Winter Storms (Male Main Needed!!!) PAFP!!!

The festivities wore on well into the next morning. Egil couldn’t fault his men for wanting to celebrate a little after their quickest victory yet. Never would Egil and his men imagined that things would be so simple. He stood on the balcony staring off into the horizon as the sun came back to them for another day. Stretching he looked down at the piles of ashes were the bodies had been. There was only a few brave souls venturing out of their homes. Smiling to himself Egil enjoyed the absence of the people. Turning he turned as a knock came at his door. “Enter.” He roared before turning back to lean his weight against the railing hearing the door opened behind him. The fair haired Eske appeared slipping through the open door. The man went to stand beside Egil as he peered out. “You called for me?” He asked as Egil chuckled to himself.

“You would have found me even if I hadn’t. Send out scouts and make sure that there aren’t any allies coming to try and retake the capital.” Plunging off of the railing he strode towards the door having his own plans. First he was curious as to how the princess would act after last night. Striding down the hall he had studied the map of the castle and was able to walk through the halls without any trouble. When he arrived at her bed chamber he stalked past the guards pushing the doors open walking inside.

Egil stopped just short of bed studying her slow movements and wincing as well. “And what are you going to do about it if I am? Try to hit me again?” Egil stood close enough to the bed as if taunting her to try and strike him again. Even if she wanted to he doubted she would be able to do much of anything besides hurling insults at him. Looking to the plate of food that sat untouched on her bedside table. Frowning he picked up the apple that had been laid neatly on plate looking it over. “A little bird told me you are refusing to eat or drink a thing even though by now you should be starving.” The King said rather dully his gaze focusing in on her, looking at her as if she were a tiny insect under his foot. “Is your plan of defiance simply to starve yourself to death? I didn’t spare you simply let you wither away to nothing.” With that he looked at the contents of the plate, untouched since first thing in the morning when he’d sent orders to make sure she was fed. Word got back to him not long after that she was in fact refusing. This wouldn’t do.

“You must love my company it seems.” Egil smiled sarcastically as he circled around the bed like a predator circling cornered prey even though the princess wasn’t exactly helpless. Egil still saw her as as nothing more then a mild annoyance that had to be dealt with at the moment.

(I get it, sorry if my posts have been kind of all over the place our WiFi has been out recently)

When she re-emerged he had sat himself down on her bed leaning his back against the bed frame seeming to have made himself comfortable. He only smiled and winked at her seeing just how annoyed she was with him being here. He didn’t make any move when she questioned his reasoning for being there. “I’ll leave when you eat.” He grumbled simply looking up at the painted ceiling that almost made him want to be sick. It was hideously over detailed and decorated, not an inch left untouched. Looking up at it made him miss being back under the open sky at night. “You are disappointing I’ll be honest. I thought you were so determined to help your people and your kingdom. If you were less difficult, I would be willing to let your people go.” Letting his words hang in the air he sprawled himself out on her bed, despite the fact he was still covered in mud and grim from the previous day. Egil was many things, but he might find himself open to making a deal. That was of course if she was willing to stop this little game she was so sure she was winning. If she wanted to keep playing though, he could make things so much worse. “That boy, Edgar was it? He balled when one of my generals took him for his own. Thinks he’ll make a good slave.” His eyes closed lazily although his words were serious. A lot of his generals had taken any good candiates they liked. Pretty young maids or cooks, green boys and old men carted off to be put work mining out any precious metals and ores that the Tora Empire had laid claim to.

Egil opened his eyes again waiting for her response sitting himself up on the bed. He stood up as she finally made her decision, she was giving herself up. Scratching at the coarse beard on his chin he looked down as she dropped to her knees. A smug smirk crossed his face. She had fallen too, just like her people and kingdom. His eyes raked over her again laughing to himself. “At least you tried to fight.” He said in a mocking tone, he said as he put his hand under her chin before stepping away. “Dry your eyes and get up. You’ll follow me.” The King turned himself around his smile still planted firmly on his features. Walking to the doors the guards pulled it open. There were stares of bewilderment as the princess seemed to be following along without any objections. Egil made his way to the Great Hall. The tables had been pulled back against the wall and any signs of what had transpired the night before was scrubbed away. The King strode into the room his generals, standing and talking, laughing to themselves. They stopped when the King came into view bowing before rising back to their feet. They had covered themselves head to toe in Arathem armor and wearing the blood stained caps they had taken from knights they had slain. Even in armor they looked like the conquerors and invaders they were.

