The Cursed Throne

Another night of sleeplessness consumed Genevieve. The troubles that were plaguing the family worried her and her impending marriage agitated her. How was it fair that she would be forced to marry someone whom she did not know, let alone love, just so that her father could forge an alliance? Of course, she didn't want her family's kingdom to acquire more enemies than it already had but why must she be a bargaining token? Emmeline and Adaline were lucky they were too young, but she knew that they too would also face the same fate that she did.

Knowing that her guards had retired for the night, she slipped out of bed and drew on her nightgown before leaving her room. She crept down the hallways and stopped when she got to the desired door. She glanced around to make sure no one was about before knocking lightly several times and opening the door, peeking her head in to see Theo sitting on his bed with Adaline.

"Am I the only one who only just discovered we are alone during the night?" Adaline complained as Genevieve closed the door and came over to the bed.

Genevieve gave her a smile. "Our guards are men, Adaline. They need sleep, too."

"I wish father never gave them to us. It's not fair." To emphasise her point, she flopped face first onto the bed. Theo chuckled and ruffled her hair as a knock sounded at the door. Genevieve glanced over just as it opened and Emmeline appeared.

"Oh good, we're not interrupting," she said, opening the door wider to reveal her twin behind her. He closed the door behind them and Adaline shifted towards the pillows to make room for their remaining siblings. All they needed was their mother and father to appear and the whole family would be in Theo's room. The thought amused her.

Theo smiled and shook his head, making Genevieve look at him. "What is it?" she asked.

"We haven't done this in years. I can't recall the last time the five of us willingly came together, without our parents," he said.

Genevieve sighed and pulled her legs up onto the bed. "You're leaving tomorrow. You might not be back for a long time, and who's to say that I will still be here when you do?"

That made Henry lean forward and pat her hand. "Father won't actually find you a husband, Gen," he said, making her pull her hand away. She would love to be as naive and optimistic as her younger siblings because the truth of her future was not one she wanted to accept.

Theo leaned back and put his arm around Ada. "Father means what he says. He believes that it is time we were not as sheltered as he and Mother kept us, and said that it is time Gen left the family and made her own. He also hopes that it will teach her to obey what she's told, but we all know that will never happen."

Genevieve frowned as the others laughed at his words. If she didn't mindlessly listen to her father what made him think that she would conform to her husband's will? That was something she would never do, and she hoped that when the time came neither Adaline or Emmeline changed to conform to a man's word.

Deciding to change the subject, she turned to her youngest sister. "What made you come to Theo's room?" she asked, bringing her hair over her shoulder and plaiting it.

Adaline appeared to have forgotten why she had originally come to the room until her face lit up and she grabbed the book that was on the nightstand. "This," she exclaimed, opening it to a page that she'd marked. "I decided to read the book entirely, because it's far more interesting than my actual studies, but I came upon something that I thought you need to know. Where is it...here! Listen: 'And so they sought to find one who could give them their heir they desperately needed, and it was furthest to the east that one was found. Hilldegard was her name, and troublesome she was, for she was a black magic witch and did not favour the King and Queen for the recent persecution of her kind stole her mother and sister from her life. And so she fulfilled the wish of the Majesties, along with her curse, and fled to the south eastern kingdom, Aegle, and it is there her descendents shall remain.'"

She looked up once she had finished reading, and Genevieve thought over her words. They knew where the curse came from, the name of the woman who placed it onto their bloodline and where she was last seen, but what good did that do for them now? They barely were allowed to explore their own kingdom, let alone venture to another kingdom that was free of their father's rule to try and find descendents of a woman who might not have even existed.

"Does this mean we need to go to Aegle?" Emmeline said, excitement in her voice over an adventure.

Theo shook his head. "That would be impossible. Father would not allow us to venture into another kingdom because of some book if he would not trust us in his own. Besides, I leave at dawn, Father will soon send Gen off, and your guards will still be your constant companions. We could not even attempt to go ourselves."

Ada snapping the book shut drew their attention. "Mother will relax our guards. She does not like them and with Father off to war, she will be keen to remove them," she said.

"And," Emmeline interrupted, leaning forward, "Gen is still here. Only you will be gone and that still leaves four of us with Mother. She is not as strict, and we would be more able to go ourselves with her."

"Mother would never allow that," Genevieve said, shaking her head. "She might not be as strict as Father, but she worries too much and would prefer if we all stayed in the same place. Maybe if Theo wasn't going she might have permitted it, but even then she probably would have said no."

Henry, who had been quiet for quite sometime, suddenly came alive with a smile on his face. "The four of us don't have to all go! Mother might not agree to let us go to another kingdom, but what if she doesn't know until it's too late? Think about it, if two of us went while the other two stayed to keep her occupied, then she need not know until it's too late and we have already left the kingdom."

Theo chuckled. "You underestimate the size of the kingdom. It would take more than a day to travel from here to the southern border, and it is unlikely that Mother will be able to be occupied for an entire day without any knowledge of the journey."

"I think we should do it," Emmeline said, unsurprising to Genevieve. "I want to be one of the two that leave the kingdom. I can't wait to see what Philyan is like in the south!"

