The Shadow Prince

2.
The history of Baccora had been a long and turbulent one. Rieka spent her evenings alone in her bed reading through the Royal Baccorian Records, not only out of pure curiosity but in search of wisdom. Many Garai kings and queens reigned before her whose rules had brought peace and prosperity to the realm, and Rieka sought to learn from them.

Mostly, though, Rieka sought to learn what went wrong. How could a strong dynasty collapse in a single night? The history involving King Aramis Garai, his beloved wife, son, daughter, and grandson most likely died with them, and those deaths had been fairly recent. Rieka had personally fought alongside Princess Elvi, the Princess taking her under her wing and treating her like the daughter she never had. But the war wasn't kind to Princess Elvi, and it had taken its toll on her; the good Princess never saw the end of the war.

Rieka snapped closed the large leather and wooden bound history book that she combed through every night. There would be no wisdom searching that night. Instead, Rieka’s mind was elsewhere. So much needed to be done to make amends for the atrocities her Grandfather, The Chancellor, committed. The men and women who had committed the evilest of atrocities were long dead, but their accomplices and supporters still remained, and Rieka knew she had to weed them out.

***

Heavy wooden chairs screeched and creaked against the stone floors as Council members rose from their seats upon Rieka’s entrance into the Council Chambers. One by one the Councilors bowed or curtsied to her as she walked past them, heading directly toward her seat of honor.

“You all may be seated,” Rieka said as she sat down. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Erix who helped her push her chair to the table. “What is on today’s agenda?” She asked. All around her, the councilors exchanged nervous glances back and forth, none of them wishing to be the one to speak first.

“What is it? What has happened?” Rieka asked.

“We received… intelligence… last night your Grace, it concerns affairs of the late Prince.” Councilor Thora said. Rieka felt her heart sink into her stomach.

Prince Kian Garai

“Go on… what is it?” Rieka said after sadly sighing.

It should not be her on the throne, it should have been Kian.

“As you are aware, your Grace, we are actively searching for remaining high-ranking Imperial military officials as well as Imperial sympathizers. The inquests we have made concerning the affairs of certain members and their families have allowed us to make some interesting discoveries. This being one of them.” Councilor Thora began. The dirty blond-haired Councilor, dressed in deep maroon robes rose from her seat at the far end of the table and began to approach Rieka, a ledger of documents in hand. Thora first handed the ledger to Erix who then handed it to Rieka.

“Lord Otto Harrell served as an Admiral under General Hess shortly before the Battle of Stonefort, he also was Warden of The Void with his family seat being Duskcliff. His duties as Admiral meant that he was away from his family fortress for most of his adult life, leaving his daughter as regent wardoness of The Void.” Rieka opened the ledger that Thora presented her with and was met with a small sketch drawing of whom Rieka assumed was the daughter in question.

“A discovery of a marriage contract was made, your Grace,” Thora added. At that moment, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.

“And what does this have to do with the Prince?” Rieka hesitated to ask.

“It would appear that Prince Kian entered into a secret marriage with the Lady…”

“Lady Anya,” Rieka said, reading the mystery woman's name in the ledger. Rieka’s eyes lingered on the sketch of the woman. She noted her soft, symmetrical facial features, her eyes bright and kind, and how her hair was depicted as thick and flowing. Rieka could only assume that the sketch barely did the real woman justice, for only a woman of either great beauty or great wit could have possibly tempted Prince Kian away from his former master and into the same trap that befell his own grandfather.

“Yes… Lady Anya. If this marriage contract is legitimate, it would change much of what we know about the final days of the former Empire as well as the Prince’s relationship with the Chancellor.” Councilor Thora said.

“The date on this marriage certificate puts it a full year and a half before the Battle of Stonefort. According to the records we currently have on the Prince’s whereabouts during that period, it was reported that he was leading raids on nomadic villages in The Void.” Councilor Marks added, the old, white-haired Councilor coughing a bit after the exertion of raising his voice.

“This possibly puts into question your claim to the throne.” Councilor Damask said. Rieka raised her eyes from looking at the sketch of Lady Anya and gazed upon the worried faces of her privy council. She had seen those looks before. Looks of uncertainty. Looks of fear. Looks of doubt. These expressions had been common ones during the time of the Chancellor’s rule.
“It has been two years since I ascended the throne and there has been no opposition to my rule. Why would there be any now? And why would a previously unknown noblewoman from the north cause issue? Does she have an army I may not know about?” Rieka leaned back in her seat and began to nervously toy with her regal robes.

“A year and a half is a lot of time,” Damask said.

“We are worried there may be previously unknown heirs that could be used to plot against you,” Thora said.

“I see…” Rieka somberly said. All around her, councilors began to discuss the matter. To Rieka, everything began to feel so very, very far away. She thought back to her memories of Prince Kian. She had only come face-to-face with him a small handful of times, but in those small handfuls of time, Rieka was able to see past the Prince’s dark, cold exterior, to see him as he truly was. A broken man who had been robbed of his childhood… and his future.

“What do you think Your Grace?” Someone said. Rieka shook her head of her melancholy thoughts and tried to hone in on who was speaking to her.

“Pardon?”

“We send agents of The Crown to question the Lady Anya?” Councilor Thora said.

