Mordecai stayed up late that night, lounging in a comfortable study room. He had gotten lost in the process of journaling every possible outcome of every battle that could potentially occur between Sestero and Oktero within the next six months. Though he was focused on the art of war, he couldn’t get one nagging thought out of his mind. Who could I ever trust to take my place?

Delilah slowly opened the door to roll in a cart with Mordecai’s dinner on top. They started laying it out for him on the table in silence. Mordecai was holding his cheeks in his hands and staring into the embers before him. “Delilah, what are the chances of death should I become pregnant?”

Delilah dropped the glass of wine and gasped as they stabilized the spinning cup on the table. They turned and stared at Mordecai. “You’re not- are you?”

“That isn’t your business! I am asking what the chances are.”

“I would say they’re rather slim, Mordecai.” Delilah commented worriedly. “Have you a secret mate?”

“No, no. Don’t be ridiculous. I am only inquiring on the idea that I will one day need an heir. Despite my unlikely rise to the throne, I have no intention of being a single generation monarch. I must have an heir to replace me should any assassin prove successful. Don’t you agree?”

Delilah sighed and shrugged. “Yes of course,” they said, but they were already unimpressed by this notion. They hoped Mordecai would forget this fear as he did with many other paranoias of the past. “But to produce an heir you will need to select a suitable mate first. That would be your initial quest.”

“Right, right…” Mordecai scratched his chin and nodded slowly. He groaned and laid back on the chaise lounge with his hands over his face dreadfully. He couldn't even think of a way to find a mate. Who could he trust? He could never trust anyone, and no one could ever trust him. What kind of love would that be? “Delilah, Delilah. I never know what to do.”

“That’s what you have me for.” Delilah reminded him in a smooth, chilling voice. They curled up on the armchair like a snake and studied his energy from across the table. “Are you thinking too much about the past again?”

“Yes!” Mordecai complained. He turned his head and gazed helplessly at his adopted sibling, the only one with all the answers he so desperately needed. “I know this is what gepatro wanted for us, but sometimes I wish I didn’t have to deal with all of these Kingly problems.”

“Is that a resignation?” Delilah teased a bit too hopefully. 

“Of course not! I love being King!” Mordecai protested, but he wasn’t sure. He was never sure of anything- most certainly not himself.

“Mordecai, please. You must relax. You will find a mate in time, and you will have an heir. It will always work out- if you leave everything to me.” He always calmed down when they reassured him like that. It had always been the easiest solution. Leave it to Delilah, and things just fell into place. Like dominos into a black hole.

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Mordecai loved to stare at his reflection, but not for too long. If he looked too closely he’d start thinking of flaws. And if he looked very closely, he would try to look deep inside himself. That was the worst.

Today was one of those days. He heard the door open as he was mulling over his eternal identity crisis and started to rant to Delilah. “Do you think the Kingdom judges me for being born in Oktero?”

The Nau servant who came in wasn’t Delilah. In fact, it hadn’t been a member of the Nau at all. Not really. Demeter, annoyed at being woken up and pestered again, slammed the hot and heavy tea kettle on the table and huffed. She brushed her hands together and raised a brow at him. “You were born in Oktero?”

Mordecai swiftly turned around full-circle. “Oh! Demeter!” He laughed. “Goodness, I was expecting Delilah.”

Demeter smiled nervously and bowed her head. Would it be too nosey to ask him what the hell he was talking about? She didn’t care, she had to know. “Nope, just me, but you can talk to me about it if that would help.”

Mordecai sighed and looked to the window dramatically. “It all started when I was born.”

Demeter pursed her lips, slightly regretting that she asked now. This might take a while. 

After over a century of warfare, Sestero was failing to come up with an acceptable plan to rid the world of Oktero's ruthless forces forever. The final solution came not from Sestero’s irrational minds, but from the quiet whisperings of the royal family’s eternal companions. The Nau. 

36 years prior, the royal advisor- Delilah’s gepatro- presented the former monarch with a child. “They call him Mordecai. It means follower in one of the old tongues.”

“Bring him to me.” The monarch demanded. Little Mordecai, so precious in their arms. So much potential in the face of an infant. 

“He has a strong aura, like lightning in a bottle. He will make a fine King someday if we raise him to be. He will be no different from a child of your own, except his blood runs red with the spirit of Oktero.”

It seemed like an ingenious plan. Destroy the enemy with their own fierce energy, held hostage in the body of a new King. With the monarch's approval the training began.

And Delilah picked up the slack. They learned their role quickly, as did Mordecai. Delilah was the helper. The support system. The caregiver. Delilah had no will of their own, their very existence was to serve the future King. Mordecai loved his sibling. Having been raised by their guiding hands, it was so easy to be led to the throne. As simple as following a trail of gold into the stocks of a guillotine. 

