Homelands
Chapter Twenty Seven: Between Kings and Paupers
Part 4
Prelude:
Karnak finally died on May 2nd, 1277 after a long bought of pneumonia brought on by his condition. He never relinquished the crown, serving nominally as the King of Prussia until his last breath. He was also the first King of Prussia to not die in Máreængrád, he passed away in the palace at Mæmálgrád, where he had lied for so many years. Kiten, despite being heirless, was crowned King a few weeks later without any dissent from the nobles. His reign was very quiet for the first several years, mostly made up of reforms to undo the events of the Regency and his father's own attempts to appease a nobility far more powerful than necessary. But Kiten's reign would eventually turn into one of war and expansion, a great time for Prussia that would eventually bring the Golden Century and for a short time, bolster the line between Christianity and Islam. However, Kiten was not an unsympathetic ruler. He was very careful to skirt the usage of the word "Crusade" when dealing with the Muslims, he had a great deal of respect for the command that the Caliph yielded and for the artistry and technology that the Arabs had at their disposal. When Kiten's reign eventually ended his realm stretched from the Urals to the Alps, from the White Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. But the feature that would most define Kiten's reign after his death was the tend to centralization. Under Kiten and his successors, there was only one true authority in Prussia: the King.
The portrait of King Kiten, redone in the XV Century.
October 11th, 1277
It was the Feast of the Founding, a national holiday in Prussia that corresponded to the Feast of St. Stephen. Most of the Royal family gathered in the Fall Palace in Kiev to celebrate the founding of the Kingdom and the restoration of their dynasty. Kiten and his wife, Rasa, were the centers of attention. It was the hope of many that Kiten would lead Prussia out of the recent stagnation and into a great promised land. Many nobles circled Kiten and asked him his plans, his ideas, and his thoughts on recent events and what it mean for Prussia. The King tried to keep everyone happy without letting slip too much.
"I have heard that the Narva dynasty in Mordvia is weakening, it seems that a new dynasty will rise in its place very soon! Maybe even within our lifetimes," one nobles said to Kiten.
"I have heard it as well, and I know of the other dynasty: the Wolgasts. I feel that we can use this to our advantage, maybe convert their whole lot of them to Christianity! We can certainly use the support," Kiten replied. The people around him nodded, they were buying into what amounted to little more than a rehearsed play. Kiten knew that he had to make an impression here or face the wrath of unhappy, jealous nobles.
Eventually the King was able to meet back up with Rasa, who had been hounded by many of the women of court. He found her hiding, as it were, from the prying eyes and mouths of the upper echelons of society. "Argh, what is wrong with these people?" Rasa asked.
"They enjoy the change of secrets, of forbidden knowledge... it is all they have these days. The no longer command armies, they hardly have to deal with their provinces... they sit around, drink wine, sex their enemy's spouses, and grow fat."
"Argh, well I hate them all," Rasa said.
"I would normally agree, but the ease of my rule, and therefore the amount I can accomplish while King is all dependent on their getting fatter and drunker. We need to keep them happy," Kiten said, almost regretfully.
"Well... let it be written then! Queen Rasa, Wife of King Kiten, hates her neighbors." It was obvious now to Kiten that she was very drunk, probably as a means of loosening up around the large crowds that she normally avoided.
"If you wish, you may retire to our room, I shall cover you in your absence," Kiten said, smiling.
"And that I shall!" Rasa said. She gave Kiten a kiss before heading out the doors deep into the palace. Kiten chuckled after she was far out of ear shot, crazy woman.
But not five minutes after his wife made leave, Kiten was approached by the wife of the Prince of Ruthenia, "Where did the Queen go? I cannot find her anywhere! She said she would tell us all kinds of stories about you!"
Kiten's eyes widened, but his temper remained level, "I'm sorry, but the Queen was forced to retire. These parties take a lot out of her." He smiled, but it would have been obvious to someone with less drink that his smile was not one of friendliness.
"O drat!" The Princess left in a huff back to a large group of wives. The King sighed and shook his head. Behind him a mirrored gaggle of men huddled around a map of Europe, each an expert with all the answers to the Kingdom's problems. And Kiten soon remembered why he so very much loathed his father's parties. But it would be over soon, he said. The food was running low and the wine was all but gone.
"Your majesty! Your majesty, please come join us! Tell us what you think of this idea!" a Prince called. Kiten rolled his eyes and walked over to the table. "What if we invade the Caliph here in Italy? It would catch them completely off guard!"
"Of course, they are not expecting someone to be a dumb as to invade through the alps into a weak appendage of their Empire!" a dissenting noble said, "We should just invade straight through Germany! And take Germany while we are at it!"
"Bah to the both of you! We need to build a massive wall stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic! And then keep it heavily manned. We have our side, they have their side!" The Princes and nobles descended back into bickering and arguing. Their egos could hardly fit into a palace designed to be big enough to hold Karnak's ego.
Kiten stepped back and folded his arms, waiting for them to finish. But they didn't finish. Instead, one by one the wives would sloppily hobble over to the fist fight and drag out the one that belonged to them. So by the end of the hour the fight was down to two unmarried Princes debating whether the best looking women came from Estonia or Poland. And with that, Kiten left the Ball Room, content that the day was over.
Back in his room he found Rasa asleep, naked on the bed, only partially covered by sheets. He couldn't decide whether he liked parties or not. As Prince, they were fun and filled with alcohol and sex. As Regent they were miserable and were mostly just old men yelling at him. As King they were rather dull, mostly just the same old men sucking up to him. His wife rolled over, exposing more of herself, but also now taking up the entire bed. Kiten bit his lip to keep from laughing. Instead his gently nudged her until he had room and he too went to sleep, seeking the relief of morning.
I feel so sad for the poor old man.
