Seeing the shock on Kadin's face, Alrik had to swallow back his rage again. 

He didn't want to hurt his friend and he'd already been rougher than he'd wanted during their brief spar. Now, if it had been one of the baron's sons or their cronies, he would've been more than happy to vent some of his anger under the guise of training. He still might, if they ended up running their mouths during afternoon training.

However, it was the Council that he really wanted to spar with. Yes, he was only thirteen but he'd always been tall and strong for his age. Not only that but according to both Father and his aide, none of the Council had picked up a weapon in years. It seemed, that once they had reached the pinnacle of acquiring a seat on the Council, they had stopped doing any physical training and didn't tour their lands or Colbini any longer.

Although he had learned about several Councils since Colbini was founded that saved the country from falling to ruin through both cunning and self-sacrifice. But this Council seemed to be greedy and self-serving to him. They were so busy plotting and trying to figure out how to get the country into their own control, they'd forgotten why they'd been chosen for that position in the first place. Although, a number of the current members had inherited the position from their parents, thanks to the loyalty their families had shown to Colbini.

Maybe that was the problem. There had never been a period in Colbini where the inherited members of the Council outnumbered those who had risen to the position through their own merit. In many ways, it was a new dynamic and one that would bear close watching. Maybe he should discuss with his father about doing a reassessment of the Council members' qualifications to hold the position. There had been precedent for that before, nearly seven hundred years earlier, when one of that Council members had been discovered betraying state secrets to an enemy country.

Surely, trying to force an alliance using a member of the royal family could be considered treason, right?

His anger which had started to die down flared back to life. Although the drought had made things a little bit tighter for everyone, it was far from a national emergency at this point. In fact, there were many countries that they had treaties with that they could reach out to for aid long before it reached a critical point.

No, the drought was just a convenient excuse in order to try and get rid of a potential complication. They seemed to think that if there was more than one heir to the throne, the kingdom would be split into factions trying to control the royal family. But that was incorrect for several reasons.

One, if Aleydis had wanted the throne, he would've made sure that there were no obstacles to her taking it. He would have absolutely no interest in the throne if she had wanted to be queen, other than how to best serve her. Two, Aleydis had already made it very clear that she wanted to support him as king, and once she made up her mind, there was no changing it. Three, Aleydis was very smart and stubborn. She would've picked up on any attempts to divide them and would deal with the attempt and the people behind it swiftly.

In fact, that was probably why they were trying to get rid of Aleydis. She was still very young right now, more interested in playing and making friends than running a country. But neither was she stupid. The fact that she already had a plan for her future, a career picked out that could work in any situation and permit her to stay in Colbini or go to any country on the continent.

The last thing he wanted was for Aleydis to leave Colbini, especially for as long as it would take for her to become an official diplomatic envoy. However, it might be best for her to be in a safe place while he and their parents did a snake hunt. After all, if she went to a major academy that accepted children of royal and noble families, they would have to have airtight security in order to prevent any international incidents from happening. He would mention it to their parents as well as his aide later, to have them double-check for any incidents that might've been hushed up with money or connections.

After all, they couldn't risk Colbini's greatest treasure. As much as they all wanted Aleydis to be happy, they also needed her to be safe. If anything happened to her, well, it didn't bear thinking about.

Kadin chose that moment to speak up, breaking into his thoughts. "Do you think she realizes that she'll have to be at the academy for years? She loves all of you and Colbini too much, I can't see her being willing to go easily."

Alrik shook his head ruefully, "She knows. But she said that it was better to be gone for a little while and then spend the rest of her life here in Colbini with all of us. She doesn't have one picked out yet, but it's only a matter of time, I can tell."

Kadin looked thoughtful. "My family can help you investigate academies if you want. We have some connections in scholarly circles, thanks to my aunt."

He glanced over at Alrik, suddenly serious. "Will you be okay if she's gone for that long? As much as I tease you, I know that the pair of you are very close. I don't want to see you moping for the next several years while she's gone."

Alrik shook his head, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to help Kadin up. Kadin took his hand and Alrik lifted him easily, he really did need to put on more muscle, although speed was his greatest asset. But speed was no good if one wasn't strong enough to block the blows they couldn't evade. He'd make sure to tell Sir Alton to adjust their training accordingly, the knight would know the best way to strengthen Kadin without him having to lose any of his speed.

Alrik grimaced, "As much as it pains me to say this, it might be a good thing for her to be gone for a while."

Kadin paused where he was picking up the pieces of their broken training swords, studying him like he'd grown a second head. He muttered, "I know that I didn't manage to get a hit in. Maybe running a fever?"

Alrik dodged him when he moved as if to check his forehead, pulling a face at him. "I'm not sick!"

Kadin faced him squarely, his stern expression reminding Alrik of Kadin's father, Count Del Wintrix. "You adore your sister. Even back when we first met, every other sentence was about Aleydis and what she had done and what you were planning to do with her. And it hasn't changed in the years since. Think about it, after training, we're going to go get flowers for the princess because you said that she was sad that one of the types of flowers in the garden was about done blooming. So, if you're not sick, explain why someone who adores their sister and can't go a day without either talking about her or doing something for her, is suddenly okay with her leaving Colbini, potentially for years."

Feeling like he'd bitten a lemon, Alrik scowled, even as his chest tightened at the thought of being apart from his sister for so long. "I didn't say I was okay with it. I said that it might be a good thing for her to be gone."

"And are you going to explain what that means or am I going to have to drag you to the royal physician for a check-up?"

Knowing that Kadin would make good on his threat, Alrik hurried to explain. "I don't want her to go. That's the last thing I want. But, the Council will try to use her in their schemes when they learn that she doesn't want to be heir, even though it isn't finalized until all the heirs have reached fifteen. But, if she's at an academy with other royals and nobles, they'll probably have good security to stop any incidents from happening."

Seeing that Kadin was starting to understand, he pushed on. "If she's safe, we can go on a snake hunt here, weed out anyone that thinks that they can use Aleydis as a pawn. So when she comes home, it will be safe."

Kadin stared at him, wide-eyed. "You plan to change up the Council."

Alrik said firmly, not wanting any rumors to start until Aleydis was safe and away. "No, I plan to assess all branches of the government, see if there are any areas that can be reworked so that the load is easier for everyone working there. After all, a monarch should always make sure that their people are safe and well cared for. What sort of ruler would I be if I didn't make sure that everything is good in all departments."

Kadin's eyes widened further. "You're planning on examining everything?"

Alrik offered him a sharp smile. "All apprentices need to learn their trades from the ground up. Why should kings be any different? It only makes sense for me to know exactly what it takes to keep the country running smoothly."

After a long moment, Kadin shrugged, holding out his hand. "I'm in."

Alrik took his hand gratefully. "Good."

He needed to have someone he could trust to watch his back while he made sure to remove any threats to Aleydis. He knew that Kadin would never betray him. He truly was grateful for such a good friend and he would make sure to repay his loyalty tenfold.