The Palace of the Sparkling Rain
The sound of glass crashing against a wall echoed through the halls. A maid trembled on her knees beside the lady's chair. The lady, however was standing now and on a angry rampage. She threw things that smashed against the walls and floor. She ripped papers that had been sitting on her desk destroying anything she touched. The maid held her cheek where a impulsive slap had laid across her cheek. Even a messenger wasn't safe.
"How dare he!" She growled glaring out the window in the direction of the Dancing Wind Palace. There was a half a morning's ride between herself and that palace but she felt as though she could fly there now and strangle both the son and the woman who wanted to be in his bed.
"Prince Clovis is plenty old enough and with the Emperor's permission there is nothing we can do about that, mother." Bastil reminded her as he sat near the window, using a cloth to shine his blade. The hilt glittered in the morning light, filtering in through the window. He glanced up at Queen Kira who was still throwing a minor tantrum. His wife, Feya stood quietly at the other window, looking out over the gardens. She seemed to be deep in thought, but he didn't really care.
"Yes he is old enough but the Emperor should have said something to me. We should have discussed this as a family. There was NO reason to allow such a inferior bloodline into the family. All he did was accept her so Clovis could stand against you in the trials. I will see her whipped to death." Kira growled and threw a rather pretty vase into the wall. It shattered, crystal beads that filled it flying in different directions like glittery shrapnell. "How could he make such a decision without consulting me?"
"Queen Kira, you are his First queen but she is his Empress. That is her son. If anyone should make the decision for Clovis, it is his mother. It has nothing to do with whether the emperor likes her or not. You will always be his favorite." Bastil tried to coax his mother. If she was to lose her cool there was a good chance things would be worse than they were now. He could not chance that currently.
"Your right, as always my smart son. You have two beautiful boys, and a wife with good lines and connections. There is no way he can favor Clovis's match over your own. They may have gained favor by Vella's marriage, that little snake, but they won't with Clovis. He isn't marrying a royal or a lady at all." She cackled and Feya's fist clenched.
"He will have a loveless marriage and she will be tortured by it anyway. Why should we care what happens to them? Afterall, I have always said, Bastil will be our Emperor. Clovis is only fit to grind beneath our heel." Feya added walking over to Bastil and setting her chin on his shoulder. He grinned and wrapped a arm around her waist.
"You chose wisely, Feya. We will indeed watch them writhe before this is over." He added grinning, leaning in to bite the crux of her neck leaving a red mark of ownership. She yelped slightly in pain before he pushed her down into the chair beside him. "Mother, please do not let yourself get worked up. I will have a word with this… woman. We will figure out what kind of woman she is. If she can not be bought then I will truly feel sad for brother, dear." He said, his eyes filled with fake sorrow.
"Why is that?" Feya asked, her hand settled over the painful mark on her neck. The red, aggravated skin burning from the bite.
"I feel sorrow that he will lay yet another beautiful young wife to rest in his back garden. A man should never have to bury his wife unless he lay them low himself. It is sad that his wedding ring seems to be filled with a eternal curse." He added with a long sigh. Feya felt her skin crawl as he all but confirmed something she had long suspected. Clovis' first wife had not stopped breathing on her own accord. She had been murdered. Not for the first time, she was glad she chose to marry Bastil instead, or perhaps she would be laying silent as the clouds beside the pond.