Joshua’s heart broke for the hundredth time as he reflected on the happenings of the last 6 months. Not only had his subjects rebelled against him under the direction of the Eastern foreigner, but his beloved wife had been hiding an affair for 4 months before openly leaving Joshua to stand behind the man who seemed to take everything from him.
He couldn’t understand how she could leave him, and worse yet, he couldn’t hate her; he loved her too much. Many in his kingdom had been reluctant to follow the man from the East, but when the princess came out as his mistress, they began to question if Joshua was actually as good as they thought he was. If his own wife chose this Eastern man over him, how good could he really be? It was then that Joshua truly lost it all and in the last two months the rebellion had grown from a smoldering ember to a raging blaze. Joshua was not a coward, but he was patient and he waited for correspondence from his father, the King, before quenching the rebellion. He wanted to be sure to act in accordance with his father’s wishes. When word came, Joshua was swift to act and he rallied his loyal soldiers to march against the very people they were sworn to protect.

The day was hot and arid. The once green meadows had dried up and seemed to scream for rain that refused to fall. For the last 5 months, there had been no rain in the entire valley and the crops slowly withered, the grasses died, the river ran dry. The last thing Joshua wanted to do was water the thirsty earth with the blood of his deceived subjects. He knew that though they were in rebellion, they had been deceived into it and led astray by their naivety and the smooth talk of the Eastern imposter. Joshua was no fool, he knew that the true enemy was not the people, but the one who had lied to them and drawn them away after empty promises. He had one target; the man from the East. As his loyal soldiers flanked his side and marched with him to meet the oncoming army of villagers and eastern assassins, they had strict orders to only engage those from the Eastern lands and to spare their neighbors and subjects in the hopes that when their new leader was vanquished they would accept Joshua’s mercy and turn back from the misled rebellion of their ways.
Tears streamed down his face as he paused at the top of the hill, watching his beloved people rush toward him with swords drawn.
Let my tears water this ground rather than their blood. He thought, nonetheless, he knew what was necessary and he narrowed his gaze at his enemy, took a deep breath, and charged into the fray

A fierce battle ensued, but Joshua and his men were swift in their victory. As his blade flashed in righteous judgment against the dark soldiers of the east, his subjects recoiled and drew back. They could see the care on his face and the shimmer of tears down his cheeks as he roared into the fight. This was their leader. This man had led them into battle countless times and fought for their safety and well-being. This man had always shown them kindness and justice when they came to him with their disputes. This man had proven himself a worthy prince and king.
In the light of day and the heat of battle, they could see the truth in the gray hair peeking out from his helmet and the wearied lines on his face; their prince was mourning over their rebellion. As they watched, they saw that he never used lethal force against his subjects who engaged him, but he pursued the eastern mercenaries only.
One by one his rebellious subjects realized the mistake they had made and turned against the eastern armies they had marched out with. One by one his rebellious subjects began to rally behind their valiant prince and mingle their tears of regret with his tears of sorrow. One by one their enemies began to flee before Joshua’s restored forces and not one was left standing by the time the sun was at its highest point.
When Joshua vanquished the last foe he looked up to see his people gathering around him, dropping their weapons as they drew near. Many were weeping as they fell at his feet and professed their remorse and confessed their guilt. They had chosen wrong and they knew that and they begged for mercy. Tears continued to stream down Joshua’s face, but no longer tears of sorrow. Tears of joy flowed freely as relief swept through his soul, but upon surveying his surroundings, Joshua found that one was missing among the dead and one among the repentant; the Eastern leader and Joshua’s wayward bride.

As the first rays of morning lightened the sky and chased the stars away, the princess looked out to the Meadowlands where the battle would ensue. She was nervous. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that had plagued her for the past 6 months. 

When she first took Lucian’s hand and followed him into the shadowy corridor all she had felt was exhilaration and when he kissed her, her lips tingled with an electricity she hadn’t experienced for a long time. The thrill and excitement of a secret lover chased her blues away, but every time she thought about Joshua an unshakeable guilt shrouded her pleasure. When she was with Lucian, she could think of nothing else and she reveled in the adventure of it all. She told herself that she was setting herself free from the confines of her royal life, but deep down she knew that she couldn’t continue doing this to Joshua. He could tell that she was even more distant and he often asked her where she disappeared to in the middle of the day, but she always shrugged it off and said that she had taken a fancy for reading. She felt like she was walking on broken glass around him, trying to hide her secret, trying to keep the truth from him, trying to tell herself that she was justified in what she was doing. The only release she found was in her escapes with her lover. Only with him could she forget about what she was doing to Joshua. Lucian would listen to her and encourage her that she was doing the right thing by being with him, he told her that he loved her and would say things like, “I thought you loved me, you know we are right for each other. This fits. Don’t you like the way I make you feel?” and then he would seal it with a kiss that made her knees give out and the hair on the back of her neck stand straight. The moments with him were the only bliss in her life. When she was around Joshua she felt sick with guilt and couldn’t wait to get away from him, she couldn’t look him in the eye, couldn’t speak to him without frantically searching for words and finding none.  

