Duty

Chapter 35 Between love and duty

Elora laughed. "I assure you, prince Darius, I feel no need to escape from you. And I certainly wouldn't use a child for it. Now Elena, let me finish lunch with prince Darius and then I will tell you a story, alright? Can you play nicely until then?"

Elena sighed. "Okay." She pouted and walked out of the room.

Darius watched the little girl go. He wasn't sure what to think. He almost regretted coming here in the first place, but fact remained he needed an heir. And for that he needed a wife first. There was still one more sister he had to deal with before making a decision. Now he was the one that needed an escape.

***

"Welcome to Genvi, my lady," Riccardo Prias made a deep bow and extended his hand to help her up the steps.

Vara smiled at him. "Thank you, lord Prias," she said.

After the attack on Sylice, the king had decided to send her to the small estate or the Prias family deep in the inland of Zeir. She had already accepted Riccardo's invitation, only now the visit had been moved forward. Vara was happy for it. The whole city of Auros had been in an uproar, the palace was overrun by Strega soldiers, and refuges from Sylice had been coming and going to be directed to new homes. It would be nice to have a quiet day.

Because of the attack on Sylice, the king had only been able to provide a small escort for her. Aside from Iason, there were only three other soldiers with her, who had been directed to the kitchens until they were needed again.

Ricardo smiled at her. "I have arranged for some refreshments in the garden. Would that suit you? I had flowers planted from Lavos. They are famous for their flora."

Vara smiled back. "I would love to see it." She let him guide her towards a secluded part of the garden. There was a small fountain and a table with two chairs. A large plate with fruits, bread and slices of meat was on the table and a decanter with wine next to it. The area was surrounded with beautiful flowers and she could hear birds sing in the trees.

A little to the side was a smaller table that also held refreshments. When Riccardo saw her look at it, he smiled kindly. "I thought your guard would appreciate some food as well."

"That is very thoughtful of you," Vara answered. She nodded at Iason, and her guard bowed at Riccardo.

"Thank you, my lord."

Riccardo inclined his head and pulled out a chair for Vara. When she was seated, he sat down across from her and poured both of them a goblet of wine. "I heard about the attack on Sylice," he said, "I understand that you were there at that time. I hope you were not hurt."

Vara shook her head. "By the time the news reached us, the attackers had already gone. But the village of Sylice is destroyed. The king and the Strega family have been working to get the villagers relocated so they can start rebuilding. It is upsetting though that Balor has managed to attack at all with the defenses we have. I fear this will be a reoccurrence."

Riccardo nodded. "As long as we are at war, there may be more attacks like this, but the realm has good soldiers and we have the support of Tireze now. You shouldn't worry."

"I know," Vara sighed, "I just wish this war would end."

"Don't we all," Riccardo commented quietly.

Vara smiled sadly and looked around. "Your garden is truly lovely," she complimented.

"Thank you," he answered, "my mother loved flowers, so my father had them imported from various nations. When she passed away, father kept the gardens intact in her memory and I saw no reason to undo the work, so the gardeners tend to the flowers now and keep it all in order."