“In this life,” she said, crossing these glorious gams, shimmering in the filmy light, “you can’t let your guard down. If you can control yourself, you can control everyone else.”
Their fathers had long been allies - often, Cal had come with his father when his business as Duke of Alduin had taken him to the capital. His father had always spoken so revelry of the good king. But now both of their father’s had been taken from them. Cal’s just two months ago and then by the cruelness of the old gods, her own just three weeks ago. Now they celebrated the crowning of the Queen while the coward behind the act was still out there.
House Margrave, of course, would come to High Castle and show their allegiance to the new queen. Cal was still figuring out how to bear the weight of responsibility that had come onto his shoulders. He wasn’t sure he was ready but from a distance, she had looked as lovely and royal as ever. Ready to take on the world. Stopped by the guards, she offered her words to let him pass and he stepped passed those that barred anyone from causing harm to the new monarch.
“Your Majesty,” Cal bowed his head respectfully to her. “I don’t wish to intrude on your time, I came only to offer condolences on the loss of your father and to wish you good tidings in the start of your reign.”
It had been easy to stand by her father when he reigned, her former title had been of more importance than others but it didn’t require as much to be a princess. She had been raised to wear the crown and sit on the throne, to rule the kingdom one day but she never presumed that it would be so soon. Perhaps it was one of the reasons why all the wishes irked her. It was polite and expected but their respect came at an awful cost. Her beloved father.
“I have time to offer you, lord Callum. We are, after all, by horrid circumstances now required to work together to ensure that our allyship won’t falter under new regime.” Her words sounded forced and strange in her mouth. They had grown up together, played together once and now they were bound to carry on their fathers legacies. She cleared her throat and offered him a smile. “Does it get any easier?” She asked, no longer the queen but a woman who lost her father. “They say that time will wash away the ache but I can’t imagine that it ever will.”
with the death of her brother, aelin knew that as the eldest one day she would be the duchess of tamriel. before a year ago, she wouldn’t have thought of such. the dukedom had been clearly meant for rodrick, it was everything he had been brought up for. and while aelin’s own education hadn’t been lacking, she had never thought such a weight of responsibility would come so fast. even a year later and she was still getting adjusted, especially after the period of mourning had passed. she understood in the smallest of ways what the new queen was feeling, at least she had only a territory and not an entire continent to preside over.
aelin knew that had to make herself known to queen freya as a result of her stature in a great house of meridia. she didn’t intend for it to be overly long, especially of her family’s loyalties toward the hawtrey family and of their suspicions of the current royal house. of course they hadn’t made such ideas known, bending the knee when necessary. approaching freya with her guards around was not going to be an easy task, but aelin was never the type to let such stop. approaching the queen and staring daggers into the guard whom had stopped her before cooling her expression toward the queen when allowed through.
“ greetings your majesty, lady aelin of house malyn. i’ve come to pay my respects to you for a long and prosperous reign, and to express my condolences for the death of the king. ” her words practiced and expected of their kind as she gave the proper bow of her head.
Her hazel eyes fell to the goblet in her dainty hands and she wished that she could drink the way she had as a princess but sadly she couldn’t. Freya’s gaze ran across the crowd once more before she turned to her new visitor. It took very little to imagine the words that would soon leave the young woman’s lips now that she had heard many versions of it. She would continue to do so but at one point she was bound to snap and someone would be on the receiving end of her poisonous tongue. Luckily she had enough restraint left for lady Aelin. She knew every face and name for her own sake, for the possibility that she might need it. If she was going to reign, she would ensure that her people knew that she cared enough to memorize them.
“Thank you, lady Aelin.” Her plump lips tugged into a smile and while many had been feigned, this one wasn’t. Freya would indeed have a long and prosperous reign. “Do you want to?” She asked, smile still intact but it had changed slightly, it was curious and challenging. “Your sympathy, is it genuine or expected? Had you been given a choice, would you still stand here and offer your condolences or would you rather be out there with wine and laughter?” Her head tilted to the side, her tone wasn’t sharp because it was out of curiosity that she asked. “Let me remind you that it wouldn’t be wise to lie to your queen.”
