more direction for everything I'm doing, even down to the whole novel if I have to.

I'm not, like, a super organized person, but I feel like I have to be for a project so big! 

Anyways thats just an update, although I did post some writing yesterday! :D

So. So. Complicated. I'd like to know if this scene was boring, or actually entertaining despite being more on the logistical side of things!

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The worst part of sunny days is that rain always follows behind. Jaque, of course, had no good news. After a brief five hour nap, it had only taken a couple more hours to get the information he needed from the assassin. The King’s Court was full and bustling before the afternoon was complete. Extra guards lined the walls, tables were packed tightly around the long table to make room for visiting members, and Lucius frowned upon it all. 

His knuckles were white against the arm of his chair. Like a hammer to stone, Jaques' report shocked everyone and the blow was still rippling through the court in the form of outrage, confusion, and fear. Lucius sighed deeply and drew himself up from his seat. One wave of his hand ensured silence. He had grown up in this court, but sitting in silence at his father’s side wasn’t the same as being his father; being the king. For a moment the weight of the crown on his head was reassuring. 

Then he remembered how it had almost been his grave.

Lucius clasped his hands behind his back to hide their shaking. “Thank you, Jaque, for your diligence has perhaps spared me great tragedy.” Then he turned back to the faces of his court and all of their expectations. He could give no advice; only ask of it. “Is there anyone who knows what incentive Temel could have for this cowardly attack?” 

As Jaque had discovered, King Eno of Temel had hired the assassin. Originally an anonymous person had approached her with the offer, but, being suspicious, she discovered the king himself was behind the request. The two kingdoms had been living in peace for years. 

“I want to know if this is even realistic,” The Duke of Delacruz began. Philip’s passionate tone had others nodding in agreement.  “Her whole story is vague enough that many errors could be found within. For example, someone could have planted a path that led to Eno.” 

The queen leaned forward to stare down the table at the older man. “We could ask questions like that all day, Duke Delacruz, but it will only serve to distract us from making true progress. And I do question, if you are proposing a third party attempting to start a war, what their motives could possibly be.”

“We have to question all sides, your highness," he insisted.

Jaque cleared his throat. “Regardless, I can say the assassin was telling the truth, and that she has a good cause for the conclusions she drew.” 

“Maybe we would like to hear those reasons!” Duke Callaghan pushed himself up from his chair, startling his advisor and son. “It would be ridiculous to engage in conflict when there are no factual grounds to base our decisions on.” Kingston, the heir of Callaghan, quickly tried to convince his father to be seated.

Lucius pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. “Jaque has already interrogated the assassin thoroughly. I trust him, and I would hope that we don’t waste time on something already accomplished.” 

The Duke reluctantly sat.

“Let us assume that we know for certain Temel tried to have me killed, I want to know why.”  

After a few moments of uncertainty, Balec began to ramble. “There have been tensions at the border, your highness, up north in the mountains. The unclaimed territory has been occupied by thieves that are raiding small civilisations.” He paused to lick his lips. “On both sides of the border, your highness, and within the land as well.” 

Lucius stared at Balec in disbelief. “Why was I not made aware of this immediately?” 

The man sighed. “It hasn’t quite been relevant, and I really couldn’t during the days of mourning…” 

“Isn’t relevant! I beg to differ.” Lucius, fists clenched, turned to stare down Duke Orth. “Damien! Are you aware of these issues?” 

Duke Orth watched over the mountain territory and the mines and tribes spread throughout. He was a large man, with wild white hair and a fierce face. But his eyes were kind, and he placed his hand on his heart as he spoke. “I offer you my sincerest apologies, your highness, I had assumed Balec would tell you as I am not in the capitol often.” The venom in his voice as he emphasized “Balec” didn’t go unnoticed, and Balec flinched. 

Lucius took a moment to steady his breathing while muttering washed over the table. Leopold, after conversing with his advisor and steward, brought things back to order with his cool, commanding voice. “Even if we know for certain Temel sent the assassin and their motive, we cannot simply begin a war. If we accuse them, they could very well deny the claim and insist that we are dishonorable in jumping to such a conclusion.”

