Snippets of a Knight's Woe

Chapter 14: Redivan Family

Aegis reclined in his chair and crossed his legs. "My mother was the light of our family. I loved her, my father loved her, and the kingdom loved her." His eyes fogged over. "She was the rightful heir to the throne and married my father, who was heir to the noble House of Eidor and a general in the Royal Redivan army—my mother's army."

Aegis frowned slightly. "I'll skip over the training I endured at my father's hands and the cooking lessons with my mother, and jump straight to the moment everything changed." He took a deep breath. "Mom was poisoned. She had eaten a poisoned apple given to her by the fruit vendor's young son as a gift."

The prince dug his hand into the armrest. "It was a complete setup, done as retaliation, by the House of Ragnor. My mother was investigating the House for rumors of drug and human trafficking. During a raid on one of their villas, the only heir of House Ragnor was killed by soldiers."

"The poison spread slowly. By evening, everyone knew Mom wasn't going to see the next morning." Aegis's grip on the armrest loosened as he held his hands together in his lap. "I stayed with her all day, while Father searched for an antidote. He eventually found it, but by the time he returned, Mom was already gone."

King Rictus said softly, "It's tragic what happened to your mother. Only news of her passing reached the other kingdoms, but not how she died." He continued sincerely, "I met her a couple of times—first on my study travels as a young heir and later at the annual Kingdom Conference when I was king of Amaranthine. Your mother was like the sun; she brightened every situation."

Aegis's eyes glazed over as he nodded in agreement. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "My father lost a part of himself that day. He chose to search for an antidote rather than be with her in the end. I remember how he barged in, antidote in hand, only to find my mother's dead body on their bed. He was always a bulwark of a man, steady and stubborn, but he was besotted with my mother."

Aegis sat up slowly. "Father took the antidote in his mouth and kissed my mother, passing the liquid to her, but it was too late—far too late." Aegis poured himself another drink. "As you might guess, all of that kind of fucked him up. Dad cleaned Mom and had a metal and glass coffin made for her, which he kept in their bedroom." Aegis sat back down and took a sip. "The first thing the new King of Redivan did was massacre the entire House of Ragnor. I helped. Women, children—didn't matter. They all died. Those who opposed the king's actions also felt his wrath. Eventually, everyone in the inner court was dominated."

"Once my father finished avenging my mother, he grew even more unstable." King Rictus sat and listened, taking note of everything as Aegis retold what happened next. "Father started entertaining the notion of bringing my mother back to life." Aegis scowled. "One afternoon, I went to talk to Father in his bedroom. I knocked on the door and entered." Aegis rubbed his hand over his face. "He was sitting with my mother's body in his lap, brushing her hair. I knew at that point that my father was batshit. Who knew what else he was doing with her?"

"Father approached me one day, his eyes sunken and bloodshot from lack of sleep. He had been studying old legends of rebirth and resurrection." Aegis took a mouthful of brandy and swished it around as he formed his thoughts. "About 35 different myths from all over the continent. He said he had narrowed it down to the most plausible methods of resurrection and was planning on trying all of them." Aegis shrugged. "That would've been fine if it were like brewing a potion or finding a magical flower, but many of these rituals and myths required blood sacrifices, animal parts from endangered species, and royal artifacts to be ground up. The list went on, and the requirements spanned all the kingdoms."

Aegis looked Rictus in the eyes. "Therefore, Father concluded he needed access to all of the kingdoms. Thus, we have a war." Aegis finished his drink and placed the glass down with a dull thud. "I left as they started planning for a full-scale invasion. I didn't want anything to do with it and came here to Amaranthine, on the opposite side of the continent."

Aegis finished his drink and placed the glass down on the table with a dull thud. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask? My princess is waiting." King Rictus stood and indicated for Aegis to follow him to his map. "Do you know why your father specifically started with Pratue?"

Aegis looked down at the map and pointed to Vargas, a smaller kingdom that shares a border with Redivan. "Vargas was technically the first. To the other kingdoms, Vargas appears to be an independent kingdom with its own regency. However, the whole royal family of Vargas are puppets of Redivan." Aegis let out a dry chuckle. "They serve my father loyally and reap many benefits from the relationship. On the other hand, Father has Redivan spies in most positions of power in Vargas. So even if they wanted their freedom, there would be many bloody hurdles to overcome."

Aegis then pointed at Pratue. "Pratue has a strong army, but not as strong as the Redivans. Strategically attacking it first, before they could have allies join them, made sense." Aegis looked at the king. "Another reason is so that Father can use the Pratue military to further his war." King Rictus frowned. "The people of Pratue would never fight for him."

Aegis smirked sardonically. "Normally, yes, but Father always theorized that when you hold someone's loved ones hostage with the threat of torture, people usually comply with their captors' demands." Aegis continued, "What you do is take the weaker loved ones—mothers, children, the sickly—and use the stronger loved ones—men and women—to fight for the safety of their families. Those without loved ones are force-fed drugs until they're addicted."

King Rictus's face paled slightly as he absorbed everything. "Well, Aegis, that was quite eye-opening. However, I think I'm done for this evening. We will talk again at a later date." The king sat at his desk and began writing. Before Aegis left, he said, "I will keep my past from Amara until I decide to tell her. I like the way she currently treats me, and I fear things might change if I tell her." The king nodded distractedly. "I will not tell her. That's your burden to bear as her future husband."

Aegis nodded and let himself out, walking swiftly down the hall to Amara's chambers, his belly warm from the brandy and his thoughts on how he was going to propose.