ASHA’S POV
When the Crown Princess enters, the men rise and rush to extinguish their cigars, attendants hurrying to open windows while mages wield wind magic to air out the room.
“Ariana? What’s the matter?” Crown Prince Griffin dashes to his wife’s side immediately upon seeing her troubled expression.
“I’ve just returned from Duchess Marlowe’s tea party.” She lets her husband guide her to his freshly vacant seat. “House Nathaira had a last minute addition, which Her Grace entertained.”
I’m getting a bad feeling about this.
“It was the former Medea Gusic, now Medea Nathaira.”
I knew it.
“Asha?”
> ”Medea is someone who deserves the world, unlike you.”
Rayleigh’s expression makes something in her chest ache, so she looks at her father to gather strength before turning back to the Grand Duke.
“May I ask you something, your highness?”
Why does he look so hurt?
“Of course, Asha. You can ask me anything.”
> ”Enough with your ridiculous questions!”
Liar.
“You first met Lady Medea and became enraptured with her approximately four months ago, correct?” He winces but nods.
“And you fell for her not just because of her beauty and sweet demeanor, but her kindness, correct?” This time he doesn’t look back up after nodding.
“Look at me, your highness.” Why do you look so ashamed and pained? I’m the one who’s been humiliated and hurt, I’m the one who lost everything, I’m the one you KILLED. “She was giving money to a beggar, wasn’t she?”
“Yes...” Rayleigh looks confused, but his answer feels honest.
“On Main Street?”
“Yes, that’s...” When his crimson eyes widen, Asha realizes he’d been telling the truth. So...
“There are no beggars on Main Street.” Duke Marlowe states a fact all of them know.
“The Capital Guard would never allow nobles’ delicate sensitivities to be affected by the presence of poor commoners.” The radical Viscount doesn’t miss the chance to make a dig, and Asha has to bite her tongue to stop the smile from forming on her face.
“Ray.” These two look really alike. “Was there anything odd about the beggar?”
“I...” Running his fingers through his hair, Rayleigh seems to be trying hard to remember, before his eyes dart to Asha and he flushes in shame.
“He was too besotted with Lady Medea to notice.” STOP acting like you’re the one who’s...
“Asha.” Stiffening, she turns to her father, before biting her lip to stop the tears upon seeing his sorrowful expression. “My baby, you don’t need to keep hurting yourself like this.”
I’m not...
“Are you able to recall anything else from the incident, or were you too busy trying to dishonor your fiancée, your highness?”
I really REALLY like you, Lady Willow. Please be my stepmother.
The usually calm face is tense with rage, fury giving brilliant green eyes a terrifying light as the High Mage’s mana condenses.
Oh gods, someone stop her! I like her too much to lose her!
“Lady Willow.” The Crown Prince bodily shields the Grand Duke, before bowing low and shocking everyone. “It’s my fault for failing to guide my little brother properly. I take full responsibility for his mistakes, and swear on my name that they will not happen again.”
“No, Griffin.” Rayleigh pushes the older male aside gently, stepping forward and bowing even lower. “I admit my faults, Lady Willow. I was a short sighted, prejudiced, ignorant, selfish fool who didn’t know how fortunate I was.”
When he rises, Asha is startled by the look in his eyes.
“I’ve made an oath before the gods, but I will make an oath to you and everyone in this room as well: I, Rayleigh Loredan, swear this on my name - Asha Lamberg is, and always will be, my one and only life partner. May it please my ancestors to claim my soul the moment Asha no longer walks this earth.”
What...
That last line, uttered by a descendant of gods, holds great power and effectively ties Rayleigh’s life to hers. Though Asha has a longer lifespan than most as a direct descendant of Lune chieftains, Rayleigh’s Imperial and Saharan blood might very well afford him more years in the world of men.
But he’d called on the divine beings to take him along with her, should she perish first.
Why?
> ”I look forward to the day my life is free from yours.”
A handkerchief suddenly appearing before her eyes startles her, as Monique brushes the silk lightly over her skin while Valora shields them from view with her cape. It’s a signal from her attendants - that her face is showing emotions she should be keeping hidden right now - and Asha reins herself in.
“Ray Ray...” The Crown Prince sounds absolutely heartbroken, and it hurts because Asha knows what it’s like to fear losing a loved one prematurely, and to have that fear realized.
When her attendants move away, Lady Willow’s mana flares once more before she dissipates it with effort, taking a deep breath before speaking.
“Very well. What’s done is done, your highness.” She gives him a glare for good measure, and Asha knows with absolute certainty that she’s found her new mother. “What matters is where we go and what we do from here.”
That’s what dad always says when anyone makes mistakes.
“Please marry my dad!”
The stunned silence in the room is unlike anything Asha’s ever experienced, before a variety of reactions occur.