Ascending the stairs to the throne he was starting to warm up to it now. “Sit.” He motioned to the Queen’s throne. Leaning back in the throne he claimed as his own he looked to each of the generals. “Kolr, I am taking the boy you claimed last night.” Egil announced it for all to hear. The general in question frowned, but nodded bowing his eyes knowing that one child wasn’t worth dying at the hands of Egil’s fury. The King sighed before listening to reports the men had for him. Most were recounting how many men they had killed. Kolr’s was especially gruesome as he recounted dragging the Queen out of the corner she was cowering in. Egil raised his hand for silence in the middle of Kolr’s recounting. “Good, Kolr bring the boy to me. The rest will take parties to spread word to the towns of Arathem.” Waving them out the generals filed out leaving Egil and the princess alone again. Standing up he grumbled still dislike the uncomfortable seat.

Egil glanced at her briefly as she spoke so quietly it was difficult to make out what she said. Looking briefly at the throne it wasn’t difficult for him to tell that the throne was poorly made. “No he didn’t, I suppose I’ll have to find a carpenter to do the job correctly.” He shook his head in disgust. The Arathem King had been a joke of a king to begin with. He had let this all come on his people without doing more then trying to protect himself and his wife. Egil wasn’t blind to his own flaws, but he wouldn’t abandon a fight to save his own life, that was what he knew for sure. “If the King put no thought into his throne or his people, what did he care about then?” He posed the question to the princess as the doors were pulled open and General Kolr stepped himself back through the doors pushing the boy in front of him. Egil frowned as he saw the large dark bruise on the child’s cheek, but said nothing and nodded to Kolr as he exited the room. Stepping down from the raised thrones he narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy. Stepping closer to the boy he stood towering over him still wearing the same frown still. “You know where is family is I assume.” He snapped his head around to look at the princess. “Take him back to them and then come to my room.” It was a simple and direct order without him bothering to give any room for arguements.

Striding out of the room he went to his room standing on the balcony to look down into the expansive courtyard where many of his army had set up their tents. Some had taken over familiy’s homes. Scratching his chin in thought he continued to scan through the rows of tents . He was looking for something and he didn’t seem satisfied until he had located what he was looking for. Walking along he frowned knowing things would have to change before it turned into a powder keg. Leaning on the railing he yawned to himself.

Egil could see for miles in either direction, so he watched as the princess returned before getting roughly apprehended by his men standing guard outside. Sighing loudly to himself he didn’t like the fact they let her leave without confronting her, but stop her when she came back again. Rolling his eyes at the stupidity he waited stepping back inside the room. He still hated everything about it, it was too elaborate and ornate. Still, he didn’t plan on staying longer then a few weeks maybe a month before he regrouped most of his forces and went to conquer another kingdom. When she came in the room he spared her the slightest glance before turning his back to her. His trunks and poccessions had slowly started to appear around the room as he made it his own. “I’m glad I didn’t have to send men out after you.” He commented briefly glancing over his shoulder to her before pulling open a chest. From it he drew the sword that the princess had been swinging around in defense of her people. Holding it up to the light he examined it with a shake of his head. “I’ve seen untrained boys with better swords then this. I’m surprised you were able to bring down three men with this.” His words were scornful and blunt. Egil found the girl an odd case and was the slightest bit intriqued by her actions. “You might have been some kind of threat if your sword hadn’t been completely terrible.” Rolling his eyes he set the sword down on the vanity. Egil looked at her for several moments, testing her reaction. “Fool’s courage is what I would call it. Who taught you how to wield a sword to begin with? I would think they would have taught you to know your limits.” The King gave her a taunting smile.

