Scarlet Spells

TWENTY-THREE

King Johan confessed that he indulged himself in misdeeds and announced the coronation of Eugene which will be held in two weeks from now. The news of King Johan's confession and that he willed himself to be imprisoned was a news that spread more wilder than any fire. The Queen of Pesarex, who was, but just another victim, was devastated with the sudden turn of events and she felt weak, quickly degrading into an illness that has kept her bedridden at the moment. Pesarex is under an inner turmoil, with people rising for and against the new decision of crowning Eugene. Though not in a manner enough to wreak havoc, the influence of the ministers of court who were against Eugene had given birth to political instability of Pesarex. That is to say, Pesarex is at present in its weakest form. Should any kingdom rise against it, Pesarex will not survive. But then, fortunately as in providing a helping hand, Aler has publicly announced its support for Pesarex. The children who were held captive were returned to their homes at Aler, and as promised, Marthe did not let anyone down. The ruler of Aler, who heavily opposed the idea of kneeling to a different nation, resisted and at first, gathered his men to strike the capital of Pesarex once the news of King Johan's fall reached their ears. It was Marthe who interfered. At first, the ruler of Aler, disregarded her words and even ordered his men to cut her tongue off, but by then, those who supported Marthe appeared and pleaded with their ruler to abide by the majority. Once he was convinced, they withdrew their troops from Nizal and had a long conversation with Eugene. Having seen a sign of promise, they promised loyalty to the former.

As a part of the exchange that was made with the ruler, the original idea was to make him surrender to Vanevia, and that was the actual promise that Marthe made to me. In order to uphold that, Marthe took it in her hands to meet me in person, precisely, in the visitor's chamber, as I welcome her with a greeting.

"Marthe! You look better than the last time I met you!"

She approaches along with an accomplice of hers, with a bright smile and pleased eyes.

"Your Highness!" She greets me. She turns to look at her accomplice, and the other one steps forward and bows mildly.

"Your Highness, words are not enough to express the ecstasy that has filled our heart. We owe you a lot, and we hope to repay it bit by bit, even though we're not sure if that will be enough."

My lips were slightly part at her statements, but I collect myself when it was my time to speak. "A translator?"

"Yes, Your Highness. We figured that it would be necessary to interact in a way you do not misunderstand anything."

"That's very thoughtful of you. So...how are your children doing?"

"They do good!" Says Marthe with a smile. "They run, they play, they fine!"

"Your Highness, the children are unharmed. We were worried they wouldn't have had anything to eat, but it seemed like Queen Pesarex could not bear letting the children go hungry. Besides, Prince Eugene had met them way earlier in the dungeon. The children wouldn't stop wanting to hear stories from 'the brother with a golden crown' that's what they call him. They are now safe in Aler, and after all these days, we are relieved to see our kin. Your Highness, you played a role in bringing back the happiness that we lost."

She exchanges glances with Marthe and the latter nods her head.

"Your Highness, as a symbol of our gratitude, please accept this."

I gesture a soldier, and he acts as an intermediary in receiving the object from her and presenting it to me.

...A necklace? Its a plain one, and the only attraction is this brown stone at its end.

"What is this stone?"

"Your Highness, it is painite."

I quickly look up. "Painite?" I ask, excited.