Simple Servant

Chapter 23 - Taken: Out of Context

Chapter 23 - Taken: Out of Context

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Things were getting interesting.

He hoped the whispers of Princess Alexandria's engagement to the Terrafein Prince, were no more than the fictitious rumors he'd hoped them to be.

That wouldn't do.

The last thing he had needed was a blood union to form between those two Kingdoms.

Alminia had refused to trade their metal ore with Rramnon for over fifteen years now. Without the superior iron located in the Alminia Mountains, the Rramnon blacksmiths were unable to produce adequate weapons, and thus the war all those years ago became futile. The alliance between Terrafeuw and Alminia was still uncertain but it had been  strong enough to force the Rramnon King to sign that blasted treaty. King Heralf had refused to admit defeat, and the call to cease fighting was pathetic.

The moment the invitations for the Alminian Princess's Ball had arrived at the Palace, he had started scheming. He had been disappointed to hear that the Prince Phillip's ship had not arrived at either of the Alminian harbors. There had been gossip of Phillip's presence at the Ball, but how had he arrived?

The union between the two kingdoms was a risk. That was why it wouldn't be publicly announced until absolutely necessary.

Still, there was a chance that the rumor was just that, a rumor.

He remembered the announcement at the Ball. It had stated that the Princess would be choosing a husband from ten suitors she had met that night. His youngest son had been lucky enough to be one of those men.

Perhaps there was hope for Rramnon after all.

But, a marriage pact, never felt right to him.

A bitter taste found its way to his mouth as memories of what his daughter had done raced back into him. The Rramnon Princess had been born a spirited child. He remembered the headaches she once caused him. He thought she had outgrown her childish ways and become a daughter that would dutifully obey her father. She had even agreed to travel to Terrafeuw and try to woo the aging King Griggory (a man nearly thrice her age). By doing so, she would secure Terrafeuw's many trade ports for Rramnon, or so she had thought.

Then King Griggory died, and unbeknownst to Heralf, had left a bastard son behind to ascend the throne.

Heralf wished that he would have known sooner. He could have been better prepared. He'd have easily taken the Trade Kingdom by force, but the presence of the heir had complicated things. The people had rallied, so Heralf had tried to use his daughter along with his spies within the Terrain Castle to gain up the upper hand. In the end, daughter had betrayed them all.

The stupid girl claimed that she had fallen in love with the Bastard King, but Heralf could not have his daughter sully the Egger name. The very day she married that bastard Fredderick, Heralf removed her name from his bloodline, and began preparations for a war to overtake the Trade Kingdom.

In the end he had accomplished nothing, and she died during one of their first raids.

Pathetic.

He was walking down the halls, trying to rid himself of the past, when his ears caught a particular sound of laughter in the distance.

'A pair in the midst of their courtship.' He thought to himself.

Their ignorant bliss annoyed him. He decided to give them a wide berth, but just as he turned down a separate hallway the girl spoke.

He glanced back in confusion. At his old age his eyes couldn't make out their faces, but his ears worked just fine. He was quite positive that the voice belonged to Princess Alexandria, but who was she with?