The King chuckled to himself not having a hard time believing she was self taught. “I would say you failed miserably on both fronts didn’t you? You couldn’t defend the kingdom or yourself.” Egil pointed out watching her haphazardly swing the sword. “I suppose the effort was commendable at least.” He picked up the sword to place it back in the chest before following her to the balcony looking out again. The King looked down at the rows and rows of tents. “You have no business near a battlefield, but you do help curb my boredom at least.” He admitted, his fickle nature made it almost impossible for him to stand being in a fixed location for too long. “We’ll leave at the end of this month. Eske will stay and try and stabilize things here enough that it could become a functioning state again. Plop in a loyal man as a governing body and then move on to the next kingdom.” He would simply take her with him on to his next conquest whatever it was. Egil peered up at the sun high the sky. “Wouldn’t you like the be there to witness history in the making?” The Tora Empire’s expansion was something that no one could ignore now. Egil was clearly quite proud of his accomplishments thus far. “Lucky you.” He said in a rather sarcastic tone stepping closer to her to peer out towards the horizon.

He rolled his eyes at her descriptions of her parents. They had been a byproduct of an era that needed to die. Kings couldn’t be cowardly and teaching half the population to be demure and complacent were both terrible things in his mind. Quirking a brow at her question he was a bit knocked off guard before quickly wiping the look from his face. “There is no one who can compare. I have accomplished so much more then most men can boast in their whole lifetimes.” He insisted scratching at his beard. He’d been asked a few times in his life before what made him the way he was now, although before now most of them had hurled out enough insults along with them that he got angry and simply killed them. “Where I was born it does not allow for softness and weakness. Groups fighting constantly, grabbing at slivers of power. I forced them back together, gave them a purpose beyond bickering amongst each other.” Leaning forwards he seemed to grow a bit more serious now. Shaking his head he came back to reality. “Those days are gone now. I’ve clawed and scraped my way to the title of King.” Standing where he was meant climbing on the backs of most everyone else in his life. Now that he had risen himself up so high there was no one who could stand with him, especially the kings like her father who sat in their castles and let others fight their battles.

Egil stayed silent only nodding as she spoke. He would admit that she might make a better ruler then her father had been. At least she had the sense to try and challenge his approach. “I suppose you didn’t inherit your father’s total incompetence.” He said not caring if his tone came off as harsh or blunt in any wayl. There might be some activity from his men, but otherwise the castle would be much quieter now that the real work had begun. Egil stepped away from the balcony himself. He would be just as easy for him to merely laugh in her face, but he felt slight incentive to take her seriously. “They will taken care of.” Was all he said before she exited the room. Once she was gone he yawned and slipped off the plain cotton shirt he had been wearing. Looking down at the shirt he supposed he couldn’t even dress much like a king. As he walked past the night stand he cast the rest of the king’s remaining scrolls into the fire to watch them in silence. There was still a lot that needed to be done. He pondered briefly just what should be done with his little princess. Leaning against the hearth he blinked as the door opened and Eske stepped in scrolls piled high in his arms.

Now that the carnage had been dealt with the really work began. Egil gave up a deal of his power to Eske when it came time to start rebuilding what they had destroyed. The most pressing matter was what to be done with the large amount of men, the hundreds left that hadn’t gone with his generals, and what should be done about the locals. They needed to either be integrated or used. Sitting down with a heavy grunt in a chair by the fireplace he let Eske give out his own ideas. Bring in Tora merchants and try to stimulate the kingdom’s wealthy so it would not be a loss overall. Egil only nodded looking into the flames of the fire, something else preoccupying his mind. “Egil.” He snapped his fingers trying to draw the King out of whatever state he was in. Egil did not budge from looking into the fireplace. He’d been insulted and demeaned so often it hardly effected him anymore, but he could not shake the thoughts of the princess who continued to do whatever necessary simply for her people.

“I hear you, Eske.” The man grumbled tapping the arm of his chair in thought. “Tomorrow evict any squatters from the commoner’s homes. If their quarters are not to their liking they can bring the complaint to me.” Egil became very serious shifting his attention towards his confidant. Eske slowly nodded his head silent for a few moment. “Anything else?” Eske asked clearly hoping for endorsement on his proposals. “I want you to consult with the princess, she knows her people much better then either of us.” Frowning Eske’s jaw almost dropped open before he stood himself up bowing before leaving quickly.