[ 02 - CHAPTER TWO ]

― conflicts of the court ―

Orion Atlas did not take to deception lightly. From the moment he'd overheard his father's pleads to the court for a veil of secrecy, his blood had started boiling and his nostrils had begun to flare.

Despite the improper confession he'd already received from Castor, his first instinct had been to blame someone. Someone else had to be at fault for this; he hadn't done anything wrong. He'd even opened his mouth to scold Titania before realizing she hadn't known the true purposes of the meeting, either. His sister's incessant ramblings from before had simply been her own personal assumptions - assumptions that she had no evidence for until now. Orion couldn't blame her for her ignorance.

"Orion?" Titania questioned, her voice hesitant at the sight of her brother's infuriated expression. "You're not going to enter?"

Orion's jaw tightened. "I suppose I should, since this conference seems to be of my unconscious doing."

"What did I tell you, brother? You're in big trouble this time."

The corner of Titania's mouth characteristically rose as she spoke, and the fact that she seemed unfazed was bothersome to Orion. Did she not care that he was about to be reprimanded for something as righteous as furthering the kingdom of Saros? If Titania's assumptions were correct(and Orion had a feeling they were), then he was about to be punished for something as ordinary as acting upon his birthright. It was no unusual thing to yearn for conquest and glory, and it was no more unusual than that to want to satisfy those yearnings. Orion and his siblings had been doing just that their entire lives. Why had his last conquest been any different?

The angered prince lifted his hand to knock twice on the door, his hand steady and strong in its purpose. His knock yielded an immediate response, and the heavy doors were pulled open to reveal the courtroom Orion had known since he was a child.

The entire delegation stood as a sign of respect to the king's children. Their father stood at the head of the table, as was routine for court meetings, and watched the two descendants enter. Titania strode into the room without hesitation, stopping only to curtsy briefly in front of Castor. The moment she took her assigned seat, all eyes in the room turned to Orion.

Any other Sarosian would've shriveled under the weight of dozens of imperial eyes looking at them, but Orion wasn't shaken in the slightest. He'd been under the eye of the public since he'd been born. The expectant gazes of a few old men didn't concern him.

The only gaze he was concerned with was his father's, and that was only because those were the pair of eyes that he was trying to fool. If Castor felt he could keep the court's true intentions hidden from Orion, then Orion would do the same. He would simply give off the appearance that he had no idea what was going on until the time was right to reveal what he'd overheard, and then he'd let his frustrations loose.

His polished boots clicked against the white marble floor as he made his way over to Castor, his chin up and his shoulders held back. Once he found himself in front of the king, he lowered his head, a ceremonial facade that hid his newfound resentment and lack of respect. Orion was slow in his travels to his seat on the right hand side of the king. He wanted to drag out his entrance as long as possible and make the other diplomats squirm.

"Now that everyone is here, we can officially call this meeting to order," Castor announced, his voice as firm and commanding as always. "Lord Typhon, would you do the honors?"

Orion had to restrain from rolling his eyes. Typhon was the oldest of the ancient court members, and his scratchy, droning voice made that painfully obvious. If it wasn't for the simmering anger that was coursing through every part of Orion's body, he probably would have fallen asleep listening to the man read out the dull court processions. Instead, he opted to glance around at every representative that sat around the table. Most of the men either avoided his gaze or made some sort of nervous noise under their breath, causing Orion to smile.

'Good,' he thought. 'If they're going to talk about me during my absence, then they deserve to dwell in their anxiety.'

Titania, on the other hand, was completely unlike the other men. When Orion finally looked her way, she stared directly at him. A grin even donned her face. Orion smirked at her in return. Oftentimes, Titania and Orion's brains ran on the same wavelength. They thought the same way, they walked the same way, and a lot of the time, they behaved the same way. She probably knew that Orion was uncharacteristically planning on causing chaos in the meeting(he usually took court holdings seriously, but this time his intentions were less than honorable), and she was probably looking forward to watching it all unfold.

Cosmo, the youngest of the Atlas children, was at the meeting as well, but he lacked the connection his other siblings did. When Orion's stare fell upon him, Cosmo glared back. He'd probably heard the representatives' discussion before his older brother had entered, and he'd probably agreed with what they had been saying, too. Cosmo had always been a groveler.

The only member of the royal member who was absent from the meeting was the queen: Pandora Atlas. No one was shocked that she didn't show - it was a rare occurrence for her to take her seat among the council. Rather, she often chose to stay in her quarters and avoid all diplomatic affairs. Pandora was a mother and an occasional warrior. She never once felt at home in the courtroom.

Orion tried his best to sit patiently and do his job as Lord Typhon covered the first couple matters of business. He raised his hand when necessary, said "I" when it was called for, and even mustered up a few comments to seem involved. No matter his attempts to remain quiet and act as he normally would, he could only contain his growing fury for so long.

