• Laith Taher 49

Chapter Seven

The guardianship council became known to the population
as the “Three Guardians.” Everybody realized they were
the actual rulers, not the king. The Three Guardians
wreaked havoc in the kingdom. They kept increasing taxes,
getting richer at the expense of the population. They also
treated people unfairly and bullied them.
The king continued telling the Three Guardians of
his proposal to decrease taxes and invade nearby kingdoms
and tribes, but they continued rejecting and ignoring him.
They even began to speak to him rudely in many instances,
particularly Irwin. Just as he was fed up with them, they
were fed up with his frequent interventions because they
wanted to rule alone. Whenever he escalated the matter,
they would become even more stubborn and insolent with
him. Things were heading to a disaster.
His sense of anger kept building up until it became
like a big mountain on his chest, especially with his
mother’s repeated attempts to turn him against them.
She was furious because neither her son nor she was
in control. She often said to him, “I wish there was a way to
get rid of the guardians. You are the king and you should
be ruling alone, not them. How can we wait until you reach
the age of twenty while they are wreaking havoc in the
kingdom and ruling alone?”