Ser Eckhart stood firmly on the balcony of the Royal bedchamber, looking out among the kingdom that had been frozen in dread all day, just like he was. Eckhart strained to maintain his composure as he took in a deep breath of the evening breeze. Even from his high vantage point, he could see the crowds of humans and elves outside the castle gates. Yesterday they were jubilant, and now they were all on their knees, praying to their respective gods for the Queen. Eckhart prayed it would be enough...but the reality had begun to set in.
He turned and walked back into the bedchamber to see Isolde, the High-Queen of Valyhris, laying in her bed surrounded by her council. She had been motionless for hours, her eyes closed as the court-physician tended to her. The courtiers were silent as the room was filled with the whimpers of Princess Eria, sitting at the side of the bed, grasping her mother's hand.
Eckhart passed by Lord Halvar Stanly, The Queen's Lord-Chancellor, and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder as she wept. Eria had taken more from her mother than Eckhart, inheriting her golden blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a beautiful princess just like her mother was.
Eckhart, fighting back tears, looked down at his Queen...his wife. Even now, lying there pale and lifeless, she was still, somehow, the most beautiful woman in all of Valyhris. The daughter of the man he took up the sword for in the name of independence and the woman who was the great hope for the new kingdom. It was so hard to believe, she had 5 brothers at the start of the war, no one saw her as the one sitting on the throne after her father died. But she was 'The Last Sparrow Standing', the last of House Malloy. No one could deny her claim and no one dared did. But she was no longer the 'Last Malloy'.
An Elven maid walked into the room carrying the baby boy. "Ser, the prince."
Eckhart walked over to the maid and took his son into his arms. The labor had begun the previous day and went on until the morning. It was feared that neither would survive. But finally, after 8 years, Eckhart and the Queen had produced a male heir. An heir that would never know his own mother. "Eria, come meet your brother."
"No." Eria answered refusing to even turn her head. "I don't want to see him."
Everybody else in the room remained silent. Eckhart didn't press the issue, he just looked at his newborn son. What little hair he had on his head was blonde like his mother's. This made Eckhart smile. He didn't know why, but he was happy to see his children take after the Queen as opposed to her consort. Her 'Prince-Consort'. That was the title though Eckhart didn't like being called 'prince'.
He then looked back at the bed to see the court-physician check the Queen's pulse one more time. The physician paused and sighed as he grabbed Isolde's sheets and pulled them up above her head. The inevitable had come. Eria broke down. "No!"
"I'm sorry, Princess."
Eria didn't hear the physician, she just continued to scream for her mother to wake up. Eckhart looked at the elven maid who quickly walked over to take Eria out of the room. Eria resisted. "Don't touch me, you pointy-eared bitch!"
The maid pulled Eria away from the bed and out of the room as she screamed and cried incoherently. The court-physician announced to the room. "The High-Queen is dead."
The courtiers began to sob and recite final prayers for the queen as Eckhart did everything in his power not to break down himself. "Thank you...I know you tried, doctor."
He turned to go tend to his daughter when the stoic Lord Stanly spoke up, "Ser Eckhart."
Eckhart stopped in his tracks as the Lord-Chancellor continued, "The boy. He needs a name."
"Of course." Eckhart looked at his infant son as tears began to flow from his eyes. The boy who would never know his mother. "Harold. His name is Harold. After his grandfather."
Lord Stanly nodded. "Then all hail Harold the Second of House Malloy, High-King of Valyhris. Long live the King."
"Long live the King." All the courtiers stated in unison as they all knelt to their new infant monarch who rested in the arms of his low-born father. Eckhart could barely believe the sight...
...It didn't take long for the bells to start ringing after news of the queen's death began to carry from the Castle to the crowds outside. The sound of shrieks and cries carried throughout Elves and Humans alike as they mourned the loss of their queen. Though not all the Elves mourned.
One of the elven boys in attendance turned and ran off from the crowd. The city was Elven before it was Human, and the Elves knew better about how to get around. It didn't take long for the elven boy to find his way to the catacombs, the underground network of tombs and ruins of the elven kingdom that once ruled Valyhris.
The elven boy ran deep into the catacombs telling all the elves who lived down there the news as he did. Eventually, the boy found his way to the royal tomb of the catacombs where the old Royal family of Elven Valyhris kings rested. There was a crowd of elves there who turned to the boy who announced for all to hear. "The False Queen is dead!"
All the elves in the room reacted quite theatrically to the news before a stern voice emerged from the stone throne at the center of the room. "Silence."
All the elves turned to the stone throne while the Low-King asked the messenger. "What about the child?"
"The boy lives." The elven boy answered.
"For now." The elven Low-King started from his stone throne with his stone crown on his head. "The boy is cursed...just like the rest of them."
Comments (0)
See all