NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: The Domino Effect Of the Pettiest Mistakes is Heavier Than You Would Think.
Crown Prince POV
He’s sitting by his King father’s bedside. The plague eating into father has completely darkened into his cheekbones. Stripping flesh away with rot revealed under dusty light. His once lustrous sun yellow hair now wispy and thin like old hay. Father wheezes as he attempts to reach out,
“Please. My son, my dear son, come closer.” He leans in, gripping father’s hand. Father slips a vine emblemed ring onto his thumb, a thing made from pure King’s Gold of the highest quality, the sigil of inheritance.
“You must make peace with your Queen mother and your younger brothers. The stability of Astia relies on it. We already have enemies knocking at our borders. We cannot further let this kingdom get split apart from the inside.”
“I will attempt, King Father. I will.” his sister eases onto the opposite edge of the bed pulling father’s blankets up,
“You should rest father. Do not concern yourself with these pointless court politics any further. Your health should be of your highest concern.” father turns to hold her hand too,
“The two of you should no longer lie to this old man. The medics have already told me. I will not live past midnight. So, hear my final words... Hear this old man’s final apologies. I am sorry. I am truly sorry for what I have put you through. I should have stood up for your mother. And now that I am leaving this world behind, you are left with the burden of my mistakes-” he cuts off with a cough. The door abruptly slams open. A proud brunette woman in envy green. Squandered in pearls and jewels and expensive Genocian silk. She has her guards with her. Armed. As well as his half-brother by the door. A juvenile who shares her features, pulling the skin beneath his eyes and sticking his tongue out at him in taunts.
He immediately stands up,
“What is the meaning of this, Queen mother?” but she isn’t even addressing him. Like always, she drops him but a scorning gaze, she approaches father’s bedside,
“It is still not too late to right your wrongs. Renounce Prince Ysaac Stallardis and declare my son as the rightful heir.” The sight of her is worsening father’s condition. Breaking him out in seizing coughs. Sister says towards the guards,
“What are you doing just standing there? Call for the medics.”
“No. None of you leave until I give command.” the Queen says. He clicks his tongue,
“We have been through this discussion, mother. As per Astian tradition, the King’s eldest son will ascend the throne.”
“As per Astian tradition, the King’s eldest son with the rightful Queen, shall ascend the throne. I am the rightful Queen. You and your sister are mere brats of a servant girl. I have spent years playing along. Years guarding your secrets from the court and public eye.” she turns back to address the King,
“But I am done. I am sick of it. I cannot stand this blatant fallacy against my children and do nothing as I witness a low born peasant tarnishing the throne and make a mockery of the royal family. I tolerated your bullshit for far too long and too heedless. I thought, for once you may turn my way and finally love me after all the sacrifices, I’ve made for you. I was nothing but a fool.” she pushes a legislation towards him,
“This is your final ultimatum to make it up to me. Sign the decree and I will not harm your children. Prince Ysaac and Princess Elwyna will continue to hold their current land and positions, but you must give justice to your rightful heirs.” Her words are sending father into a seizure. Hyperventilating and holding his chest. Stretching his arm out. Sister is losing her patience, furrowing her brows,
“Stop! Just stop this! Drop it already. Can’t you tell you’re killing him?” Ysaac says,
“Have you forgotten the consequences if you ever bring this up again?” the Queen scoffs,
“Consequences? You mean that murderous dog of yours you unleashed on a gleeful rampage to silence all those that dare speak up against you?”
“That very murderous dog you mock is currently fighting a war for us.” The Queen pulls out a furled-up note from her butterfly sleeves, sent by one of her many little rats,
“That murderous dog is dead, and so have your consequences against me and our chances at winning this war with deterrence. I hear he has also enraged the Sansara by murdering the Yashala Princess and now Godor and Estelis are talking an open allegiance swearing to wipe us out. We will no longer do things your way.” The news stutter in his throat. Is Soril really dead? He snaps back,
“And what way will yours be? Poisoning our enemies to death like you did my mother? Instigating Estelis to attack Genocia and burn down an entire Kingdom just so you can get cheaper silk?”
“Your mother deserves to die for not knowing her place and seducing my husband. Do our Kingdom not reap the benefits of Genocia’s fall after we gained control of their biggest export? Need I remind you, it is because of me, that we can even afford this pointless battle your father waged to protect you.”
Father wheezes,
“Quiet. Quiet all of you! I will not have this discussion on my death bed!” he’s finding his breaths, the light in his eyes is getting further and further away, but there’s still the rage and disdain he’s seen father wear even after all this time as he addresses the Queen with spite and fury despite all his weakness,
“I will not sign your decree, Canary! I will not! I must right my wrongs. This is at least what Emma deser-.” he does not finish the sentence. Sister immediately cries, lunging forward to shake him,
“Father? Father!”
The Queen gives no more than a cold contemptuous sneer,
“Even as you died, the lowly wench is still all you can think of.” it burns a fire in his heart,
“You do not speak of my mother this way. Have you ever thought there might have been a reason why father never loved you? You forced him into a political marriage with your family’s backing. You killed the woman he truly loves. You drove him to an early grave with your constant schemes and efforts to undermine his decisions. You claim you loved him, but you just love his power. That’s why he abhors you to the bones even until the very end.” she slaps him across the cheek,
“You do not talk back to me. I shall speak however way about your whore of a mother as I want, dirty peasant. I am Queen Regent now.” but the guards do not react. His mouth turns bitter. She made her moves quick right after he sent his troops to Kanra. Sprinting forward, he grabs his sister on the wrist,
“We must go. She has already turned the castle against us. We no longer have father and Soril’s protection.” but the Queen’s guards immediately pour into the door, drawing steel,
“I’m afraid not. Like I said. We will do things my way. Hand over the King’s ring to me. My marriage was in shambles because of your thieving temptress of a mother, and now you shall experience it yourselves too. You will marry the Sansara as eighth male consort, and Princess Elwyna will marry the King of Estelis as third concubine. We will attempt to forge alliances with them through diplomacy and end this war. I hear they like pretty little peace offerings.”
He removes a mounted sword on the wall to cut through them. Running down the long corridor. The Queen’s maniacal voice rattling through the high stone ceilings,
“Don’t let them get away!” his sister, abruptly yanked from his arms, taken by the guards, screaming for him,
“Please! Ysaac, don’t let her do this to me! I don’t want to marry the King of Estelis!” he charges in to stop them, more are just pouring in halting his attempt as they drag her away,
“Elwyna!” a stab grazes through his side. Stumbling him back. But before he can be tackled to the ground, his personal guards finally arrive. Driving the usurpers back, Johannis pulls him the opposite direction, supporting his arm around his shoulder,
“We need to go, Crown Prince. She has already imprisoned all your subjects that refused to bend their knees. We must get out of Lunarend and go to your uncle; everything is lost otherwise.” Ysaac tries to resist them,
“Get Elwyna too! We won’t leave without her.”
“We’ll come back for her.” Helplessly, he turns to look at his sister’s tear-streaked face as she disappears around a corner. Stretching her arm out to cry for help,
“Ysaac! Ysaac!” but his guards are getting rapidly overwhelmed by the Queen’s men and it’s only a matter of time they catch up. Fuck! If only he was good of a fighter as Soril is, then the evil bitch would never dare to be this bold! This is so frustrating. This is so frustrating he can’t do anything!