Henry stared at the mirror in front of him, dusting off his shoulder from non-existent dust. His entire attire consisted of expensive jewels, tightly knit clothes, and a golden robe with a thick white fur surrounding his neck.
Today is Coronation Day and he's soon to be the new King of Lioncrest. It's been two days since his father's funeral and even though the entire Kingdom still hasn't moved on, they were more than thankful to see Henry sit on the throne.
Elsa appeared behind him, stepping up in front of him and helping him adjust the King's Cape resting on his shoulders. However, she was doing it more to touch him than to make him look presentable, since he already looked presentable as he was.
"I still can't believe you get to become your Kingdom's ruler first before me," Elsa spoke with a soft chuckle. She gave up fixing his cape and leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around Henry.
Henry sighed, "I wish I hadn't."
They stayed that way for a good few minutes, only separating when a knock on the door interrupted their moment.
"Your Highness, all the guests have arrived at the venue. Everyone is waiting for your presence." A soft-spoken servant reminded him from the other side of that door.
"I'll be out in a minute." Henry replied out loud before turning his attention to Elsa, "I have to go now. I'll meet you back in the venue." He gave her a peck on the lips and watched as she left the room.
Henry turned his attention back to the mirror and sighed, his mind wandering back to the reports he received yesterday from their spies situated in other Great Kingdoms.
Aside from the Great Kingdom of Agrabah, a desert kingdom situated on the Southern part of the continent, the other great kingdoms had started making their moves, poking around and sending small skirmishes on the borders of Lioncrest territory.
Henry knew they were testing him, to see what he would do and if he let them do as they pleased, no doubt these small skirmishes would turn into large ones until eventually, they'd catch him by surprise and launch a large-scale skirmish against Lioncrest.
"I can't make any heavy moves against them. I need to unite the central lands first and establish outposts on each side of the border." Henry murmured under his breath.
There are quite a few small vassal Kingdoms that are under Lioncrest's rule, but unlike the other unaffiliated Kingdoms, those vassals aren't situated on the borders.
"Arendelle is situated west of Lioncrest, near the borders. I have no problem with that but the Southern and Western Isles are a bit of a problem. Those two remind me of North and South Korea…"
Henry's eyes hardened, "To fully absorb Arendelle into the Federation, I need to get either rid of those two small Kingdoms or turn them into vassal Kingdoms."
After outlining the plan regarding the west side of Lioncrest and taking a note to streamline the plan once the Coronation ends, Henry shifted his attention to the southern part of the central lands.
Thankfully, Corona Kingdom has already signed the documents, joining the Federation, and considering the territory of Corona is quite large, almost near the borders of the south, Henry had no qualms or plots to start anything.
The only problem left is the Northern and the Eastern sides of the central lands.
There are several Kingdoms situated there and turning them into Vassals might spark a large-scale conflict with them, so Henry needed to tread carefully.
"Well, the Federation lacks a few members. I'll offer them spots but if they refuse…" Henry tapped his feet on the floor.
With how powerful Lioncrest is and considering they're one of the only few Kingdoms that possess a continental-class magical powerhouse, Master Elias, Henry might have to be forced to put them in their places.
Not to mention, Henry can't risk having them pledge allegiance to the Eastern and Northern Great Kingdoms, that would make the incoming conflict much harder for Lioncrest's position.
"Thankfully, Arendelle and Atlantis are quite close to each other. I can be rest assured with the Western borders of the Central Lands. Also, with Ariel's help, I can isolate the Southern and Western Isles, blocking their ships from trading and use that leverage to force them to sign as Lioncrest's vassals." Henry rubbed his chin, squinting his eyes as he clarified a few more important parts of the report.
"Corona is a delicate country, it only knew of peace and barelt participated in the last Great War, so they might have a hard time securing the Southern borders…I might need to send major reinforcements to them to solidify the southern outpost."
Henry sighed in defeat and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "All it took was the death of a king for the flames of the next Great War to erupt." Henry finally looked away from the mirror and made his way to the door, "Alright. Once the Coronation Ceremony is finished, I'll set up a meeting with the other officials."
———
Henry insisted for the Coronation Ceremony to be as short and small as possible. So when he arrived at one of the relatively small churches on the outskirts of Lioncrest Kingdom, the guests were only around 30.
Consisting of Henry's family, friends, a few nobles, and officials. Unlike the usual coronation ceremonies, there were no celebrations or dinners after the coronation.
With what is about to erupt on the continent, Henry can't afford to waste his time meddling. War is coming and he must prepare to be the strongest piece on the board.
Standing in front of the Pope, backed by Master Elias and the Grand Duke, Albert, Henry knelt on the ground in front of the three of them.
