Chronicles of Straith #2-The Witch’s Dragon:Chapter 8
Chronicles of Straith #1-Fate’s Door///Chapter 7/Chapter 9//Masterpost
It was Roman’s second full day in Canea, and third day overall. They didn’t want this vacation to end, it was too perfect. Seeing Thomas, the feast, and Lilly’s stories about their mother all made Roman never want to leave. Were they not an actual king, Roman would stay for months.
Another morning of sleeping in, and Roman could appreciate being well-rested with less of the morning fog. Jessie woke them up, once again. Despite her youthful appearance, she was twenty years old and a full-time employee of the castle, as she explained when Roman expressed that they thought she was much younger.
She was a much more pleasant alarm clock than Roman’s annoying ticky thing in Straith. Roman’s morning improved even further when Jessie told them that the king wanted to spend some time with them. After meeting the king last night, Roman wasn’t too anxious, but they were incredibly curious.
“He said he wanted to show you some of your mother’s things,” Jessie said, leading a just-dressed Roman to where they were meeting the king. The clothes in Roman’s guest room fit them perfectly, and many of them were their mother’s. Apparently, Roman could take some home with them if they wanted, but for now, Roman was really digging this blouse. It was simplistic, a feminine style that fit them just the way they wanted it to.
“That should be fun,” Roman said, admiring the art in the corridors. How anyone could get used to this much beauty, they didn’t know. Their eyes lingered on the swan wallpaper that blinked and breathed. “Who did all the art here? It’s so pretty.”
“Lots of different artists, I believe. When the palace was built, they added lots of magic touches to provide jobs for struggling sorcerers. Specifically, the art sorcerers were becoming extremely undervalued, as increased paranoia over internal politics led to more people using magic to protect themselves instead of to add beauty to their lives,” Jessie answered, giving the wallpaper a passing glance. “That’s all the history of it, anyways. It’s not that interesting.”
“No, no. It’s really neat, I love history.” Roman wondered who had made the plant with a hundred different flower blossoms in front of them. “Do you know who made specific pieces?”
“There’s a record of them somewhere, I think,” Jessie said, stopping to knock on a door. “We’re at the king’s chambers, so have fun!”
The door opened before Roman, by none other than King Markus himself. He gave Roman a strong handshake, surprising his nephew.
“Roman, so good to see you! I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you earlier, but duty calls. How has your time in Canea been so far?” The king walked into what looked like a study room of some sort, and Roman automatically followed.
“It’s been wonderful so far, really,” Roman said, taking in the room. It wasn’t much to look at-a simple desk and a few bookshelves and cabinets, all in the same dark wood. Much different than Roman’s office back at home. They were almost scared to do work in there half the time, everything was so nice. “Jessie showed me around, and I got to meet Lilly. Dinner last night was great, too.”
“I’m glad you’re having a good time,” Mark replied, pacing around the room, clearly looking for something. “There’s some old things of your mother’s in here, it’s just been a while since I’ve been in this room. It’s a chest of some sorts.”
“Were you, um, close with my mother?” Roman asked, noting the change in the king’s tone when he mentioned Madeline. They looked around the room, wondering where a chest would be.
“Yes,” he responded, “She was my sister, and we fought sometimes, but at the end of the day we were in it together.”
There was an awkward pause of silence as Mark continued rooting through the room, and Roman watched. They weren’t sure what to say to that—it wasn’t like Roman had any siblings.
“Must be in the other room,” the king said, sighing and walking through another archway to a bedroom. “Sorry, I really do want to spend time with you and go through her things, but I only have a few minutes. I hope you understand, Roman.”
“It’s—it’s no problem. I have similar problems in Straith. The stress of being king can be difficult to bear,” Roman said, waving the apology away with their hand.
“Yes, I’m surprised you’ve managed to spend this much time away from your kingdom,” the king said, rooting around under the bed in a very undignified manner. “Ah! Found it.”