The imperial family, their personal attendants, Valora, and council members burst out laughing. Meanwhile, Monique groans and face palms dramatically, as the Winter Count and Lady Willow sputter and turn redder than the Crown Princess’ hair.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Today is a day for the history books.” The Crown Prince is wiping his tears while holding up the Grand Duke, who’s still laughing so hard he’s bent almost double and clutching his midsection.
“I couldn’t agree more, your highness.” Duke Marlowe has managed to calm down the quickest. “In all my years, I’ve never faced such a whirlwind of emotions in a single hour.”
Oh.
Asha’s not sure how to feel or what to do at the moment, so she just takes a puff and signals for more wine.
“Well, Lady Willow? Will you keep my darling niece waiting?” The Emperor’s eyes are twinkling more than she’s ever seen. “It’s alright to keep Callan waiting, since he deserves it.” That makes Asha giggle, because it’s another inside joke from the time her father had made the Emperor wait hours for him as he’d gone looking for flowers to gift to High Mage Selena.
“I...” Those emerald green eyes look hopeful and uncertain, as they flick between a smiling Asha and her red-faced father. When the Winter Count still doesn’t react after awhile, Asha turns to stare at him meaningfully.
“Daddy.” That seems to snap him out of his trance, as he moves towards House Ferdinand’s daughter.
“Lady Willow Ferdinand, I apologize for asking you in this manner.” When he gets down on one knee, Asha and her attendants gasp. “I realize we only just met two days ago, but would you do me the honor of letting me share the rest of your days with you?”
“NICE, dad!” Valora is wheezing from laughter, while Monique tries to shush Asha and the redhead.
“Count Callan Lamberg.” Lady Willow kneels, so that the pair is almost eye to eye. “It would be the greatest honor of my life, if you will have me.”
“YES!!!” Asha falls off her perch again, though Monique and Valora catch her in time, even as the latter cheers along.
“It’s about time, Callan.” The Emperor surprises everyone by hugging the Winter Count as soon as he and his fiancée are on their feet, before the master of the empire is calling for the the finest wines to be brought from the cellars. Did they replenish them already after last time?
“Congratulations, teacher and Lady Willow!” The way those two synchronize is scary.
When the Emperor starts to demand an engagement party by the end of the week as council members try to reason with their liege, Asha tunes out and wonders about the latest revelations.
Medea planned that encounter with Rayleigh, that much I’m sure of. Which means she’s not as sweet and innocent as she seems, and never has been.
And now, she’s even gotten herself adopted by Duke Nathaira, one of the most powerful men in the country, and someone suspected of working with Vautour.
Though...what if Nathaira is the mastermind, and Medea is his pawn? What if the Duke somehow forced her into all this, or made her an offer she can’t refuse? They say she used to be a commoner, so becoming a noble, and eventually Grand Duchess, might be too tempting to resist.
But wouldn’t the Duke want Rayleigh to marry his own daughter?
No, Rayleigh was never interested in Cass. The only person he loves is Medea. So maybe Medea was a means of controlling him, a way to make him do what Nathaira wanted - especially when Rayleigh is the youngest in the imperial family, and is cared for so much.
Nathaira’s goal...we don’t know anything for certain right now, but if he manages to overthrow the imperial family with Vautour’s assistance, then it stands to reason he’ll have to repay the west somehow.
We still don’t know who’s behind the gunpowder incident, but the timing is oddly suspect: the people who stole it are killed about five months ago. One month later, Medea appears in a honey trap for Rayleigh - a Grand Duke with Imperial and Saharan blood, who’s engaged to the only child of House Lamberg, the very House that had helped Frankland achieve independence from Vautour twelve years ago, though that’s something we kept a secret until I stupidly broke my promise.
Not only that, but the Vautour Imperials begin a spending spree around the same time.
I also know that, as part of the plan, Cassandra Nathaira will manipulate me until I attempt to poison Medea, and then for some reason the Emperor orders mine and dad’s executions. And when Monique, Valora, and the others try to save me, they end up being killed because they surrender as soon as Rayleigh drags me out and holds a sword to my throat.
Then, after a month of torture, I watch as Rayleigh kills dad, and...
...wait. The torture. What was it they kept asking me back then?
There’d been two questions they’d asked her - over and over and over - as red hot pokers seared into her skin, needles pushed into joints, blades of all teeth and sizes carved patterns into her flesh, hot water poured on her, salt rubbed into her wounds, feces laced with glass shards shoved into her mouth, and all the while cruel laughter accompanied harsh strikes as her legs were forced open and...
I can’t...I don’t want to remember, it hurts too much, I can still remember every blow, every cut, every burn, every violat...
