a short tale: the Lonely King

I'm sorry, I can't continue my former story until I tell another, I don't know why.
I just need to tell a little story, I call it the Lonely King by Mr Max Malcolm

Once, oh so very long ago my lovelies, there was a kingdom high in the mountains. This kingdom sat so high that the capitol was constantly among the clouds. You might worry that it would be cloudy or foggy in the streets, but it was not so. Actually it was bright, and the streets shined like silver in the moon. Well, it was so when our tale first begins. The old king was a grand sight, as grand as he was old, and believe me when I say he was quite old indeed. But don't think that just because he was old he lacked vigor, because if you did you would be dead wrong. He strode through the gates of his high castle in the mists, out onto the streets of his capitol. He walked past all the stalls and merchants in the market, and people couldn't take their eyes off of him in all his majesty. He walked so gracefully that you might think he was flying, and with such grandness and pomp that he was a parade in his own right. He stood in the town square and with a voice as strong and beautiful as a brass band he said; "I think the time has come for a festival! Our life is good and I have been your king now some 90 years, we certainly don't lack anything to celebrate!" and with a flourish he turned and walked twice as quick back into his castle. The streets exploded with excitement and before the day was out the preparations for the festival were complete, and that night by lamplight they ate and drank, singing songs and raising their glasses to toast their happiness. The one disharmony in the evening was the lack of the good old king, but they comforted themselves that he would be there the next day to join in their revelry. The old king sat in his castle and he cried. His sorrow was as deep and as unbearable as any a man had faced before him. The king sat in the tall tower, knowing that his hours were now numbered. His reign had been long and happy, not without it's struggles but overall a very fun ride and a well worthwhile life to have lived. The problem had come several days earlier, as he was eating his evening meal a man came to him dressed in rags. The king was shocked by the man's dirty appearance, but bid him speak nevertheless. The dirty man spoke in a voice that sounded like shattering glass "I come to you in a generous mood, as you have always been generous with those less fortunate than you. I am the man in charge of fortune and luck, my name is Destiny and I have walked by your side every year of your reign, and so it is my duty to deliver the unfortunate news I have brought you. Your sun is setting great king, every man must see the end of his journey, and yours is coming in 14 days. Use them wisely, you cannot escape, rush or delay the setting of the sun and the end of your life." and with that the dirty man threw a marble on the floor, which exploded in a cloud of glorious colorful smoke, leaving the king alone with his thoughts. Well the prospect of death was not at all something unfamiliar to the king, he had fought many battles and knew that death could have come at any time then. The problem was the prospect of an heir, he had none. He had once, he had 5 sons, but every last one of them had died out in the wide world, adventuring, leaving no heirs of their own. The prospect of leaving his kingdom without leadership, he knew that without a leader his kingdom would fail and die.
So now you know why the grand old king cried alone, and he could not burden anyone not even his advisors with his troubles. So the old king sat and he thought, and he had been thinking for 5 days when he said to himself "something has got to be done." So he sent for the tax man, and he said to the tax man, "Tell me of an honest, tax paying man of no high office in my kingdom." Because you see no one knows the country better than the tax man, and the tax man had quite a long think himself. Almost everyone he knew at some point tried to avoid paying tax, for sadly that's the folly of human nature to hold onto every last penny. Finally he remembered, several years ago he came across a young man, hard on his luck, but willing to pay every bit of tax due of him. The tax man remembered this because he had tried to force the money back on the man, but the man said to him "I would not cheat my country out of what is owed them, for have they not provided us this peaceful land and how would we keep it, if every man didn't do his part?" The tax man smiled at the memory, and said "I know just the man, his name is Roland, he makes tools." So the king said that this was just the man needed for the job. He sent his men to search the countryside for the man, and to inform him that he was the kings heir. The men went out from the castle to search for Roland the toolmaker, heir to be king. And the king went down to the festival and drunk and enjoyed his friends and subjects. At the end of the great feast on the last day, he stood up and raised his glass to his guests and said "I appreciate all of you more than I could ever express. My time is at an end, but preparations have been made for the future, and I trust he will take as good or better care as I would have." Then, having said his goodbyes he sat down and closed his eyes as the setting sun outside dipped below the horizon.
You would have thought that nature herself was mourning for the state of the kingdom afterwards, people cried constantly and when they went about their business it was with a weary heart. All the beauty and wonder seemed to melt away as the sky turned gray every day, not even the stars would come out. Everyone was at ill tempers and fights broke out, and the only thing that brought them any peace was the thought that maybe there might be a brighter day coming with the dawn. But the dawn didn't come and the search for their new king Roland lasted three horrible miserable years. It almost became like a ritual or sacred rite and less like a task that anyone expected could be achieved. They even tried expanding their search to include nearby kingdoms. The men put in charge of the quest, the kings own guard, were ready to give up and try and find some new form of governing, maybe drawing straws or a whistling contest, because any king must be better than no king at all. Finally, on the final day of the third anniversary of the good kings death, the kings guard passed through a desolate region between the kingdom next door and their kingdom, heading back home in misery and shame. They came across a tall stone tower in the middle of the desolate plain. They were so hungry and so tired they could not go on, so they knocked on the door. They said "we are the royal guard, and we request shelter and something to fill our bellies as we cannot go on." To be honest with you they didn't expect a response, after being on this journey for so long they knew that many people would simply ignore a knock on the door asking for help.
Imagine their suprise when the door opened, and a great tall man with a loud booming voice said "Come in, come in, I'm afraid I'm not used to house guests, I live alone you see and until you showed up I had almost forgotten the sound of my own voice, it's been so long since I used it you see."
So they ate their meal, and humble though it was it felt like a feast to be with such a cheerful man after such a long hard journey. They told him of their troubles, the whole tale as I've been telling it to you, and the man seemed to have a spark in his eye and a grin on his lips on hearing the name Roland, and of the incident described by the tax man. He let them finish their tale, and he thanked them for the lovely story, and prepared them beds, and told them he would dine with them again the next day. The next day just before dawn the guards were woken by noises outside. The man had set them a table out in front of the door outside, and what's more the clouds overhead were starting to break up, and sparks of blue shone through, and in the predawn light they sat down for breakfast. The man spoke first and said "I'm terribly sorry to hear of your long ordeal, and it has touched me straight to my heart. Had I but heard or known of your tale I would have saved you much heartache. But the past is the past and nothing can change that now. I am the man that you seek, my name is Roland and I am your king. I have set things in order here and as soon as you our ready we will ride for the capitol and set about putting things right again." The guards had stopped eating when he stood to talk, as is polite, and when they heard who he was, they fell to the ground and bowed, weeping sweet tears of gladness. And the great man just smiled, and he took them each into his arms in a warm embrace, laughing and patting them on the back, thanking them for their great service to the kingdom. They rode to the capital and as they rode with the dawn coming behind them, people came from miles around, following them into the city itself, filling the streets as they hadn't been filled since the good old king had left. Roland stood in the town square and said loud for all to hear "Your new king has arrived, and there will be a new golden age." He was very right, of course, and he had many adventures of his own, but those are tales for another day.