Peace for a Price (1x1)

Eleazar saw the plea for help, but he only gave her the slightest of smiles and raised his cup to her in salute. "Enjoy your walk. You find yourself in fine company," he told her. That was all the help he was going to offer her at this point. His turn with the duke would come later.

Duke Asudai bowed to Eleazar then turned and started gliding away, following the side of the room as a pathway. She waited until she and Malisia were well away from the table to begin speaking. "It was a matter of great surprise when our majesty announced his upcoming nuptials," she remarked, her voice soft and elegant. "It was of great devastation that I could not attend your matrimony, but his majesty understood and arranged for you to stop here. It is a great honor, Princess, to be in your presence."
 
Malisia followed the Duke close behind, her hands folded neatly.

"The honor is mine. Your castle is such a delightful place. Thank you for welcoming us so warmly."


She kept a pleasant smile during this time, not wanting to show any sort concern or fear. Her posture was correct, her tone was polite, and her smile was as bright as ever, there was nothing she had to worry about. At least that's what she hoped.

Malisia wasn't sure what to talk about, what was polite among people of Cravonid? Furthermore, what was polite between kitsune? Cultures within the country were so different that she was still trying to figure out what the best course of action was in this situaiton.
 
The Duke glanced back at Malisia and studied her a moment. She seemed to be deciding whether or not to say something. Then she turned to face the direction she was walking. "You walk in a position of servitude. You are Princess. You should walk next to me, or I behind you. Come. Walk beside me."

"I can see from the way you hold yourself that you were not held in high esteem in your kingdom, were you? Perhaps the youngest child? Older siblings that your parents dotted on more than you? It is most regrettable and most common. However, you are no longer that youngest child. Here, you are second only to His Majesty. His Majesty's word is absolute, but if you desire, you may demand my respect and ask that I bow my knee to you here and now. That is the power you now hold." She gave Malisia a warning look. "I would take great care not to abuse this power, but hold yourself remembering that you are Princess, not Exasperating-Child-That-Must-Worry-She-Offends-Others." She graced Malisia with a smile. "It is a much shorter title, yes?"
 
She was... Rather taken a back by the words Asudai sent her way, almost flinching at how forward she was, but mostly due to how ashamed she was that she had been read so fast, like a piece of parchment in a large hand writing style.

Malisia did indeed walk beside the Duke, though her smile did falter for a few seconds as she regained her composture, remaining neutral for a while, not because she was offended, but simply, she was deep in thought.


At her mention of holding power, she exhaled softly, letting a few words out that she regretted soon after.

"I don't believe I hold- " She paused, realizing it was an awful idea to speak of what Eleazar had told her behind closed doors. Malisia cleared her throat, deciding she should not speak about her lack of power.


"What I meant is, I am not yet accustomed to giving that many orders. I understand that I have a position above many others, yet, I am used to treating people as equals. I however appreciate your words, I will make sure not to worry, your grace."

She said, with, a pretty weak smile.
 
"Good. Remember: You are not just yourself any longer. You are what you represent," the duke said, not unkindly, but frankly. "It is good to remember your people as people, but also remember that you must have a certain semblance of what they think you must be like. Thus is the strange line someone in power must walk. I, myself, have walked this line for longer than our country has officially been a kingdom."

She fell silent a moment as they continued around the room. "I am told that the colors of your skin are unusual among humans. I had thought it odd, but I have not seen all humans. Perhaps some humans are like this as some Kitsune are red and some are black. But this that you are, it is unusual, then?"
 
Malisia listened to her words, and thanked her silently. Truth be told, nobody taught her how to rule, ever, her parents had never bothered to take the responsability to do so, after all, they always thought they'd keep her hidden in a corner of the castle for the rest of their lives, and now there she was, unexperienced and confused.

However, the duke's reccomendation helped her clear her thoughts and have a bit of an idea of what she must do, of course, if Eleazar didn't find her suddent independance troublesome.


She listened to her question on her skin, nobody had really asked her before, so she found it refreshing, rather than being seen as a freak she could speak of it normally.


"Well, yes. As you mentioned the colors of Kitsune may vary, similar to humans, sometimes we do have different colors usually, however these spots are not common, at all. Only few humans have been documented with it at the time. It is... A disease."

Malisia paused, realizing it sounded more dangerous than it really was.


