Chapter VI Burning
3rd Era, 845, 18th of Last Nightingale
Sepheran Kingdom
Province of Storm Coast, Town of Downhill
Sylvia
The screams of the innocent was climbing towards the sky as the Orcs, Minotaurs and Baeschi sacked the town. Fire rose and blood painted ground and walls. Riding on her Giant Ice wolf the pale woman known as the Ghost Queen rode down the street with her trusted Minotaur commander Koogur by her side. He held a giant two handed hammer of Obsidian Steel, the strongest known metal, and also the rarest metal in the civilized kingdoms. The Obsidian gave the hammer a lovely and grim black color.
The Ghost Queen let her silver eyes rested on a Countess that was played with by a handful of Orcs. She cried, screamed and kicked in panic and horror. Her clothes had bene ripped apart. There was a grim hint in the pale woman’s silvery eyes.
“It will take another day to plunder this town’s wealth, Sylvia,” Koogur spoke up.
“Perhaps,” The pale Queen supposed. “No matter. The Legion can take it’s time. For now.”
“When will we march on Dragonhelm?” Inquired Koogur.
She glanced at the tall Minotaur.
“We are not ready. My sister’s Legion is still marching. I need her Legion at my side.”
“These Sepherans have never dared to meet us in the field. We have given them the chance.”
“That only means that the Duke of this province knows little or nothing of me. They think so little of the Forsaken Lands. They think us beasts who cannot organize an army. They will see their mistake when I sack capital of Sephera itself.” Her voice was filled with sinister determination.
Koogur smirked.
They would eventually stare at the town’s Keep. Where the Count’s family had governed. Sylvia figured that the Countess was the last family member alive. Since she had ordered no one spared, she would also perish, once the Orcs tired of the pleasure she gave them.
Now, the Keep was burning. Blood flowed the street outside the Keep and piles of bodies flanked the gates inside. Guards, maids, cooks and children. All slaughtered.
3rd Era, 845, 18th of Last Nightingale
Lands of the Sepheran Kingdom
Province of Skyhail, Sepheran Imperial Capital of Sephera, Royal Palace
Elisabeth Cantillon
Elisabeth stared wide eyed at her father. She fought back the tears that tried to escape her blue eyes.
“Y-you can’t leave!” She exclaimed.
At the edge of the chamber, just by the door, Cassandra decided this was a good time to leave the two alone. Elisabeth saw her slip out in the corner of her eye.
“Easy, Elisabeth,” her father said firmly. “I cannot sit and wait for an King that had better things to do than wait for his wife.”
She knew that her father was upset by this, even though it wasn’t visible to anyone else. She was certain it wasn’t intended to, but this whole mess was an insult to her House. It was an unintentional statement about her. The latter was a fact she was trying to ignore.
Her father crossed his arms over his chest.
“Please dad.”
“Do you not see? There are two possibilities here. One, King Victus planned this marriage as an insult to our House and you. If that is the case he is as hateful as his father.”
“I-I don’t believe that…” Elisabeth said, tears slowly starting to stream.
“Then the boy is a fool,” her father stated, his voice sharp as ever.
It hit her like an arrow in the chest. She had just thought all this would be simple. But nothing here was. It had sounded like a dream. Marry an King and be Queen and live in the palace for the rest of her life, in peace and all she had to do was say yes and birth at least one son.
“If he wanted to repair relations between our Houses, this marriage was the perfect pick. But instead he went off personally to go and quash a rebellion and breaks thousands of years of marriage traditions. Leaving us, you to wait here is an insult. It shows that you aren’t worth his time, which is insane since you were supposed to be his future wife.”
Elisabeth clenched her fists and tried to wipe away tears with her sleeve.
“I-I’m sure he can fix it when he comes back, right dad?”
“It will take weeks to make that journey. It isn’t like he had a Dragon or a Griffin lying around, is it. The boy’s educational dream is just that, a dream. Don’t get your mind stuck on that. People have more important things to think about.”
