Itās been three days, seven hours, nine minutes and exactly sixty nine seconds since Vea Amaris broke into our ballroom, collapsed on the floor and cried. In the past three days, seven hours, nine minutes, and exactly sixty nine, well seventy seconds since then, a lot has happened. My mother has decided to acknowledge herself as the queen until I breach eighteen. After that, I will be the ruler, and she an advisor.
Vea Amaris is now well enough to sit up straight, well partially. Their ministersĀ have already received a letter, explaining where their acting ruler is, as their fatherās whereabouts are unknown.Ā Eren left early yesterday morning, determined to find King Amom.Ā
Thereās soĀ much to do. Fatherās funeral has already been held. We had no body to bury so we buried his falchion, even though he never used it. He stuck to his daggers until the very end, but they were lost at sea along with his beloved bow and arrow, if only we had them.Ā
Grief weighs down every move in the castle, Zuri can no longer be seen sketching the horizon or taking one of her long walks on the beach, sheās shut herself in her wing and has allowed no one to see her. Sheās even stopped taking her meals with mother and I!Ā
I wish I could fault her, blame her, but it would be hypocritical of me. If I could, I wouldĀ hide away in my room as well, but I have duties. I am expected to rule while my mother recovers from the shock, she is still queen but I am still the heir. I still have to lead my people, I still have to look after Vea, soothe our agitated allies before they turn on us, defend my kingdom and most importantly, find my fatherās killer.
There arenāt any leads to follow, I havenāt been allowed near Vea, therefore I cannot question them about his death. Thereās no ship to inspect, no bodies, no witnesses, nothing. Nothing. NOTHING.Ā
Nothingās such a horrible word, thereās no point to it. Itās the only lie we accept. Every question in the world could be answered with those seven letters, but itās never nothing, is it? Thereās always something, or someone.Ā
This is basically a long winded way of saying, Iām sneaking into Veaās hospital room to ask them questions about my fatherās brutal murder. Yay! This will definitely not backfire, Amaris is⦠reasonable, for the lack of a better word.Ā
My shoes are off, and all that could give away my identity is hidden away in my room, where Iāve arranged a few cushions to pretend that Iām asleep in my room. The borrowed (read: stolen) servantās gown is slightly uncomfortable but nondescript enough that no one will pay attention to me.Ā
Now. I have a royal to harass.Ā
I quietly make my way around the clinic, careful to stay on my guard, while Ababyomi may be out for now, sheās sure to return soon, and she knows every single nurse that works for her. The second sheās back, Iām screwed.Ā The other nurses mill about restlessly, currently the only patient in the castle is Vea. That makes my work a lot harder.
I manage to disappear behind the curtain that separates my mark from me and my questions. Vea looks less pitiful today, the swelling around their eyes has gone down, making them look less racoonish. The blood that clung to their armour and skin that night, has been painstakingly cleaned, the only trace of their injuries are the stitches that line most of their body.Ā
They cock their head to the side, and sit up. Their smile is tired and their hands barely obey them when they lift it in a silent gesture. āYouāre welcome here.ā Itās small and silent, a mutual understanding. Weāve both lost our fathers and for tonight, there is to be no mention of the war, only a grim compromise.Ā
Ā Iāll tell you what you want to know, and youāll tell me what I want to know. No ifs, no buts.Ā
āGood evening, Vea.ā I drag a chair next to their bed, allowing my body to finally rest. For the past three days, Iāve done nothing but run around, and deal with agitated allies. A few moments of rest and relaxation was much needed.Ā
āDaraja. I am truly sorry about your father, I wish I could have done more , helped him, somehow.āĀ
āYou still can, help me find who killed him, Vea. Please.ā I want to scream and cry but diplomacy helped us before, perhaps it can again.Ā
āIāllĀ help however I canā¦. For aĀ price.āĀ
āA price?ā
āNothing is ever free Princess.ā They smile at me softly, their gaze carries no heat, a simple aura of cool intellect hidden by a weak exterior.Ā
āIām aware, name your price.ā
āA walk around the palace?ā Well. That wasā¦surprising.Ā
āUh. Sure.āĀ What could possibly go wrong?
After a nerve wrackingĀ escape from the clinic, we wander around in the gardens, there is not a single soul in sight. Only Vea and I.Ā
For a few moments neither of us speak, the only sound passing between us is that of their cane sounding against the cobblestones.Ā
āSo.āĀ A brave attempt at breaking the tension, a failed one but brave nonetheless.Ā
āRight.ā
āI donāt know how to start.ā
A beat.Ā
āIāll tell you exactly what happened and then you can decide what you want to do with me.āĀ Vea offers, their gaze turned away from me.Ā They donāt wait for an answer.
āWe set sail almost immediately after the treaty was signed. He didnāt want to wait until dinner, he didnāt want to wait a second longer. All he could talk about were his girls, he talked about Zuri and The queen but mostly, he talked about you and how proud he was of you. He really loved you Daraja.ā The weather is exceptionally warm, even my eyes are perspiring.Ā Ā
āĀ I wish both of us could have made it home Daraja, I really do, but when those monsters took meā¦āĀ
āMonsters? Took you? Wha-ā WHAT MONSTERS? LITERAL? FIGURATIVE? ELABORATE.Ā
āThey didnāt tell you, did they?ā Of couuuurse they did, Iām just pretending not to know. Read the garden Amaris.Ā
āIām sorry, um I forgot that Aiga wasnāt aware ofĀ the skelons.āĀ Skelons? What?Ā
āItās a long storyā¦ā
āIāve got time.āĀ
A/N: Has this been beta read? Absolutely not no. Has this been posted after a billion years? Absolutely yes.Ā
I apologise for the incredibly long hiatus, I really didn't mean to do that. Iām really hoping yāall havenāt lost interest yet.
Mod Tag: @tiredguyswag@ne0npurplefantasies
Taglist (send an ask to be added or removed): @ghostdragoncookie @jewishdainix @ialmostdonothingnew @just-call-me-a-god @death-and-the-lady13 @fierreth-who @mister-finally-found-himself @coffeelovinggayidiot @pinkyy-promises @sassychaostrash @lesbiansayaishii @a-cloud-for-dreams @brkh96 @i-likestuff86 @redvelvetpdf @xx0yeet-everything0xx