"It is not contagious, of course, nor is it life threatening to me. The pigments that give my skin its color dissapear, which makes the patches. Other than giving me this appearance its not- Particularly terrible to live with. Thankfully his highness can be calm knowing that his offspring will likely not have this condition."

She explained to the best of her abbilities, unsure of what may be right or not to say. The topic of children wasn't, particularly calming to her either, not because she disliked them, it was just something that caused her an odd sense of discomfort, but she didn't dwell on it too long.
 
"This is interesting," Asudai mused. "My granddaughter, she is Kitsune, of course, but she suffers from a similar malady. It is not well-known in our communities, either, and she suffers much from a lack of confidence. It is difficult for her to see beyond her fur."

They turned a corner to continue their walk. "His Majesty is a fine leader, but he is a cautious man. If you have need of answers that he is unwilling to give you, you may reach out to me. I will tell you what I can."
 
Malisia was a bit surprised, she never considered the fact that people from Cravonid also suffered from similar difficulties at times. She gave her a soft smile, not out of pity, but rather, understanding, even she hadn't figured out how to deal with her own appearance at times, most of her confidence came from pretending, she wasn't sure what to say to the duke beyond a careful. "I see"

Thankfully she continued the conversation to a new topic, though it wasn't that much more pleasant.

"i appreciate it but- I don't think I shouldn't ask too much, haha..."
 
"As you desire," the duke said calmly. "Be knowing that there are things you may desire to ask some questions woman to woman. Leading as a woman is not the same as a man at times. If you desire to ask, I am here." She glanced toward Eleazar, noting that Lance had appeared at the king's side, as was his habit. "The one piece of advice I would give you. Take advantage of the resources you have around you."
 
"Of course. Thank you. For your kind words." She said, dipping her head a bit in gratitude, she noticed Lance too, she guessed Eleazar would be busy for the time being, unless she was called over.

"Your grace- I am aware I said it wasn't prudent of me to ask too many questions but, I do have to ask... Has, anyone ever tried to conquer lord Eleazar's hand?... I am aware that is not something, I should be worried or soemething I should ask about, but, truth be told, I wondered how to... Grow closer to his highness, for the sake of pesonal growth of course."


She was being far too obvious, she knew that, but, who else was she supposed to ask about it? Lance, as much as she liked him, was Eleazar's right hand, she knew where his main loyalty remained, not that she blamed him of cours.e
 
Asudai gave her an amused look but steered them to walk away from the table and Eleazar's hearing. "Tried, yes, but as you can see, none have succeeded before you. In part because all before desired only what he could do for them. I am sure you can understand why that would not appeal to him. He is a private man. I am sure he has had bedmates. He is a healthy, successful warrior, after all. Who they were an how many, this I do not know. If you wish to know how to court him... I cannot tell you much, but I know he admires people with purpose. People who have some sense of themselves. Some determination. People who are not focused only on furthering themselves in some way. It need not be as grand as running a whole kingdom or town. It can be a man who works to ensure his family eats for the winter or a boy who is determined to his chores well. As long as they have purpose within themselves."

She turned toward the table once more. "Do not pretend to be what you are not. It is the most terrifying thing you can do, but he will never respect something or someone who is fake to his face. We must all wear masks depending on the circumstances, he will understand that, but when you are alone, but yourself as much as you can. Show interest in his interests, and attempt to share your interests with him."
 
Malisia was at least relieved that she hadn't been mocked for her childish question, she nodded and made mental notes.

A particular set of words caught her attention, "to ensure his family eats for the winter". It brought her back, to what she'd spoken about with Eleazar in the gardens. Her eyes lit up a bit, she could do something worthwhile after all, even if she had no real power at all.

Determination was another keyword she'd taken, a bit personal. Not because Asudai said it with the intent of harm but because the princess had completely forgotten of her own inner fire, determination. Had she really lost her spark? She was nearly thirty now, with no ambitions, no wants or desires beyond settling for a decent marriage, even if it was pretend. She was ashamed, ashamed to be conformist.


She made her mind up, she couldn't keep up with it forever, she didn't want just to sit down on a room and tire what remained of her bones for eternity while she waited for Eleazar to make the first step.

Sure, she still desired love, and honest appreciation, but she couldn't keep that as her only desire, she wanted to be useful, to be remembered for who she was, rather than "the youngest Valeskian princess" or "King Eleazar's spouse." She was still a person, and she had forgotten about her own desires for very, very long.

Two birds with one stone, she'd be helpful, and achieve something fulfiling while she did so.


