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Ch. 4 Loyal Little Princess
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2024-02-17 08:07:29I forced a quick grin at my mother before taking the letter from her hand, my eyes skimming its contents. "So, these men will be here later tonight or tomorrow morning, and then what? If this guy decides I'm—" I flicked back to the relevant section, narrowing my eyes at the phrasing. "Found to be favorable." I glared at her. "Then what? He leaves to report back to the king that I'm good enough for the royal line? While I sit here, waiting with packed bags for the verdict; for them to come load me up to go live in a kingdom full of humans?"
My mother took the letter back and tucked it into her pocket. "You'd be leaving with the King's men when they leave tomorrow," she said softly, her gaze drifting away from mine.
A knot formed in my stomach. "I didn't see that in the letter," I replied, my voice quieter than I'd expected. I was struggling to comprehend the idea of leaving my home—the only place I had known—so soon.
"It was in the other letter. Your father and I thought that one was a little too sensitive for you right now. We didn't want to bother you with trivial matters after everything you've been through lately."
"I'm the one getting carted off; I think I deserve to know everything the King had to say," I shot back, frustration bubbling in my voice.
My mother sighed, shaking her head as if grappling with some internal decision. "The only thing I need to know is... Are you... Have you um..."
I blinked in surprise, my eyes widening. I had never seen her so flustered before. This woman—who was always so steadfast and sure of herself—was suddenly stumbling over her words. "What, Mom?" I asked, not sure if my tone, or the casual use of 'mom' had startled her, but the Queen Mage finally met my gaze, taking a deep breath.
"Are you still a virgin? You and Gil never..." Her voice trailed off, and my mouth fell open slightly.
"What does that matter?" I demanded, my voice rising in disbelief.
"The royal family of Scepterfall has very strict beliefs about the purity of their bloodline. They insist that women must be virgins at the time of marriage and can only share their bed with their King. It's a religious belief, I assume," she explained, her tone serious.
I lifted a brow, folding my arms. "And what about the men of the family? I noticed the belief conveniently avoided mentioning them. Are they required to live by the same rules?" I shot back, irritation lacing my voice.
Sylvren sighed, shaking her head in resignation. "No, it's the typical double standard of male-dominated religions you'll find common among the humans. When men do it, they're simply expelling their seed. But according to their teachings, women take in impurities from their partners, so they're considered unclean if they do it. It's nonsense. But the bedside habits of your future husband aren't what's important. They never will be. All you need to focus on is being what your people need you to be. And right now, I need to know—are you a virgin?"
I was so stunned that I couldn’t speak for a moment. Finally, I stuttered out, "Y-yes. Gil and I have never... We’ve never gone that far..." My voice was barely a whisper, mortified to be having this conversation with my mother. Now it was my turn to avoid her gaze.
"Are you sure? I need you to be absolutely honest with me, Lyra," she insisted. I set my shoulders, forcing myself to look directly at the Queen. My temper began to rear its ugly head, as it always did in uncomfortable situations. In fact, my anger often defended me whenever I felt anything other than contentment.
"Yes. I told him that I didn't want to risk pregnancy. So no, Mother. Gil's dick has never been inside my—"
"Lyra!" She scolded me, her expression scandalized.
"You wanted me to be absolutely honest, so I was," I shrugged, picking at a piece of fuzz on my sleeve.
Silence fell between us, my mother trying to regain that cool, haughty demeanor she wore as the Queen Mage—which just happened to be her default mode now after years of welding it.
"So, in short, I marry into the King's family, stay a virgin until then, and be a loyal little princess until I can bear them an heir. We use our people's loyalty to get them to fight a war they have no stake in, give up our freedoms, and lose our culture as they force their beliefs on us," I summarized, my voice softening in response to the somber mood my brash recap had created.
I turned to look at my mother and paused as a tear slipped down her cheek. Sylvren wiped it away faster than her lightning magic could strike, keeping her gaze fixed on the edge of the floating island us mages called home. I looked out over the swirling mist, deep in thought. The outline of the mainland barely peeked through the humidity and fog; denser today than normal. Leaning over the banister, I gazed down at the moss-covered rock face that supported our little haven, a breeze winding through my red hair. I took a deep breath, using the quiet that had settled between us to work through my thoughts.
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"No..." He said, pausing to give me another look up and down, as if verifying something in his head. "In the event that she is still too young to marry and fulfill wifely responsibilities, she'd be promised to the Prince until she is old enough to carry out those duties. Obviously, we'd still take her with us and let her finish her childhood in the Kingdom, as per the letter we sent. But the sooner we can present this unity to our people, the better." He offered, looking like he'd rather be discussing anything but my daughter’s "wifely responsibilities" with me. Frustration bubbled up within me; apparently, there had been more in that letter than my mother let on. "Hmmm," I said, leaning back. "So, how old is she? If you don't mind my saying, Queen Mage, you look awfully young to have an heir old enough to be married off," he noted. "The Princess is plenty old enough to be married. She goes into this willingly. Fiery, a little temperamental maybe, but willingly nonetheless." I repli
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"Your Majesty—" "And stop calling me that." I waved a hand in his direction. "That's a made-up human title meant to bolster and feed the egos of those who wear your unnecessary crowns. Real leaders don't need inflated egos or fancy accessories to prove their worth to their people. So for me to be called as such is insulting," I finished coolly. Tross just stared at me, wide-eyed for a moment, before shaking himself back to the present and clearing his throat. "Yes, Queen Mage. I apologize for any offense. But if I may, what do you mean you don't want to be ruled by the King?" "I mean just that. We'll ally with him; we'll help when needed, when we can. We'll fulfill our part of the contract. But at the end of it all, mages will still be their own people, their own rulers. This alliance, between," I paused, almost saying "myself and the throne," but corrected it to maintain the ruse, "the Princess and the throne, will, as your King put in his letter, be a symbolic marriage to sho
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I remained standing as the stranger stopped just short of the table, keeping a respectful distance before bowing at the waist. "Queen Mage," he began, but I held up my hand to stop him, and he fell silent. I saw his posture stiffen, but I didn't care. I truly intended to show this man that he wasn't as important to us as his King had probably convinced him he was. If I could unnerve him, all the better for me in what I hoped would be a negotiation. "Thank you, Malorie, for delivering our guest to us. Council, we shall end here for today. Everyone out besides our guest, please." There was scraping of chairs and the soft patter of footfalls as everyone walked towards the door. Given how little I was looking forward to this conversation, it was a painfully short process. The council room wasn't large and extravagant; unlike the types of halls favored by humans, which were always grandiose and expensively made. We preferred simplicity and efficiency when it came to matters of design.
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Fire's Determination Ch. 11 No Secrets
I could feel my mother preparing to jump in when, finally, Triguni spoke up. "We've been waiting a long time for your birth. You'll accomplish much in your lifetime. As you've already shown, you understand the importance of calculated action rather than just merely relying on magic. Aeon would be proud of the woman you've become, Princess." She leaned back in her chair and resumed her silence. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat at Triguni's words, my gaze once again drifting to Aeon's empty seat. For a moment, no one else spoke until Perrin, tentatively, ventured, "Yes, I see the appeal of this union," the Potioneer mused thoughtfully. "With those added supplies, we wouldn't have to keep stretching Kiell, Liza, Terra and Enid to their breaking points. The workload those four have endured over the last few months is beyond what I thought they could handle. But I fear they might be a little too willing to sacrifice certain things for our future." "What do you mean by