“I have, um, very capable advisors,” Roman said, remembering that they had essentially abdicated the throne with little to no warning. That thought quickly disappeared from their mind when Mark pulled the trunk out from under the bed. “What’s in it?”
“Lots of your mother’s old papers, diaries and letters. She kept a very thorough diary, and wrote to many of her college friends. So many pen pals— and many of them didn’t even know that she was the princess.” He struggled a little with picking up the trunk, heaving it in the direction of the office.
“Don’t you have servants who can assist with this?” Roman asked, surprised at how much Mark was struggling. “Here, I can give you a hand.” They held onto one side of the trunk.
“Thank you, Roman. I do have servants, but I wanted to speak with you in private. Besides, it’s good for me, with all the sitting I do all day,” Mark said, guiding Roman into the office. Together, the two kings set the chest down on the desk.
“Anything I should definitely look at?” Roman asked, already fiddling with the clasp of the chest.
“Oh, all of it’s interesting. Tell me what you find at dinner, it’s been a while since I looked through it all,” Mark said, helping Roman with the clasp. The lid of the chest flipped backwards, and Roman dove in immediately, grabbing a sheet of paper to read. “I wish I had more time to talk with you... We should have a real talk sometime. How long will you be staying?”
“Um, a week, I think,” Roman said, already skimming the letter. “Maybe we could tour the city together, or something.”
“I would love that. Now, I’ll send someone to get you for lunch,” Mark said, walking towards the door. “I hope the papers help you learn more about Madeline.” The door shut behind him before Roman could reply, leaving them all alone with a lot of reading to do.
The king seemed nice enough, but Roman really didn’t care about him when there was a whole treasure chest filled with their mother’s handwriting in front of them. Starting with the letter in their hand, Roman sat down in the chair and read. The chair appeared to be wooden, but Roman could swear it felt cushioned.
Just another touch of magic in Canea, they supposed. But Roman soon forgot about their chair as they read further in the papers. Madeline Elthren’s life unfolded before them, the world of an intelligent socialite living as part of the ruling class of Canea. She loved magic, and mourned the fact that she wasn’t a sorceress. In one letter to Lilly, she recalled playing “sorcerer” as a child. Roman found the paper hard to read as tears welled in their eyes at the thought of Madeline loving Virgil for her powers.
Past college, the letters changed their tone. They weren’t to friends anymore, but to important members of the court. Roman was confused when they saw the first letter addressed to someone within the Canean court, but the person wasn’t on vacation. The story unfolded from there, and Roman couldn’t believe how…callously she talked about Epos.
It wasn’t like Roman hadn’t said similar to their friends, but this was the man she eventually married. Yet there was another twist — letters about Epos’s corruption—and how marrying him could be the only way for Canea to infiltrate and neutralize the threat Epos presented.
Counselor Alexa
I understand that we should not interfere in affairs that are not our own, but the more news we receive about Epos’s reign and how it is harming the people of Straith, the more scared I become. He could cut off trade with Canea, and then where would we be? Their imports of coal are vital for our economy—he could cause a complete collapse—and as much as I absolutely hate him, marriage might be our best bet. It’ll forge an alliance, if nothing else.
But I cannot allow assassination to take place with my knowledge. As queen, I will have enough power to hold sway over their government to hopefully keep anything too terrible from happening. Once I produce an heir, I’ll be vital enough that no one will be able to dismiss me in court. I hate that it’s the only way I’ll gain respect in Straith, but we can’t change everything overnight.
I have sent a letter to Epos with an affirmative to his proposal. I hope we can work together on this, though we have different views.
Love and victory,
Madeline Elthren, Crown Princess of Canea
There were more letters than just the one, but this was the one that Roman gripped hard enough to wrinkle the paper. A loveless marriage. A refusal to assassinate. Respect, gained through an heir.
It wasn’t surprising. Roman had always wondered how someone would fall in love with their father, especially when their stepmother had only married Epos for his money. She’d disappeared after Roman took the crown, there for their coronation and gone the next. Roman supposed she was with her family, happily working on the family business of mining. They’d never thought to check, but her apathy towards Epos made the letters between Roman’s mother and the former king more shocking.