For months Lucian told her about his plans for the kingdom and how he wanted to give the people what they really wanted. He told her how Joshua was holding the people back from true greatness because he wanted it all for himself. At first, she just laughed it off; she knew Joshua and that just wasn’t like him, but the longer she spent time with Lucian, the less she believed that Joshua really was as good as she had always believed. Whenever she was with Joshua it seemed he looked at her differently, with… she didn’t know, but something that proved that everything Lucian said was right. 

One afternoon she was with Lucian and he got that far off gleam in his eye as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. His arms were strong but without the gentleness of Joshua’s. That’s just because Joshua’s weak she told herself. Lucian kissed her and whispered, “come away with me.“

“I am away with you,” she said.

“No, I mean leave him. Come be mine. Stand by my side and together we will take the kingdom and set the people free.” His voice was low as he continued, “You know better than any of them that his reign is really just a prison. Let me set you free and then help me set the rest of them free.”

That word hung in the air, F R E E. She so longed to be set free! Ever since she started seeing Lucian she felt even more suffocated with Joshua…maybe it was time to break free from him. The thought seemed to slither through her brain and settle in her heart. 

“Okay,” she whispered under her breath. “When?“

“Tonight,” he said with an eagerness that almost startled her. She looked up into his eyes and saw a glimmer in them that made her uneasy. “I don’t know,” she began to say as she nervously bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t you love me?” he asked.

“Yes..“

“Then this will be easy. Just slip away with me…”

That day was two months ago and the rebellion had really blossomed to life when Lucian publically announced their relationship. “If even his wife would rather be with Lucian, why should we be loyal to him any longer?“

“He didn’t take care of his own wife properly, what makes us think he’s really taking care of us?”

“Lucian’s right, Joshua isn’t giving us what we deserve. Even his wife doesn’t get the treatment she needs to be happy with him.”

The rebellion that had bubbled beneath the surface for so long now boiled over and for the past two months Lucian had been leading the people as Joshua waited in his castle. It had seemed that Joshua was too weak to respond, that he was just going to cower behind his stone parapets, but today the trumpets had sounded, the gates had been opened, and Joshua rode forth with the morning light to welcome the challenge that had been levied against him. 
As the princess looked out and watched Joshua’s forces advance, she felt a cold touch on her arm. “Don’t worry,” Lucian said. “He’ll be crushed by breakfast and you’ll finally be free of him forever.”
“Hmm. Free…” she said, as she sank back into Lucian’s arms. Her head believed it, but the pit in her stomach seemed to tell her otherwise. 

—

The princess sat nervously in the corner as Lucian frantically packed his belongings and prepared to flee. The battle had been fought and lost, the victory belonged to Joshua and Lucian was trying to scuttle back to the recesses of the East from whence he came before Joshua found him out and killed him or worse. “Where are we going?” the princess asked tensely.

“We? What makes you think we are going anywhere? I am leaving before Joshua finds us.“

“You’re leaving me to answer to him??” she asked in disbelief. 

“I can’t take you with me! I would never get away fast enough if I had to drag you along behind.“

“But I thought…”

“Well, you thought wrong!” Lucian yelled, rising to his full size and standing over her. “Your precious little prince destroyed my armies and is coming for me now! I don’t need you anymore. I have to get away from here!”

The princess tried to suppress her sobs as Lucian ran to the window to survey the surrounding streets. As the hordes drew near Lucian slipped out of the back door and left the princess in a crumpled mess of fear and regret.
It took a few moments for the princess to gather her wits enough to realize that she couldn’t stay there. Joshua and his men were coming and she needed to escape. She tried to gather her things, but the hot tears streaming down her face and blurring her vision made it near impossible for her to accomplish much of anything. She heard the horses outside and the shouts of men in the streets. It was only a matter of seconds now before she would be apprehended if she didn’t run now. She abandoned her things, looked at the front door and ran toward the back door to escape the same way Lucian had just minutes before. Still watching the front door where she heard footsteps now, she reached the back door and ran into something hard. A short scream of alarm escaped her lips as she was clasped in a firm embrace and upon looking up, the final sight she beheld was Joshua’s blood-spattered and tear stained face before all went black.

—-
Part 3 to come out next week!