"Next up on the agenda is the matter of scholarly finances," Typhon continued in his monotone way of speaking.

That statement was the last straw for the increasingly agitated prince. "What agenda?" he blurted out.

Every person in the room turned to look at him, faces aghast with either confusion or shock. Typhon even seemed to be confused when he spoke, "Why, Your Highness, the agenda we follow at every court holding, of course. Are you feeling alright, sire?"

"Oh, I'm feeling quite alright, Lord Typhon, but I appreciate your concern," the younger man responded coolly, resting his elbows on the table in front of him as he leaned forward. "However, I'm not referring to the agenda we use at a typical court holding. Rather, I'm referring to the one you're making up right now, as you attempt to stall long enough for my father to speak up about the true purpose of this meeting."

"I'm afraid I don't know - "

"Of course you don't. The thing that gave it away was the subject of scholarly finances. This court signed a contract last year stating exactly how much money we would provide the schools with, and we are not due to renew the contract until one year from now. I had suspicions you were choosing random topics to discuss in order to make this seem like an ordinary meeting, but I believe your mistake has made it quite obvious that you've been bluffing this entire time. Now, are you going to continue wasting my time, or are you going to tell me what this meeting is actually about?"

Typhon's aged and wrinkled face immediately turned to Castor's, presumably looking for help or reassurance of some kind. Castor sighed and rose to his feet.

"Lord Typhon, you may be seated," he ordered gently as he nodded in his servant's direction.

Typhon sunk into his feet, an ashamed expression painted on his face. Orion smirked.

"Son," the king boomed, his eyes turned down to meet Orion's. "Is there a reason you're smiling about all this?"

Orion pushed himself up out of the cold, hard, iron-laced chair he had been seated in. He despised the lowered gaze his father held over him and the air of superiority that came with it, preferring to meet his stare instead.

"Oh, most definitely," he responded. He struggled to maintain his weightless expression as he continued, saying, "I just find it amusing that you were so willing to give me an army of my own, as you did with Titania and Cosmo, and now I stand guilty in your eyes for making good use of that army."

"What you are doing with those soldiers is not making good use of an army," one of the representatives spoke up. Similar to Lord Typhon, this diplomat was older, and therefore carried no respect for the young prince that stood to inherit the throne.

Orion's head snapped to search for the person who had spoken. Once he found who it was, he shouted, "This is not an open discussion!"

Orion had made a point of seeming relaxed and easygoing the entire meeting, but now the pleasant glamour was fading. His teeth were clenched. A wave of rage flooded his eardrums, creating a deafening ringing noise that was impossible to escape. He was quickly growing more and more furious - not just at the fact that he had been deceived, but also because everyone in the courtroom other than Titania seemed to be against him.

"Orion, calm down. Lord Cronus can speak if he wishes. Contrary to your opinions, court holdings are always run as an open discussion, and this one will not be any different," Castor reprimanded.

With the king's permission, Cronus stood to face the rest of the court members, the fiery look in his eyes bold enough to match the fire in Orion's. He cleared his throat once, and suddenly it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Orion hated it.

Cronus opened his mouth and began to read off a list of formal complaints about the cruel prince. "Many years ago, on his twentieth birthday, Prince Orion Rigel Atlas was trusted with the task of raising an army of his own. At the time, he had shown exemplary skill in the arts of war, and had risen through the ranks of Saros' army under the command of King Castor. Time progressed. Over the past two years, we've seen a vast and concerning change in Orion's training tactics. He has become more brutal with his soldiers, has often inflicted cruel and unnecessary punishment upon them, and has frequently took his army on ventures of violent acquisition."

There was a hushed pause throughout the dimly lit room. No person dared look at Orion for fear that the simmering heat of his anger would reach them. When seemingly endless seconds passed and no one said a word, Lord Cronus's eyebrows drew together as he finished his planned speech, saying, "Based upon these accusations and many more similar charges, the court suggests immediate probationary referrals to be placed on Orion, and we request further disciplinary actions to be decided upon in the future."

◈◈◈

Orion was unmoving in a mindless daze. From the moment Lord Cronus had given the court's order to be approved by the king, the presiding members had exploded into a cacophony of conversation. Their chatter was ceaseless, their lips persistent in making their thoughts known.

Orion's hands rested on the table in front of him, the only thing holding up his body weight. It had been minutes since Castor had allowed the council to explode into dozens of differing opinions, and the entire time Orion had been glaring at the man who had spoken his damning sentence.

All different types of words pounded against his eardrums, but only a few leaked through his haze of consciousness. Despite the many voices that felt they had something important to say, it was obvious from the few opinions Orion comprehended that most of the committee was in agreeance with Cronus' words. They all thought he was a menace to the throne of Saros. They believed he shouldn't have been trusted with his army in the first place, and some even thought Orion should be severely punished for the "cruelties against mankind" that he had committed. It was almost a relief when Castor called the court to a quiet. Almost.

