The fires roared in the great
hearths at each end of the great hall. Wall sconces and overhead chandeliers,
all filled with burning candles cast an orange illumination on the large crowd
gathered to celebrate the visit of the Imperial family. Despite the jovial
atmosphere, it seemed a somber event for those of House Icillius and those who
served them. However, the soldiers of Rhyls, and the Impraetorian Guardsmen
seemed pleased enough with the amount of ale that had been provided them. It
was almost shameful to see them walking around, toasting and boasting victories
long past, while such a noble knight sit in a dark cell. It was as if those
thoughts could not be further from their minds. Even Ser Gerhard seemed to
partake in the revelry, as though he did not have a care in the world.
The hall had been laid out
according to the guests social position. At the head table sat the Emperor, the
Empress, and Lord and Lady Icillius. At the right end of the table, as the
crowd looked at it, were Prince Alvar, and Lady Lucrezia. The Emperor was doing
what he did best, drinking, and making merriment with Lord August, and the
Empress seemed to be keeping a watchful eye over everything and everyone.
Everyone else at the table looked as though their thoughts were a million miles
away. Lady Florentine seemed as though she were barely holding her emotions in
check. There was no question what troubled her mind. Prince Alvar looked calm,
but anxious. It was like him to not blindly believe that the attack on Joseppi
had taken place the way it had been portrayed in the hearing. He had a good
heart, that could possibly make him fall pray to people's schemes, but he also
had a strength that kept him true to what was right. Most who knew him thought
that with a bit more worldly experience, he would make a great Emperor when his
time came.
Lucrezia, on the other hand,
looked as though she had a million things plaguing her mind, and none of them
were good. The fear was the greatest thing that showed in her blue eyes. Her
facial expressions were calm, and ladylike. They were likely practiced over
hours and hours of working with her teachers, but to those who knew those
practiced looks, Lucrezia's face was covered in worry and anxiety. Her eyes
continued to shift from the crowd in front of her, to the curvy blonde that she
was often seen with, to her younger sister, and then back to the crowd. Very
few things seemed to disrupt this pattern, but something else very odd could be
seen in Lucrezia's body language as she sat and observed the feast; it was
almost as though she were watching Ser Garhard, and to some extent the Empress.
From where the Princess Eliisa
sat with her siblings, and Lucrezia's brother Brandon, and sister Vita, she
could see all these things. It was very curious that someone who had never met
the entire Imperial Family, and its entourage would have already figured out
that the Empress and Ser Gerhard were two people to be wary of. Perhaps
Lucrezia wouldn't be overwhelmed by the twisted game of the capital after all.
Perhaps there was hope for her. Eliisa recognized a strength within Lucrezia
that she, herself, had been forced to learn long ago, and if she could keep
that strength, and learn some other skills, she just might make it.
Josephine stood and left the
head table, followed by two of her ladies in waiting. Eliisa watched as her
mother walked across the stone floor of the banquet hall. Her purple gown edged
in gold lace, with the James family sigil embroidered across the front of it.
Eliisa always found it strange that her mother would surround herself with the
symbols of her house rather than that of the Emperor and the Imperial family.
In the ancient times, in the foundation of the Empire, family members who
married into the Imperial family would have to forsake their titles and
devotion to their original houses and swear to serve the Empire as a whole. In
the past century, that had not been the case and it seemed that Josephine
enjoyed that rule a little too much.
Eliisa rose from her chair,
and walked by Vita, who wasn't the least bit interested in anything or anyone
but the one squire she had been eying for the past thirty minutes. Eliisa
recognized him as the squire for Ser Geoffery of House James. Eliisa smirked to
herself as she continued walking, thinking that it was a good thing that Vita
was not trying to seduce her uncle Geoffery, because she would have been sadly disappointed
to learn that Ser Geoffery's interests did not include women. Many considered
that a great sin, and something that should condemn him, but given that
Geoffery was the third born child of Lord Richard James, and therefore not in
line to inherit Elessa Hall, no one really made that much of a fuss about it.
Eliisa walked around the head
table and sat down in the chair that her brother Alvar had been occupying just
a few moments earlier before he had waled off to discuss something with a few
of the local guardsmen. Lucrezia had turned to her when she arrived and tried
to stand, but Eliisa waved her down, "If we are to be sisters in the eyes
of the law, then we shouldn't be so formal around each other." Eliisa
said.
"As your Highness
wishes." Lucrezia replied with a pleasant smile.
