June Lyns, recently and rather reluctantly crown princess of Cernlia, which was no longer a sovereign state, as well as much more enthusiastically an apprentice of its empress, had seen quite a bit of change in the last year or so. Nothing embodied that change as much as the chubby dark-haired baby that had suddenly joined their family.
Still, she found it very hard to mind. June had never thought of herself as the family-focused kind of woman, and she still didn’t know if she’d ever want to have kids of her own. But little Robin - though they were quickly starting to also use his middle name Luis - was adorable, and he seemed to be good for her mother. Well, as good as he could be considering how tired she was, of course. It surprised June how much that seemed to concern her.
She’d thought she was still angry at her mother. She probably still was. But June also didn’t want her to suffer and under the circumstances, she even found herself feeling protective.
Which was why she was not enthusiastic when she found out what Kiara intended. On the other hand, she also couldn’t argue against it, and a part of her was looking forward to it as well. Or at least thought it had to happen.
“Are you sure you are okay to come with, Mother?” she asked.
Florance nodded decisively. “I am not an invalid, girl. Besides, Her Majesty healed me up quite well and I will not let you go there alone.”
“Hardly alone,” June muttered. She really didn’t know if she wanted her mother to be there for that.
It would be a bit of an awkward family reunion, to say the least.
“You still won’t mind if I take Luis,” Kiara stated rather than asked. She looked down at the boy and smiled.
They set off without escorts in what June was sure looked like a bit of an awkward procession. Kiara clearly didn’t let it bother her. June simply looked around the place. She had seen most of the palace by now, but once they took a turn into less-used areas and then a staircase down it was not a part she had been in before.
The dungeons, such as they were, were built underground, obviously, behind several layers of security. The few windows in the corridor above were small and barred, and in this corridor, there were none at all, just some torches they left unlit. June conjured a few modified Sparks to light their surroundings properly.
Their father was stuck in a deep hole with only one opening in the top to let in light, air and a bucket with food and water. For all that, it was a surprisingly comfortable cell, with a good cot, a curtained-off area that she assumed held a chamber pot or latrine, and a small vanity, wardrobe and bookshelf. He’d even been given wine, judging by the jug on the table.
“We’re in a small anteroom — or cell — where we can let him up, so we can talk at the same height,” Kiara told her. “Let’s take a few steps back and let them take him up. Guards?”
June nodded and stepped back, leaving it to Kiara to take their mother’s arm and gently tug her back, while two guards assigned to the prison went to the hole to bring the former marquis out. June wasn’t worried about any escape attempts; she, Kiara and the guards would be more than a match for him, even if their mother had a sudden bout of idiocy and joined him. Not to mention he had to know he wasn’t getting out of the palace, much less the city, or out of Regina’s reach.
They waited in tense silence and she listened as Nicholas Lyns finally climbed up and stepped into the small space in the cell around the oubliette, which was now separated from them by some bars. He looked well enough, she supposed, although the captivity had clearly taken its toll. His beard had grown out and his clothing wasn’t as pristine as it could have been.
“So, my family finally deigns to visit me,” he said, his gaze sweeping from one of them to the next. “And all of you at once, too.”
Kiara smiled a bit, clearly showing that she didn’t let it bother her. “We decided to do the proper thing and give you a chance to meet the newest member of the family at least once.”
Their father stared at the bundle in her arms, then quickly glanced at his wife. “So, he’s …”
Florance stepped up to Kiara, then after a silent exchange June wasn’t sure about, took the baby and stepped closer to the bars, showing it to him. “Meet your son, dear husband, Robin Luis Lyns.”
He craned his head forward, grasping the bars. “Not a bad name, I suppose. I assume it would be useless to insist on my paternal rights such as participating in the naming?”
“You should be happy we are distancing him from you,” June said. “You’re a condemned traitor, Father. He doesn’t need to grow up in the shadow of that.”
He glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. “Ironic, isn’t it, considering who else is now the child of a condemned traitor?”
Kiara cleared her throat. “Whatever you may think, I did not come here to fight. That would be unworthy.”
Her father froze for just an instant. “It is decided, then? You are going to send me away after this visit?”
“I have been making plans,” Kiara answered, without quite confirming it explicitly. “It will not be long now.”
