Chapter 355: Like the old days (3)
"Wait, wait, wait. Guards!" Tobias called for help.
Tobias somehow found himself being dangled out of the window of the very room he had invited his friends into. They handled him like he was not their king.
"I’m sorry for what I said. Elijah is a good boy, and if Rue is anything like her mother, you don’t have anything to worry about. Then again, Annalise went against her father’s wishes and met you. Wait!" Tobias cried out.
Edgar stood behind Rafael, enjoying the show.
Tobias didn’t dare look down at the ground below him. Instead of pleading for his life more, Tobias started to laugh.
It was dangerous, yet these were the games they always played, and it reminded him of their youth.
Tobias held onto Rafael for dear life, so if Rafael accidentally slipped, Rafael would be falling with him.
"Why is it that you’re trying to harm me, yet Edgar gets to stand on the side and watch us? We should team up and dangle him out of a window," Tobias plotted.
"Touch me and you’ll see the gun you spoke about," said Edgar.
Rafael pulled Tobias inside before the guards could start to panic.
"Enjoy the breeze?" Edgar asked, taunting Tobias.
Tobias fixed his shirt. "I did thank you very much. For a tall brute, you always ignore him and attack me. You should act like Annalise’s husband and help me with Edgar just once. I need a drink."
Rafael looked at his friends. He did well to distract them from their disagreement, but he knew the matter of Penelope’s safety would come up again. He only hoped that when the time came, he would not be present.
Edgar went back to the chair where he was most comfortable and laid down.
Tobias took the moment to think about how they almost fell into a disagreement. He poured Edgar a drink as a peace offering.
Tobias picked up the two glasses, and before going to Edgar, he said to Rafael, "I would offer you a drink, but I don’t have any water. You two make it difficult for me to have fun with you. One doesn’t drink, and the other stopped smoking because of his wife."
"How awful that I quit because my wife didn’t like it," Edgar muttered.
"You know that is not what I meant. Here," Tobias said, offering Edgar the glass.
"You know I don’t drink anything from the palace. You only poured it as a sign of peace and because you want to have an excuse to drink two glasses," Edgar said, seeing right through Tobias’s plans.
"You’re too smart for your own good," Tobias said, pulling away the glass to drink Edgar’s share. "Hazel wants me to drink less."
"You’re already a fool. You shouldn’t burden her with a drunken fool," Edgar said, feeling sorry for Hazel.
Tobias drowned the wine he poured for Edgar in one go and set the glass down. "I’m handing over the palace to my son. I need to drink these last few days. I’ve got a proposal for Teo to marry a princess, but he already has a woman picked."
Tomorrow, the young lady and her family will visit the palace and be told the good news. By night, the future queen would be known to the kingdom.
"It’s not too late for Lily to be picked," Tobias said, then sipped the second glass of wine.
Rafael shook his head at Tobias. "I’ve always admired how you can piss him off, nearly experience death, and then go back to bothering him."
"That’s just how our friendship is. He’s angry one moment and then harmless. Look at him," Tobias said, pointing at Edgar.
"I still have my gun," Edgar reminded Tobias.
"I know you have a gun. I truly was a fool to not make it a royal decree that you could not make or own guns," Tobias muttered.
Edgar didn’t mind if there was such an order. "I would have moved to the border."
"And I would have dragged you back. You didn’t want to go to the border in the past when tension was high," Tobias said, remembering all the trouble he went through to find someone else.
"I was recently married," Edgar said, still seeing it as a wise decision.
"It worked out for the best since I ended up going and getting shot. It ended the war. Had Edgar gone there, the war would have been prolonged," Rafael said, certain of it.
Rafael didn’t like to think of it too often, but he was curious about Edgar and Annalise meeting each other as enemies.
"See, Rafael was the best amongst all his peers, and he got shot. You got shot from our side, but still," Tobias said, proving that Tyrion was to be given a second chance.
A knock on the door interrupted the talk.
"Come in," Tobias allowed the guest.
Tobias smiled when he saw that it was Mark who came to speak with him.
Any other day, Tobias would send Mark away, but Mark served as a good distraction, with Edgar taking his anger out on him.
"Come inside, Mark. Care for a drink?" Tobias asked, walking away from the dangerous path.
Edgar kept his gaze on the window.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I didn’t know you had guests. I came to speak about the progress with the court and ask that you employ some men to help with sorting out old scrolls," Mark said, his gaze lingering on Edgar.
"Do as you wish," Tobias replied.
"Thank you," Mark replied. "I should be on my way."
"Next time you have any questions, don’t speak to my daughter."
Mark stopped to look at Edgar. "Your daughter is not a child anymore. She is a lady who stood with her husband when I spoke to her. I was not only addressing Penelope, but the prince as well."
"Address neither. They don’t know where Warren is, and you have more important matters to focus on. Must I solve a case for you again?" Edgar asked, knowing the court would fail.
"The court is working hard to solve all cases we have. It would go faster if people like you were willing to speak. We have our differences, but I wouldn’t purposely target your daughter. I won’t argue before the king, so good day," Mark said, excusing himself.
Another time when Edgar wasn’t around to pick a fight, Mark planned to return to speak to Tobias.
Tobias shared a look with Rafael. "That went well. You’ve hated Mark for over twenty years."
"Over thirty," Rafael corrected Tobias.
"And it won’t end anytime soon. I am done here," Edgar said, sitting up. "I have a priest to see."
Tobias frowned. "Priest? Edgar, I can’t have you make another priest walk away from the church. He’s not listening," he muttered as Edgar got up and left. "I would hate to be that priest."