(Major time skip, Jimmy is now 14 years old)

(Warning, character death(s))

It had been a few years since Jimmy and Scott had gotten together.

However, nobody knew.

Anyways, Jimmy was happy for the first time. It had felt like a long time since he was able to smile naturally and not feel the burning of tears in his eyes. Whenever Scott was there, the clouds stayed away.

When he wasn't, they drifted in again.

Jimmy choked back sobs as he curled up in his bed. He was so tired. The palace was so empty and his father didn't have time for him with recent events around the kingdom.

It looked... bad.

There were whispers of war on the horizon. Not just any war, but a civil one. It would be a coup; none of the citizens were happy right now. To stop it, they had to give away many of their possessions for extra gold and silver. More than half of Jimmy's own crowns were gone and the dining room was shredded of its belongings. The chandeliers in almost every room were taken down, waiting to be scrapped. Old photos and paintings were taking down for the gold frames to be taken. Jimmy's limited diet deteriorated more.

But, there wasn't anything Jimmy could do about it.

He wasn't allowed to leave the palace at all and it was dangerous for diplomats to travel as well. Scott couldn't even come. His mother couldn't travel so he was stuck with just his father.

He was so alone.

---

Jimmy was having tea in the palace gardens.

Things were dying back down and it looked like the revolution wasn't going to happen. His mother was coming back to the palace for the day before she would have to leave again.

But...

"Prince Jimmy!" Coral rushed out of the palace, guards protecting her.

"What is it?" He asked, standing up quickly.

"The village-" Coral held back a sob, "your father was picking up your mother- there was an assassin-"

Jimmy dropped his tea cup, it smashing on the ground at his feet. He couldn't breathe. What was he supposed to do.

"Jimmy," he looked up, the color draining from his face as several papers were presented.

The first one: was a quick note that somebody passed to the palace about what had happened in town. It explained all the events.

The next: showed the bunker's location. He wouldn't be able to leave. It was too dangerous.

The last one: acting king. He has to become king automatically for a short amount of time and if his seablings missed the deadline, he was going to become the real king.

"We have sent a message to your brother and sister, we are just waiting for them to respond." Jimmy looked up at Coral. She was crying.

He was tapped on the shoulder.

Ben held out a pen for him and Jimmy realized he had to sign the paper.

So he did.

And he became king.

---

Jimmy didn't let it sink in until he was locked inside of the bunker, stacks after stacks of papers put in front of him to sign.

He just went ahead and distracted himself.

Diplomats of any nation are barred from being allowed to enter the kingdom.

Sign.

Meet the citizen's demands until everything is in order.

Sign.

Food sho-

"Pri- King Jimmy," Coral said, making Jimmy jump.

"Yes?" He asked, setting down the pen.

"You have a speech to make."

And quickly, a camera and crew was inside the office. It felt like a blur as he was sat infront of the camera and told to explain.

Taking a deep breath, he waited for it to record.

"-Now onto King Jimmy for the explanation."

The camera flipped and he put on a smile.

"Hello citizens of the Ocean Empire." He greeted, waving to the camera. His eyes drifted to the script that was being held up behind the camera. "My parents were assassinated at three pm today by a group of rioters. I am acting king for the moment until everything settles down and we can execute a plan." He tried to act calm but as he spoke, he couldn't help but want to speak his mind. He looked away from the script and straight at the camera. "I swear, for as long as I am here, I will meet your needs." The camera crew were shaking their heads, Coral was motioning for him to stop. "My parents were killed. I don't want anyone else to go through that. I may be only fourteen, but I will get this right. I will be your king and rule with kindness and honesty. Please, trust me." He pleaded, tears gathering in his eyes. "I will work hard. Just please don't do anything like this again. They were the only people I had left." He whispered as the camera shut off.

And Coral proceeded to berate him.

"You don't know how outrageous that promise is! If they demand something you cannot give them, it will only get worse!" She yelled, pointing at the canera. "You will be killed, your siblings will be killed. The monarchy will be gone! You might even get executed! Do you want that?"

Jimmy looked up at her and frowned.

"Coral, I just lost my parents and I'm put in charge of this kingdom. Do you think I'm not thinking about the best for this country? I'm thinking about all those people that have to suffer. That's the reason why my parents were killed! I want to fix that but I can't without making some promises!" He shouted, silencing everyone in the room.

Ben stood up. "I trust king Jimmy's judgement. If this at least buys some time for Lizzie or Grian to come, then I am fine by this." They said, crossing their arms.

"Fine," Coral sighed, closing her eyes, "I will believe you too. I just- I want you to stay safe first and foremost." She explained softly.

Jimmy nodded his head. "Of course."

And now they wait, twenty days until the deadline.

(No, we can't have nice things. What do you expect from me?)