Francis sat next to the queen in the throne room. On the queen’s left sat another one of her kings, and to his right at another. A citizen of Alanheim bowed before the queen, pleading his case. 

“I’ve waited two months for the Guard to fix the hole in my house.” the man said. “Please. Isn’t there anything you can do to speed up the process?”

“We will fix it when we have the time and resources to do so.” the queen said firmly. “At the moment, we have far more important issues to address.”

“Then allow me to fix it myself, or hire someone to do it! I have the knowledge to do so–”

“You do not own your property, sir. You are well taken care of by the kingdom, and would do well not to exert yourself.” the queen’s voice could barely hide the veiled threat.

“But–” the man began.

“Leave me. We will move your request up the chain. Be grateful that we do so.” the queen spat.

Francis shook his head. Unable to watch further, he silently excused himself, getting up from the throne and leaving through the open archway on his left into the connecting hallway. He went to his private quarters and lied down on his bed. Looking up at the ceiling, his hands dug into his knees, fingers turning white. 

Francis had turned a blind eye to how poorly the kingdom was being run prior to meeting Kori. Now, all he could see was the vice, abuse, and slavery going on behind beautifully decorated doors. His life had become unrecognizable from what it had been when he was a child. He couldn’t even go outside when he was a child, and now, he had gone on such a long adventure with Kori, seeing the world, and when he had returned, he had all the jewels and food needed to make him happy, and yet, none of it did.

He sat up. For a long time, thoughts ran through his head. Then, he stared forward determinedly, grabbed a journal at his bedside, and began making plans. No one in the kingdom knows that one of the kings is an andillian. He thought to himself. That’s my ace in the hole. I can wrest this kingdom from her grasp if I reveal it at the right time, and gain enough allies. 

In his journal, Francis began scribbling down his goals. 

I lost the one woman who will ever love me for who I am. Without her, I may as well follow through on this reckless plan of mine. What happens to me no longer matters. 

Francis looked both ways and wrote down his goals. 

Befriend as many Andillian as you can. 

Convince the Andillian to conquer cities with you at their head. 

Hide your identity at all costs. 

Befriend nobles willing to back the andillian.

Reveal yourself as one of the kings once three cities have been conquered. Francis tore the paper up afterwards. He wrote it down only to give the plan real weight and life.

He grabbed a heavy cloak and headed out the door. He thundered down the staircase and out the castle doors when he arrived at the main floor. 

He breathed in the fresh scent of flowers, and then headed downt he hillside upon which the castle was built and made his way into the city.

When entering the city, his eyes went wide. He could never quite get used to how lively cities could be. He had been locked indoors for so long, and otherwise had been traveling in the quiet, wild and untamed plains outside of cities that other elves still startled him somewhat. 

He was still terrified that they would find out he was an Andillian, and the queen wouldn’t be there to protect him if they did. Andillian were often easy to pick out in a crowd. There was a softness to their features if they happened to be more male, and a hardness to them if they happened to be more female. Francis had heard that individuals who were neither male nor female existed in other cultures and societies, but that they were not nearly as easy to pick out in a crowd as Andillian, and weren't nearly as common.

He went to a barber and had his hair cut shorter and dyed black.  

Afterwards, Francis kept his hood fastened tightly about his neck. He found the nearest pub and went inside, sweating profusely. He glanced around the room, then sat at an empty table. The outside of the pub was well-maintained. It was a charming, cobblestone building with vines growing on the sides and beautiful poppies in planters just outside the entrance. Inside, the building was in awful disrepair. The wooden flooring was dilapidated, there were cobwebs in the corners of the buildings, and even old scorch marks on the ceiling. 

Francis listened into the conversations the other patrons were having. 

“Yeah, I’ve been saving up for a slave for the longest time. My wife has been begging me for a slave to help her with the chores. I keep telling her I don’t really… well, I don’t agree with owning slaves, but she won’t listen.” the elf sighed. 

Everyone else at the table chuckled. “I laugh, but honestly, I’d free my slaves if I could, too. They feel more like family at this point. But then, I’m not certain they could find jobs, or whether they could even be independent at this point.” 

Francis listened intently, thinking he would tail this group home, and try to convince them to join his cause. But he kept listening, trying to find any information about where he could easily locate slaves--and a safer method to do so. 

Suddenly, a woman sat down across from him. “Hello, handsome.”

Francis immediately knew he was being propositioned, and rolled his eyes. “Leave me. I’m only here for a drink.”

The woman’s eyes widened, highly offended. “I’m one of the wealthiest women in this kingdom, and you won’t even hear me out?”