Will of a Prince

"My king! I bring urgent news from the civilians! There are rumors going around about you imprisoning the former rulers of this kingdom! They are all calling you a murderer and demanding your immediate departure!"

King Leo had just finished devouring a meal meant for three whole people. His stomach, as well as most of his other body, was plump and round like a marshmallow. After wiping his greasy face with his sleeve, Leo rolled off his chair and stood up.

"Who dares defy the king of Iron Kingdom?! Execute those who are rebelling!"

"But sir... it’s everyone."

"...everyone, you say?"

"I think you should come and look for yourself, your majesty. The guards are doing the best they can to fend them off. They are all crowded on the palace steps!"

After a loud burp, Leo brushed off some crumbs that remained on his stomach, and he waddled out towards the main palace door. He stood in front of the large doors.

"Well? Aren’t one of you simpletons going to open the door for me?"

"...right away sir! Sorry!"

Two guards quickly walked in front of him and opened the door, allowing his larger body to squeeze through the small opening made. As he walked out, large roars erupted from the massive crowd herded in front of the kingdom. Multiple words and insults were thrown his way as he presented himself to his people.

"You bastard! How could you kill the man who saved us from an army of duplicates?!"

"Look how plump he’s gotten! We should call him King Fatasss from now on!"

"Yah get that pig some mud!"

People started throwing silverware and rotten food at Leo and his guards. Leo raised his hand to address the crowd.

"Silence!"

Out of curiosity for what the king had to say, the crowd slowly quieted down.

"It has come to my attention that some people are spreading some nasty rumors about me behind my back. I have come here today to tell you that no such rumors are true! I would never imprison my own nephew or any of those who fought valiantly in the recent battle! In fact, such heros should be honored! It was such a shame that they all died in the battle against the former corrupted Crimson King."

"You’re full of shit, King Fatass! They all talked to us farmers directly!"

"Yah! They told us all the nasty things you did to them while they were in binds!"

The king stared down at the farmers expressing their point of view.

"EXECUTE THOSE TWO FOR TREASON! THEY ARE SPREADING LIES!!"

The crowd erupted into more chaos as some guards tried to seize the farmers.

"We’re telling the truth! Ask any of the farmers!"

"They are all alive! And I bet they’re coming back to kill your sorry ass once they get enough help!"

"You’re the worst king ever!"

"You suck! Give us back the Crimson King!"

"I bet he also had a part to play in overthrowing the king as well! I bet he just wanted the throne himself so he could stuff himself and be a lazy bum all day long!"

"Everyone, boo him!"

"BOO!!"

"BOO!!"

Thousands of upset people started booing Leo while more rotten food and objects flew at him and his guard. Leo raised his arms to shield himself.

"You damn peasants! You’ll all pay for this!"

Leo started picking up rotten food and throwing it back at the crowd, which seemed to upset them more. After only a few throws, Leo was profusely sweating and needed to catch his breath.

"Look at him! He’s out of breath from just a few throws!! He’s pathetic!"

"I stopped because I wanted to, you ape!"

One of the guards ran over to Leo and screamed at him.

"Sir, they are breaking our formation! You need to do something to get the crowd under control!"

"Fine! I got it under control!"

Leo raised his hands again.

"Alright, alright! You all win!"

After hearing his words, the crowd settled once more.

"I didn’t want to have to do this, but it seems like I have no choice. I’ll lower all your taxes by two percent!"

The crowd still stared at him incredulously. Even the guards looked tired of the ridiculous notions coming from their superior.

"Wait! That’s not all! I’ll give everyone my autograph! Signed by me personally!"

The crowd erupted into anger once more

The guard next to him sighed heavily.

"We’re all doomed..."

Suddenly, a loud boom rang through the sky, causing the king himself to flinch at the noise. Looking behind him shakily, Leo saw the general walking towards him slowly. Leo quickly got on one knee and started panting.

"Oh! General! I uh- I didn’t expect you to visit today! As you can see, we just had a small scuffle in our kingdom, but nothing I couldn’t handle! I was just about to-"

"Shut it."

Leo shut his mouth and stared at the ground, refusing to meet the generals intimidating gaze. He slowly bent over and whispered into Leo’s ear.

"You brought this on yourself. This is the only way to save this kingdom. I’m sorry, Leo." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Pardon me, sir. What are you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a massive kick was sent into his stomach, sending Leo flying into the crowd below in a bloodied mess. The crowd cleared around him as he landed in the stone pavement. The general slowly walked down the steps towards Leo. Blood was dripping out of his mouth and nose. His royal robes were stained with dirt and soot. He struggled to breathe and grasped his stomach tightly. He held up a hand as he groveled on the ground in pain.

"Wait! I can... fix this. I can still-"

The general picked him up by the collar of his robes and started repeatedly punching Leo’s face till it was unrecognizable. Even the crowd who wished for the downfall of the king cringed seeing the mess being made by the harsh attacks of the stranger. After a pool of blood was made from the onslaught, the general finally let Leo go and looked around him, rubbing his fists gently.

"I’m terribly sorry about that. I will be your new leader for the time being. As an apology for this event, I will be reducing all of your taxes by half. Please go back to your places of work and pretend these events never happened today."

The crowd all seemed shocked hearing the news.

"He’s reducing our taxes by half?! I can afford a new cart with that kind of money being saved!!"

"Who is this man?! I already love him much better than the other guy!"

Leo still remained hardly conscious, staring up at the general through swollen eyes. With little to no fight left in his soul, Leo passed out on the cold, stone street.