The Capucine Sparrow

Chapter Five

 Magdan sat upon her own throne today, Emda sitting to her left. It had been a battle to get her to come to court for the arrival of the Capucines and Ippa. She had done it though, with a mixture of promises of good and threats of the bad. Magdan felt a little guilty about that, but it wasn't like her mother would really remember the conversation. Magdan prepared her mother herself today, dressing her in a beautiful blue gown, the color of Sokir. She even cast some spells to make her mother appear younger, more well-fed. She made her look like a true ruler, not one who spent her days upon her chair in a haze of the past and present.

Magdan nervously fiddled with her cuff. It was also blue, but less vibrant than her mother's. She didn't want to outshine her in her own court. She often felt like she did this, like she ruled in her mother's place without her consent. Guilt often joined her other feelings of sorrow and fear and anger when she thought of her mother.

But today, it was mostly fear. Fear that Emda would stop mid-sentence and stare out the window, lost in her mind, or convince the court that she was not simply sick, as they all thought, but had gone completely mad. Magdan knew her mother was truly sick, and had known it for some time. It had started years ago, probably triggered by the pain her mother felt after Ippa's absence. The past few months Emda had radically taken a turn for the worse, only lucid for perhaps an hour or two combined in a week. Kida was the only one who knew the reality of the queen's condition. It was Kida who had often kept Magdan from spiraling, alone in her grief. For that was what it felt like. Grief. Her mother was alive, and looked completely well at the moment, but Magdan often felt as if she had already lost her.

Kida stood to the side and a little behind Magdan's throne. She gazed forward with thinly veiled excitement and gave Magdan a wink as she looked at her. Magdan's other ladies stood next to her. They were also of wealthy, noble houses of Sokir, but Kida was the only one who Magdan trusted not to sell her secrets for favor in the court. They were good for gossip, and spending time with, but it was only around Kida that Magdan ever let herself be vulnerable.

The doors of the throne room burst open as trumpets sounded and knights marched through. Magdan was suddenly brought back to the day that changed everything when she saw those golden knights. She felt her breath shallow and her heart begin to race. Not now, she prayed. She couldn't suffer an attack of panic right now, in front of everyone, but nonetheless she found herself more and more incapable of breathing. Then, the knights parted, and she laid her eyes upon her sister.

She feared she wouldn't recognize Ippa in her adulthood, that somehow she would have forgotten her face completely, but seeing Ippa immediately soothed something inside her, and she breathed a full breath, calming down.

If anything, Ippa only looked more like herself. She had grown, barely, though, in fact, she was still quite short. Magdan impishly wondered how much taller she was than Ippa, inwardly happy there was still likely a wide gap between their heights.

Ippa's face was tan and full, as if she had spent many days in the sun, eating to her heart's content. She looked strong and healthy. The biggest difference was not even in her golden hair, which now fell to her waist in an intricate plait. The biggest difference between Ippa as a twelve-year-old and Ippa as a woman grown was the confidence in which she held herself. No longer was she a bored child irking away from the attentions of courtiers, no longer did she slouch in deference to others. No, Ippa stood, fully and completely sure of herself, as she and the man whose arm hers was hooked bowed to the throne.

Magdan felt herself almost sag with relief. She herself knew she didn't glow with health in the way her sister did, Sisters, she had hardly eaten this week out of anxiety. Suddenly self-conscious, Magdan smoothed her dress and raised her chin.

"Welcome home, daughter," Emda said. She did not speak strongly in the way she might have addressed the court ten years ago, but at least she seemed aware of the importance of this moment. It was all Magdan could have hoped for.

"Mother," Ippa said, a wide smile appearing on her face. And just like that, she lit up. She always had such a beautiful smile, and Magdan relished seeing it. She would do anything to keep that smile on her face, Magdan knew instinctively. "May I introduce you to the Lord Anduin Grail, my betrothed."

"Lord Anduin," Emda inclined her head at him. "Be welcome in my court, and in my home. I bless your union in the name of Mother and the Sisters as their voice on our plane."

This is going well, Magdan thought hopefully. Her mother had said everything right, just as Magdan had drilled into her. She just needed to get through these formalities so she could scoop up Ippa and never have to see her leave again.

Anduin spoke for the first time, saying, "Thank you, my Queen. Capuca extends its well-wishes to the people of Sokir." Anduin was a handsome man, likely a foot taller than Ippa, but Magdan could assume that Ippa could have him on his back in a moment flat if he ever moved to strike her. Why did I just think that? Magdan thought. She felt like her mind was rot encroaching on this perfectly fine moment. Just be happy for her.

Then rot did encroach on the perfectly fine moment. Myhendra stepped forward, who, unlike Ippa, looked just the same as the day she last saw her.

"Queen Emda, I thank you for your generosity in holding the many members of our court and our family."

Emda waved a hand, saying, "Iroa was made to house such numbers. Please, enjoy my home for the coming weeks."

"I am afraid I must also bring some unfortunate news, my Queen."

"Speak of it."

"The Lord Tochyn Grail has passed, early this week. A gruesome hunting accident. There was nothing to be done." The court filled with murmurs. Many knew of the kindness of Lord Tochyn, Magdan included. She found herself quite regretful indeed to hear of his death. But if he was dead--

"I have been chosen by the house of Gennat to replace my late cousin as head of our court. I hope this news does not dampen the celebration, but that all may find comfort in the fact that I will do all I can to honor his work and my great house."

Emda paused. This was not part of the plan.

"My-- my condolences, Princess Myhendra, the queen said.

"And, if I may, I would like to issue a decree on behalf of my house."

"Let it be known."

"I move to legitimize the birth of my late brother, the King Consort, King Quinlan," she paused, letting her words sink in. "The reason for his bastardization was out of the control of our mother and father, who were already betrothed when he was born. You see, they were to be wed before his birth, but due to my mother's early labor, they had no chance to be. He was doomed a bastard though his sires were faithful to one another and to the gods their entire lives.

"I have always found this to be the most grotesque of errors within the Capucine court, and I could not wait to remedy this great wrong," she finished.

Magdan never could have predicted Myhendra to un-bastardize her brother. It didn't seem to make any sense-- then Magdan realized what a legitimate father to Ippa would mean. She looked to Ippa, working it through, and saw her face slacken as she realized the information. She turned to her mother, and horrified, realized she was no longer there. Indeed, the queen's mind seemed to be drifting elsewhere, not invested in this court, in this time, any longer. She would not be able to challenge Myhendra, not now, not even if she was lucid. This was a ruling within the Gennat's own court, not within the jurisdiction of the Queen.

"I was moved by the death of my cousin, My Queen, and reminded of each of our own mortality. I thus proclaim Princess Phillipa Quinlan Therese truly legitimate as well, making her second in line to the throne, in the unspeakable case of the Ulta Magdan's untimely demise, until the Karybda herself is wed and produces her own heirs."

Magdan nearly choked as Myhendra's eyes moved to her own, and Magdan knew, looking in those serpentine eyes, that her days were numbered.