If she could have been anywhere, she would have chosen an empty room with a bottle of wine where small talk and smiles weren’t necessary but alas. Freya knew the importance of the royal visits but she could only handle so many people with polite smiles and kind words, she preferred the ones with underlying tones or messages as if she wasn’t intelligent to understand or notice. She basked in their hidden jealousy and the naive hopes that she would be so kind to grant them their wishes.
Oh, if only she was kind.
Her eyes swept over the masses again, people from all classes there to see her. She couldn’t fault them, she was gorgeous after all. One of her guards was busy escorting another fool who had attempted to get too close when she heard the shuffle of another who was clearly going to approach her. “Let them pass,” she notified her other guard before he had a chance to interfere. Fool or not, it was important now that she wore the crown.
( PHOEBE TONKIN, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER ) —— You stand in the presence of FREYA ARDERNE, the TWENTY-EIGHT year old QUEEN of house ARDERNE of HAMLYN. Throughout the kingdom, they are commended for being INTELLIGENT, but are known to be CALLOUS as well. When spoken of, people mention THE SOUND OF HIGH HEELS AGAINST MARBLE FLOORS, A SNAKE SLITHERING NOT FAR BEHIND & RUBY PAINTED LIPS. Lets see where their power takes them next.
yo i’m eris and i wanna be a cowboy, baby! please im me to plot and/or fight!!
— while a crown suits freya well, she wasn’t prepared to take the throne so early. it’s especially hard since her father was the only one she truly cared for besides brynna. her emotions are limited, so at the loss of her favourite person, she has no qualms to tear down the entire kingdom to find her father’s killer.
— it’s not that she can’t care, it’s evident by the way she treats her basilisk, but she’s picky and doesn’t want people near her. it extends to touch too so unless she’s prepared for it, she will recoil.
— even though she wasn’t ready to become the queen she had been trained for, freya has plans of her own besides hunting down her father’s assassin. one of her main plans is to reduce the poverty infesting her land. she will of course need the help of the great houses but she has no qualms going through any of them if they choose to stand in her way. especially when it comes to the health of her people.
— freya is incredibly intelligent and she is well aware that her brain is her greatest weapon. she uses it to her advantage since she’s a selfish woman and almost everything she does is to benefit herself. if she want or need something, she ensure that she is able to get it. circumstances doesn’t matter, when she has decided on something, it’s hers.
— red is her colour. it always have been for as long as she can remember. it has nothing to do with her family and everything to do with her. there is something about the crimson red that resonates within, perhaps it speaks to the chaos in her or it looks so good on her that it’d be a crime to dislike it. regardless, freya is almost always seen wearing red and if it isn’t the clothing, it’s her accessories.
— here’s a headcanon about brynna, the love of her life!!!
fjbgkdfng i can’t think, pls come to me and we can plot and i can spew things at u!!
Rumours that there are people who have been able to speak the language of snakes has been around for centuries, some say it’s true and others disagree. The Arderne family never believed such absurd rumours nor did Freya until age eleven. It was then she discovered her ability and while she hasn’t been able to trace back her ancestry to learn who it was that gave it to her, she knew that it was best kept a secret.
It might seem odd that Freya keeps a dwarf basilisk as a pet considering the family symbol of a phoenix, but those around her have learned to tolerate the 4′8′’ snake that follows her around the castle. Her family believes that she is being dramatic and eccentric considering she has kept the secret well but she doesn’t care about others opinions. She loves Brynna and that’s all that matters.
I am fire and ruin and death and bone. I am dragon formed from ash. I will not turn to dust if you dare try and set fire to me. I will only grow stronger.
A queen—a queen who bowed to no one, a queen who had faced them all down and triumphed. A queen who owned her body, her life, her destiny, and never apologized for it.
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