Rohesia was not used to dealing with people who intimidated her. All her life she'd found herself to be the tallest, smartest, and best wizard in the room. It started as a child, when at the age of eleven she sprung up in height-around that same time, she began a wizardress, learning everything she could of magic until she was to advance. Her mother made certain that she had the best scholars teaching her, and for three months every year she'd been sent away to conduct studies in Bevulla. Everyone who met her found her intriguing, slightly scary, and they respected her for that. Rohesia made certain of it. But as she waited in her own castle to be seen by the King of Partrall, she felt smaller than a mouse.
Her husband, Acelound, gave her a weak smile. He reached under the table and gripped her hand tight, his eyes painting a portrait of words to her. "We will not go out without a fight," he whispered, his voice gruff yet sweet. She nodded, and he squeezed her hand again. "This is our kingdom, and it has been thy kingdom for centuries before us. Gardelle may fall but it can never stay down."
"Brave words to speak before thy wife, but how brave do they become when faced to look upon the one who hath destroyed thy's life? Ah," she sighed, tilting her head upwards and gazing upon the ceiling, where several draperies hung, "I do feel that if we art in want to let our people live, we must find ourselves humbled and surrender before too much damage might come upon us."
"Surrender? Surely you jest-"
Rohesia removed her hand from his, then touched his shoulder gently, "Would thou rather die a man of idiocy who ended up killing all of his kingdom, or a wise king whom was humble enough to let his kingdom live, even under a different name?"
"What use would their lives hold if they art to live under his tyranny?"
"To let Gardelle's culture live on, as they are Gardelle, not us. We are but an image set to rule-they are the people, they are Gardelle. We cannot hold their lives to ours because of pettiness," she told him. Rohesia took a deep breath, keeping her eyes on the crest of Gardelle, which was hand-sewn onto each drapery. "It be my kingdom and mine right alone to protect Gardelle."
"But-"
"My king, my husband, my lover and my friend. Thou hath no say."
Acelound scowled, but knew that she was right. The kingdom was never his, as he was only the son of a night, and as long as she lived the kingdom was hers. Even if she were to die, the kingdom would go to their son, or daughter. But he was never in line for throne. Still, he sat up straighter and set his jaw hard, waiting for the vile man to enter and tell them their fate.
The door to the room had been broken off and removed, though pieces of wood still hung from the hinges. Splinters and slivers of the door were still on the floor in places, having found cracks and corners to hide themselves. The stone table had been cracked from the top to the sides, uneven and resembling a messed up spider's web. At the edge of the table, where the royal throne had been moved so that he could sit on it, was the Partrall flag. It was weaved from golden threads, and several gems were crested into it's handle-fire opals, yellow sapphire, red tourmaline, all the colors of Partrall in the finest gems to be found.
A squire walked into the room, his footsteps loud and even, and his outfit finely polished. In his hands the boy carried a quill, a small pot of ink, and a large scroll. He didn't say a word, merely bringing them in, setting them on the table before the Queen and King, and walking back out of the room. Neither of them moved to touch it, though Rohesia glanced to her husband before setting her eyes cold on the door.
They continued to wait.
Outside of the castle, both sides had called for their armies to halt, though she doubted that Partrall honestly would. They were known for destroying the cities that they took over, raping the woman and children and stealing everything in sight. It was disgusting, and she could only hope that her army wouldn't do the same. Partrall and Gardelle had fought before, which is how they ended up with Bevual, but never before had either side tried to entirely take over the other. She had found the king unreasonable, rude at times, and certainly power hungry...but never as bad as he was showing himself to be.
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Tower Gardelle
FantasyDestrim has always protected Tower Gardelle. His magic keeps not only the Tower, but the entire city safe from harm. With the rise of the latest Queen and King, however, magic is banned. Destrim's assistant, a twenty-some odd year old named Luistia...