death is the only ending for the trash queen

Part 10

An unanswered question that occasionally lingered on Cale's mind made its way into her thoughts yet again with the persistence of a truly dissatisfying lack of information.

Despite the clear disdain in their marriage, the ongoing issues, the lack of viability of Penelope as an heir, and every single reason that a king ought to... why hadn't Alberu taken on a second wife? Or at least a concubine?

His mother had been a concubine so that clearly didn't disqualify any offspring from inheriting the throne. And that aside, the king could take on as many wives as he liked. The previous king had two different wives and a concubine to sire three sons who were viable options for the throne. And yet Alberu, who was otherwise obnoxiously dedicated to his responsibilities as a king, had never even shown the slightest inclination to do so.

Cale certainly had no plans to encourage such a thing. While more heirs would certainly release any pressure for Penelope to take the throne, they also posed significant risks to Penelope's safety. Cale was all too aware that the previous king had killed all his siblings in order to solidify his right to the throne. Alberu's suppression of his younger brothers was rather tepid in comparison to what Zed had done.

There was no reason to anticipate that Alberu's other children might not take after their paternal grandfather rather than their father. Robbit's child had thus far shown no homicidal tendencies and Cale was rather satisfied with merely having to keep an eye on one potential opponent rather than countless heirs sired just so they could be pitted against one another for the throne.

All of the above made perfect sense for Cale's needs to be satisfied but it did very little to explain Alberu's motivations.

Wouldn't he benefit from another wife? Or even from pressuring Cale to have a second child?

It was incongruent with the cold man that she knew Alberu to be.

Alberu was an individual who didn't hold onto emotional or romantic notions. He was a coldhearted political bastard who only really cared about leading the kingdom and the actions that would support his ambitions.

He wasn't a bad king but he wasn't a person who gave a flying shit about interpersonal relationships.

So why wouldn't such a cold hearted and political man with absolutely no romantic notions remain loyal only to Cale as husband and wife?

Why hadn't he sired a dozen children that he could use as political pawns to take the throne when he was ready to retire?

It always made her feel a bit strange when that question reared up its ugly head yet again.

What the hell was going on in Alberu's head and why was this the one area within which his behavior didn't align with his ambitions?

She wanted to know and yet, she didn't want to ask. She didn't want to know what the answer was either.

It was a silly little quagmire that she didn't much like thinking about.

It drifted across her mind yet again as she woke up. Her head was pounding with a faint headache but she was otherwise in perfect health.

Considering that she was sure she'd been stabbed at least once, that was a pretty good sign.

Cale sat up in bed. The room was dark, only the faint light of a candle from the desk and the moonlight from the sky outside offering up any light at all. Through that dim light she could see Penelope sound asleep at her side, frowning indignantly even in her dreams, and she could hear the sound of ink on parchment.

Silently, so as not to disturb Penelope, Cale moved out of bed.

Alberu was crouched over the desk, the flickering candle guiding his quill as he wrote diligently. Probably some highly important 'king' thing that absolutely required his immediate attention.