#kroia

Unfortunately, Romelle doesn’t start this story much better off than she did in canon. She is a princess, but after losing her mother at her young age, she grows up lonely and withdrawn from court life. In an attempt to please her, her father the king marries a baroness who professes a desire to become her new mother, but shortly afterwards dies as the result of a hunting accident. Since Romelle is still considered young and inexperienced, her stepmother is made her regent.

Her stepmother recognizes that Romelle is the only thing keeping her from claiming the throne herself, and soon reveals herself to be cruel and conniving. She goes out of her way to make Romelle miserable, using threats to keep her under control. Romelle wants to escape badly, but has no idea where to go, as everyone else seems to find the queen charming and kind. During this time, she suffers a series of dark dreams which, while far from nightmarish, become increasing mysterious.

Once a year, their kingdom holds a grand tournament where knights from all across the world are invited to attend. Romelle usually finds it a boring event, but this year one of the challengers stands out to her: a knight adorned in black armor, who refuses to remove their helmet or give their name as anything other than ‘the Raven Knight.’ The unknown knight proves themselves to be a fierce warrior, ending the tournament with many prizes, but instead of claiming their glory in front of the royal court, leaves quietly in the dead of night. The next morning, Romelle wakes to find a messenger at the door with a gift for her, apparently from the strange knight: an ebony casket adorned with amethysts and rubies that contains a portrait of a strikingly beautiful woman - one dressed in black armor.

Romelle immediately recognizes her face from her dreams. When she falls asleep that night, she dreams of the knight, and this time is able to communicate with her. The knight bows and introduces herself as Krolia, a knight of the dark fae; years ago, Romelle’s mother had won a boon from her, and asked that Krolia would protect her daughter should she ever be orphaned and left to the mercy of the world.

Romelle is overjoyed to finally have someone by her side; while they determine Krolia visiting Romelle in her true form would draw too much attention, Krolia visits Romelle daily in the form of a raven, and guards her from the daily cruelties of her stepmother. They find a deep solace in one another: Krolia finds a reminder in Romelle of how it feels to see the world through curious new eyes, and Romelle is charmed by Krolia’s steadfast dignity and strength.

Unfortunately, Krolia’s job becomes more difficult than anticipated as the age of Romelle’s majority approaches, and her stepmother’s attacks begin coming with lethal intent. Krolia thankfully shields her from them, but despite not knowing why her attempts have been unsuccessful, the queen realizes that her stepdaughter’s pet raven is somehow in her way. In the night, the queen places poisoned knives in Romelle’s window, and true to the queen’s plan Krolia injures herself as soon as she lands, forcing her to retreat back to the Fae and leave Romelle unprotected.

Romelle knows something is wrong as soon as Krolia fails to appear in the morning. Desperately worried and with nowhere to turn, Romelle seeks out the castle’s own flock of ravens, bribing them with her jewels to find out what could have happened. They tell her that Krolia was poisoned by the queen, and had to flee back to the land of Faerie lest she risk dying; because they know Krolia cares deeply for Romelle, they also tell her that they overheard the Queen saying that the poison can only be counteracted by the venom of three young snakes.

That very night, Romelle leaves the castle. The road to Faerie is long and twisting, and she travels until her once-fine gown is filthy and torn and her silk slippers are worn through. Along her journey, she encounters three snakes who, for the price of her story, give her their venom and help her along the path. When at last she makes it to the land of Faerie, she comes to Krolia’s estate, a black castle surrounded by a alien landscape and full of otherworldly retainers. Despite her bedraggled condition, Romelle presents herself as having a cure for their sick mistress, and Krolia’s retainers bring her to Krolia’s sick bed, where she lies close to death.