There were two flaws in the overall plan. One, being that Mordecai had chosen nurture over nature. Two, being Delilah. 

“I don't understand.” Demeter rubbed her temples trying to grasp the logic behind it all. “No offense at all, your majesty, but how would being born in Oktero make you strong enough to defeat them? You clearly don't identify with them at all, so why would their values just- rub off? If anything you would be influenced by the way they trained you to lead. You'd be more like Sestero, or even the Nau.” 

Mordecai went to the window and looked out. If he focused enough on the distance, he felt like he would be able to see it. Or feel it. Sense it, somehow. To remember the place he was born, or the people he really belonged to. “Because I have to be.” He said. There was soft pain in his voice. 

Demeter stepped over to him and rested her hand on his. He looked down at it, then met her eyes with a deep fragile stare. 

“I don't have a choice, Demeter. I don't know what else I'd do with my life. And if anyone believes they can take me down- they will. I know they will. Just like my gepatro.” 

“The royal advisor?” Delilah questioned. “So, the one before Delilah. What happened to her?”

“My gepatro died when we were children, even before the monarch passed. She never got to see her greatest wish- that I would become King.” He explained sadly. “She was traveling in Oktero at the time. They used to hold the meetings there in the desert for the Nau spies- like you did.”

Demeter looked aside nervously when he brought that up. Hopefully he wouldn't ask more about it. 

“But the Nau never meet in the desert anymore. Not after what happened.” He tightened his grip on the windowsill and glared with rage. “There was an Oktero warrior who disguised herself as one of the Nau. She killed my gepatro in cold blood. She cut her to shreds with her own sword.”

Demeter should have been scared, but she wasn't. She knew how he felt. As much as she feared him finding out about her lie, she knew deep in her heart that he wasn't talking about Esther’s tribe. He was talking about the people who had taken her away. The more she thought back to that bloody battle, the closer she came to tears until she couldn't hold back. “They took someone from me too.” She said. 

Mordecai gripped Demeter’s fingers in his own and frowned at her. “They did?” He asked, his eyes begged to know more. 

Demeter’s lip wobbled and she nodded her head. It would feel so good to just tell him everything. Was she stupid enough to do that? She let out a sigh and gazed out afar. “They took my best friend. There was an army who just swept in and killed her, and all of the children in the tribe. Then they took me and-”

“Tribe? What tribe?” Mordecai asked suspiciously. 

Shit. Demeter let go of him and stepped back. “Uh- I- well-” She cleared her throat as she tried to figure out a way out of this. 

Mordecai glared at her anxiously. “Where do you really come from, Demeter?” 

Demeter bit her lip. She had to tell him, she couldn't live with the lies. Not only was it killing her inside- they were also just really hard to keep track of. “Dutero.” She admitted. “I'm not an Oktero spy, I can promise you that. In fact I don't really like most of Oktero at all. But my friend- she was from the Balanced Tribe. I was visiting when the soldiers raided. The rest of the tribe is being held in the dungeons, but they're innocent Mordecai. They never meant harm against Sestero. They don't even believe in war.” 

Mordecai was shocked. He chuckled and tilted his head. “You're an idiot.” Was all he could say.

Demeter looked taken back. “Excuse me?”

“Why would you tell me that?” He rubbed his head and furrowed his brows, totally lost. “I could use all of that against you. Do you know how dangerous that is? You admitted to the King that you lied about being a part of the Nau. I could- I could do anything to you! I could throw you out of this tower!”

“You could have done that anyway.” Demeter wasn't impressed. 

“I know, but still! Are you always this irrationally selfless? Saving squirrels, and now standing up for a tribe that isn't even your own at your own expense? You- you amaze me!” He shook his head and approached her again. His judgment quickly turned into astonishment as he reached to stroke her cheek. “You must really trust me.” He said quietly. 

Demeter's eyes widened. She laughed nervously and rubbed her arms as she backed away from his admiration. “Well, you know, I could say the same thing about you.” She snapped back, a little pissed off now. “You just told me your life story based on your assumption that you could trust me, a few days after claiming you'd-” She gestured dramatically and mocked his voice. “Never do something so irrational.” 

She was perfect in every way. All Mordecai could do was nod and take in her presence as she checked everything off on his list. Trusting, charming, bold enough to stand up to even the King. She was kind and selfless and biting in her words. She was loyal to her friends to the point of self destruction. She was exactly the type of person he needed in his life- the kind who would take a dagger for him. He put his hands on his hips and smirked deviously. 

“We shall alert my royal advisor at once.” He demanded. 

Demeter experienced a jolt of fear at the request. What was he going to tell Delilah now? “Might I ask why?”

Mordecai grinned and returned to run his fingers through her beautiful caramel hair. He had finally figured out the solution to all of his concerns. “I've decided to elect myself a Queen.” 

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