The last sunrays of the day swept the smoothed surface of Irian Royal palace, enriching its walls whiteness with scarlet colors whilst sinking in the afield sea. That bright day, for the sky had been neat and clear unlike the religious scene of the country, had been particularly full of duties and work to be fastly undone. However, even with the inevitably weighty responsibilities she had to carry on, the queen had during that recurrent event permitted herself the pleasant feeling of warm tea running through her body. In awe, she gazed from her golden prison the darkening cityscape, countered by occasional popping lights.
It was in that occasion that, probably in that very same room, that she got engaged with her future husband. The years had passed, and behind her there was a fair and tidy miniature of that man she had loved. Her son sat uncornfotbly on the couch, playing with his hands awaiting. The queen sensed, as only a mother could, that little hazardous doubts were haunting her son; indeed he would have enquired about something quite... unpleasant, probably.
'Mother, I... obviously came here with something to say to you. To talk, actually, about, er... an... important, i guess, matter.'
The queen smirked. She was right, of course!
The prince, not receiving response thought he had her approval, and continued.
'The thought had me awake for all the night. Why wouldn't I be able to rule alone?' asked.
'Son, you shouldn't be thinking about this. You should be focusing on your studies.'
'At least, mother, tell me why that wouldn't be wise!'
'Kirk...' paused the queen.
'Very well.' started, turning her head 'You should perfectly know how much I value your opinion in these state matters, but unfortunately, this time, I cannot run through a different path. You are to be married to assure our reign the stability everyone hungers for.
'An offspring, capable of ruling, is what our people will demand from you and your wife. Moreover, leaving a single individual on the throne would cause distrust towards the crown. For these reasons, I already foresaw your sisters, though older than you, are not apt to rule in these times. On the other hand leaving you alone on the throne may cause a mayhem so enormously irrecoverable that of our country would be left nothing but spoils for other nations.'
She interrupted herself, taking a swift sip from her cup. Her face looked grave, and obscured by heavy thoughts.
'Mother, I...' Kirk was unable to continue. He lowered his head, red as his hairs for the embarrassment. He had been blinded. He made an obvious mistake. No words indeed could describe an appropriate apology.
'Your eldest sister has no other dream than leading the army: forcing her into the chains of government, binding her free soul to the tough spirits who aspire to annihilate us, but of which at the same time we so desperately cling in search of a glimpse of power, would be a terrible sin. Elhe has already decided her path, for how unfortunately disastrous is going to be. And Velena... her petty and arrogant attitude I permised myself to neglect make her absolutely the last person I would want to image on the throne. She has been already revode from the succession. Not that it struck in any deep way her heart; she probably had already seen it coming.' Those words weren't aimed to the prince. She needed to recall herself why she had taken these decisions, to ascertain once more they were the most preferable ones. The queen moved closer to her only son. Having put an hand under his chin, she softly raised it, then caressing his cheek. She kept a reassuring smile as she spoke.
'This is the reason why I must ask you to find someone you deem able to rule in such times.'
'Wait, mother... you mean...'
'I have complete faith in your ability to judge a character; the decision of whom you're going to accept as fianceè is completely yours.' completed; she walked away from her son, moving to the open window. She crossed her arms, and, like that, stood. Calm, in peace, she observed the cityscape unrolling under her eyes. She looked over the heads of guilty and innocents, of kind souls and wicked spirits, objective, distant and ethereal, like a real leader should be.
'I won't delude you, mother.' asserted the prince, raising as well from his couch.
'Have you ever?' chuckled her, winking at him.
'Your majesty.' interrupted suddenly a butler, by knocking at the door 'your nephew Grawar Hilton of Ivry has arrived and wishes to greet your highness.'
'Ah, yes. Haste and let him enter, I was waiting for him.'
Kirk turned his face from the butler to his mother. 'You were? I-I thought he couldn't come.' said astonished.
