Beneath Shadows and Secrets

♔ 𝕱𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶 - 𝕿𝔴𝔬 ♔

It's Monday my dudes. Upload day. It's only 8 minutes past midnight but I've already edited & im up writing a new chapter anyway so I might as well upload now. (It will only be 2 this week, sorry guys!)

♔ 𝔑𝔦𝔯𝔞 ♔

There is little that comes with reigning Cracuria.

I expected more, but with the Realm is such disarray, I can only implement the orders to re-establish it. I request the assistance of Calix, for he has far more experience in ruling that I.

Together, we formulate a plan to restore Cracuria to its former state. The knights employed respectfully remove the deceased from the Outskirts, and distribute medicines to those still recovering from the illness. The care ward in the castle is no longer reserved for the use of the rich, but for any being that needs aid. All of it free, for a short while, until currency is reintroduced.

I immediately lift the ban on hunting, the only stipulation being that until I return to Cracuria, all game is delivered to the butchery, and distributed by a daily portion per person. That was an idea of Calix's – he suggested that it would immediately herd the masses to my fealty if they were governed by a representative that treated all her people as equal. By the same logic, I move to evacuate the poorest homes and re-establish them in the sturdier, newly vacant accommodation closer to the centre. The improvement is not grand, and is quite morbid, considering so many dead have festered within those walls for weeks, but it is necessary.

The crumbling buildings that press against Cracuria's boarders are to be demolished, the ground soiled for agriculture. No longer will we rely on the provision of riches from other Realms to sustain ourselves. We will grow our own grains, our fruits and vegetables. We will farm our own livestock, and return to harvesting our own materials. No more will we receive goods from others. Well, after the fertile soil imported from the Night Court. Calix offered it to us as a good will gesture, but I have decided I will repay his generosity at some point. I have just not decided how.

We sit together now in the study, both of us craned over parchment. I had to admit to Calix that my skills in reading and writing were limited, and so he silently picked up the quill and wrote what I transcribed over the four separate pieces. A letter depicting the newly installed monarchy within Cracuria, that will be delivered to all Realms. All but Vrodora, for I wish to keep my survival a secret from that Realm for a little while longer.

"Appearance, invasion, or trespass will not go untried, and as an act of misalliance and war, will receive retaliation of equal calibre." He write the same sentence four times over, and then offers me the quill and ink.

"You will sign your own name." He tells me with a lifted brow. My nod is shallow. I dip the point in the thick liquid, letting it hover over the parchment. "Do you –"

"I know." I snap at him. He only raises a brow. "My script is just rather... juvenile. I would not take it seriously if I were to receive a letter with a signature such as mine."

The nib presses against the parchment, and then his hand frames mine. "Soften your hand. Let me lead." I try to school my shock – likely fail – but nod regardless.

His hand trains mine into the curve and drags of each letter of my name, joining them in a tilted, cursive font. "The last time I let you lead; it was when we danced at the Equinox." I remind him, pausing in writing to refill the ink.

"I remember it vividly," he remarks, light humour quilting his tone. He brings my hand back down to begin my surname. I cannot help but turn to view him, his eyes trained to the word he helps me write. He is close, the warmth of him encompassing me, his arm firm against mine. He looks well. His skin a golden shade, dark hair waved across his brow, hazel eyes glinting with a bright awareness. "Pay attention."