King Nydon is gone, and the jubilation from his fall was real. Yet now years have come and gone, allowing memories of how bad things were to fade, had leaving King Reginald to deal with a burgeoning nostalgia for his father’s reign. [Follow up to: https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04632-l248-better-than-perfection ] -- Deathshead419
King Reginald of Bevuran and his Prince-consort Connow ruled wisely and well for decades. Raising a junior niece as the intended heir to the crown. Bevuran was no longer perfect, and many greeted that as a good thing.
A few did not.
"The streets used to be spotless," complained an old saw at the bar. "You could eat your breakfast off 'em. Horses and all the city beasts had to be trained to use a special privy. Now you don't see any of that any more. Gotta watch your step or clean it up yourself."
"Keeps someone in a job," said the bartender. "And I note you don't curb your dog or clean up after her."
"No need to," said the saw. "Ain't no taxes agin it and there ain't no animal privies around."
The bartender rolled their eyes as if to say, Ah. One of these. "So you're part of the problem, and complaining about the problem at the same time, eh?"
"It's still my right," complained the saw. "You tell me when those two lifelong best friends under the crown take that away as well."
"Oh boy," sighed the inn's maid. She shared a look with the bartender, who gave her a go-ahead nod. "You miss old King Nydon?" she asked.
"Bet your butt I do," said the old saw. "Say what you want about him, the kingdom was always clean. Everyone had their place. You never had a worry in the world."
"My mam remembers him well. How he made it illegal for women to have jobs without their husband's permission. Or how they couldn't go out of the house unescorted. He made it illegal for Halfbreds and Hellkin to live within the borders, too. Do you remember what that was like?"
"I was young," said the old saw. "Though I do remember wanting to play but me mam said I had to stick close because I was her escort. If I wanted bread tomorrow, she said, I had to stick with 'er today. I was right upset." After a moment's thought and a sip of beer, he added, "My wife never had to tow along anyone just to go shoppin'."
"Just so. You were married in the reign of King Reginald, weren't you?"
"...aye?" the old saw said cautiously.
"And just last week, you were singing the praises of that Hellkin healer and their Halfbred spouse. They wouldn't even be allowed here under Nydon."
Grumbling, grudging agreement. "Da always complained about medicine when I was a pup," he said. "People weren't allowed to be sick, now as I remember. You hid, and you got better or..." he trailed off. "Few o' my friends just vanished when I was younger. 'Fore the revolution came to a halt."
"Nobody just vanished after that, did they?" said the maid.
The old saw started connecting the dots. "It weren't perfect, was it? It only looked perfect."
"Damn straight," said the bartender. "One person's paradise is another's nightmare." They wiped the bar down again, "You just never noticed the nightmare before."
[Photo by Edi Libedinsky on Unsplash]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends! Or visit my hub site to see what else I'm up to.
Send me a prompt [43 remaining prompts!]