The first few years were blessed with marital bliss.

Shortly after the Prince’s heartfelt proposal, the two had gotten married in the Holy Temple, where Jovine and Richard declared their vows to one another and to the people of Theolos. It was a grand affair, exceeding in luxury and grandeur, but all Jovine could remember from that day was the vision of Richard waiting for her at the end of the altar. Although he adorned a guarded expression, as soon as their eyes had met, a pleased glint had sparked in the depths of his eyes. So, as she allowed the world to fade away, she walked towards the man possessing her heart, and vowed to love him forever.

That night, Richard and Jovine had become one. Their bodies and souls joined in a bond more intimate and deeper than any connection she had in her life. With hazy memories of twisted sheets, drenched bodies, and the breathless release of ecstasy, the consummation of her marriage with Richard was a treasured souvenir of their union.

Moving forward, Richard’s affection for his new bride grew with every sunrise. He would summon her to his chambers more often than not, where their intimacy blossomed into something carnal and seductive. They grew familiar with the bliss of pleasure, and it fed the new princess’s hope for more.

From the beginning, Richard made his intentions clear. He promised to be a good husband, and in that regard, he upheld his duties. He was her partner, her supporter, her leader.

During official Imperial events, he stayed by her side, unabashedly showing the people his devotion to his new bride. He defended her when she found herself on the receiving end of several disguised barbs from the opposing Eastern Faction, who disapproved of having a Western Princess in power. He kept her company when the loneliness of bearing the crown got to be burdensome, offering her a place of solace in his arms. And, he planned for the good of the Empire with her as its future monarchs, treating her as an equal partner.

Jovine was happier than she ever thought she could be in a marriage that was arranged rather than chosen, but she wanted more than his body and his commitment. She wanted his love.

Jovine was irrevocably in love with the man she vowed to spend her life with, but Richard never affirmed whether he felt the same.

She could convince herself he did when she woke in his arms or when he’d spontaneously press his lips to her brow in greeting. She felt promise when he’d summon for her at night, eagerly pulling her into his arms the moment she entered. She held onto hope when he’d smile at her from a distance as he watched her take tea with the gracious Empress Helene, who guided her in her studies. But, she could never be sure, and asking the Crown Prince of Theolos for more felt like greed.

Even so, she found herself optimistic when she witnessed the way the Emperor loved his Empress. If the current monarchs of the Empire were solidified in a loving marriage, perhaps Richard would be open to finding the same with her one day.

As long as I have Richard, life is good enough for me, she often thought, but as always, the good never last.

Shortly after the celebration of her second anniversary with Richard, news of tension in the Northern Borders called the Emperor and his son away from the palace and to the frozen sector of Mallory. Belonging to the young Amon vel Feyras, the Grand Duke, the implications of political divide became imminent.

As a distant descendant of royal blood, the family of vel Feyras were entitled to inherit the throne if the Imperial family was unable to produce an heir, and with the unprecedented lack of children from their marriage, Jovine couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Richard whispered in consolation on the night before his departure.

Jovine, who was settled comfortably in his arms in bed, turned to look at her husband, unable to conceal the worry lining her face.

“Richard, it’s been two years, and I have yet to bear you any children.”

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He stopped caressing her neck and looked at her curiously. “Is that what you think this is about?”

“Isn’t it?”

A slight tilt of his lips conveyed his amusement at her assumption. “No, not at all. Besides,” he said with a smirk as he came to hover over her bare body, “we’re still young.”

He lowered himself until they were aligned, and with a teasing brush of his lips against her own, he said, “We have years to grow our family. But, if you’re so worried about it, we can always be more…diligent when I get back.”

Basked away in their dance of pleasure, Jovine and Richard’s last farewell ended in hope and, when it was time for him to finally go, he kissed her sweetly goodbye.

With a teary smile, Jovine bid him farewell and watched as he rode off into the night with his father and a handful of Royal Guards. As he faded off into the distance, Jovine prayed he’d come back to her soon.

But, he didn’t.

