Chapter 21 – The King's Offer
The palace corridors buzzed with urgency.
Royal Guards hurried from one hall to another, servants carried sealed documents, and advisors whispered amongst themselves. The calm dignity of the palace had vanished overnight.
Brook stood beside Prince Henry near one of the large windows overlooking the capital.
From this height, Shinokuni-01 looked peaceful.
Children played in the streets.
Merchants reopened their shops.
Smoke rose from hundreds of chimneys.
It looked like any ordinary morning.
Brook knew better.
Behind every smile was fear.
Behind every locked door was a family wondering if the Wall would hold.
"You've gone quiet again."
Henry folded his arms against the window frame.
Brook smiled faintly.
"I'm thinking."
"You do that too much."
"You don't think enough."
Henry laughed.
"I'll give you that."
For the first time since they had met, the two men stood like friends instead of strangers.
Neither noticed Captain Mercer approaching.
"The King will see you now."
The throne room felt much larger than it had the day before.
Not because the room had changed.
Because it was nearly empty.
Only six people remained inside.
King Aldric.
Prince Henry.
Captain Mercer.
Crowley.
The Royal Chancellor.
And Brook.
The heavy doors closed behind them.
The King slowly rose from his throne.
His eyes looked older than they had only a day earlier.
"You have all seen what lies beyond our Wall."
Nobody spoke.
"I have ruled Shinokuni-01 for twenty-three years."
He slowly walked down the steps until he stood only a few feet away from Brook.
"When I became king…"
"…my father gave me one command."
He paused.
"'Protect the people.'"
"I believed protecting them meant keeping the gates closed."
His gaze shifted toward the large stained-glass window overlooking the northern Wall.
"I am beginning to believe I was wrong."
The room fell silent.
Even Henry looked surprised.
The King had never publicly questioned his own decisions.
Captain Mercer unfolded a map across the long table.
Unlike the maps Brook had seen before, this one extended far beyond Shinokuni-01.
Twelve enormous circles had been drawn across the continent.
Each surrounded by thick stone lines.
Brook frowned.
"There are…"
"Twelve Walls," the King finished.
"You thought ours was the only one."
Brook nodded slowly.
"I did."
Henry looked equally surprised.
"You never told me."
"I couldn't."
The King's voice carried regret.
"The knowledge was passed only from monarch to monarch."
Crowley quietly studied the map without saying a word.
Brook noticed.
"You've seen this before?"
Crowley looked at him.
"No."
But something in his expression suggested otherwise.
The King pointed to the westernmost Wall.
"Shinokuni-03."
Then another.
"Shinokuni-05."
His finger continued moving.
"Twelve kingdoms."
"Twelve rulers."
"Twelve Walls standing against the same nightmare."
Brook leaned closer.
"So humanity survived in more places than one."
"Yes."
"And none of us know each other?"
The Chancellor answered.
"We lost contact decades ago."
"Trade ended."
"Messengers stopped returning."
"The roads became impossible to travel safely."
Brook stared at the map.
His world had just become much larger.
The King rolled the map closed.
"I have made a decision."
He looked directly at Brook.
"I want to reopen communication with the other Shinokunis."
Captain Mercer nodded.
"It won't be easy."
"It never is."
The King turned toward Henry.
"You wished to leave these Walls."
Henry straightened.
"I did."
"You still do?"
"More than ever."
The King looked at Brook.
"And you?"
Brook didn't answer immediately.
He thought about the giant guardian.
About the seven Watchmen who never returned.
About the creature's final words.
"You must live."
Finally, he nodded.
"Yes."
"I want answers."
The King walked back toward his throne.
"Then I am forming a royal expedition."
The room grew still.
"It will be smaller than an army."
"Faster than a caravan."
"And free to travel beyond the authority of ordinary Watchmen."
Henry's eyes widened.
"You mean…"
"Yes."
"You will lead it."
Henry blinked.
"Father…"
"You have spent your life preparing to rule."
The King's voice softened.
"Now I want you to understand the world you may one day rule."
Henry bowed deeply.
"I won't fail you."
"I know."
The King then looked toward Brook.
"I want you to accompany my son."
Brook expected Mercer to object.
Instead…
The Captain nodded.
"I've trained him for this."
Brook looked around the room.
"Just the two of us?"
A faint smile appeared on the King's face.
"No."
"Crowley will accompany you."
Brook couldn't help smiling.
"Guess I'm stuck with you."
Crowley smirked.
"You should consider yourself lucky."
A knock echoed through the chamber.
The doors opened.
A Royal Guard hurried inside and dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
"We captured someone."
The King's expression hardened.
"Who?"
The guard hesitated.
"He was found hiding beneath the western bridge."
"He refuses to give his name."
Captain Mercer frowned.
"A spy?"
"We thought so."
The guard swallowed.
"But…"
"He isn't carrying weapons."
"He isn't carrying supplies."
"He only keeps repeating the same sentence."
The King stepped forward.
"What sentence?"
The guard looked around the room before answering.
"He says…"
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
"'The Blackwood Guardian has fallen.'"
Silence.
Brook felt his stomach tighten.
The giant…
The one that had stood between them and whatever lived in the forest…
Had lost.
Crowley closed his eyes for the briefest moment.
It was so subtle that no one noticed.
No one except Brook.
The King broke the silence.
"Bring him to me."
The guard stood.
"Immediately, Your Majesty."
As the doors closed once again, a cold breeze slipped through the throne room despite every window being shut.
Brook couldn't explain why…
But for the first time since leaving the Wall…
He felt like the world itself had just taken its first step toward war.