“ASHA!” Startled, she has to blink several times - why is the world so blurry? - before realizing her father has a firm grip on her shoulders, and everyone is staring at her, the Crown Princess, Court Mage, and Lady Willow casting warming spells quickly as some nobles shiver in the frozen room.
“What...?”
“Lady Asha.” Why are you looking at me like that, Lady Willow? “I apologize for bothering you, my dear, but would you mind undoing your magic?”
“Undo...? But Lady Willow, I’ve not even ranked as an Mage.” Her soon-to-be mother is a High Mage who’s currently training for advancement, the Court Mage himself is a Grandmaster, and the Crown Princess is also a High Mage.
“Yes, my dear.” Her smile is gentle, even as she discreetly continues to cast warming spells - magic that only a High Mage or Grandmaster can pull of safely without burning the intended recipient - on everyone else in the room. “But there are many types of mages.”
’Many types of mages’?
“Asha, my baby, shall we remove the ice first?” Dad’s voice and touch are as loving as ever, his face full of worry, tenderness, and...
Pride?
A sneeze reminds her of the situation.
Think about it later. The Crown Princess is with child, and the cold isn’t good for her or the baby.
But...
“How...do I undo the magic?”
“Close your eyes and focus on the ice around you, dear.” She sounds the way moms are described in books. “Now, imagine you’re pulling all of it back into yourself, sucking in cold and frost in one great, deep breath.”
Forcing herself to hold onto the ice in her mind, Asha imagines absorbing it all as she takes a deep breath.
Wow.
It feels like a rush, as cooling prickles dance through her nerves, looping around her heart and filling her mind with a crystal clarity she’s never had.
This is amazing.
Snapping her eyes open, Asha realizes not a trace of ice remains in the room, not a speck of frost lingering on a single piece of clothing.
What, in the name of the gods’ ARSEHOLES, is going on?
----------------------------------------
An Elementalist.
I’m an Elementalist?
But...that’s...
“Forgive my ignorance, Count Prospero and Lady Willow, but aren’t Elementalists a myth?” Count Eszes loves learning, so it’s natural for him to be full of questions.
The Court Mage, Count Prospero, glances at Lady Willow, who bows her head gracefully.
“It’s true that the last known Elementalist was formally documented nine hundred years ago.” Count Prospero is usually a quiet man, devoted to his research and his duties to the emperor. “However, since that time, there have been many rumored sightings, and good reasons for Elementalists choosing to hide themselves.”
“‘Good reasons’, my lord?” Viscount Hawksworth is the same age as Rayleigh, and has spent most of his life proving himself while campaigning for commoners’ rights.
“There was a time when Elementalists were considered the same as Sorcerers.” At that, eyes flit to Asha as her father holds her protectively. “Though we’ve now come to understand that they’re nothing similar - since Elementalists rely on mana while Sorcerers rely on blood sacrifices and unholy practices inherited from demons - unfortunately many innocent lives were lost during witch-hunts, which caused them to go underground and hide their powers as much as possible.”
I see.
“Asha’s not a Sorcerer.” Why is Rayleigh...
His jaw is set in determination, crimson eyes blazing as he dares anyone to refute his words. “Asha absorbed all her late mother’s mana, or has anyone here forgotten?”
“That’s true.” Marquess Moravia rarely looks this sympathetic. “Many healers advocated for an abortion at the time in an attempt to save High Mage Selena’s life, as I’m sure most in this room recall.”
Mom...
At the mention of how she’d almost lost her life before it truly started, Lady Willow’s mana flares as she moves closer to Asha.
“There’s no need to worry, Grand Duke.” Count Prospero’s tone is calm, though his eyes are thoughtful. “I can vouch for Lady Asha’s use of mana.”
“As can I.” Lady Willow and the Crown Princess blink when they realize they’d spoken at the same time, before slight smiles grace their faces.
“If a Grandmaster and two High Mages say so, then it must be true.” The Emperor looks proud. “The first known Elementalist in almost a thousand years. Asha, my darling niece, you bring great honor to House Lamberg and the imperial family.”
“Um...” She’s still having difficulty wrapping her head around all this. “Is this why...I was only ever good at ice magic?”
Count Prospero smiles beatifically. “Yes, Lady Asha. As I recall, you exhibited a remarkable affinity for that element since your birth.”
I see.
All this time, she’d been getting frustrated with her magic training, wondering why she struggled with even simple fire spells - the most basic type of magic, and the first one all mages learned - yet never in her life had she thought this could be the reason.
“Asha.” Rayleigh seems both proud and concerned. “May I ask what you were thinking about earlier?”
Oh.
Her magic had been triggered by the strong emotions caused by memories of a future only she knows about.
What do I say?
----------------------------------------
MOONRISE BY LUNASEA: CHAPTER 19 END