It was a crisp autumn day, the sun shone bright, wind still, even though there was still a bite of chill hanging in the air. The color of the maple trees outside the holy temple had already changed completely, some of them were starting to fall onto the ground making both the ground and the sky ablaze like inferno in the kiln.
When her carriage stopped, and her newly appointed lady-in-waiting opened the carriage door for her, she could see how the holy temple's stark white color popped just perfectly on the end of the lane. In front of the entrance, she saw The Duke, with his black hair tied in a sleek ponytail, and he smiled brightly when he saw her. He always smiled. In fact, Magdalena never saw him in a foul mood, like ever. Not even once. He smiled even when the first time they met, that was when Rowan just pulled her out of the river. He took off his own coat and cape to cover her and to warm her up, even though he'd probably need it more than her. The next morning he got a fever so high that it took him 10 days before he fully recovered.
Duke Arn went against the custom as the groom usually waited for his bride to come and fetch him, he walked towards his bride, kneeled on one knee and kissed her hands.
"Princess Magdalena of Tarsir, after this ceremony ends you will be just a mere Duchess of a small estate. Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked softly so it was only her and Rowan who stood behind him could hear that. "Are you sure you want to downgrade your title?"
"My dear duke, as you already knew I can't call myself a princess anymore. So I see this as a promotion rather than a downgrade. Are you sure you want to do this?"
He stood up and chuckled. "Alright, let's give you your promotion then!"
But when she grabbed his right hand, his face suddenly changed. His cheeks became hollow, his eyes sunken. His black hair, once tied, became unraveled and longer, and more shaggier than ever. His lips once smooth became parched and pale, with a bit of loose dry skin and patch of blood. His eyes became dead-looking and as he took a long deep breath he coughed out blood. Blood sprayed and drenched her white dress, which now became as red as the maple leaves.
And then she was wide awake. On her bed, and still on her nightgown that was soaked with her sweat it stuck onto her skin and made her feel uncomfortable. Her hands were still shaking from the shock.
It was just a dream. Just a dream. Which still didn't make sense. She never dreamt about her wedding day, because for her it was just as un-eventful as any other ball, or another meeting with the council. Her wedding day was something she needed to do to survive, to fulfill her duty. She forgot how her dress looked like, having not chosen it herself. Did she really wear such a high neckline? Must be. It was an autumn wedding, after all. And did Arn really look so happy, like it wasn't a political marriage. Like it was a love marriage. Even though she knew that he did that just to find a Lady so his parents would not give Kilburn to one of his sisters once he died.
Ofcourse, the wedding didn't end up with Arn spraying out blood. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Maybe it was the effect of Arn's passing that gave her such a nightmare. Or was it the funeral yesterday? Can't be. Why would she have a nightmare about it? She took a couple of deep breath to calm her nerves. When she calmed down she could hear Rowan's voice in her head.
"Are you okay, Your Grace?" asked Rowan. By now she was already used to this way of communication. The first time she heard Rowan talking in her head was in the forest, when he told her to jump into the river. An instruction that Arn gave him to pass it down to her. Rowan possessed some magical ability so he could wander into people's minds, a thing that was very useful and used on a great length by her late husband.
"Yes, Rowan. I'm okay. Just had a bit of an unpleasant dream." She answered back, also in her head.
"Your Grace, the hearing will begin in 2 hours, shall I send Lady Mary to help you prepare?"
The hearing. Another thing she needed to do to survive. This was a custom that didn't exist in Tarsir. In her home country, a female widow was allowed to do anything she liked after she buried her main husband. If it was only a side husband or concubine, she wasn't even obligated to arrange a funeral. Usually they just got sent back to their family with some money as a token of gratitude for all the years he served and warmed her bed. A mourning period was only meant for a male widower. They need to remain chaste for a full year.
