Sitting awkwardly around the table, Viola, Florentine, his mother, and a man with deep purple hair quietly wait for someone to start the conversation. The mother hears the tea kettle whistling, so she excuses herself in order to shut the stove off.
"Would you like some tea, Miss Viola?" the mother asks as she brings over a platter of tea cups to the table.
Viola gently takes the offers cup. "I would love some."
The mother slowly fills Viola's cup before offering the man who came with her a cup as well. With such an awkward atmosphere, Florentine couldn't take it anymore as his curiosity grew more and more.
"You said that you're the Winter Vessel. What is the Winter Vessel doing in the Abilene Empire?" Florentine takes the tea kettle from his mother and pours her a cup of tea. "Isn't the North covered in endless snow right now?"
Taking a sip of her tea, Viola glances over at the man who came with her. The man catches what she's saying and clears his throat. "The endless snow has found its end thanks to Queen Viola stepping forward and rising to her rightful place."
"Q-Queen?!" Florentine and his mother immediately kneel down out of reflex amidst their shock. "We-we greet Her Royal Majesty!"
Viola waving her hands with an wry smile. "Please, stand back up. Especially you, Florentine. It's not good for other royalty to kneel down."
"But I'm not royalty, Your Majesty. You're the only one here who is royalty," Florentine persists. He looks up at me with a confused expression. "I'm just the humble son of a former palace maid."
That sentence must have had some weight because Florentine's mother starts nervously shaking as she tries to take a sip of her tea. Her furrowed eyebrows cause great wrinkles to appear on her forehead.
"I'm not the only one here who is royalty." Queen Viola gestures over to the man next to her. "This is my husband, King Alex. And then there's you. There are three people of royalty here."
"I'm still not following, Your Majesty."
"Florentine." The mother finally sets her cup down and firmly grabs onto her son's hand. "Your are royalty. You have always been royalty."
Shaking his head, Florentine stares at his mother with much confusion. "I... I don't understand. I was raised here all of my life. My earliest memory was here on this island. I am your son, not the empress's."
"Have you ever seen the empress, Florentine?" Queen Viola asks.
"Of course, I have. Her image is widely known as pure beauty thanks to the spring. Who hasn't seen what the empress looks like?"
"And you never questioned why you look so similar to her? Pink hair is not a common attribute to the citizens of the Abilene Empire. You even have pink eyes like Her Imperial Majesty. It never even came across your mind?"
Florentine's gaze gradually lowers as he begins to think about it. With his tea cup in his hands, he slowly starts rubbing his finger along the side.
"I mean, there were times when I thought about it when the other kids would comment how I look like the empress, but I never really put much effort in thinking about the possibility of being the empress's child. If I was the empress's child, why would she throw me out when I was a baby? It wouldn't make sense to discard an imperial child. A real mother wouldn't do that to their child."
Queen Viola was about to answer, but her husband sets his hand on top of hers which stops her from speaking. "In an ordinary family, that would be true," King Alex gently responds with his soft gaze. "A real mother wouldn't do that to their child. However, in the world of royalty and nobility, that happens if the child has no worth to the family."
"What do you mean? No worth to the family?" Florentine quickly looks over to his her mother with frightened eyes. "Mother, what are they talking about? I don't get it."
"Sweetheart..." The mother takes a deep breath before finally looking her son in his eyes. "The Imperial Family consists of only women. Do you know why?"
"Because there hasn't been a son born into the family yet."
The mother shakes her head. "There have been many sons born into the Imperial Family, but Empress Iris ordered for them to be killed immediately after they were born."
Florentine's eyes grow even more frightened as he listens to his mother. "How... how do you know this? You were just an Imperial maid. They wouldn't have told you such details simply because you're a maid."
Queen Viola perks up as she watches the mother gather herself.
"I was Her Imperial Majesty's wet nurse for every child that she had up until you were born," the mother confesses with reddened eyes. She squints a bit to keep herself from crying. "There were four other sons that were born into the Imperial Family before you, but I was ordered to bring them to the Imperial Doctor to have them killed then cremated. I couldn't do that again. I was tired of having so much blood on my hands, so I gave you to my husband then formally put in my resignation so that I could raise you as an atonement for my sins."
"But why? Why would the empress kill her sons?"
"Because boys can't become Spring Vessels," Queen Viola sharply answers with a gaze to match. "Anywhere else, sons are extremely vital in noble families and even ordinary families because they can carry on the house name, but in the Abilene Imperial Family, sons are useless except for political marriages."
Florentine falls onto the back of his chair in utter disbelief. In shock, he covers his mouth as he begins to connect everything that he was told. "So... I'm not supposed to be alive right now... My mother is the empress... and I'm royalty..."
"Don't forget that you're the new Spring Vessel," King Alex awkwardly slides in before getting punched in his arm by his wife.
"Ha...hahaha... no way..." Abruptly, Florentine stands up and heads over to the door. "Please excuse me, Your Majesty, but I would like to be alone right now."
Just as Florentine opens the door, a handful of men in the Imperial Knights uniform stands right outside. An audible gasp from the knights can be heard even from inside the house once they caught sight of Florentine.
"Why are the Imperial Knights here?" Florentine's mother asks as she separates her son from the knights.
The knight in the front holds out his hand that holds a glowing pink stone. Stretching out his hand towards Florentine causes the stone to glow brighter. "We are here to bring the Spring Vessel to the Imperial Palace," the knight strongly announces. "Please step aside."
"I believe you are being rude," Queen Viola comments as she steps forward with her husband beside her. "This young man is going to be your new emperor. Etiquette still applies to him."
"Queen Viola! My apologies. I was unaware that you were here." The knight lowers his head towards Florentine. "Spring Vessel, we ask once again that you come with us to the Imperial Palace. Her Imperial Majesty is waiting for you."
Unsure of what to do, Florentine peeks over his shoulder to look at Queen Viola. "I will come as well as it is about time that I return to the Imperial Palace. I hope that it won't be an inconvenience as we are going in the same direction."
"You are never an inconvenience, Your Royal Majesty. You and King Alex as well as your knights are welcomed to join us in returning."
Queen Viola sets a warm hand on Florentine's back to get his attention. "I understand that this may be a lot for you to take in, but I will help you along the way. I know how you feel since I didn't know that I was royalty until last year, so there's a lot that I can offer in regards to starting out." She cheekily smiles at the visibly distraught young man.
"Don't worry. She's always like this, but I assure you that my wife can be of great help to you," King Alex mentions with a slight nod.
Getting another reassuring nod from his mother, Florentine gives in and steps forward. "I will go to the Imperial Palace, so I'll be in your care."
---
"Do you think that the knights will find the next Spring Vessel?" Richard asks as he brings in a bucket of water.
"Probably not," Empress Iris promptly answers, dipping a small towel into the bucket. "Only those born in the Abilene Family can become the Spring Vessel. It's unheard of that someone else can receive the Spring's power."
"There are other members of the Abilene Family who live outside the Imperial Palace. It might be one of their children," Richard suggests.
"You know as well as I do that all members of the Abilene Family are either dead or in the palace. Stop talking nonsense."