“Yeah, well, they’d be lying.” Kingston said, pretending not to notice the glare his father was giving him. 

Leopold sniffed. “If his majesty is looking for a more subtle approach to confrontation, I recommend not directly accusing Temel.” 

Luther was the advisor of war, and he had been quite bored of the lack of wars during his several decades in his position. “We have the upper hand. They don’t know we know, yet. I’m sure they know their plot failed, but they for sure don’t know that the lady assassin did research. They think they’re safe! We attack while they are off guard!” He slammed his fist down on the table. 

Balec pulled at his collar and cleared his throat. “That does give us the advantage, Lucius - I mean, your majesty.” 

Lucius stared at the nervous man behind him and shoved his irritation to the side. He slowly nodded, and Balec’s shoulders relaxed. Again, the table had burst into chaotic debate. Balec leaned towards Lucius and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Lucius.” 

For a moment, the anger resurfaced, and then Lucius patted Balec’s hand and cleared his mind. “I understand your reasons. It wouldn’t be proper to work such during mourning, and the last 24 hours have been quite chaotic. I hardly think thieves and vagabonds causing chaos would be means to start a war, but maybe they have been looking for an excuse?”  

His advisor smiled sadly. “Unless they think the thieves and vagabonds are really under your payroll.” 

Lucius inhaled sharply. “Ah.” 

Balec nodded, and then for a moment looked as if he would say more, but turned away. He seemed deflated, and Lucius patted his hand one more time in comfort. Lucius trusted Balec. He only hoped Balec would trust his forgiveness and not worry so terribly much. 

When he turned back, he found his mother staring intently at them. Lucius wrinkled his nose at her and she rolled her eyes. 

The debate had been raging meanwhile. He had to take a moment to listen and gather his bearings. Several people were advocating for immediate war. Luther was on the forefront of that argument, but despite his enthusiasm his reasonings were still sounds. Still, Lucius wasn’t keen on war. Just a few generations ago The Continent had suffered from a terrible war; his kingdom was just beginning to thrive. He didn’t want to jeopardize their growth, and there were the people to consider. Throwing them into a war when stories of the great grandparents were still so fresh seemed cruel.

Yet it seemed inevitable. 

Leopold fronted the opposite side. “We should propose to renew our treaty with Temel!” His voice rose above the fray. 

“Wait,” Lucius called, “Duke Callaghan! Repeat what you just said.”

“Of course. We should propose to renew our treaty with Temel.” 

“And what is your reasoning behind this statement?”

Leopold gave his cousin a weird look; as if he had just been explaining his reasoning for the past several moments. “Well, your majesty, I suggest that we request an act of goodwill from Temel. In light of your recent assassination, we would like to renew our treaty with them as evidence that they are not behind the attempt.” 

The Baron Orth sighed. “They are behind the attempt, Leopold.”

“Yes, but by requesting a renewal it may be possible to discover their true intentions. It will spark a conversation, and maybe we can come to an agreement without even accusing them directly of the assassination.” 

Lucius found himself nodding in agreement.

“All we are doing is giving them more time to make another plot,” Balec argued. “If they sent an assassin to kill Lucius directly after his coronation, they were obviously intending to attack while our country was in chaos. It would take weeks to elect a new king!”

“They were prepared for war,” Luther agreed. “They’ll be preparing again. You won’t be safe, Lucius. We’ll be walking on eggshells until they finally attack.”

The idea of quadrupled security for the rest of his life wasn’t a pleasant one, but, then again, neither was war. So as the debate went on Lucius found the one inside his heart just as heated. It was only when his stomach began to ache from hunger that he made a decision. 

He knew, as his father had always told him, that his power as king lay directly in the belief of the people. And he knew that they wouldn’t want to go to war. If there was any chance of avoiding it, especially when they weren’t certain Temel was to blame, Lucius was going to take it. 