First, the Pope made him drink from a chalice, reciting a chant, praying that his rule would make the Kingdom prosperous and better than before.
Next was his grandfather, Albert. Using a sword, he stated his piece while resting his sword on each of Henry's shoulders before ceremonially handing the sword to him, to which Henry gratefully accepted.
Last but not the least, was Master Elias.
"Henry boy. I have nothing to say regarding what your rule will be like. You have my full trust that you'll take this Kingdom to even greater heights and make it as prosperous as it could. Hence, you have my support." He tapped the tip of his staff atop Henry's head before pulling away.
And now, the Pope came back but carrying a small golden pillow with the Lioncrest Crown sitting on top of it.
Henry looked at the familiar crown that used to belong to his father. It was polished and cleaned, shinier than the last time he saw it.
"Let us all welcome. The new King of Lioncrest, His Majesty, Henry Charming!"
All the guests, from the nobles, to his close friends and loved ones, clapped in unison. Drowning the church with the sound of their clapping.
"All hail His Majesty, King Henry Charming!"
Standing back up and turning around, Henry faced the crowd and their cheers for him just grew louder. He saw his mother's face, a proud smile plastered on her face. She gave him a nod of approval and something else that indicated she was proud of him.
To her side, Lily was looking better now. She was no longer grieving and even clapping her hands merrily for him. Though Henry noticed the air around her had grown less childish and more mature.
Then there was Elsa, standing at the front with a loving smile on her face. And it seemed she had grown accustomed to the presence of Ariel and Rapunzel who had been staying by her side since they first met.
Henry doesn't know the progress regarding her acceptance of Ariel and Rapunzel being his concubines but that's no longer his number one priority.
There was also John Dolittle with his wife, and Polynesia, the other animals weren't allowed to attend due to their chaotic nature and large figures.
With a determined look on his face, he raised the ceremonial royal sword in his hand, the one that Grandpa Albert had handed to him earlier.
'I swear to you, Dad, I won't disappoint you. I'll make Lioncrest the strongest and most prosperous Kingdom in the entire world!'
———
"Help! Help me! Is there anyone out there?" Clarissa cried as loud as she could, her mouth was the only thing useful in her current situation. Yesterday, she was in the middle of the forest with her personal knights and servants.
It was night at that time, and obviously she would go to sleep while her hired men would stay as lookouts for the rest of the night.
After the assassination of the King, she knew she needed to leave as soon as possible. With the location given to her by a certain woman, she would reunite with her daughter.
But before that could even happen, she woke up in this dark room with the cold stone freezing her naked body. She didn't know what happened and where she was.
In her mind, she assumed that her hired men and servants probably betrayed her in fear of Lioncrest's retaliation.
If only she knew how wrong she was. It's been a whole day since she was left here and not even once did she hear anything nor see anyone.
It's like she was buried alive in the middle of nowhere, but the large space around her and the chains on her feet and hands contradict that assumption.
She was kidnapped and imprisoned, that's the only conclusion.
After what seemed to be an hour of continuous yelling for help until her voice became hoarse, her ears finally picked up the sound of footsteps in front of her. Due to the constant silence of the room, her hearing slightly sharpened, enough to pick up even the tiniest amount of sound near her.
So when she heard the footsteps, she forced her already hoarse throat and yelled again, "H-Help! P-Please!"
She heard the sound of locks being pulled and metal clanking against each other before light finally greeted her after a day of pure darkness.
She realized that the darkness in front of her was a door all along, it was the brightness that helped her realize that, even though she closed her eyes and squinted from the sudden change between dark and light.
She didn't need to open her eyes to know who was in front of her as a familiar voice greeted her.
"Good afternoon, Clarissa. It seems the darkness is a bit unkind to you."
When she finally recovered, she opened her eyes and horror instantly chilled her spine as Henry greeted her with a smiling face.
"H-Henry…N-No…I shouldn't be here. This can't be!"
Henry slowly strode towards her, crouching and lifting her chin with his finger, "This can't be what? I have a hunch you're hiding something that I desperately need, Clarissa."
He continued but this time as a whisper, "You're going to tell me everything I need to know." His hand found her left hand and raised it near their faces.
"I heard you value your nails and take great care of them. So here's the deal, one lie, one fingernail. And trust me, I'll make it so painful that even you can't imagine."
"Allow me to demonstrate, considering it encouragement for what you're going to go through for the next few hours." With a smile, Henry plucked a weird contraption out of his pocket.
"I sent my regards to the local blacksmith for crafting this thing. His creation is very spectacular."
"It may look like pliers but it's designed specifically for this kind of occasion. Here, let me show you."