He took a deep breath, then visibly made himself focus on Florance and her baby again. He even smiled a bit, reaching out a finger to tickle his cheek. The boy opened his eyes and yawned a bit. June had to admit it was cute. He wasn’t old enough to smile yet, she thought, and he was still tiny, but at least he didn’t look too squished anymore. It was a bit startling to realize that he was young enough to be her own son, or Kiara’s, of course. And he very well might inherit her sister’s throne one day. Not that June was going to tell her father that, of course.
Finally, he sighed and looked at her mother. “Florance …”
“Yes, dear?” Her tone was very neutral.
Nicholas paused for a moment. “I regret any harm or discomfort that may have come to you through my actions.”
She nodded, though she didn’t say she forgave him or that it was nothing. June had already known she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t entirely pleased with being sent away as a hostage.
“I also regret that I could not help come to a better solution for everyone.”
Kiara sighed a bit. “We all feel that way, I think.” She glanced at her father as if showing she doubted if he counted just a little.
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"Please at least tell me he will be cared for,” their father asked.
“Of course he will,” June replied. She tried not to feel offended that their father thought they would hurt their own little brother. We’re not like the rest of the family, after all, she thought with both bitterness and ironic humor.
“He will be loved and respected,” Kiara said, “I have already promised you as much, haven’t I, Father?”
“Well, forgive me if I have some doubts about your honor after you sold out our country to the Hivekind.”
June clenched her teeth. She knew he would accuse them of that, but hearing it still wasn’t pleasant. She stayed silent to let Kiara respond, though. “I did not sell out to anyone,” she replied, seemingly calm. “Not that I expect you to understand making decisions for the good of my people and not my personal status.”
“You lost us our national sovereignty, girl.”
“And most people will be better off like this. The one who lost the most power would be me as queen.”
His narrowed eyes moved on to June. “I suppose you agree with her in this idiocy?”
“I’m with Kiara. The Empire is going to give people more freedom than they’ve had before, so they hardly lost much ‘sovereignty’, which only the queen has anyway.” She personally doubted that Kiara would be in favor of actual democracy, but she did agree with Regina — and June, too — on civil rights. Most commoners would just go from one ultimate sovereign to another, but their life would change in the Empire, largely for the better. June believed in that.
They stared at each other for a few tense moments. It was obvious they would not come to an agreement here. Luckily, it wasn’t his decision anymore. In the end, she didn’t particularly care about his opinion.
“Can we please not fight on our last day together?” Florance asked, a bit pleadingly. She glanced at Kiara and bit her lip, as if she wanted to ask her to reconsider but thought better of it.
As far as June was aware, she had not even officially protested against her husband’s sentence or made any attempts to change her older daughter’s mind. Perhaps some of it was political calculation or realizing the futility of it, but June suspected part of the reason was also that Florance, on some level, felt relieved he would be sent away. She hadn’t been unaffected by the war and all it entailed, either, had she?
June considered telling Father that his vaunted little heir had the same issue she did with different mana that might lead to sickness. She thought better of it.
“Well, as nice as all this was, I do have other things to go and do,” she drawled. “Have fun.”
Florance frowned. June would be visiting her mother later, even if she disliked the prospect. Kiara nodded, content not to push her. Her father actually looked conflicted for just a moment. “June, my daughter …”
“Yes, Father?”
He paused and shook his head. “Take care of yourself.”
“I intend to. Have a nice life, I suppose.”
She turned and left. A part of her was happy they didn’t part with shouts and curses. Another part was disappointed, even if she knew it would have been foolish to hope for an apology — it had taken her a while to come to terms with it, but she knew he had always neglected her compared to her sister and now she could admit what it meant to her and how she felt about it — or anything more substantial.
Besides, who needs parents, anyway?
June still felt down as she climbed the stairs back into the palace proper. At least she had a great teacher. She kind of wanted to talk to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t know if Regina was free and it wasn’t like she could check through the psychic link like a drone would.
Instead, June paced through the palace and found herself thinking of things she usually would rather not. But your country is a barbaric, backward shithole, June, Regina had told her, June recalled. Looking around at the royal palace, she found it hard to agree. But the more she learned from the hive, of the world Regina had come from, the world that people had originally built here, the more questions she had. She wasn’t entirely convinced Regina would lead them to such a … utopia? … even if everything worked out perfectly as planned. Still, Kiara was right, wasn’t she? The people would be a lot better off under the Empire.
