Hide and Seek

Arik stood in his bedchamber trying to gather his scrambled thoughts and focus his mind. Today was a day that he had never thought would happen. Had never wanted to happen - certainly not in these circumstances. He sighed and dragged his hand down his face in weary resignation. It would be dawn soon and Hassan would be coming in to help him to get dressed, get prepared to start out on this new, unforeseen chapter in his life.

He crossed over to the window and looked out into the night, his eyes not seeing the moonlit courtyard, normally bustling with people but empty at night. His mind travelled back to when his life had been normal, filled with a routine that he had created over the years and that had been ended just seven days ago. Seven days, one week, an eternity it seemed.

Seven days ago he had been in his office, drinking coffee whilst he looked over the financial reports for his latest development in the city. It was something that he did every day before going to one of the many meetings that filled his day. As always, the television was on the news channel, the volume low so as not too intrude too much on his reading but still be loud enough for him to hear any news stories that could affect his construction company.

"News just in, a bomb has exploded in the capital of Shadir. Initial reports indicate that the King and the Prince have been injured possibly killed."

The coffee cup clattered to the floor as he crossed the room, the reports lying forgotten on his desk as he scanned the news channels for further reports of the bombing. His heart felt as though it was breaking as more news reports revealed the devastation sweeping through the capital. A large bomb had gone off in the municipal offices as the King and his son had arrived to hear the public court that took place each week. Fifteen people had been killed with at least fifty injured, some seriously. The King and his son had been killed instantly in the explosion. The king and his son, his father and his brother.

A knock sounded at his bedroom door, interrupting his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he pulled the belt on his robe tighter and crossed silently to the door. It was too early for Hassan and he wondered who would be up so early.

He opened the door to reveal a small, elderly woman wrapped in a fleecy dressing gown covered with little, white sheep.

"Grandmother, what are you doing here?" he asked as he opened the door further to allow her into the large room.

Her black eyes met his as she entered the room, seeing the dark shadows beneath his dark eyes, the paleness of his strained features. "I knew that you would be awake so I thought I would come and see you before the chaos of today started." She slowly sank down onto a velvet covered sofa and stared at her grandson. "How are you?"

"Fine," Arik replied, closing the door and crossing over to the bed.

The old lady said nothing but her eyes saw everything that Arik would not admit. He had never expected himself to be king one day. It was a role that he had gladly allowed his elder brother to prepare for. He had been his father's heir, not Arik.

"How are you really?" Her voice was firm despite her advanced years. She wanted the truth and she would not settle for anything less.

"Truthfully, I'm scared. My whole life has changed. I can't be want they want me to be. I can't do this."

"You can and you will. You may not have prepared to be King like your brother had but you have the same strength and honesty that he and your father had. You will be as good a king as your father was and your brother would have been."

"I wish I had your faith, Grandmother. Being King is an even greater responsibility than being head of my corporation and I'm afraid that I'll do it wrong and destroy everything that Grandfather created." His grandmother was the only person whom Arik would admit such worries to. She had helped to raise him when his mother had died, had been both his rock and his comfort as he had grown up into the man he was today.

"You will find that faith, that inner strength. You will be King just as your father and grandfather were before you." With that she stood and slowly exited the bedroom.

Several hours later, Arik sat in the great throne room as the Church leader prepared to place the golden crown upon his head. He didn't hear the words that were being said as the crown was blessed and prayers were offered for a long and successful reign. All he could think was that he couldn't do this. He couldn't be the king of a country he had not lived in for years. A country that was no longer his home. "I can't do this," he thought to himself as he felt the panic rising within him.

The crown was slowly lowered upon his head as the blessing ended. A silence filled the room, almost as deafening as if a thousand voices were talking all at the same time. He felt the panic peak within him as he felt the weight of the crown settle upon him. The weight of a country's expectations.

Then it was gone. As the priest moved away the panic and the fear disappeared, leaving in their wake a calmness and inner strength that he had never felt before. As he looked out across the crowds before him he felt the presence of his grandfather, his father and his brother, guiding him, supporting him now and in the future.

"I can do this," he thought as he stood to greet his people and to lead them down the road that his grandfather had started them out on so long ago.