"Like I've stated before," he spoke, trying to calm down the irritated group of people that sat in front of him, "I understand what you all are saying. However, that does not mean we can diversify into a raucous noise such as this."

Orion snapped out of his stupor for the purpose of defending himself. "This is absolutely outrageous. I haven't done a single thing wrong! Conquest and glory is instilled in our minds from the day we're born on this planet, and now you all are condemning me for chasing after those ideals! Does that sound right to you?"

"Watch your mouth, son. Don't even dare say what you have done is the Saros way, because it most definitely is not. You are out of line. You're dangerous and are committing horrendous acts against the very men that entrusted their lives to you! When you tried to acquire the capital of Pyxis last week, an entire quarter of your legion perished! How is any of this justifiable?"

The ferocity in Orion's voice lessened to where it sounded like he was speaking to a small child rather than a grown man. "I am furthering the kingdom, father, and - "

"Enough!" Castor roared, successfully cutting off Orion's line of speech. When he next spoke, his voice was quieter and much deadlier, as he had been driven to the point of seething anger as well. "The only kingdom you're furthering here is your own."

Orion's chatter ceased. Castor had successfully put him in his place, and he was fuming. How dare his father humiliate him for how he put his military to use? He wanted to run. He wanted to rage across the palace he'd spent his entire life in, shouting and making a fuss about the false injustices he was being tied to. The alabaster walls of the cold courtroom had never seemed as confining as they had in that moment.

"I've given you much freedom as a general, Orion," his father spoke. "I've tried to trust your wisdom in battle and your skill in war strategy. But the things you have done to your soldiers of late...this is all going too far. You must understand that."

The lines of Orion's face formed a pensive frown. He tried to recall what he'd done that had angered the court so greatly...and came up with nothing. He'd done nothing out of the ordinary. Years ago, he'd been given full control over a small army of his own, and he'd raised and instructed that army in a way he thought was right. His attempts were reaping excellent consequences, too, and he didn't understand why he stingy court members couldn't understand that. His army was the greatest Sarosian army in generations past. What was so wrong with that?

Orion's voice was fierce when he responded next. "I don't understand that. In fact, I don't understand the reasoning behind a single one of the complaints that have been thrown at me thus far. This entire meeting had been ridiculous, and now I'm calling it to a close."

The prince turned sharply and stormed out of the hall of representatives, not bothering to look back to see if anyone was going to try and stop him. The room he fled was silent for a few moments, as the remainder of people were probably wondering why their king had let Orion simply walk out without having to face certain consequences. It was only when Titania stood to follow her brother that Lord Cronus spoke, "Your Majesty? You're not going to order any punishment against him?"

The king took a deep breath, contemplating over what he should tell his loyal adviser and friend. He knew what they wanted. They wanted justice for every single person Orion had wronged in his reign as acting general for a small army. Despite the advice of his many companions, he couldn't help but wonder if their collective plan of action was the best one to follow.

"No, Lord Cronus, I am not," King Castor finally announced. "I'm not going to move to stop Orion's path of destruction. He won't learn that way. The only way to stop this chaos, once and for all, is to let him lose his soldiers. All of them. Then, and only then, will he learn the consequence of his actions."

"And how will he lose them?"

"You shall see. He will lash out sooner or later, and we'll be there to ensure his downfall."

◈◈◈

"Orion!"

The curly-haired man halted, waiting for his sister to catch up with him. "What is it, Titania?" he snapped. Orion wasn't angry with his sibling at all, but the way he spoke made it seem like he was. The tone he was speaking with was still dripping with the loathing and fury that was left over from the courtroom discussion, his eyes still ablaze with the ferocious flame of extreme vexation.

"That was a lovely show you put on back there."

Orion didn't feel obliged to return the smirk she was offering. "I'm glad you think so."

In truth, Orion's quick-tempered responses hadn't been a show at all, but merely his raw reaction to what had been going on. He'd expected some backlash when he'd walked in, of course. He just hadn't expected to be wrongly accused of torturing his soldiers.

"Where are you headed?" Titania asked, trailing along behind her older sibling. Even in her heeled boots, she kept up with his quick pace.

"To my office," Orion answered. "I'm going to show father and his minions how conquest is really done." A devious grin crept onto his face. "Would you like to join?"

Titania made a quiet, gleeful humming noise before replying. "A chance to show the court what brutes they are? To shove their austere regulations right back at them? You don't have to ask twice."

Author's Note:

I feel like this chapter was somewhat boring in comparison to the last one and the ones to come, but it was definitely necessary in the grand scheme of things. The things that happened in this chapter, along with many of the words that were exchanged, are the catalyst for what's to come(and for Orion's eventual fall from glory). Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it!

(Also, did you guys see the gif at the top of this chapter?? Is it possible to swoon over an OC, or do I need to set myself straight while I still can?)