Cry For War

Chapter Three

Today, grief dominated the Emblian Empire. The wound of the death of the empresses were fresh, and now, the emperor had fallen as well. With that, the war had come to a standstill, allowing both the court and the commoners to grieve the lives that they had once had in the continual uphill climb during the war. Industry boomed like never before, and it was all thanks to his efforts.

Of course, it was expected that the princess, who was next in line, to take the helm and continue onward with the wishes of her late father. However, at her age... she'd hardly prepared for such an immense role. She would have to take a back seat for awhile longer, her loneliness only growing as routine decimated itself. Her elder half-brother visited no longer, and the last treat she had prepared for her father went uneaten, the cookies she'd made now hard, and his unfinished tea now smelled as foul as this loss felt. Veronica wanted nothing more than to lock herself away until she was of age, perhaps for forever... but for once in her life, there was no pity nor was there grief. Most importantly, there were no tears. She lay awake most nights, hands resting on her chest. She stared up at the ceiling, the view obscured by the canopy over her bed. It reminded her much of the dark, lace funeral veil she'd spent so much time looking through, having to stand idly by while people she didn't even know observed what was left of her father. Half of her wondered who truly cared versus who had come only to see the damage done for themselves. When he had been brought back to the castle, he was near unrecognizable, though it wasn't to say that was in part from the circumstances under which he had died. He didn't look like her father anymore, just a husk of the man who had raised her.

Even now, she felt as though she could hear his voice. It was soft, almost to the point that she was unsure whether or not it was even real. Maybe, this was just a part of losing someone so important to her. In truth, she was much too young to fondly remember her mother, but her father, he had been her entire world since she was very young. He was the only solace she found within these castle walls for so long. She wondered often what had happened to Xander, unknowing that it had been an effort by much of staff, at the behest of the advisor, now deemed a regent, to keep him far away from her. Veronica hardly had a clue that the regent was now solely responsible for her isolation, for keeping her only friend she had away and out of the circle of influence. Even now, she was certain she could hear them argue through the wall, or... maybe it was just as much of a demanding hallucination as the call of her late father.

"With all due respect, you cannot keep me from her forever..! It's utterly insane to lock her away like some kind of sick dog!" Xander demanded, his temper overriding his usually composed demeanor. As much as he would have like to do so, to save face, he had been long fed up with this woman's antics. His contract was not bound to her, he had no need to oblige his orders now that the Emperor was gone. "You're going to drive her mad, and you know it." He wanted nothing more than to draw his blade, to cut her down then and there, however, this would only be seen as a coup. He would surely be executed, even if it were for the sake of the heiress's safety. Ultimately, this would have defeated his goal, leaving him in a position where either option would have the same outcome. If he continued to raise his voice to the regent, surely she would have his head on a silver platter, leaving the young princess alone once more, however, if he obeyed, she would have unlimited influence, to close her already miniscule circle to anyone that she would have approved of. It disgusted him to imagine such things, like a form of torture which his mind could only associate occuring to someone as small as Elise or a youthful Siegbert. Perhaps, that was what bothered him the most. Though she was a teen, in his eyes, she was still a little girl, small and in need of protecting.

"Are you truly in a position to criticize me, Xander, darling? A father unable to find time to dote upon his children, and yet wants to delve into the embrace of another woman. How quaint," mused the older woman, bringing her hand to her lips as she watched his scornful expression grow deeper. It was a wound that never healed, one she would so easily exploit, despite the questionable means of acquiring such information. How could she have known such intimate details of his life, or accuse him of having such deplorable secondary intentions? To Xander, it was growing increasingly obvious what the former advisor had been up to. It was all a set up for him to look like a foul master over the young princess, a beast who only intended to taint her and take advantage of her trust. It would be so easy to turn his words, to make them his own worst enemy. And for now, she was his worst. "Oh? You look flushed, have I said too much?"

How he wished to unsheathe his blade in this moment, to protect the girl he could only see his family in from such sadism and malicious intent. But here, he could do no such thing. It was not his place, and it would have ultimately served him no better to cut her down. Even now, he would seethe at the thought of her being tempted to play with such accursed fire, knowing that the advisor would have won no matter which path he chose. It would likely eat him alive for as long as he walked the earth.

Nothing that Xander could have done would have stopped the inevitable. The girl would continue on her own, influence seeping through the opening door.

"How are you holding up, darling?" the advisor spoke softly, hands clutching the edge of the door as she stepped inside. She didn't hesitate to close it behind her, slowly approaching and sitting herself down at the foot of the bed.Obviously, she wasn't the most comforting person in the world, sitting there only because she had an obligation to see the princess grow up and fill in the shoes of her late father. However, that would mean stripping herself of the power she had over her future leader, a thought that made the advisor's skin crawl. And that's when she laid eyes on it...

The late empress's tome, Ífingr.

There it was, sitting on the nightstand, just a few feet away. Now, she could see their path, their return to glory in the eyes of all of the leaders of Zenith.