Malisia offered a grateful smile, clearly in a much better mood already.

"I see... Thank you. Your words have opened my mind further. I- Am aware I may not be yet worthy of your trust, but if I may ever offer my help or a favour, know that I owe it to you."


She bowed deeply, respectfully, forgetting what she had been told about not putting herself in a position of servitude, but even when she remembered, she didn't mind, the duke had offered wisdom, and there was nothing that deserved more respect than that in Malisia's eyes.
 
Duke Asudai smiled slightly and inclined her head. "Of course," was all she said. She turned away, and as she did so, she noticed Lance walking away from the table. "I have business with the king. I hope you will excuse me to speak with him." She bowed slightly and walked toward the table. Eleazar noticed her coming and stood to greet. her.

Lance stood alone with his tiny cup of coffee, sipping it delicately as he watched over the people in the room. They were all relaxed and enjoying themselves, though many cut glances toward Malisia, curious about her, but none would be so rude as to simply walk up and talk to her. Duke Asudai was old, established, and someone the king and his grandfather both deeply respected. She could get away with a lot most others could not no matter their station. So, they satisfied themselves with glances, snippets of gossip, and unrelated conversations.
 
The princess nodded, allowing her to go on her way, giving her a soft smile as she departed.


Malisia, of course, found herself slowly walking towards Lance, for the sake of not remaining alone while also leaving Eleazar and the duke free to speak alone.

She kept her hands behind her back, fidgetting with her own fingers in silence until she finally reached Hearthrune.

"Good evening sir Hearthrune, it's good to see you once again. I didn't expect you to join us today ." The princess bowed lightly, too nervous to even glance at Eleazar during this time as she started making plans for their return to the castle.
 
Lance smiled at Malisia and bowed fluidly. "Princess. It is a delight to see you again. I am glad to see the journey has not been too hard on you. Have you learned many new things already?"

Eleazar and the duke quietly moved elsewhere in the room where they could stand and quietly converse together. They had some business to discuss, and while it would be discussed in more detail later, they did want to run over the highlights for what would be talked about.
 
Malisia nodded happily.

"Yes, I have. Duke Asudai has been a wonderful host."

She tilted her head, a bit with a puzzled expression.


"Do you happen to know which route we will take back to the castle? I've been studying a map his highness gave to me, so I was curious if we would go back the same way or the roads further up into the lands."
 
"Back to which castle? The one at the capital? Why would you believe we will be returning?" Lance asked, faintly puzzled. He glanced toward Eleazar, but his expression gave nothing away as he returned his gaze to Malisia and continued. "The King does not reside at the capital. He spends a lot of time there for his duties, but it is not his home. He calls home elsewhere. If he showed you the route by which we will be traveling from castle to castle, the final castle on that route is the one where you will make home, I believe. It is not at the capital and farther away from the border, which will make the visitation of your family a bit more difficult, I am afraid, but it will still be possible, I assure you."
 
Malisia was... Confused of course, she thought they'd be back to the castle the day after their visit. Her expression seemed even more confused now that she'd been told otherwise.

Maybe she misunderstood Eleazar's words... Maybe he never told her, though her memories of the past few days had been a blur of emotions for the most part.


"I see- Well. There's no problem with living further from the border, as you know I am not particularly excited to receive any visits from my family any time soon." She joked trying to lighten the mood.

She never had even the faintest suspicion that Eleazar was concerned about her attempting a hostile takeover of the kingdom, which, made everything that much more confusing, but she tried not to show it too much.

The princess remained silent after this, her smile was weak but was still there, she wouldn't go back to negativity this time, as much as her logic told her to do so.
 
"The other castle is far more of a home than the one in the capital," Lance told her in an attempt to give her something positive. "The capital's castle is all about visiting royalty, business, duty, and other practical things. It is, at best, a very fancy inn with meeting rooms. I have no doubt you and the king shall return rather frequently, and I imagine he said you might have some space that is yours, but it was never his intention to keep you there, housed like some extra piece of duty he would need to attend to. No, that would hardly suit a princess or a new bride, would it? Something far more home-like would be far better."
 
"Yes- Of course." She nods, though, not completely convinced.

"Thank you, for letting me know. He's probably been too busy to, give me that much information. But, who can blame him? His highness has- Many duties to take care of."


Malisia didn't say those words with even a drop of anger or sadness, she was being honest, even if confused. She glanced towards Eleazar too, but quickly looked away, wondering what her actual home might be like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top