Vero would be a liar if he said he wasn't nervous.
He hadn't seen Esme in 8 months. She left for Reqiuem before the fall and Glacies hasn't been the same since. The stress of having to become King built on Vero, and the family seemed to fall apart at the seams. Although they were smiles and joyful in public, in the tower, none of them truly enjoyed each other's company anymore.
Vero, whose coronation is fast approaching, sat on his bed. He was nervous about the responsibility he'd have to take on. Francis, Vero's father, was expecting a lot from him. Vero would say a little too much. He expects Vero to conquer all of the kingdoms in Teyvat and combine them into one kingdom, where the ice and snow will bury the truth of the past. But that's not what Vero wanted. Vero just wanted to be a kid again.
"Excuse me," Gloria called out, "Is the future king of Glacies in his chambers?" Vero chuckled and turned his head, "Yes, he is. Come in, missus secret relationship with the Prince of Reqiuem." Gloria loudly shushed Vero while she hurriedly ran to his side. "Shh! Do you know how loud you are!? Father could've heard you, jerk!" she complained, slapping her brother's shoulder. Vero laughed again.
While collecting himself, Vero looked at Gloria. "What did you need?" he asked. Gloria looked at Vero and she frowned. That happy moment between the two suddenly vanished.
"Mother and Father were fighting again," she sighed, "Fighting about you." Vero rolled his eyes, "When don't they ever?" Gloria frowned and looked down at her feet. "Mom wants Esme to take the throne instead, Vero."
Vero looked at Gloria, dumb-founded. "What!?" he shouted. Gloria looked at her brother, anger building up in his eyes. "I'm more deserving of the throne! I've made so many sacrifices for this moment, this blessing from the heavenly principals and Mom wants to give it all away to Esme!?" Vero shouted, standing up and walking around. He glared at Gloria who was sitting on his bed, timid and shy. Gloria stood up as well and walk to Vero. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be still, brother. Father would never allow that to happen."
Vero pushed her hand away. "Yeah well," Vero thought, "Maybe he would!" He stormed off, slamming the door to his bedroom. Gloria stood there staring at the door. She had been weary of Vero's temper these past few days, but this new information had boiled over. She decided to leave him to his own thoughts and proceed to also walk out of the room.
Before she could step back into the hallway, however, a blade met her face. It curled and rested just in front of her nose. The hooded figure who held the blade pushed forward. Gloria stepped back, trying to find a way to escape. She opened her mouth to say something, but the figure cut her off.
"If you scream for help, I will have to kill you, m'lady." The figure was soon pushing Gloria onto the wall opposite the doors. She nodded and held onto her dress, fear of what might happen next.
The figure looked around the room. They spotted a desk with books, papers, and a chest. The box had gold accents to it and a crest on the front. The chest needed a key. The figure walked to the desk and began opening all the drawers, and books, flipping papers, and throwing ink bottles to the ground. The bottles shattered against the wood, and the ink leaked through the spaces between each tile.
"My Lord? Are you okay?" a voice called out. The figure and Gloria looked at the opened door and watched a shadow throw bigger as a servant approached them. "Sir?" the voice called again.
The figure snatched the chest on the desk and shoved it into a bag. Then they looked at the princess and drew their blade. "Forgive me, m'lady, but no witnesses. I'm sure you understand." Gloria backed away, pleading with the man. Before she could scream for help, the figure lunged forward and stabbed Gloria's stomach. She gasped, feeling pain rush through her body. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't.
The figure quickly rushed to the window and pushed the window panes open, jumping out into the snow. Gloria found the wall behind her and slid down. The ivory wall behind her painted with a streak of wine.
"My lord?"
The butler's eyes grew wide as he peaked into the room. The princess clutched her stomach, putting pressure onto the bleeding. "Oh my stars, someone help!"
The butler rushed to the princess's aide, searching for cloth to tie around her wound. He grabbed the sheet off of Vero's bed and ripped the soft blanket. "Ma'am, please sit up so I can tie this around you," the butler commanded. Gloria sat up, but the pain pierced through her. A scream rushed up her throat. The butler quickly wrapped the white cloth around her and closed the knot. Gloria slammed her back onto the wall, continuing to groan in pain.