“No… At least… not yet. I need to ponder this. I will have my answer in the morning. That will be all for today, Ladies and Gentlemen.” Rieka said, swiftly getting up from her chair, startling everyone around her. Quickly Erix moved to be by her side, noting right away that this revelation about Prince Kian was unsettling to her. All around them, councilors scrambled to stand up and bow as their Queen passed.

Rieka moved quickly through the halls and corridors of the palace, not even acknowledging servants and courtiers that passed her along the way.

“For Heaven’s sake, Rieka, slow down!” Erix whispered to her as he struggled to keep up with her in his armor.

“I’m sorry,” Rieka said, dipping into a corridor alcove to catch her breath. She hadn't realized that her senses were all heightened and that her heart was racing with anxiety.

“Are you all right?” Erix softly and tenderly asked her, breaking his “professional” facade and showing her his genuine tenderness.

“Just… this… What if it’s true? What if there is an heir out there? What…”

“Shh…” He said, cutting her off, “You don’t know for sure. You can’t possibly know. If this rumor, for that is all it is right now, is true, why hasn’t the Lady come forward? Why has she not made any claims? Hmm? Think logically.” Erix counseled her.

“You’re right… you’re right…” She said, catching her breath. For a moment she squeezed her eyes shut and placed a hand on Erix’s shoulder, when she opened her eyes once more she quickly found Erix’s. His brown eyes were deep and ever-comforting to her. She moved her hand closer to his neck, grazing her thumb against a sliver of exposed mocha skin. She would kiss him to steady herself if they weren’t in a public hall, but she had to refrain.

As it stood at that point in time, a Queen could not engage herself with the affections of her Guard. They knew that when Erix himself asked for the position. It was a sacrifice they both were willing to make. Once the war ended, there was no position left for a former Imperial Soldier who deserted his post. Offering himself up as a Queen’s Guard was the only way for him to remain at Rieka’s side.

“Come,” Erix said, straightening his shoulders and reentering his “professional” facade.

Upon returning to her private apartments, Wren was immediately there to greet her, but upon seeing Rieka’s face, Wren knew it wasn't the time for cheery remarks or jokes.

“There is… a report,” Rieka began to tell both Wren and Kaius, “That some time before the Battle of Stonefort, Prince Kieran secretly married a young noblewoman in the north. Reports say that there is a possibility that they spent much time together, and the council is worried there may be secret legitimate heirs to the Throne.”

“Kieran… married… That’s a load of bull.” Kaius scoffed, “Who would have even willingly wanted to be with him then? The man was a monster.”

“My grandfather was a monster… yet he married… he married several times,” Rieka noted.

“Your grandfather forced those women to marry him to further his agenda. Why would Kieran have some secret wife out there somewhere? To what purpose?”

“Maybe he loved her?” Rieka said, which made everyone else in the room chuckle. Everyone continued to chuckle until they realized that Rieka was serious.

“Loved? I doubt Kian was capable of love.” Kaius said.

“Something about this tells me we need to investigate it. But I don't want to send agents of The Crown.” Rieka said turning to Erix.

“Then who?” Erix asked.

“This woman could either be Kian’s great love or a woman who was badly harmed by him. And… and I owe it to him and to her to make amends, whatever that may be.” Rieka said.

Prince Kian should have been the rightful heir to the throne, but The Chancellor took him hostage, kept him as a prisoner, beat him, tortured him, and brainwashed him from boyhood into young manhood until he was molded to be The Chancellor’s perfect puppet. In the final months of the war, something changed. Kian broke free of The Chancellor’s grip. Rieka long suspected now that he was the one to overthrow and kill The Chancellor, but it came at a great sacrifice.

“You want to go?” Erix asked,

“Yes. It should be me.” Rieka clarified.

“What if this woman is hiding something and she hears The Queen is on her way to see her? She could run and hide!” Wren added.

“I won’t take an official royal party. I will go in disguise. Erix, Kaius, Wren.. only if you want to?” She said, insinuating to them that she wanted the party to be made up of them and only them.

“The Council will never allow it,” Erix said.

“Well, I am The Queen, I’ll make them allow it.”

***

It took several days of Council pushback, but Rieka was firm. The one thing that the council was most concerned about was security. They felt that with the more rural parts of Baccora still suffering from the repercussions of the war, it might be unsafe for The Queen to travel with such a small party. To that, Rieka agreed to take on an additional sword to accompany them.

Cade Westerling had been the third-highest-ranking Knight that fought for the rebellion. He previously was a legendary sell-sword, Princess Elvi’s sworn shield, and served as First Mate to Princess Elvi’s husband, Fabian Sauza Cadoc Westerling had also known Prince Kian as a boy, training him and protecting him before his abduction.

Although the man was up in years, he still was a mighty warrior, skilled and worthy to keep the new Queen safe.

It was decided that Wren would stay behind to manage the royal household and keep up appearances. Not many people needed to know that this mission was to take place.

For the first time in two years, Rieka shed her royal garments, jewels, and intricately done-up hair, and put on more appropriate attire. Attire that was akin to what she wore when she fought in the war.

With her chestnut-colored hair simply braided down her back and a plain tan linen sheath dress and brown cloak to adorn her, Rieka joined her equally simply adorned companions in the stables. With her most trustworthy guards and knight right with her, they began their trek Northward toward The Void.