The Serpent's Enigma

Epilogue 1| The Queen

fun fact: it's a norm in Praja to kiss their elders' hands as a greeting

keraton: Prajan royal palace
alun-alun: some kind of field used to gather and/or hold festivals
bunda: an endearing way to address 'mother'
eyang: grandpa/grandma

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

PRAJANAGARA

Avantie was always a perfect queen, though she wasn't raised to be one. That was the reason she raised her daughter like one, despite her being the last in line to the throne.

The eldest daughter of a wealthy family of the merchant class, Avantie was no stranger to the manners and etiquette of the upper class. Her mother was one of the Prajan-Qingxin; thus she spoke both languages fluently.

When thinking about the future, she had never once thought to pursue a life at court. She thought she would expand her family's business; perhaps build a few ones of her own and live the rest of her life in the beautiful terrains of Dewata, far from the pretentious milieu of the capital.

Life was too short to get tangled with the aristocrats parading their daughters to get in favour with the king, or politicians pretending to be white knights while smuggling pockets of gold in between hushed voices. Huge factories hoarding resources. Had they not been blessed with such fruitful soils, plenty of their people would've suffered. Prajanagara might be well off, but they were not as fine a nation as they should be.

But Avantie wanted no commotions, so her political opinions were mostly kept to herself.

Mostly.

Sometime after her eighteenth birthday, she attended a festival in the alun-alun which featured a swindling governor who was unfairly pardoned from jail. During their introductions, she refused to work for him. It brought a lot of stares, and her parents thought that would be the last time she ever came out in society.

They were wrong.

Not long after the fateful event, the crown prince started to pursue her. A year younger than her, he was impressed by her display of valour at the festival and asked for her hand in marriage. Knowing all the ruckus and emotional upheaval that she was to endure if marrying into the royal family, let alone becoming the crown princess; she rejected his proposal.

Then, one day, her parents witnessed him standing outside her window in a downpour; soaking wet.

She offered him a bargain.

She would agree to marry him only if he swore to make her queen, honouring her first and foremost above his other consorts in the future. To survive this life, she couldn't depend on a man's love. A throne and a crown, however, would give her enough power and authority to ensure the life of her future children and her own.

As years passed and he was crowned Nataraja IX, she began to realise why he wanted her as queen. She had always offered him her honest political views behind closed doors while pursuing no bounties for her family; unlike his other consorts.

Her presence kept the swindlers at bay, preserving the stability at the court.

Their union produced perfect children. Their firstborn Aditya was the epitome of a perfect Prajan heir; the son that every Prajan parent was dying to have. Hardworking, respectful of his elders, excelled at education, married to a respectable woman, and he had never been involved in a scandal.

Alongside seven other children, consisting of strapping young princes and a beautiful princess.

But somehow, Avantie knew that it wasn't enough for her husband. He wanted more.