“Ethan.” The envoy straightened in his seat. “Send word to Temel immediately.” He glanced at the scribe to make sure they were ready, and then began. “In light of the recent attempt on Lucius Gideon Maelfesta’s life, the king of Valoria would like to formally request an act of goodwill from King Eno __ ___ of Temel by way of an alliance renewal. Under the eyes of our great grandfathers, who we have to graciously thank for our current peace, and for the sake of our descendants, who shall hopefully thank us as we have thanked our ancestors.” 

The table erupted. 

Lucius sighed and waved his hand. “Leopold?”

“Yes, your majesty?”

Lucius stared down the table, his eyes hard as he met the faces of his court members. He knew what to do, now. “Arrange for your spies to cross the border. Until we hear back, all bets are off.”

I've been reading this!  I apologize for my silence, most of the time I have barely any time to post things.  I think this is really great and I would definitely pick this up to read if I saw it in a library or bookstore.

Just a small detail to make the very begining a little less confusing for the reader.  Try adding a paragraph before "Lucius ducked not a moment too soon" to give the reader a little more context. Maybe back up a little in the coronation and have the crowner place the crown on Lucius's head and proclaim him the new king before having him almost killed.  It might require a little tweaking of the parts you have already written but I think it would leave the reader less confused at the begining.

I was a little confused after reading the first part until I read about half way through the second part.  You want suspense and questions at the begining so the reader wants to read on,, but not confusion it turns most readers away.

Even it you added a part before the begining you have now it would still leave a lot of questions. Why is Lucius being crowned king?  Why is someone trying to assasinate him?  Etc.

It's just a minor detail to perhaps make it even better.  I really like your writing style and I will definitely keep reading.  This story has me hooked! 

I'm not exactly sure how to subtly write and describe a whole government, but I'll figure it out someday. Until then, for everyone reading, here is my general layout of at least the King's Court!

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King’s Court (The most important dudes) Meet frequently and make important decisions.

King (Lucius) Big guy in Charge

King’s Adviser (Balec) The guy who gives advice, most trusted guy there is.

Hand of the King Carries out the king's orders, usually a quick servant youth. He delivers messages.

Cleric (Raftra) The guy who represents the church and the will of God in making decisions.

Head of Guard (Jaque) Nuff Said

Royal Scribe The guy who writes down everything that is said to keep a record.

Bookkeeper The guy who organizes everything that is written down, and stores them.

Treasurer The guy who keeps tabs on the money and resources the kingdom has.

Adviser of Law The guy who is aware of all the kingdom laws, and keeps everyone else aware too.

Adviser of War The guy who keeps tabs on their resources for defense, and their plan of defense.

Stewards of the Duchies Representatives of the Dukes; they make decisions on their behalf.

Advisers of the Duchies Scholars who advise the Stewards. They are kind of wise assistants.

Intendant In charge of making announcements to the Public.

Steward of the People Guy who represents the public, and keeps tabs on needs and wants of the people.

Court Master Equivalent of the Supreme Judge guy. Handles law enforcement.

Envoy Keeps tabs on other kingdoms and represents Valoria to them.

(As a side note, here’s the different dutchies.)

Callaghan:

Haynes:

White:

Rivera:

Orth:

Simmons:

Cooley:

Delacruz:

Yes, It's very complicated and very hard to keep track of in writing. But I'm getting there! Hopefully the formatting works here too.

I am so excited about this scene! It's probably the favorite i've written so far... maybe. This is loosely the beginning of chapter 3. I'm not too worried about diving things up into chapters right now, and am focusing more on diving scenes, but I guess I'll keep throwing chapters out there. Anyways, school starts this Monday for me! I've decided that my goal is to post a scene every other Saturday (starting today.) I'll probably be able to post every single saturday on occasion, but my GOAL is every other saturday so I don't get stressed out. Anyways, here you go!

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Until we hear back, Lucius realized, I am going to be very busy. It was customary in Valoria to allow 37 days of mourning. If someone in a household died, the house mourned. If that someone was a noble Lord, his followers mourned. If that someone was a baron, the people under his land mourned. If a duke was lost, everyone in the duchy mourned. Therefore it was everyone who mourned when the king passed. Life all but stopped during that time.