“L-like what?” in her state, she couldn’t think clearly.
Which he disapproved of, apparently.
“To live! To live Elisabeth!” He barked at her. It made her squeak. “The Kingdom’s people needs a large army. Do you think our rivals will respect his decision to decrease the army? Not to mention the east. In the Storm Coast, Felwood, Heimdal and Darkwood all suffer from raids from the Forsaken Lands. Without the Royal Army’s protection they are growing disenfranchised against House Gail, and Victus specifically. For five years now thousands of farmers, blacksmiths, whores, beggars and other commoners have been butchered in raiding parties of Orcs, Goblins, Baeschi and the Council of the Heavens know what else.”
To his credit, he held his firm, almost monotone voice.
Slowly he embraced Elisabeth and let her rest her head against his chest.
She had had no idea that so many people were dying. She now let it out and started sobbing, clenching his tunic with her hands.
“W-what will happen to me dad?” She sobbed.
She felt his hand rubbing her back and she felt a little better.
“You’ll marry an King,” he said comfortingly.
With a confused expression on her wet face, she asked, “I don’t understand. Weren’t you against the marriage?”
He sighed, apparently she had missed something.
“Don’t you pay attention? I said you’d marry an King. Not that King.”
Her eyes widened and she stared up at her father. Was that treason? That which her father just said?
“W-what?”
“I realize you don’t know too much about politics my dearest. But no matter. Before Augustus was crowned King, before he became known as the Conqueror, House Gail had been slipping for almost two a century. With King after King having been a lazy bastard, or just a plain idiot. I’m sorry if you thought Victus would be a good husband, but he won’t. He is the continuation of a falling dynasty,”
He paused, letting her take it in so she’d understand completely. He sat down at the nearby wooden table and she sat down beside him, leaning against him,
“Do you know which Houses are the most powerful in the Sepheran Kingdom dearest?”
“Houses Gail, Vale, Darbonne, Cantillon and Artois,” she recounted old studies she had been told.
He nodded.
“Very good. But for the last five years Gail has been slipping. Victus belief in an educating youth and a smaller army as led to massacred in the eastern border provinces, and a decline of loyalty to a Gail King. Change is in the air dearest.” He put an arm around her gently. “You have three possible husbands. The first is Duke Benedict the Giant of Artois, granted he is in approaching his fifties and…well, there’s never been an Artois on the throne before. No, you need recognition by legacy.”
She breathed out. Marrying an old man would be a nightmare.
“Which leaves the Head of House Darbonne himself-”
“Tiberius!” Elisabeth exclaimed without thinking.
He arched an eyebrow and said, “Yes. Governor of Heartfall. You already know him so it shouldn’t be too difficult. Plus, he’s only twelve years older than you. Thirty-two. Then we have Duke Vaeylon the Strong of House Vale. Only ten years older, he’s a proven Lord Commander, very intelligent and quite a muscular guy actually. He governs Ivarhelm. Since both Vale and Darbonne has sat on the throne at some point, people will be more okay with that then an upstart House,”
“I will decide so you won’t have to think about it.”
She knew that wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order for her to sit back and wait while he decided which of the Houses he would plot with.
“Dad…will House Bane and Artois help us if we…do that thing…”
“Two of your cousins are married with them, linking our Houses together. But no more of this. And keep quiet dearest.”
He got up, then bent over and kissed her forehead twice.
“Love you.”
When he left she was trying to figure out if this just happened. Had her father spoken of treason? Her mind was telling her that it really happened. It must have been something he had thought about for a long time. Her father never did anything randomly or on impulse. This must have been in the back of his mind since Victus took the throne five years ago.
Something she had thought about was that maybe, after their marriage, Victus could have helped get her big bro home from the holy land Lord Praetor Augustus sent him off on. But her husband-whoever that might be-could do that as King too. To think, a few hours ago she had thought about what it would be like kissing Tiberius and now…she was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Cassandra asking if she was okay after coming back in.709Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDc9Y8Y40pC