Months passed by with no word.

And every passing day felt like a hollow existence.

To her dismay, life within the Palace continued on as if nothing had changed. As if preparations were made ahead of time, the affairs of both the Empire and the Inner Palace remained intact, and Jovine hated it.

She hated the way life moved on so casually while she was consumed with despair. She hated how it felt like the entire world was in on a secret she wasn’t privy to about the mysterious mission her husband and the Emperor failed to return from. And, no matter how many times she inquired about it, she was told nothing. Even the riders she sent out to retrieve word from her husband never returned.

By the fifth month, Jovine lost her restraint.

Dismissing the protests from her ladies-in-waiting, she burst into the drawing room of the Empress’s Palace.

“Princess Jovine,” the Head Court Lady chided. “How dare you —”

“Leave us,” Empress Helene interrupted.

With a glare towards the Princess, the ladies-in-waiting left the room. When the click of the door sounded their exit, the Empress, who looked so much like Richard with her dark hair and blue eyes, turned to Jovine with a heavy sigh.

“Jovine, there’s nothing we can do. You and I both know that.”

“I would like to request a small delegation to accompany me to Mallory. If that isn’t possible, I would like to go myself,” she stated firmly, determined to take matters into her own hands before she truly lost her mind.

Empress Helene’s face darkened. “No.”

Jovine couldn’t help the little jolt of surprise at her bitter tone. From the beginning, the Empress had been nothing but kind and welcoming to her. During the past few months, she had depended on the warmth of her company and the promise she constantly affirmed that their husbands would soon return.

Empress Helene was nothing less of a mother and a mentor who guided Jovine through the dangerous territory of palace intrigue. So, her clear dismissal felt jarring.

“Your Majesty,” she started carefully. “No one is telling me anything. If you would just let me know what it is that requires such secrecy —”

“Princess Jovine,” the Empress interjected. “I, nor my husband, have any obligation to divulge confidential Imperial affairs to you. Trust me when I tell you everything is fine.”

Jovine shrunk back in submission, but she couldn’t back down just yet. Not after coming all the way here to speak her mind. Softly, she continued, “That is exactly what’s worrying me, Your Majesty. The Emperor and the heir to the throne have been absent from the Palace for five months, yet everyone is saying all is fine. No one has an obligation to me, yes, but the absence of our sovereign is the concern of the Empire, and the absence of my husband is the concern of mine.”

Empress Helene narrowed her heavy eyes. No matter what she said, she couldn’t conceal how much the whole ordeal was getting to her. Her gaunt eyes and delicate frame exposed just how worried she really was, and it only heightened the state of panic Jovine felt.

“You say our sovereign is absent,” she replied in a quivering voice. “But, I am here. I am ruling.”

“Your Majesty, I did not dare mean —”

“You care much for Richard,” she continued, passing over her words. “But, the weight of your distress cannot compare to the anguish I hold for my own husband. If you want to help them, you will stay here and adhere to your duties. Am I understood?”

Jovine bit the inside of her cheek until the taste of blood exploded in her mouth. For the first time, the Empress expressed her candor, but it brought Jovine no source of comfort. If the Empress was in agony for the Emperor, what did that mean for Richard?

Careful not to show the trembles starting to overtake her fragile body, Jovine curtsied unsteadily and saw herself out. She knew how terribly insolent she was being, yet her state of mind couldn’t handle the fact that there was absolutely nothing she could do when Richard was missing.

That night, Jovine cried herself to sleep, for she had never felt so alone before. For five months now, she had gone to bed missing the warmth of her husband beside her, and the deprivation of it felt especially painful that night.

One more month passed, each new day cutting away at her wounded heart when it faded without news. Slowly, she found herself losing her mind to daunting thoughts of death. She imagined being greeted with Richard’s lifeless body or every single aspiration for her life with him crumbling away with the Empire if he was never found.

But, on a dark, rainy night, when all the light was bleached from the world, the roaring thunder announced the return of the Crown Prince of Theolos.

Along with the corpse of the Emperor.