'Never doubt what your mother can and cannot do, son.' giggled, stepping further towards the door.
He was speechless, and torn between a mixture of glee and amazement.
As the figure of the butler exited, another one swiftly replaced it. A young man, probably of the same age of the prince, bowed slightly at queen from the entrance.
'Ah, Hilton! Please enter and settle down. It's a pleasure to see you.'
'Pleasure to meet you again as well, m'am.' said, placing his blue coat over a couch.
'Look at you! You've grown in such a fair man. I bet your mother has already one pretendant or two to deal with, I'm not right?' inquired investigating him.
'You speak the truth, m'am. Mother received proposals from all the queendom. Marqueis Valeria and Duke Voldron even made her meet their respective children.' added.
'Really? Never the thought would have crossed my mind, that the Duke would have incited his own son to court you. I heard a great number of fine parties wanted his son's hand but never imagined he would go for such an hazardous political move.'
'Actually, in Frederik's eyes I sensed much more than mere fatherly orders. But all of this was before the start of-'
'I see, you cunning fox. You came to pay visit to your wrinkled old aunt, just to escape your fiancees' formidable chase!' she remarked in a crystalline laugh, ignoring his last words, and nonchalantly took him arm in arm.
'Quite so, aunty, quite so.' sighed, launching a long exhausted stare at his sneering cousin who followed them from behind.
The queen announced the organization of a summit for the pacification of Iria for the successive season, exactly the day next to her son's birthday. She invited formerly the heads of the rebellions to take part both to the gala and to the summit, with which she hopes to settle once and for all the religious position of the government. However, she asked all violent manifestations and drastic actions to cease, stating that to ensure the successful achievement of the goals the population proposes through the voice of the summit, peaceful cooperation for the time being is more than required. For this reason she also advised that any group who would cause any kind of trouble during the intercurrent time would be restrained from participating the summit and opportunely repressed by the military.
Moreover, she answered secretly to each leader's cooperation proposal, by thanking them for their proposal, stating thay she had finally, after much reflexion, decided her side on the topic, and that she was going to formerly announce it during the meeting.
Finally, she sent out invites for her heir's birthday to the Duchy of Argentaurium and to the Vanjanan Empire respective leaders.
It was in that occasion that, probably in that very same room, that she got engaged with her future husband. The years had passed, and behind her there was a fair and tidy miniature of that man she had loved. Her son sat uncornfotbly on the couch, playing with his hands awaiting. The queen sensed, as only a mother could, that little hazardous doubts were haunting her son; indeed he would have enquired about something quite... unpleasant, probably.
'Mother, I... obviously came here with something to say to you. To talk, actually, about, er... an... important, i guess, matter.'
The queen smirked. She was right, of course!
The prince, not receiving response thought he had her approval, and continued.
'The thought had me awake for all the night. Why wouldn't I be able to rule alone?' asked.
'Son, you shouldn't be thinking about this. You should be focusing on your studies.'
'At least, mother, tell me why that wouldn't be wise!'
'Kirk...' paused the queen.
'Very well.' started, turning her head 'You should perfectly know how much I value your opinion in these state matters, but unfortunately, this time, I cannot run through a different path. You are to be married to assure our reign the stability everyone hungers for.
'An offspring, capable of ruling, is what our people will demand from you and your wife. Moreover, leaving a single individual on the throne would cause distrust towards the crown. For these reasons, I already foresaw your sisters, though older than you, are not apt to rule in these times. On the other hand leaving you alone on the throne may cause a mayhem so enormously irrecoverable that of our country would be left nothing but spoils for other nations.'
She interrupted herself, taking a swift sip from her cup. Her face looked grave, and obscured by heavy thoughts.
'Mother, I...' Kirk was unable to continue. He lowered his head, red as his hairs for the embarrassment. He had been blinded. He made an obvious mistake. No words indeed could describe an appropriate apology.
