Queen Marigold Lenore IV was the 83rd ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Albion, which was founded more than 2000 years ago by the founding king of legend, Valerius Lenore. Beforehand the large island that would be known as Albion was filled with smaller fiefdoms and squabbling kingdoms. But with Valerius' rule, the entire landmass united under one banner, and quickly transformed into a united kingdom.
And she, as it was essentially tradition, had just been trying to maintain that status quo, much like the previous ruling kings and queens before her. She was not of this family’s blood, she was married into it, but in order to honour her late beloved husband she decided to take the full burden of what he aimed for.
An Albion that was prosperous not because of the powerful, but because of the people. The working man. The ones who had truly run this nation, not the ones who held the monopoly over its economy and politics.
She was well aware how corrupt some of these elites can be, hence why both she and the late King tried to take measures and ensure policies for the breaking of these monopolies. In order to ensure that small businesses could run without having to worry about being overwhelmed by the powerful.
But still—
“They targeted my husband all those years ago…and just a year ago they attempted to kill my youngest daughter.” She said, a clear frustration within her tone of voice, “Truly…how insolent they are…”
The secret service had so far been investigating this case ever since the king’s passing. But only now did they manage to find a lead, all thanks to the very same assailant that killed her husband, and had also tried to kill her daughter, being a turn-coat.
Both the Queen of Albion and the assassin, who went by the name of Selena Blackthorn, were currently sitting in the private meeting room of the palace. The message to summon the entire royal family had been sent, they were now just waiting for those two to arrive.
Selena was silent towards the Queen’s comment, her expression unchanged, though deep down she did feel remorse.
“I assure you, Your Majesty, once we verify that the rest of your family has arrived, we will begin the discussion to repay them.” And a man would answer in the elf’s stead.
Accompanying the two women would be Alden Wednesday, as well as Hilde, to represent the Royal Academy of Albion who had offered their hand in the investigation of these assassinations.
As for Queen Marigold herself, Her Highness had been currently accompanied by the eldest of the two princesses, the First Princess Tegan Lenore.
She's the spitting image of her mother in terms of looks. Fierce but very beautiful. While her brother took after their father outright, and Cecilia a mix of the two, the First Princess had taken from her mother. Silver hair and golden eyes, very much fitting of the Queen's namesake ‘Marigold’, akin to the flower.
“Would it be possible to begin the discussion now? It would be wise that we should know beforehand so as to prepare with haste, Mr. Wednesday.” Tegan would say to the man.
Alden smiled, clearing his throat, “My apologies, but it would also be wise for the one that had survived the assassination attempt herself to also be here, would it not?”
Tegan sighed, heavily, an air of disappointment and frustration emanating from her. “...Very well, we shall await their arrival.” She said in a heavy tone, before a sudden thought came up. “But how is Cecilia, currently? Has she performed well in school?”
The Queen turned towards her eldest daughter, seemingly weirded out by the sudden switch of topic to something more mild. Tegan turned to her and gave her an awkward smile, as if to tell her that ‘At the least we should know more about Cecilia beforehand?’
But it was not Alden that would answer, instead it would be the young woman beside him.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
She had black and white hair, split evenly in the middle. Her eyes possessed the same colours, just mirrored in their positions. It was Hilde, “I assure you, she is performing very well, such is a lady of her talents.” She said, with a small smile too.
And Alden would add on to it, “Consistently in the top 3 among the second years, I might add.” He said. “The competition is fierce in terms of academia, but her hard work has certainly paid off, Your Highness”
And further context upon said rankings, the close friend of Cecilia, who had gone by the name of Marilyn, would be in the 5th spot amongst the second years despite her initial disadvantage in terms of magical potency. It was because of her hard work and routine studying with Cecilia and her other friends did she manage to reach such a high status.
Adrian would be in the top 4. Elysia was also not far behind Marilyn, and the cowboy from Arcadia Vincent Morales would be in the top 10s.
Tegan smiled at such news, which had lightened up the mood as it was delivered to them, “I see. Dear brother would be delighted by such news as well I reckon.” She replied, before turning to her mother, “Isn't that right, dear mother?”
The Queen sighed in response, the crisis her family had experienced had certainly overwhelmed her, to the point she couldn't exactly focus on trying to be a mother as of late. It was something that plagued her mind for so long ever since the death of her husband, to the point that she grew a reputation of strictness and grew an air of apparent neglect towards her own children.
But the mention of the phrase ‘dear mother’ from Tegan, along with Cecilia's academic journey, did bring a gentle smile to her face. “Indeed, we shall tell him of this good news once all of this is done, Tegan.”
The First Princess also smiled, as she nodded in response. But as they conversed…
“Such it is a delight to see a family actually bonding, not bound by an air of tension.” Alden would say, quietly. “Years of experiencing fear and anxiety had certainly brought an impact towards them, to the point they lost their way as ordinary people.”
Hilde glanced towards him, and leaned back against her portion of the seat, which was a couch, in response. Not a proper way when facing a royal, but then again her way of dressing had no comment from their eyes as well.
“I just want this to be over by the time the day is done.” She said, crossing her arms.
Selena had just been silent all this time, only really wanting to speak once her role as the information broker would be put out, but hearing them talking did bring a related thought to her mind.
“I have certainly ruined the potential bond of these people, huh?” She said internally, as she glanced over to the royal family.
She would try to think more about the circumstance she's in, but a sudden arrival had interrupted that notion. An opened door was that disturbance, and the ones to be at said location was none other than—
“Dear mother, I have arrived.” Cassian would announce, bowing, his right hand placed onto his chest. He would quickly notice that the representatives of the Royal Academy were also here.
“I shall assume that we would be talking about the incident from a year ago?” He said again, propping himself up as he did.
Alden turned around to gaze upon him, the others doing the same. “That shall occur later, once the most direct witness to the disaster arrives here, Your Highness.” He said so with a reassuring smile, as his cane was tapped lightly towards the floor.
Cassian held his breath for a second at that notion, but nodded. “Very well.”
Helena had just been tailing from behind, acting as the assigned company to the commander of the Royal Knights of Albion. But considering that obviously Cassian was acting as a prince now, she wasn't as sure what to do but watched intently, for any potential orders to take.
“I implore that you take your seat, Cassian.” The Queen ordered him.
Cassian nodded in response to his mother's command, as he would then do as what was told of him. But before Helena herself could follow to stand by his side, as it was the natural thing to do of a knight towards their liege—
“Helena, I would suggest that you should take your break now.” He said, “Your next assignment shall also be the patrolling of the capital after that break. I don't want you to get involved in the internal politics of royals.”
Helena stopped mid-walk as she heard those words. She did quite literally have no business being involved in this matter, apart from potentially knowing the face of the culprit that almost led to Marilyn also dying during that incident. But knowing that the matter right now was fully focused on the royal family first and foremost, she would accept the order.
“Very well, My Liege. I wish you luck in your current endeavour.” She would respond with a smile, bowing the same way Cassian did towards his mother.
That shall be her parting words to him, as she would now temporarily no longer adorn her knightly persona. At least until her break was over.