The hours stretched on; the days blurred together. Obviously the common people couldn’t afford to cease working and shut down their households, but there would be no celebrations, no indulgent food, no pretty clothes, and no fun or games. Lucius followed that and more, as the direct son of the king, and spent 37 days waiting for time to move forward again. 

Now it was moving far too fast, and he had far too much to do. 

First, there was a commemorative celebration for his coronation that had to be addressed. The dukes were itching to return to their stations, and the castle was full to bursting with hundreds of nobles. The King’s court was the most important court in the land, and the Full Court, while being the largest, was the least. It was merely for parties; and right now the entire Full Court made a full castle, which meant that it was costing a fortune to feed them all and Lucius didn’t even want to have a conversation with the Treasurer about that. It was towards the bottom of his list.

And just because the kingdom was mourning didn’t mean that injustices weren’t committed. Lucius had seen the look on the Court Master’s face; the man was exhausted from the hundreds of official documents requesting justice from the king. If the Barons couldn’t dissolve a dispute or right a wrong, it went to the Dukes, and if the Dukes couldn’t handle it, it went to the Court Master. Sometimes they made it through to the King, but over 37 days the number of cases he would have to address had grown quite high. 

There was also the possibility of war. That was quite important; although there wasn’t much else to do but let Luther, the advisor of war, make preparations he saw fit while they waited for Temel’s response.

Lucius ran a hand over his weary face. He also, of course, had to spend obligatory time in the Sitting Room. It was a large, wide room on a higher floor in the castle with a balcony overlooking the ocean. As it was still summer, the doors to the balcony were wide open and a warm breeze sent the silk curtains fluttering. There were chairs with rich, velvety curtains and tables that never lacked the finest delicacies. It would have been a peaceful place. 

As it was, the sitting room was where conversations happened. People were continually coming and going throughout the day, and it was especially packed when the king was there. Many people wanted his ear. He had spent hours as a child observing in silence the way his father navigated the waters; as a teen, he began to navigate them himself. 

“Always let them leave thinking they’ve won.” His father’s advice, offered many years ago, still rang true.

The man that currently held his ear was the President of the Merchant’s Guild; he was quite possibly the most powerful man in Valoria besides Lucius himself. His business kept track of all trade from Valorian merchants. His nasally voice and the way he droned one was quite obnoxious, however, regardless of his status. “Of course a war would be quite disastrous, quite, but in the long run… Really, your highness, if we won, which of course we will with the upper hand as we have it, it wouldn’t take long for the guild to enforce itself in Temel. Our membership would… the growth would be phenomenal! So many new members would boost our prices, and, of course, you would receive your fair amount of taxes…” He was nodding to himself, his stubby fingers stroking one of his three chins.

Lucius smiled. “I admire your ability to look on the bright side. Your efforts will truly help us recover from the war, if perhaps there is one.”

“And shall there be one?” The man had a coy smile on his face as he leaned towards Lucius. 

“It is too early to tell, Richard.”

“But of course-” before he could finish ringing Lucius for more information, Kingston appeared.

Kingston, heir and representative of the Callaghan dutchy, was Lucius’ second cousin. Next to Leopold, he was possibly the closest thing to a brother or friend that Lucius had ever had. “Your majesty!” He exclaimed, throwing an arm around his cousin’s shoulders as he squeezed between him and the couch arm. “You can’t believe how delighted I was to find you here; we haven’t caught up in ages.”

For the past two years Kingston had been living at the castle, so he was definitely exaggerating. 

Lucius sighed, which Kingston took as a queue to keep chattering. “I have been quite desperate, so it was only fair of me to cut in line.” He gestured vaguely to the room full of several irritated men who had been waiting their turn. “And, anyways, you are looking quite peachy today. How long have you been sitting down? Come on, out onto the balcony with you, get some sun on your face.” 

