LOCATION: THE CRUCIBLE, 100TH FLOOR
PLANET: LAPIS DIVINUS, ORION LUMINARY INSTITUTE
YEAR: ? | DAY: ?? | TIME: ??
On the third evening at the farmhouse just inside the Caerwyn border with its neighbor Goldenvale, a grand coach arrived.
Pulled by four horses this time and driven by two coachmen, the vehicle had a retinue of four mounted royal guards.
Their polished armor gleamed in the lanternlight. As they dismounted and tended to their horses, their cloaks bearing the royal seal fluttered in the wind.
Ellister Rowan heard the commotion of their arrival and rushed out to help.
The carriage was more appropriate for conveying a princess. The seats inside were made of soft leather and padded. The wheels were sturdier, and the walls of the carriage were reinforced. Rowan checked it over, approving of the upgrade in the Princess’s safety it would provide.
“Rowan,” one of the guards said. “I bear a message from the King.”
He reached inside his cloak and pulled out a tightly rolled parchment, handing it to his fellow guardsman.
Rowan took it, broke the seal and read the missive. Kaela had approached and was standing next to him.
“What news from the castle?” she asked.
“We are to accompany you to Seraph’s Hold,” he said.
“That’s it?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Rowan said. “What else would there be?”
Kaela turned to the four guards who had just arrived.
“There are no messages for me?” she asked.
“None, Your Highness. I am sorry.”
Kaela was quiet for several moments.
But then she started laughing. The more she thought about the situation, the more she laughed. The entire thing was absurd.
Fuck these people. Seriously.
She knew this was a scenario in The Crucible, but the disrespect still stung.
“Rowan,” she said, “I appreciate you for sticking with me. Would you prefer to leave now, or at first light?”
Rowan consulted with his men and decided they would give the horses time to rest and leave early in the morning.
Kaela shared a final meal with the kind couple, leaving them with a purse full of coin and memories of the time the future Queen Kaela Seraphen stayed with them.
Before the sun broke the horizon the next morning, the group was already on the road, heading eastward toward Goldenvale.
Rowan rode horseback in the front with two of the other guards, and the other two followed behind the carriage.
The horses had all been fed and groomed, and would be fresh enough to complete the journey with minimal stops.
Goldenvale was known as the breadbasket of the realm. It sat in a well-irrigated valley between the high cliffs of Caerwyn to the west and the rolling hills of Seraph’s Hold to the east.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
The vast ocean stretched as far as one could see to the north. The trade ports of Goldenvale were among the busiest in the realm.
The capital sat in the center of the valley on a raised hill overlooking acres and acres of wheat and barley fields.
Kaela and her retinue stopped to rest and to pay their respects.
The Goldenvale royal family held a lavish feast for the Princess and her escort, plying them with wine and stories that lasted deep into the night.
Goldenvale was a peaceful kingdom and featured only a small self defense force. It had always been able to rely on its two neighbors for protection, and the King told Kaela tales of the three times in the country’s history that they were invaded.
“All three times,” the King said, “both Caerwyn and Seraph’s Hold rushed to fend off the invading forces. We are indebted to both kingdoms.”
He sighed, pausing while an attendant refilled his wine goblet.
“That’s why this marriage holds so much importance to the entire realm,” he continued. “You must be the force that brings peace. I am sure it won’t be easy, but you will always have Goldenvale’s full support in this endeavor. If there is ever anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to ask. Consider any assistance you need that is in our power to be already provided.”
He toasted to Princess Kaela, and she spent that night thinking once again about the irony. Her own purported family seemed to barely even care about the marriage or about peace.
It defied logic in a way that was hard for her to fathom. As she allowed sleep to take her, one thought stayed on her mind: there must be more to this than I am aware.
Early the next morning, they were back on the road heading east.
Kaela couldn’t help but feel melancholy about the whole situation. But in the end, what was she to do?
They would cross the border in three days, and then she would be married.
In Seraph’s Hold, Prince Lucien Seraphen was anxious about the whole thing.
He was the third son of the King, and never thought he would be required to fulfill any serious role in his life. His two elder brothers were the ones who had been trained for leadership and command.
They were the ones who excelled at combat. They even directly led regiments in the war with Caerwyn, and the tales of their battlefield exploits were legendary.
But one day, news arrived from the front. The middle Seraphen brother had put into motion a plan to flank one of Caerwyn’s elite units and gain the upper hand in the war.
The elite squad from Caerwyn was comprised of ten expert rangers and ten stealth assassins. Lucien’s brother got word that they were lying in ambush on a ridge, preparing to attack the larger Seraph’s Hold army as it moved through a valley below.
Lucien’s regiment surrounded them and attacked all at once on command, believing their 120 men to be more than enough.
But the squad from the west didn’t go down quite so easily. When the larger regiment closed in, they found the rangers ready for them, and the assassins had snuck around to attack the force from the rear. It was a meat grinder, and an extremely bloody skirmish.
In the end, Caerwyn’s smaller team lost only two men while wiping out the entire regiment six times its size, including the King’s middle son.
Lucien’s eldest brother, the heir to the throne, was captured on the battlefield a week later. However, instead of surrendering and parlaying for peace or mercy, he endlessly mocked and spat at his captors, undoubtedly expecting that his royal status would protect him.
In the end, he was found dead in his cell. Caerwyn tried saying it was an accident, but few believed them. Lucien’s brother was known to be hotheaded, and while the King and Queen were in denial, Lucien could easily imagine him pushing his jailers until they snapped and killed him.
Heir or not, Lucien’s eldest brother did not have the personality or temperament of a benevolent leader.
So in the end, this left Lucien, King Alaric’s third and final son. Seraph’s Hold sued for peace, proposing a marriage between Lucien and Princess Kaela and an immediate ceasefire.
Lucien had spent his youth studying history, science, and the arts. He was no warrior, a point on which he was constantly mocked by his two brothers. But he also knew that this situation had put Seraph’s Hold in a precarious and weaker position.
That being said, the Caerwyn royal family had also lost two sons, and this marriage was a way out of a war of attrition Lucien suspected neither side was anxious to continue.
He had heard tales of Kaela’s kindness, but he knew little else. He was also told she was beautiful, but they always said that.
Now here he was, waiting at the Goldenvale border with a retinue of twenty royal guardsmen. They were relaxing at an inn, and the staff was nearly tripping all over themselves to serve the heir to the throne on the eve of meeting his new bride.
“By tomorrow morning, we will meet, Princess Kaela. I do hope you are all they have made you out to be.”
He took a drink of ale and set the mug back down.
“Because the peace of this entire realm depends on it.”