"But he has always been in my care. This is something he should hear from me, I was the one who birthed him and has attended to him since."

A voice outside my door woke me from my slumber and I sleepily raised my head expecting to find the dawn streaming through the window. Instead my room was still dark with perhaps the barest hint of light straining against the night, not even the earliest of birds were chattering outside, the night song of the crickets and other insects was still going strong.

"A pity that he has been babied for so long, that ends today."

The second voice I did not recognize and the chill behind it caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. The voice sounded foreign, or at least like no one in the kingdom I had heard before. The accent was refined, the speaker obviously of some high born background, no commoner could ever enunciate each syllable so effortlessly.

"It is so early-"

"None of that," the accented voice commanded, "know your place."

There was a long silence, then footsteps trailed away from my door, fading into the distance. Whomever was left outside the door waited until the echoing sound had faded from hearing before opening my door and entering with a lit candle in hand. The flame illuminated a woman with sharp, angular features currently drawn up into a look of dominance. Her hair was start black and straight as a pin and nearly down to her waist, she wore a jeweled hair pin of a gleaming sun to pull the strands to the right side of her head and away from her face. The feature that struck me the deepest were her dark eyes, seemingly empty pits despite the flame, they bore into me, making me feel uneasy. Her choice of clothing was strange, a plain, pale yellow cassock covered her from just below her chin to her wrists and ankles. It reminded me of the outfit the castle priest sometimes wore when blessing the birth of a new child or overseeing the death ceremony of someone in the castle.

"Good, you are already awake."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am here to right a wrong," she said as she stepped further into my room, setting the candle on my beside table. "I also come baring harsh news."

I sat up straight in my bed, eyes widening at what kind of news would bring someone dressed like a priest to my room before sun up.

"Your father has died," she said simply. The expression on her face did not change to one of sympathy.

It felt like the air had been sucked from the room. I had always known my father was not the youngest of kings and my time might come sooner rather than later, but I did not at all feel prepared to take over for him. I was barely old enough to have the first signs of being a man coming to fruition, how could a whole kingdom look to me for leadership? Pressure like never before slammed down onto my mind and my limbs felt heavy, like I was being pinned to the bed.

"I know you must feel like you need time to mourn for your father," she continued, "but I'm afraid that there is much that you need to do."

Yes, mourning, that was something I was expected to do. I had always thought that when the time came I would be inconsolable, but instead I mostly felt embarrassed that my first thoughts hadn't been of sadness and grief. I did not know what that said about me, but I'm sure it wasn't positive.

"Come, it is time to rise and prepare for the day, a ruler must learn to awaken before the glory of the sun. I will await you at breakfast." She said no more and left the room, not looking back to ensure I was complying.

With stiff, numb hands I quickly pulled on trousers and a more formal shirt than I was used to wearing. It felt right to look more royal now, it was the only thing I could grasp that seemed like I was capable of doing. Even that was not nearly good enough, my father had dressed regally every day in fine garments of silk and embroidery, the only outfit I had to my name that really held a candle to that had been constructed for my mother's funeral and I had experienced a major growth spurt since. I thought it would likely be worse to walk around in a comically undersized, but elegant attire than just accepting that I would have to be less formal for now.

The dinning hall was mostly empty, as to be expected for so early in the morning. The only soul present was the strange woman whom was already eating her porridge and an exhausted looking servant girl who placed a bowl in front of me. The woman did not look up to acknowledge my entrance and instead kept her focus on the bowl before her, eating seriously as if it were the upmost importance to finish the meal as soon as possible.

Awkwardly, I began eating, frowning as soon as the porridge hit my lips. The servants knew how I liked my breakfast, but there was not an ounce of sweetness or spice to the dish.

"Servant," I said with annoyance, "why have you brought me my meal not as I ask?"

The girl nervously snapped to attention and glanced towards the woman still engrossed in her meal. She worked up the courage to part her lips to speak, but was interrupted.

"The time for childish ways of life has come to an end," the woman intoned. "A healthy body and soul are not built on indulgences. If you are to become a good and powerful king, you will need to leave such things behind you."

My face scrunched up into a look of confusion, it didn't make sense to me for there to be a connection between how I preferred my food and my abilities as a monarch. Father had never mentioned, nor shown any restraint on the matter, in fact he had always been very vocal about his preferences and quick to lash out when they were not forgotten. It had seemed like it was a monarch's privilege to have the best of everything they liked without question.

"This kingdom has allowed its devotion to languish, it is no wonder that you have not been trained in the proper ways to be pious," she continued. "It is no matter, it begins being righted today."

I pushed the bowl away from me and crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the strange woman who had decided that she had more power than the current reining monarch. Perhaps I had been too sleepy when I was first awoken to question what was happening, but the more my grogginess was fading, the more indignant I was becoming. This was not how a monarch should be treated.

"Girl," I commanded to the servant, "fetch me a new bowl to my liking"

"No," the woman said simply, her eyes passing over the girl with a look of warning.

"I am the king, you are not," I said, voice raising, "I could have you put in the dungeon, cast from the kingdom, or worse."

A slight smile tugged at her lips and she shook her head. "You will do none of those, I answer to a higher power, the almighty divine."

"The last time I checked, no priest or priestess held power over my kingdom."

"Then you do not know much of your kingdom's history, a deep shame." She reached out and pulled the bowl of bland gruel back towards me. "If you are so defiant, it is within the Great Chruch's purview to declare a new heir. I hold that power right now, so when I say eat, eat."

I looked at her in shock, trying to decide if her words were some kind of bluff. Surely if the Great Church had held power over my father I would have been told about it before. My father was not a man who would have allowed such a thing to stand, there had to be something more behind it.

"Eat," she said again once I had failed to comply. "I will not ask a final time and you do not want to find out what happens to defiant children. I cannot stand when children believe that if they stomp their feet long and hard enough that I will give in. I will not."

"What happens?" I asked with a scoff, still refusing to listen.

The woman turned her dark, dispassionate eyes to me and it felt like she was staring directly into my soul. Goosebumps arose all across my body and a lump began to form in my throat. There was nothing outwardly threatening about her appearance, but something was making fear dig claws into my mind. Despite the defiance in my mind, I found myself reach out to the bowl, picking up the spoon, and bringing it to my mouth. I kept telling myself to stop and put it back down, that a monarch should not give in, but my body did not comply, I was not in charge anymore. I wanted to scream in fear as I chewed and swallowed, then my hand went in for another bite. I was a guest in my own body, I could not even open my mouth to utter a word, I was just a puppet being controlled.

"I do not need your acceptance or consent, it is merely a matter of politeness that I ask at all."

With that, I felt my control return, my arm thunked to table loudly. Though I knew I could, I did not move or speak, trying to comprehend how she could have done such a thing. My mind instantly snapped back to the maid telling me about the evil magic of my mother's family, but surely it was all just commoner fantasy.

"Now eat and do whatever else I say and I will not find further reason to take matters into my own hands."

Of my own will, I did as she asked, though with shaky hands. I was now a king, master of his domain, it should not be that I had no free will at all.