yarrr, ye scurvy boy-king, halt ye whinin'

"It’s not about having power over her," Finnikin explained. ‘If I was the King, I could take care of her. I could keep her free from the troubles of Lumatere, which seem endless. And so trite. Honestly, Froi, ours are such ungrateful people at times. Despite our hard work, all we hear are complaints and woe and who suffered most and whose soil deserves more. Why can’t they just be happy with what we’ve got? We have our kingdom back, but no one seems truly happy, and I’m frightened that it’s now in our blood. That we’ll pass on that dissatisfaction to our children and our children’s children and that we’ll be the ancients one day and our descendants will say, “Ah yes, a melancholy dour lot.”

from Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta