King Him, Not Me
Chapter 2

The early morning sun shines on the windows of the inn, curtains preventing them from getting in. A maid huffs before opening them, “Wake up, Mr. Traveler,” she turns to the bed as she hears the person hiss, “don’t you have a competition to get to?”

“Not really,” he slowly sits up, “and my name is Winston.”

“Well, Winston, the competitors are supposed to meet the new council at the castle.”

“How come you know where the meeting spot is?”

The maid walks towards the door, “My sister’s planning on becoming queen. Now, you’d better hurry along if you don’t want to be later than you already are.”

~

“Sir Morgan,” the butler lifts his hand, “one more has shown up.”

Everyone looks to the large arched door as Winston walks through it, his eyes darting around the room. Male and female, Elven and Centaurs, different heights and weights and skin and hair.

“Join us,” Morgan says calmly, the young man nodding before joining the crowd. He knows this man, Morgan Peace. He’s the head of the rebels that took down the king, he’s also the one who proposed this competition.

His bangs cover his eyes and his armor reveals his muscles, his long sword attached to his back.

There are three others; a Centaur male, an Elven woman, and a Fairy man.

“Everyone in this room has the chance to become the next ruler of Galedon,” he smiles softly, “every one of you has the chance to be the leader this kingdom so desperately needs. I’m sure you all have heard some of the events that will be taking place for this competition, but I’ll say them again.

There are trials and tests that will happen in this competition that can show us your true nature and character. Some of you will rise and some of you will fall, but in the end, only one can be the winner. There will be a test of compassion,” Morgan begins to pace slowly, “a test of strength, a test of leadership, a test of commitment, a test of patience, a test of ‘being the bigger man’, and a test of bravery. Keep in mind,” the wall behind Morgan rises as he stops pacing to reveal trees and different dirt paths, “the path you take won’t have the trials in the order I said them in and you won’t know which test is which. You can have compassion as your first test, but not strength for the next. This is also a way to test out how you can handle unpredictable situations.”

Everyone watches as he slowly disappears in glowing blue particles, “The first fifteen people that make it to the arena will have the chance to compete for the throne. Keep in mind that the council is watching you. There is a creature that will be following each of you and transmitting to the council everything you do. Good luck to you all.”

With that, Morgan disappears. Winston pushes his lips together then looks to the person next to him, blinking. He knows this guy and the personality he bears, Barin Kings. When Winston was little, Barin and his elder brothers would come and buy crops and livestock from him and his aunt. Barin would also come to the farm to play with Winston from time to time.

The shorter’s honestly shocked to see the taller standing here. He’s… not compassionate or a committing kind of guy. Whenever Winston and his aunt traveled to Barin’s village, he’d always see the taller arguing with someone or moving from one woman to the next without hesitation. He’s never once seen him smile or treat anyone kindly.

Barin blinks then looks next to him, his eyes meeting with Winston’s.

“The hell are you doing here, Winnie?”

Winnie’s a nickname Barin came up with for Winston.

The shorter smiles nervously, “I’m forced here against my will. What are you doing here?”

“Becoming king obviously,” the taller states, Winston giving him a disapproving look. He then smirks slyly, “So, how do you feel about being compassionate to someone or helping them? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lift a finger for anyone other than yourself.”

“Shut the fuck up!” the blonde growls, “I’m going to be king.”

“And just how will you do that?” Winston turns his head as he puts his hands on his hips, “You’re the rudest person I’ve ever met, even as a child, you were despicable. You’ll never make it through the commitment or the compassionate trials.”

“And you won’t make it through any of the other ones,” Barin spat with venom, people beginning to make their way towards the paths. Barin and Winston picked the same one.

The shorter sighs, “I don’t plan on it; I don’t want to be king,” his eyes slowly widen, “… but you do! Hey,” he grins then grips Barin’s hands in his own, “how about I teach you how to be compassionate and all that?!”

The taller takes a step back then looks the shorter up and down, “Why should I agree?”

“Because, if you do, I’ll be one less person you’ll have to worry about AND you can get through those tests with ease with my teaching. In return, I want you to protect me.”

“Protect you?”

Winston nods as he moves his hands back, “Yes. So, what do you say?”

Barin thinks for a moment, slowly blinks, then sighs, “Alright, but you better not slow me down.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” the shorter chimes as the two begin to walk, Barin looking around the forest area along the path.

“I didn’t know the tyrant king had all this behind his castle,” he comments. Winston, “I believe the royal garden is on the other side of the castle from here. The king had this grown here for evacuation reasons. There should be a village up ahead.”

“How do you know that?”

“… research,” Winston mumbles, not looking at Barin. The shorter’s lying, the taller knows he is.