There wasn’t even a chance to argue with the way Kingston grabbed his hand and drug him across the room. It was quite nice to walk around, Lucius had to admit, and he could see where the land met the sea in what he knew were jarring cliffs. But it was also quieter. He leaned towards his cousin and offered a crooked smile. “What, exactly, do you need from me, Kingston?” 

“Just because you’re king now doesn’t mean I don’t want to see dear Lucius for dear Lucius’ sake!” He laughed loudly, obnoxiously, so the few others outside turned their way with frowns. Then, when they returned to their conversations, he sighed. His whole personality shifted in the span of a few seconds. He was still smiling, and looked like he was ready to laugh any second, but Lucius knew that was only to deter anyone watching. His laughter and joking was also meant to give the illusion that they were having a completely casual conversation. It was his eyes that clued Lucius into his real mood. 

“Lucius, I can’t…” His fake smile faltered for a second. “I can’t have a serious conversation while smiling like an Idiot, that’s what.”

He laughed. “I will admire the view while you speak.”

As Lucius turned to rest his elbows on the ledge, Kingston continued. “Go to war with Temel.” 

His voice had been so quiet that Lucius wasn’t sure he heard him correct. “What?”

“Trust me, Lucius?” 

He tried to steel his features so onlookers wouldn’t ask questions. “Kingston, what did you say?”

Kingston opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak a loud cough drew both of their eyes to the doors. Duke Callaghan was standing nearby, smiling broadly. He took their attention as an opportunity to speak. “Your majesty, I’m sure my son has just delivered the news?”

Lucius turned back to Kingston. His cousin’s expression was suddenly stony, and he held his gaze with pleading eyes. Lucius racked his mind for something he could say that wouldn’t throw Kingston under a horse. “I believe he was about to relay the news, whatsoever it may be.” 

The Duke stared at Kingston. “Well, don’t let me ruin it for you, son.”

Kingston smiled widely and Lucius knew with every bone in his body that it wasn’t real. “I’m to return home.” 

For the third time, he found himself asking, “What?”

“Well, my son obviously has learned much during his time of representing me during court, but both his mother and I feel it is time for him to return home.” Despite saying he didn’t want to ruin it for his son, the Duke had no such qualms now. “I would like to continue training him to be my heir and successor.” 

Kingston nodded sharply. His eyes were still locked onto Lucius’ own, relaying a silent message. It was time to act. Lucius smiled warmly and grasped the hand of his cousin. “It has been a delight working with you. I will miss you while you are gone, but my excitement for this new development will make the distance bearable.” Then he turned to the Duke and shook his hand as well. “You may be able to retire early with an heir as capable as yours!” 

The man chuckled. “Your blessing is an encouragement to me, your majesty. I am afraid Kingston and I have some immediate business to attend to, but we shall see you at the ceremony before we leave.” 

“Certainly,” Lucius agreed. Kingston, looking rather subdued, left abruptly with his father.

The whole interaction left Lucius reeling, and by the time he was able to escape the Sitting Room, he wasn’t sure what Kingston had said at all.

---

I had my sister read a little bit of my writing, and she told me she was obsessed with Lucius already. She didn't have good reasons why, however... (He's HOT she says ;-;) so tell me! What do you think of Lucius so far? 

And, how do you like this scene? Kingston? (he is my absolute fave hehe.)

Thanks sooo much for reading, and for offering some input to sillly ol me!

Ah, good part like always!  I think I like Lucius because despite his status of king he still treats each person kindly and never acts like he's better than everyone.  He is really very human, doughting himself and his decisions which is something I -- and most others too, I believe -- can relate to.  He does seem to have no idea what he is doing, just trying things out and hoping they're logical and thhey work.  Sometimes I want to help him; "no,no.  Don't do that, Lucius!  Do this.  It's obvious, can't you see?"  But then I remember I have an advvantage and if I was in his place with only the information he has I would probably not be doing any better.

Amazing protrait of Lucius! It's not exactly how I imagined him and I don't know why I also thought he was blond.  But it's a really good portrait.  I love the details.