Soon, a group of maids came running into the room. Some of them were carrying sheets and one was carrying a carrier owl in a cage. "Quick!" the man exclaimed, "Call the guards and butlers to help the princess!" The maidens with occupying objects ran out of the room, but in the opposite direction of the butlers quarters. The non-occupied maids left for the other direction.
Gloria's eyes began to grow heavy. Her vision was being engulfed by darkness, and her clenching arm grew weaker and weaker. "Sir..." Gloria said softly, reaching out to the butler. He spun his head around and held the princess's bloody hand. He quickly put her hand back onto her wound, helping her add pressure. "M'lady, you must stay awake! The maidens will be back and we'll escort you to the hospital."
A maid came running back into the room. "There are no guards at their posts right now," she said, out of breath, "All of them are with the queen." The butler stared at the maid, confused. "What?" he said, "Why? What are they doing?"
"The queen was found dead just a few minutes ago!" she exclaimed, "Please, you and I must carry her to the carriage and take her quickly!"
The butler quickly grabbed Gloria and carried her out of the room. The maiden followed behind, making sure the man didn't bump into anything. As they approached the foyer, staff that made their way out of their quarters saw the princess being carried out of the castle. Many of them rushed over to help the butler carry the lady and some just stood there and examined.
The servants opened the large wooden doors. The wind and snow howled at the sight of their princess. Gloria's eyes shut, her eyes finally scumming to the darkness.
The butler threw open the carriage door and laid the princess inside. "Please, m'lady open your eyes!" he shouted, noticing her eyes shut. "Move!" another butler said as the driver scurried to his seat and grabbed the reigns. The other butler pulled the butler away and slammed the carriage door. The driver drove off with his horses and a melting snowflake in the back, her blood staining the snow beneath the servants.
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Esme sat in the throne room, dumbfounded. Tears streamed down her face as Vero clutched her little sister tightly. Francis, the king, angrily paced back and forth as all the servants and guards of the castle bowed their heads in front of him. Claude sat on the other side of the king's throne. He sunk into his throne, his chair shadowing over his face.
"How the hell does this happen!?" the king exclaimed, "How the hell do you stupid, idiotic servants get my wife and daughter killed!?" Francis stopped and leaned into a guard's face. He avoided the king's eyes.
"You people are supposed to be the best warriors from my army," Francis said, "And you let an intruder in so he can kill both of my girls!?" The king's king glowed a bright blue and ice spikes summoned behind him. Maids screamed as they backed away from the king. Butlers shielded the maidens and the guards stood their ground.
Francis walked along the row of guards, starring at each of them. "My child is dead, my wife is dead. How could you let this happen?" he whispered, tears filling his eyes. "My children have no mother now. Is it not fair to them!?" The ice grew in height. New spikes began to grow from the walls and the ceiling.
Francis stopped at the end of the row and looked back. He wanted to blame the guards for what happened, but, deep down, he knew he couldn't.
He blamed himself. Francis believed that if he were there, he could've protected his wife and daughter, maybe gotten them help sooner. But he was out for a meeting with the other kingdom leaders. A meeting which Elizabeth, his wife, had begged him not to go to so he could greet Esme when she returned. If only he had listened to her, this wouldn't have happened.
Tears threatened to leak out of his eyes. Francis lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. A sob escaped his lips. 'Go, all of you." he said, "Get out of my sight."
The staff lingered out of the throne room quickly. As the last guard left, the doors closed with a boom and the king returned to his lonely throne.
Claude finally lifted his head and looked at his father. Francis was starring at the door beyond him, tears heavily streaming out of his eyes. He squinted and finally bent his body over, loud sobs filling the empty room.
Claude stood up and walked over to embrace his father. "Mom and Gloria are in a better place now, dad. The Gods will take care of them for us," Claude comforted. Vero looked down at Esme who continued to sob into his chest. "Why..." she softly spoke, "Why did they take both of them?"
Vero's brow furrowed. As a religious man, Vero had always believed the Gods had reasons for their actions. But taking two women from the royal family is something he'd never expect from the Gods, especially since his God was supposed to protect the royal family. Vero needed answers.