Dearest Madeline
It brings me so much joy to know that you will take my hand in the sacred bond of marriage. I don’t say these words to merely be courteous, but because I am happy to be marrying for love, not politics. You have listened to me when no one else would, and taken sympathy in the plights of a jaded king when many would scorn me for my status. Truly, there is no one like you. Your wit lights up a room, and I cannot wait to see it grace the halls of Straith’s castle.
Thank you for your kind words since the death of my father, and may they continue every day. I await your visit with much anticipation, and if there is anything you desire for the wedding, say the word and it is yours. I am so glad to have found an ally in my vision for Straith, and to have that ally at my side in court.
With all my love,
Epos Theularus
Roman didn’t realize how much their father had loved Madeline. And how little their mother loved Epos. Her words felt fake in the responding letter, the tone completely different from her other correspondence. The manipulation was obvious, every syllable a betrayal to the idea of a loving person that everyone at last night’s dinner had built.
Beloved Epos,
I am counting down the days, this is truly a dream come true! I believe we will be excellent rulers together, and companions in the most intimate of ways. To join you, not your country, but you, in marriage is the highest honor I could imagine. There is no visionary I would rather follow into a new world. Your intelligence and foresight is one that I admire, and it is a privilege to listen to your innermost thoughts.
I wish I could write more, but it is late and I fear someone will notice me grinning over a letter in the dead of night, loopy with love and giggling to herself. For the wedding, I wish nothing but to have you by my side.
All the love in the world,
Madeline Elthren Theularus
They read on, despite the sting of their mother’s lies. There were so many letters to and from the nobility of Canea, some describing how Madeline should seduce Epos in so much detail that Roman couldn’t read them all the way through. Even Markus was in on the secret, telling his sister to make her “intentions more obvious to the moronic monarch you married. Alliteration!” As much as Roman wanted to be mad at her on their father’s behalf, they couldn’t blame her. Even in youth, Epos was a downright terrible person, and he’d grown into an awful king who cared more about his fragile ego than the people he was supposed to be serving.
After years of being forced to conform to Epos’s idea of what a “son” should be, Roman knew that it must have taken guts for their mom to subject herself to his rule every second of her life, willingly. If you had asked Roman, at fourteen, if they wanted to live with Epos or literally anywhere else, they would have chosen anywhere else in a heartbeat.
During her pregnancy, she wrote about Roman. It was strange, the things she wanted for them. The way she talked about them as a hopeful future, someone she would bring up to be more like herself than Epos. It was sad, but Roman couldn’t stop reading. These were the only words she would ever write about them.
Lilly,
Epos keeps asking me if there’s any Canean sorcery that lets us know the gender before the baby is born, and I keep telling him there isn’t. Fortunately, he’s too stupid to know that there absolutely is (Straith’s library is a joke, honestly), and I don’t really care if it’s a boy or girl. Either way, I just want to raise a child that will rule Straith better than their father. Someone with a good heart, and enough patience to put up with their father because I could certainly use some.
Cravings are, well, interesting. I’m hoping I don’t get the urge for something magical, because every time I bring up sorcery, I get this look like I murdered everyone’s cat. I really don’t understand what about sorcery is as awful as cat genocide, but I’m almost afraid to ask. Perhaps my baby will somehow get this country to not have such a prejudice against magic. I’m pretty sure Epos would flip if he visited Canea, but he’s too self-obsessed to even think about it.
I hope all is well in Chanidy, and Mark isn’t too stressed over the training for monarchy. I remember being sixteen and terrified that I could literally kill people with a few words. He’s more anxious than I am, so make sure he’s ok.
Love and victory,
Madeline Elthren (technically Theularus, but not happy about it)
Well, at least Roman was able to bring sorcery to Straith. Their mother would be proud, certainly. Roman sat in that room, letting their emotions fill them to the brim, until Jessie brought them to dinner.