Here in Burnedie, a female widow was required to have a mourning period. She could however choose between half mourning which lasted 3 months, or a full mourning for 9 months. Arn already prepared her and gave her a very specific instruction about this. And if she wanted to go back to Tarsir, or to get her revenge on her twin sister, she needed to execute the plan Arn laid down for her carefully, and thoroughly.
"No need, Master Rowan. Thank you. I'm okay, I'll be ready in one hour".
****
1 week ago.
"Duchess, to get Tarsir you need Burnedie." he said that with his wheezing breath.
"I could never own Burnedie, you have 7 sisters and 4 nieces. I would be 12th on the line!" cut Magdalena in disbelief.
"To get Burnedie, you need Kilburn." he continued calmly after coughing blood several times. Magdalena wiped his blood with the towel, but he pushed it away. "No need, thank you. Now listen very carefully, Lena. People here in Kilburn are different from the rest of Burnedie, even more if you compare them to Tarsirians. Have you ever asked yourself why a mere Duke can govern Kilburn?"
Magdalena shook her head. She did ask herself this question, but she concluded that the people here let Arn governed them because he was the son of the queen after all. But if this was Tarsir, then Duke Arn would be sent away to another region to marry someone for alliances and Kilburn would be given to one of his sisters or nieces.
"That's because all the people here love me. Sounds cliché, eh?" he allowed himself to chuckled a bit that followed by a coughing fit. "But I'm serious, My dear duchess. More than half of our tenants were slaves. Some I bought and let them work in our land. Some I stole and most I got it by doing favor for their old masters. They love me, and love is the strongest bond of loyalty you can get."
"But, how about the nobles?" asked Magdalena.
"The nobles. Ah.. you've got to have them to run the economy, have you?" he smiled again. "We don't have many nobles here, because not many noble families want to bow down to a duke. We have 10 noble families that matter, you can forget the rest. 4 of them are more important than the other 6, so it is crucial that you gain their trust and their power."
"Fortunately, none of those 4 families have sons. So alliances by marriage are not needed." he continued before taking a few shallow breaths. "I've written everything I know about them in this book. So the question is, how do you get the hearts of the people here?"
Somehow Magdalena knew even before he said it. "They know we don't love each other, Arn. They won't buy it if I suddenly declare my undying love for you."
"No they won't. They are smarter than that. That's why you have to show it. How do they say it again? Action speaks louder than words.". And when Magdalena didn't not react, he added: "You need to take a full mourning period.".
****
"Are you sure you want to do this, Your Grace?"
Magdalena let Mary, her lady-in-waiting, clasped her black mesh veil onto her hair before answering Rowan. "I've thought about it for two days. And the answer is yes, Rowan."
Rowan was on the point of uttering his thoughts, but stopped immediately as soon as Magdalena waved her hand. She then turned her head to Mary. "Thank you, Mary. I think I would like to wear the black velvet cloak, the one The Duke gave me for our last wedding anniversary. Would you please fetch it for me?"
Mary gave her a little curtsy and nodded her head before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed Magdalena stared at Rowan with disbelief. "I thought we agreed that we will never discuss this when other people are around, Rowan."
Rowan kneeled immediately, his head bowed down his red hair which was several shades darker than Doumin covered his face. "I'm sorry Your Grace, I wasn't meant to.."
"You weren't meant to spill the beans, I understand. But you need to master your self control, Rowan. And please, you don't have to kneel for this." comforted Magdalena. "Do you know why I want to do this?"
"You want to go back to Tarsir, Your Grace." answered Rowan.
"Correct, but that's not my entire reason. I was ready to die that day 4 years ago in the forest. But The Duke and you saved my life, and gave me home and protection by marrying me. He didn't have to, but he did, and for that I'm forever thankful. I was ready to pledge a full mourning period even without getting something in return. I may not love Arn, but he was still my husband, my main consort. And I don't even know if I'm ever going to have another main consort in the future. He might be the last, who knows." expressed Magdalena softly. She grabbed a pearl necklace from a red velvet case. "Can you help me?"