That made Theo raise his hand. "Emmy, no. This is nonsense. You cannot honestly trust this book to provide the answers to questions we have had for years, nor can you trust it to be the truth. Now, I am up at dawn for a long journey. I think it was time we all went to bed," he said, looking pointedly at Emmy.

She was about to protest when Genevieve stood up and clapped her hands. "You heard him. He needs his rest for war," she said, ushering her youngest siblings out before bidding goodnight to Theodore. As soon as she shut the door, she turned to the three of them and lowered her voice. "Meet me in Theo's chambers after we have seen him off. No guards. It is unlikely that we will be disturbed there."

Emmy looked like she was about to speak but Genevieve shook her head and they all went their separate ways to their chambers.

---

As she watched Theodore and her father depart on their horses, Genevieve felt a part of her become empty. It was the first time she had been separated from Theodore, and although they were not twins like Emmy and Henry were, they had been close since childhood. Now, he was off to war and becoming the man their father was making him into, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her mother kept her tears at bay while saying goodbye, but as soon as they were gone she said she needed to be alone and went off in a hurry.

As their guards had been employed to see the men off, it was easy for the four of them to slip off without waiting for them to return. And like Genevieve thought, Theo's chambers were empty and the perfect place for them to speak in private.

Adaline was the last to arrive before the door was closed and they each sat on the bed, waiting to hear Genevieve speak. "I agree with Theo that the book cannot be trusted, but I believe we have to try and find the answers that we have constantly asked," she said, looking between her siblings. "Henry's idea sounds ideal, although it would mean that the two who do go would have to shed their clothing and title in order to pass through the kingdoms. We would also need to acquire a map of Aegle and provisions for however long the journey might take - a fortnight, I should think. Possibly two."

Emmy's face lit up and she beamed. "I know where to get the map, but how would we leave the castle?"

"Through the servants' entrance. I shall look at it when we're done, to make sure it will be safe to use."

Adaline raised her hand. "I want to go. It gets so boring being cooped up for my studies, and Sir James has the ability to put me to sleep if I knew Father wouldn't be angry," she said, arguing her reasoning. "And I have just learnt all about Aegle, so surely I will be of benefit?"

Genevieve smiled knowingly at her youngest sister. "Ada, we would never say you were too young to go. It makes sense that Henry remains here as he is the next heir after Theo, and if anything should happen to him he would need to be here," she replied.

Once they had all agreed that Adaline and Emmeline were the ones that would leave Philyan and travel to Aegle, they each left the chambers separately and set to work gathering what they had been allocated for the journey. Genevieve was the last to leave and gave a fleeting look at the empty bed before she did. Theo had not even been gone a day and she already missed him. How did her father expect her to be cope without any of her family? She had wanted to speak with him before they left but she had been consumed with lessons and he with councils and preparation for war.

She was on her way to the servants' quarters when a servant stopped her. "Your presence has been requested by the Queen, my lady," he said, bowing his head.

"Of course. I shall be along shortly."

"I'm sorry, my lady, but she requested that I accompany you as it important that she see you at once."

Reluctantly she followed the servant away from her desired destination and towards her mother's chambers, the ones she kept for whenever she desired to sleep alone. It was not often but she knew that her mother preferred to sleep in her own chambers when she was with child, and that on occasions would not accompany her father to bed whenever she was annoyed with him as a result of one of their arguments.

Her mother was sat at her small table when they arrived and dismissed the servant as soon as Genevieve entered. "Your father left me this letter, but I believe it would be best if you read it for yourself," she said, her tone one that made Genevieve worried about the contents of the letter.

She gingerly took the parchment from her mother's hand and read it. The beginning spoke of her father's love for her mother and of how he was determined to keep Theodore safe while away, and though it pained him to see her upset at the thought of losing her children, it was a requirement they both had to endure. However, her name was mentioned halfway down and the words made her mouth run dry.

"I am so sorry, my darling daughter," her mother apologised, standing and approaching her. "I have protested every husband he had suggested, and refused each kingdom as a suitable place for you, but he did not seek my opinion for this."

Her eyes left the parchment and stared at her mother. "I leave at the week's end?" The Queen nodded. "I do not know much about the Kingdom of Kratharsis, but, Mother, I cannot," she protested, shaking her head. "I cannot marry--"

"You are not to marry until your father has returned from war. As part of the agreement, you are to leave Philyan and travel to Kratharsis where you shall stay until Theodore and your father return, and then you shall wed King Frances."

"Why must I leave so soon?"

Her mother sighed and sat back down. "Frances, a few years back, was set to wed another princess from across the sea. There was an uprising occurring in the kingdom she was from and he was to send four thousand troops as part of the agreement for the marriage. He sent those troops and waited for news that the uprising had been squashed, but when that news came so did the word that he prospective bride had married someone else. I believe that his requirement of this marriage was for you to be in his domain until the war is over, so that the past does not repeat itself."

Genevieve placed a hand on her stomach and turned to face the window. She had one more week with her siblings before she would have to leave and presumably never see them again. Perhaps she might see Theodore again, and there was a chance she could see the others throughout her life, but she knew that once married it was as if their family's kingdom no longer mattered as their husband was now their family.

This news meant that Emmy and Ada would have to leave within the week. She could only hope they would take it well.