'Your eldest sister has no other dream than leading the army: forcing her into the chains of government, binding her free soul to the tough spirits who aspire to annihilate us, but of which at the same time we so desperately cling in search of a glimpse of power, would be a terrible sin. Elhe has already decided her path, for how unfortunately disastrous is going to be. And Velena... her petty and arrogant attitude I permised myself to neglect make her absolutely the last person I would want to image on the throne. She has been already revode from the succession. Not that it struck in any deep way her heart; she probably had already seen it coming.' Those words weren't aimed to the prince. She needed to recall herself why she had taken these decisions, to ascertain once more they were the most preferable ones. The queen moved closer to her only son. Having put an hand under his chin, she softly raised it, then caressing his cheek. She kept a reassuring smile as she spoke.
'This is the reason why I must ask you to find someone you deem able to rule in such times.'
'Wait, mother... you mean...'
'I have complete faith in your ability to judge a character; the decision of whom you're going to accept as fianceè is completely yours.' completed; she walked away from her son, moving to the open window. She crossed her arms, and, like that, stood. Calm, in peace, she observed the cityscape unrolling under her eyes. She looked over the heads of guilty and innocents, of kind souls and wicked spirits, objective, distant and ethereal, like a real leader should be.
'I won't delude you, mother.' asserted the prince, raising as well from his couch.
'Have you ever?' chuckled her, winking at him.
'Your majesty.' interrupted suddenly a butler, by knocking at the door 'your nephew Grawar Hilton of Ivry has arrived and wishes to greet your highness.'
'Ah, yes. Haste and let him enter, I was waiting for him.'
Kirk turned his face from the butler to his mother. 'You were? I-I thought he couldn't come.' said astonished.
'Never doubt what your mother can and cannot do, son.' giggled, stepping further towards the door.
He was speechless, and torn between a mixture of glee and amazement.
As the figure of the butler exited, another one swiftly replaced it. A young man, probably of the same age of the prince, bowed slightly at queen from the entrance.
'Ah, Hilton! Please enter and settle down. It's a pleasure to see you.'
'Pleasure to meet you again as well, m'am.' said, placing his blue coat over a couch.
'Look at you! You've grown in such a fair man. I bet your mother has already one pretendant or two to deal with, I'm not right?' inquired investigating him.
'You speak the truth, m'am. Mother received proposals from all the queendom. Marqueis Valeria and Duke Voldron even made her meet their respective children.' added.
'Really? Never the thought would have crossed my mind, that the Duke would have incited his own son to court you. I heard a great number of fine parties wanted his son's hand but never imagined he would go for such an hazardous political move.'
'Actually, in Frederik's eyes I sensed much more than mere fatherly orders. But all of this was before the start of-'
'I see, you cunning fox. You came to pay visit to your wrinkled old aunt, just to escape your fiancees' formidable chase!' she remarked in a crystalline laugh, ignoring his last words, and nonchalantly took him arm in arm.
'Quite so, aunty, quite so.' sighed, launching a long exhausted stare at his sneering cousin who followed them from behind.
The queen announced the organization of a summit for the pacification of Iria for the successive season, exactly the day next to her son's birthday. She invited formerly the heads of the rebellions to take part both to the gala and to the summit, with which she hopes to settle once and for all the religious position of the government. However, she asked all violent manifestations and drastic actions to cease, stating that to ensure the successful achievement of the goals the population proposes through the voice of the summit, peaceful cooperation for the time being is more than required. For this reason she also advised that any group who would cause any kind of trouble during the intercurrent time would be restrained from participating the summit and opportunely repressed by the military.
Moreover, she answered secretly to each leader's cooperation proposal, by thanking them for their proposal, stating thay she had finally, after much reflexion, decided her side on the topic, and that she was going to formerly announce it during the meeting.
Finally, she sent out invites for her heir's birthday to the Duchy of Argentaurium and to the Vanjanan Empire respective leaders.