"Come my children," Francis said through tears, extending his free arm to Vero and Esme, "We will get through this together." Esme rushed out of Vero's arms and straight into her father's. Her tears began to flow again, this time in the warmth of Francis's embrace. Vero stood his ground, watching his grieving family sob before him.
"Esme," Francis spoke up, "I've always wanted to watch Gloria grow up to be the Queen of Glacies, an empresses just like her mother. But now that she's gone, I want that for you." Esme looked up and met her father's soft gaze. Francis let go of Claude and tightened his embrace on Esme. "My child, you are my only hope." Esme buried her face into Francis's chest. "I will make you proud, daddy," Esme whispered, also gripping onto her father.
Claude felt a heavy presence in the room. A tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Claude looked over at Vero, who stood near the end of the stairs, looking at his father and sister. Anger grew and began to pour out of his eyes. Vero caught Claude's eyes and snapped his head away before storming out of the throne room. He slammed the large doors behind him. Claude let Vero leave.
Francis looked up from Esme and Esme followed. "Where did Vero go?" she asked, loosening her grip. "He's upset, dear. Let him grieve." Francis softly coo'ed, hugging Esme again. Francis closed his eyes momentarily, then reopened them. He knew what he had said, and he hoped Vero understood what it meant.
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"Why would you have done that to me!?" Vero shouted, throwing a vase against the wall. The glass shattered as it hit the wall. The white lilies poured out onto the floor. "Why would you promise me the throne when you were just gonna give it to Gloria!?"
Francis sat at his desk, his fingers interlocked under his chin. He watched his enraged son throw books, tear papers, throw ink bottles, glasses, vases, anything and everything. And yet, he was unbothered. He let the angry beast destroy whatever was in its path before speaking.
Vero let out a grunt as he sat down. He was leaned over, his head in his hands. "Are you done?" Francis asked, passive aggressively. Vero nodded, his breath heavy. Silence filled the room, the only light coming from the moonlight and the large chandelier.
"I never planned on giving it to any of you," Francis spoke up, extending from his chair, "In fact, I never planned on having children. I was planning on giving it up to your mother. But then I had you and Gloria." Francis grabbed the tea pot on a tray on his desk and poured the golden liquid into a tea cup. "Your mother and I chose to give it to you and we made plans for Gloria to marry the prince from Himmelstein in order to keep our alliance. But after he passed away, we weren't sure what we would do with Gloria." Francis set the tea cup down in front of Vero and sat across from the boy.
Vero looked up and took the delicate cup in his hands. The cup shook as Vero gulped down the liquid, slamming the cup back down onto the small plate.
"Son, your mother and I wanted the throne to fall under you. But you just aren't ready." Francis sighed, also leaning over to get personal with his son. "We thought long and hard, and we formed another alliance with Reqiuem. The only terms being we give up one of our children to marry theirs and be presented to the Heavens by sacrifice."
Vero's eyes widened and his head shot up. 'Wait, wait, wait. Repeat that for me. What did you just say?" Francis starred at Vero's eyes. Embarrassment filled his heart. "We- I made an agreement to sacrifice you along with Princess Julia to form an alliance with Reqiuem."
Vero felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe what his father just said to him. For political power, his father was willing to kill his son.
"Why not Claude...?" Vero asked, starring at the ground. "They want the eldest child from each family. You are our eldest along with Princess Julia." Francis softly whispered, standing up and sitting next to Vero. He wrapped his arm around his son, pulling him in close. "So I'm useless..." Vero sobbed, tears flowing once more. Francis frowned, "No, no, you're not useless, son. You are never useless."
"Then why are you killing me like I'm a lamb to a slaughter? Huh!?" Vero exclaimed. He shot up and looked down at his father whose eyes were filled with guilt. "Vero, please. Please try to understand what your mother and I went through to make this decision." Francis stood up and tried to stroke his son's face, but Vero slapped his hand away.
"Stay the hell away from me. I cannot believe you would do this to your son, your blood." Vero spat harshly, pushing past his father and storming out of the room.
Francis slowly turned around and caught a glimpse of Vero leaving, watching his shadow move down the hall and slowly disappear. Guilt rose in his chest and his heart was caught in his throat. A secret he'd kept from his son was now out of the bag, and it may or may not cost him his relationship with Vero. And maybe even more.
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