Rowan lifted the necklace out of the case and helped Magdalena fasten it in the back of her neck. The moment his fingers touched the back of her neck, she shuddered for a few breaths. "But how about the other plan, Your Grace?" asked Rowan, not noticing the goosebumps on his duchess' neck.
She stayed quiet for a few moment. Erasing the memory of the last fingers of a certain red head touching the back of her neck. Even after all these years, you still had your spell on me Dou…
She then checked her reflection in the mirror before answering her husband's confidant. "The other plan, it begins with you. Without you, I'll never pull it off. My husband might be plotting this plan for 2 years, but it's up to me and you to do this. I know what I want to do, Master Rowan. But this is not only about me. So the real question is, do you want to do this?"
****
"Duchess Magdalena, you have pleaded to enter a full period to mourn for your Duke consort Arn of Kilburn." declared the high priestess. "Are you aware of what entails a full mourning period?"
"Yes, Madam."
"By entering a full mourning period, you are not allowed to leave your manor, entertain guests, wear anything but black attire, meddle in political and constitutional matters, and you are not allowed to take new consort, nor court anybody, nor bring someone new with intention of courting. Your contact within your household is also limited to 4 people including a lady-in-waiting. The other members of the household are still allowed to come to work for you, but not in direct contact with you for the whole period which is 9 full months. Do you understand this?" addressed the high priestess again.
"Yes, Madam" answered Magdalena.
"By accepting full mourning, you are also protected from any conviction, jurisdictional matters, and you can't be evicted from Kilburn no matter what happened. This way, you'd be able to mourn the Duke consort in peace. Do you also understand this?"
"Yes, Madam." reassured Magdalena.
"Very well," said the high priestess. "I grant you the right to enter a full mourning period, starting tomorrow effectively. Now please state who are the 4 people you choose to keep in contact with?"
"Remember Lena, the 4 people you choose will set the tone of your mourning period. Keeping too many nobles means you are scheming something. If you choose too many servants they would think that you just don't want to be kicked out of the manor. So my advice will be this : mix it up. Choose one Lady-in-waiting, choose someone from my side, I'd recommend Rowan, a butler to manage the manor, and one noble." warned The Duke. "The one noble has to come from those 4 families I mentioned. Iurda, they own the biggest social circle not only in Kilburn but also in the capital. Freynz, the head Lady of that family, is the treasurer of Her Majesty. Lorna, an old family with generations of generals, valkyries, and imperial guards. And last but not least: Toya. The most beloved consort of her majesty comes from the Toya family."
The conversation with Arn played back in her head. She already discussed this over and over again with Arn, as much as Arn's condition would allow him. She read the whole history of those 4 families from the note Arn had written for her, she knew it by heart now. Arn had made his preference clear, but the choice is still up to her. So what is the most important thing for her: social influence, money, army, or influence within the kingdom of Burnedie?
She understood very well, having experienced it herself, how powerful force love could be. How it could blind people's judgment easily. But to put her whole bet on the Toya family seemed very risky. In the end, the queen of Burnedie might be a tad wiser than her, especially with 27 men in her harem, how much influence could Consort Toya give her? Money and Army were needed in her plan, ofcourse. But it was a bit of a give away to directly choose them in this state. Social influence on the other hand…
"I choose Marchioness Lauren Iurda, Master Richard Bol the butler of my manor, Lady Mary as my lady-in-waiting, and Master Rowan as he was my husband's closest confidant." declared Magdalena followed by murmurs from the audience.
"I'd thought she would choose Toya" she could hear one of the lady on the peanut gallery whispering.
"I'd thought she'd go with Freynz, since Kilburn had been struggling financially lately"
The high priestess hit the high table with her long staff to draw the attention of the crowd, and to gain control of the situation. "Enough! Very well, your grace. Your wishes would be granted. I wish you a peaceful mourning"
In the front seats of The Holy Temple, 3 members of The Toya family proceeded to leave the room immediately, even before the high priestess ended the ceremony.