Even if, looking at who held power, it hadn’t really changed, at least not yet. You just had Regina and the Hive added into the mix. Civil liberties were one thing, but would the people actually get to participate in making decisions? (Should they? a voice in the back of her mind asked.)
June had never held a conversation with a common farmer or tradesperson about political philosophy. Actually, she doubted Regina had, either, not in this era.
Then again, didn’t it work for the elves? Even Regina had said they had ‘something like a democracy’. Although they only had a single city-state to govern.
Instituting a more democratic government would definitely be a final "screw you" to her father, but, that was probably an unworthy thought.
Maybe she was just getting too distracted again. It wasn’t like June would get to make those decisions. She might technically be crown princess now, but Kiara was queen, Regina was empress, and June was loyal to both of them. That would probably be challenging enough to navigate on its own, anyway, but she’d follow their lead.
June had almost decided to stop overthinking politics for the day and go to the sparring yard to work out some issues with her magic, when she ran into Jay, one of the drones who usually worked with Max.
He reached out a hand to steady her and smiled. “Careful where you’re going, little princess. My blade-arms are sharp. I would’ve figured you’d be outside, though.”
It took until now for her to realize that it was a bit too quiet around here, even if this corridor wasn’t particularly central or well-used, but now she noticed. “Is something up, Jay?”
“You haven’t heard? We’re getting visitors.”
June raised an eyebrow, then resisted the urge to laugh as she realized what he meant. Turning and throwing a quick “Thanks” over her shoulder, she hurried on through this wing of the building until she reached the entrance to the front yard.
She reached it just in time to watch Madris come to a stop in front of the group of people who had clearly just dismounted from their horses. Dark elves, it was obvious at a glance. They seemed to have the same eye colors (and reflective quality) as elves, and similar ears, but dark skin and hair colors ranging from light blond to what looked like light blue if it wasn’t a trick of the light. The people at the outside of their circle were all men, clearly warriors judging by their armor and weapons, while the obvious leader was a woman followed by a mixed group, all of them wearing robes in styles June hadn’t seen before. Contrary to stereotypes, they seemed to use muted colors, dark blue or green or purple, but not black. She focused on the leader.
Icnes Oliren — Level ? Whisper of the Night
Madris and the dark elf — a Whisper of the Night, whatever that Class meant — just stared at each other for a long moment. It almost got awkward for June and she wasn’t even close by.
Finally, the leader smiled and spoke up. “Eminent Mistress Ulaven, your path be lit by stars.” She bowed low, holding the position.
Madris returned a smile that looked more like a grimace and bowed back, though hers was noticeably a bit shallower. “Yours be sure and true, Icnes Oliren.”
They both paused for a moment before standing up straight. Instead of polite deference, it honestly felt more like a cultural ritual to show you couldn’t stab the other in the back. Or maybe she was just projecting because there was obvious subtext between these two, and it seemed tense.
“So, this is where you have been lately, Madris?” the envoy (presumably) asked, glancing around.
“Only recently,” the Delver responded dismissively. “I would show you to the Empress, but she will unfortunately be occupied for a few minutes longer.”
“Of course. We would all look forward to meeting your student even if that was all she was, let alone a woman forging, by all accounts, a great nation here in the reaches,” Oliren muttered.
Madris hummed in what sounded like agreement. Did that mean Oliren was a psychic as well, or was it just about Madris’ reputation?
June forced her feet to move her forward. With Regina indisposed — probably in the hatchery, actually — and Kiara presumably still in the dungeons at the moment, it unfortunately fell to her to welcome their guests. Well, Madris was there, at least.
“Princess, how good to see you here,” Madris greeted her with a spark of humor. “Icnes and company, meet Crown Princess June of Cernlia, Empress Regina’s mage apprentice.”
June plastered on a smile and greeted the newcomers while listening to their return greetings. She wasn’t going to complain about seeing a new culture.
At least this was bound to be an interesting visit, one way or another, she figured. Just watching the Delvers, dark elves and Hivekind all be in a room together would do even if nothing else came of it.