The Darknight Chronicles: Book of Genesis

Chapter 9

Cyrus smiled to himself as he strolled back to his suite. THEIR suite, he amended, absently running the thumb of his right hand over the rune burned into the palm of his left hand. A lot more had happened this evening than even he'd expected or been prepared for. Lord Rivenoak had been taken into custody, spitting curses as he was removed to the dungeons. He and Eve had been quickly ushered out of the meeting hall as the court was adjourned. The two of them, Lord Hammerfell, as well as the rest of the elders of the court, were taken into a nearby conference room, and the discussion of Her Royal Highness, Princess Eveningstar Rose Darknight taking over as temporary ruler of the Eternal Kingdom until her parents were rescued, began.

"But, she's too young!"

"She hasn't even been in the kingdom for years!" Those were but a couple of the comments that had greeted them as they entered. Cyrus was livid, his eyes crackling with blue flames as he exploded.

"SILENCE!" He glared at the arguing men, and the room soon fell blessedly quiet. "Now that I have your undivided attention, yes, Her Highness both acknowledges and understands your concerns, even though she's had to fight against your prejudices for years. However, as her Champion, I, and hopefully you, will help her become the leader she was born to be. She took action to find help, not only to find her family, but also to put your rightful rulers back in their thrones." There was a soft murmur, and Eve took the opportunity to speak.

"I understand your concerns, gentlemen. Yes, I'm but twenty five years old. Yes, it's been about twenty years since my dear uncle banished my family from the kingdom. My parents wanted to come back. They never stopped loving their people and their kingdom, and it is still true today. I was five when we were made to leave. Between my uncle making me believe I wasn't worthy to bear the Darknight name, and the people basically telling me the same, I never got the opportunity to come to love the kingdom as they do, but for the stories my Grandfather told me when I was a wee little girl. He is the reason I still love the kingdom. He knew I wasn't to blame for my heritage." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I… I'm not asking you to make me your queen overnight. I'm not asking for your respect, either, as that is something that I must earn. All I'm asking for is your help in rescuing my parents, so that the rightful heir to the throne can put the kingdom back to rights. I realize that I am not highly in favor with you, but if you have any love for Marius and Elena Darknight, perhaps you'll find it in your hearts to help me bring them home."

Cyrus was proud of her. Eve had been a fighter through it all, he'd observed, both through her thoughts and her actions. Her words had been gently spoken, though he sensed a slight push of her will in them, and after a fairly short discussion, it had been unanimously agreed upon to form a rescue party within the next day or so. They also discussed a lot of things that they wanted Eve to look into, and she took notes diligently throughout the meeting.

Unfortunately, the poor young lady had ended up losing the fight with the god of sleep, and no wonder, as much as she'd been through for the last few days. Eventually, Lord Hammerfell looked over at her when she failed to answer a question he'd posed of her. Chuckling, he called the meeting to a close until the next day.

"She's a brave little thing, isn't she; it took a lot of guts for her to step forward as she did. I don't think even an old goat like me could have done the same."

"I doubt that more than a few could. She's been operating on sheer guts and adrenalin for far longer than most would in a lifetime." Smiling, he gently picked her up. "I'm going to take her back to our rooms to let her sleep. Perhaps you'd join me in the main library for a drink, and possibly more discussion of this situation." Hammerfell agreed, heading off in the direction of the library as Cyrus let himself and his sleeping princess into their suite.

After he carefully deposited her onto his bed, he took his cloak off and spread it over her, looking at her lovely face in awe. He didn't know how fate had brought her back into his life, but he was determined to make her as proud of him as he was of her.

In the Library, Lord Hammerfell and Cyrus discussed what needed to be done now that no one sat on the throne. They laid down plans for if they failed, as well as for when they succeeded.

"Cyrus, I feel that as a Champion of our people, should we not find them before it's too late, you might take the throne until Princess Eve is ready to take over. She has the heart and the desire to help our people overcome the dark days we've seen with her uncle, but she's still quite young. It would be logical, as you're bonded to each other. She can learn by your side." Cyrus sighed heavily as he looked at Lord Hammerfell.

"Vollen, you know I cannot take the throne. One, I'm not royalty. Two, I have never in my long life been one for politics. I am a Mage and a soldier; my place is as an aid and advisor." He ran a hand through his hair, eyes closed as he thought. "If it came down to it, is there really no one else in line? As far as I know, there has never been a Champion on the throne, We are heros, not kings." Hammerfell chuckled.

"As to the current line, Eve is the last in line for the throne. Her father's… Prince Marius, that is, his brother was killed in the same battle that left him injured. Her biological father… Does she know about him yet?"

"No, not yet. She knows of his existence, obviously, and what he'd done before, not about his family."

"She'll need to know about that sooner or later…" Vollen paused, going to the bookshelf nearest to him and scanned the titles, pulling down an ancient looking tome that was nearly seven inches thick, opening it carefully, slowly scanning the pages near the front. "Ah, yes, this is the one. What was I saying? Oh, yes. You're incorrect about a Champion sitting on the throne. here was one, many centuries ago, and he was a Stormwrend to boot." He carefully set the book on the table in front of Cyrus. His Royal Highness, King Merlion Stormwrend's portrait looked back up at him. "I believe he's, quite possibly your five times great grandfather, though I could be off a generation or so."

"He could be my older brother, the resemblance is that close…My ancestor, a king? So, I'm actually a royal? I mean, before the Darknight line took the throne…" His mind was reeling. "As mages, we have to sever ties to royalty or fealty to the state unless we are assigned to them. I guess I broke that rule when I came here with Eve."

"Cyrus, you're actually loosely related to the Darknight line, though not nearly close enough now to cause issues further on down the line. Your three times great aunt married a Darknight, and, when her brother abdicated and became a warrior mage, she and her husband, Merlion, ascended the throne." 

Cyrus looked up at Vollen, unable to speak as he wrapped his mind around the information he'd just been given. "Wait… We're connected that far back?" Vollen chuckled and nodded. "My gods, It seems fate has grander plans for me than I had expected."

"So it would seem. King Merlion came to us originally to help our people to fight and win our freedom from the humans who sought to make us their slaves. The royal fae family of the day thanked him by making him an honorary member of the Fae. Their daughter was rather like our princess, in that she knew her heart and mind at a very young age. What she wanted was Merlion, who had loved Princess Eolande for her kind heart. There was a runic bond with them as well."

"It sounds as though Fate has given our lines a second chance. On that note, I think I'd best go check in on her. Goodnight, my friend." Cyrus freed himself of his reverie as he unlocked the door to their suite, letting himself in and locking it again without making a sound.  

Eve was just sitting up and looking around in confusion as Cyrus walked through the bedroom door. "I…How did I get here? the last thing I remember was that insufferable little toad, Lord Trinian, trying to speak over Lord Hammerfell about some policy or another."

"Well, my dear, you fell asleep, and I carried you back here and wrapped my cloak around you for warmth and protection. I placed you on my bed because I knew that my wards might interact with the ones on your door, and I didn't want it to come back to hurt either of us." Reaching out a hand he helped her up, leading her out to the chair that they'd found themselves the night before. Once they were settled comfortably, he sighed softly. "I think, my dear, it's time we have that discussion."