Eliisa took a moment to look
Lucrezia up and down for a moment or two. This was the closest she had ever
been to the young woman, and she wanted to study her. Even knowing her physical
build and attributes would help Eliisa steer Lucrezia towards success in the
capital. After a moment she nodded, "I can see why my family agreed to
this union. I have to say that at first I was more than a little confused about
it. Why would the heir apparent be marrying a woman from a lesser house of
Darlton? But now I see it."
Lucrezia couldn't help but
look slightly shocked and more than a little hurt at Eliisa's comments
regarding her impending marriage and the status of her house, "Forgive me,
Highness, but I'm a bit confused..."
Eliisa held up her hand,
"I meant no offense, merely stating fact. But you are truly lovely."
Eliisa looked Lucrezia up and down once again, taking in the beauty of her blue
eyes, her bow shaped lips, her round face, long blonde hair, andthe way her
gown hugged her curved form. She was absolutely beautiful. "You are
beautiful, and you will produce beautiful heirs, and they will continue the
dynasty that my grandfather started."
Lucrezia offered a smile, and
blushed slightly, "Your Highness is kind. What will happen to you? Forgive
me, but I'm still learning about how everything works within the royal
bloodline." It was so confusing to learn the way in which the royal line
figured out inheritance and the passing of the crown. It was something that
Lucrezia had spent a great many hours at study trying to learn and decipher.
She had studied the history of the old emperors, and how their successions came
and went, which was how she found out that there had in fact been two ruling
Empresses. But Lucrezia knew that with Alvar and Joseppi, Eliisa would likely
never see the crown.
"I will be married off
too one of the higher families within the Empire to strengthen the bond between
that house and the crown." Eliisa said plainly, not giving any emotion
away, but keeping the conversation pleasant.
"That must be terrible
for you. To not know your own future?" Lucrezia exclaimed in a shocked,
and slightly bewildered way, "To be treated like a bartering card for the
benefit of the Empire."
"Are you not doing the
same?" Eliisa replied with a slight rise to her eyebrow, "Do you
think that your marriage to my brother will not elevate the status of your
House? That's all marriages do when you are high born such as ourselves."
Her eyes turned towards the lower knights, squires and others who were
celebrating in the hall, "That's the greatest difference between us and
them. They have the luxury of being able to marry for love. We, on the other
hand, marry for alliances, and rulers, and positions of power. What makes it
worse is that we will never see any of the benefits of our unions. They are
reserved for men, only."
"I have read of places in
the world where a woman's station is much higher than that of the men around
her." Lucrezia replied, "I believe Radasha is such a place."
"I have never been to the
southern kingdom, but I understand that it is a land of sin, and one in which
men and women share their sexual relationships in front of each other, and with
members of the same sex." Eliisa said, shocked. She knew that she had never been
there, and much of what she had learned of the place was from tales from her
mother, and the damning sermons that the priests would give in the cathedral.
She cleared her throat "Though, as I said, I have never been there, so I
wouldn't presume to judge."
"Forgive me, Highness,
but it seems as though that were exactly what you were doing." Lucrezia
dared to challenge the princess. She realized it was a dangerous thing to do,
even more so after what had transpired with Ser Alfred, but she didn't feel as
though Eliisa would be as touchy as Joseppi had been.
A small smile crept to
Eliisa's lips, "You are clever, Lucrezia. I will give you that, but
remember that cleverness can be a dangerous thing where you are going."
"Would you tell me of the
capital?" Lucrezia asked, "I fear that I may be unfit to live there.
I do not know your ways, or how things are done."
“ You are more fit than you
realize." Eliisa replied, "But my biggest piece of advice is this;
you have beautiful eyes that truly are the windows to your heart. It is a
quality to be admired, and makes you shine that much brighter, but in the
capital, that is not something you want. You want to be as inconspicuous as possible.
You are engaged to the heir apparent, the future ruler of the Five Kingdoms,
everyone will try and win your favor, or sway your opinion in the hopes that
you may influence Alvar when he becomes Emperor. They will offer you everything
you could imagine: money, sex, power, and if that doesn't work, they will
threaten to take everything that you hold dear. They will use your emotions,
your hopes, and your fears, against you. They will pretend to be your friend to
learn your fears, and then when the time is most opportune for them, they will
use that knowledge against you." She paused to let Lucrezia take in what
she had said. She knew it was true, she'd seen it time and again. People had
tried to do it with her, and she had learned how best to avoid it, "What
you must do, is take everything that makes you a good, and beautiful person,
and bury it. Bury it where no one can find it Never let anyone know how you
feel, never let anyone know what you are afraid of, and trust absolutely no
one!" Eliisa emphasized the last part.
Lucrezia looked horrified at
the information that Eliisa had just given her. She knew that the King's Rock
was a major city and that people had agendas, but she had no idea it could be
this bad. Vita had only scratched the surface of what she would expect, but
none-the-less she was right, Lucrezia needed to grow up, "What... what
about you? Can I trust you?" She felt foolish asking it and was sure that
she sounded just as foolish to someone who had lived in the Imperial City and
grew up around all of these seemingly horrible people.
Eliisa couldn't help but laugh
lightly, "Yes, Lucrezia, you can trust me. But you must do what I tell
you, no matter how absurd it may sound. I promise you it's for the best and for
your own good. You are a good person, Lucrezia. The Empire is in need of good
people, but goodness is the second thing that gets killed in the Capital."
“ What's the first
thing?" Lucrezia was almost afraid to ask. She shifted her eyes to look
down at the party. No one was paying attention to her and Eliisa. They assumed
that the pair were talking about fine things that ladies talked about, and as
such was of no interest to them.
"Innocence." Eliisa
replied plainly.
Lucrezia looked shocked as she
heard Priscilla approaching. Her maid, soon to be lady in waiting, curtsied to
the Princess who smiled back at her warmly before shifting her eyes back to
Lucrezia. It was clear to Eliisa that Priscilla and Lucrezia drew strength and
comfort from each other. Priscilla was clearly more to Lucrezia than just a
servant, and Lucrezia was much more to Priscilla than just her mistress. Eliisa
sat in silence for several moments studying the pair before Lucrezia spoke.
"Your Highness, this is
Priscilla. She will be coming with me to King's Rock as my Lady in
Waiting." Lucrezia said with a smile.
Priscilla curtsied again, "Your
Highness, it's a great honor to meet you."
Eliisa smiled and nodded, "The
honor is mine entirely." She looked at Lucrezia, "You realize once
you become Empress you will be expected to take Ladies in Waiting who are from
noble houses?"
Lucrezia looked at Priscilla and
back at Eliisa, "Yes I believe I read that, but surely there will still be
a place for Priscilla. She has been my maid since I was a child."
Eliisa knew that Priscilla would
likely be ordered to become a regular palace servant once Lucrezia had gotten
settled and was given proper ladies in waiting, but she could see that telling
the pair of them that now would only crush them, "I'm sure exceptions could
be made." She smiled, knowing that they were going to have to experience a
lot of pain once they got to the capital. She could only hope that they enjoyed
their friendship now, before customs and proper etiquette ripped them apart. Eliisa
wasn't sure which one it would be more painful for. Lucrezia would be loosing
her pillar of strength, but it seemed that Priscilla might be loosing something
far more precious to her. Eliisa almost felt sorry for them, but this was the
way of the world, and if this was the painful lesson that they had to learn,
then who was she to stand in the way.
Eliisa stood after a moment, "I
think I will retire for the evening. The men will be up drinking for hours
more. You are leaving for Delacia tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lucrezia replied, "Just after midday, I believe."
"Then I would get some rest,
too, if I were you." Eliisa smiled and started to walk away but paused and
turned around, "One final piece of advice for you: when you're in Slaver's
Islands, watch the world around you. Don't take things for granted, don't make
up your mind about things before understanding it. You will learn more by
watching and observing, than you will by actively participating. The world is
cruel there, far crueler than it is here. Let that teach you how it will be to
live in the capital." She smiled, "Good evening." With that
Eliisa turned and walked away.
Eliisa knew that she had dropped a
lot of information on Lucrezia in one night, but she knew that if Lucrezia
listened to it, then she would survive the capital. She felt much older than
she was. Sometimes she forgot that she was only sixteen years old, but that was
the price for living in the capital. She may have only been sixteen years old
by birth, but she had aged so much faster because of the life she lived. It was
another lesson that Lucrezia was going to have to learn, and Eliisa could only
hope that she learned it quickly. Eliisa knew that her time of living in the
capital would end. She would marry off to some highborn lord somewhere and that
would be the end of her life in King's Rock, but Lucrezia was going to be there
for the rest of her days. It would be a much longer, and much harder life for
her. Eliisa just hoped that she could survive it.
prev chapter
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing
