Conquest of War

CHAPTER 13 new

CHAPTER 13
Faye smiled as she held the little girl in her lap and looked at her work. There were not even any scars from her burns, but that had taken a couple of weeks to fix. Had she been allowed to go to the child when she had wanted to, she would have easily been able to take care of the burns, but Malacari had tried to take care of them. He was an excellent Cleric, but his abilities did not hold a candle to her own. She had spent over a week working on the scars he had left. A cleric's minuscule amount of healing magic could help speed up the healing process considerably, but it left scars. A true healer left no trace that the wound was there on most wounds. She was pulled from her thoughts as the girls mother walked into the room.
"My lady, you are truly amazing. That cleric said the scars would never heal, but look at her. It's like it never even happened" the woman gushed as she smiled at the princess and her daughter giggled.
"Master Malicari is used to working on soldiers who don't care about scars. I just wanted to make sure your daughter is whole again" Faye mused as she set the little girl down and watched her toddle to her mother.
"Thank you, Princess. How can I ever repay you?" The woman asked as she scooped up her child and Faye sighed, "I am your princess, it is my duty to bring peace to all of my people. You owe me nothing."
"Are you coming to the festival?" The woman inquired and the small woman grinned.
"I am. The prince has deemed that I will be the one to name the king of the festival" she answered with a hint of excitement in her voice, her eyes shining brightly and the woman responded, "I am glad that he decided to bring back that tradition. I think it will show the people what kind of man he is."
"He is going to be a great king one day" Faye muttered sadly as she nodded at the woman and turned on her heel. She knew exactly what type of man the prince was. He was going to be a great king, but she knew she would probably never see that day. He hated her for everything her people had done, for everything her father had done. She couldn't blame him, when he arrived she hated him, but now she wasn't sure. She knew she didn't, but she didn't know what she felt. 
"Princess, we need your help with the stage in the city square" a man called out pulling her from her thoughts as she wandered through the streets and she quickly walked over to him.
"Alright, lets go" she sighed as she followed him across the square to the mostly constructed wooden stage and the craftsmen gaped at her. She was wearing a simple tunic and pants with her long dark curls pulled into a messy braid.
"We can't decide what color to paint the stage" the man explained as he held up a bucket of deep blue paint and a bucket of white paint.
"Well why don't you paint it with both?" She suggested with a smile and the men looked at her in confusion.
"I don't understand what you mean, Princess" the man stated bluntly and the woman sighed softly.
"It is the festival of stars isn't it? Why not make the stage look like the night sky?" She explained excitedly and the craftsmen cheered in agreement as they began talking amongst themselves.

Faye looked up as a woman in a yellow silk gown embellished with elaborate embroidery stepped out of a carriage with a scowl twisting her beautiful pale face. She was a lovely woman with pale blonde hair piled atop her head in an elaborate updo pinned in place with beautiful jewel encrusted golden pins.
" Father, why did you bring me here?" The woman snapped in disgust as she glowered over at a rotund man in an elaborate red tunic embroidered with gold thread. He pushed his shaggy graying dark hair out of his face as he stepped from the carriage and looked around.
"Well, my dear, you have scared off every eligible bachelors back home therefore I have decided to find you a husband here"  The man announced coldly and the woman looked at him with eyes as wide as saucers.
"father, you cannot be serious! I cannot live so far from the courts!"  She begged in a whiny voice as she looked at the man and he shook his head.
"Well, you should have thought about that before scaring off all of the suitors" he snapped coldly as he looked at her and she chewed her lip as she glared at the ground.
" Princess, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tavrik is looking for you" one of the soldiers declared as he stepped forward out of the crowds of people, making the young princess jump as he drew her attention from the newcomers.  However, he not only drew her attention but the attention of the newly arrived nobles as well and the young woman looked at her in shock.
"You?! You are the princess? Why are you dressed like that then?"  The woman asked in shock as she stared at the woman before her and Faye chewed her lip as she shifted her weight uncomfortably between her feet. The look of disdain in the woman's face reminded her of the nobility of her father's court and set her on edge.
"Well, I am here to help with the festival and I was checking on my patients who had suffered blue fever a few weeks ago to make sure they had healed up completely. Doing all of that in a dress tends to be cumbersome so I wear clothing like this. Who are you exactly? I know that many Shavendral noble families are coming in, but unfortunately I am not familiar with any of them" Faye answered softly as she smiled at the woman, but before anything else could be said the massive Warrior Prince seemed to materialize behind her.
"Fayrn, are all of the blue fever patients completely well?"  He demanded abruptly as he placed himself between her and the other woman. She simply smiled up at him as she said, "My Lord, all of the patients who had blue fever have completely healed. We can lift their quarantine without fear that the disease will spread."
"very good. I am very interested to see how this festival goes in a few days. It seems as if it might be quite  entertaining. I expect you back in the palace before dark tonight, or I will come find you myself. It is not safe to run around the city alone after dark"  He declared bluntly as he looked at the woman before him and she smiled up at him.
"I know, My Lord. I have things that require my attention in the palace this afternoon, therefore I will be in long before night falls"  She announced as she smiled up at him and he nodded coldly before walking away without another word.
  "Was that Crown Prince Tavrik?"  The other woman asked in shock as she looked at the smaller woman before her and Faye simply nodded her head.
  "Yes, the man can be quite overbearing, but he is going to be an amazing ruler. He has done so much for my people and I can never thank him enough for it" she explained warmly as she smiled at the woman.
" I see. However, I don't understand why he cares where you are. In fact I don't understand why you are still alive. Based on my understanding of his usual methods you should be dead just like every other Royal he has conquered" the woman asked coldly and Faye looked at her boots sadly.
"I do not question the prince's actions. If you would like to ask him his intentions, that is your priority" Faye murmured carefully as she looked at the other woman calmly and the noblewoman huffed haughtily, "I intend to get to the bottom of this mess. Why is our prince so interested a filthy Talvok whore like you?"
Unfortunately, before Faye had a chance to respond, her fiancé seem to materialize behind the other woman.
"If I hear you speak of my betrothed in such a manner again, I will have you stripped of your title and cast out of my court" Tavrik growled, his voice as cold as ice, from behind the noblewoman and her face turned ashen.
"Sire, I…" she trailed off as she swooned, but Tavrik sidestepped her and smirked as she hit the ground with a thump. Faye started forward, but the prince easily caught her arm and maneuvered her to his side, leading her away.
"I think you have had enough time wandering the city today, it's about lunchtime" he mused as he pulled her towards the palace and she stumbled after him.
"Can you not drag me around? I am quite a bit shorter than you are, my lord" She huffed and the prince immediately slowed his pace as he looked at her sheepishly.
As they entered the courtyard the tiny princess
"What do you actually want from me?" Faye asked after a long moment of silence and the prince glanced at her in surprise muttering, "How did you know I wanted something? A man is allowed to take an interest in his bethrothed's health."
She gave him a flat look, rolling her eyes as she sighed, "My lord, you have made the terms of our marriage quite clear. I know what you see when you look at me…" he cut her off as he looked down at her sharply and carefully asked, "What do I see when I look at you?"
The tiny princess took a long moment, looking away as she chewed her lower lip trying to find the right words. Finally, without looking up at him she answered, "My lord, when you look at me you see all the pain this war has caused you. Whether you admit it or not when you look at me you see every vile thing my people have done, the monster that killed countless of you men, you see the villan that killed your brothers, and you hate me for it. It does not matter that I have never set foot on a battlefield, I am a member of the ruling family and that makes those sins mine."
"You know nothing of war! You were kept in your city where the war wasn't real…" She cut him off as she turned on him and balled her hands into fists, her chest heaving a little as she spat, "You think the war wasn't real to me?"
"How could it be? You may have helped the clerics once in awhile when you were not frolicing in court like a fool, but you suffered nothing. You are ignorant of the…" she cut him off as she pushed past him and walked out into the empty palace gardens. She just needed to breathe for a moment and step away.
"You know nothing about what I have done or been through. I suffered just as much as you, my lord! I may never have set foot on a battlefield, but I was the one trying to piece those broken soldiers back together. I was never a real member of my father's court. I spent almost every waking hour with the clerics and worked until I no longer had the strength to continue. I have seen hundreds of men die in my arms as I tried to save them, I was the one who wept with their widows and cared for their children. You are a warrior and all you see is the battle, but you don't get to see results of it. You don't see the despair of those trying to pick up the pieces. I hated this war as much as anyone. I prayed to the goddess it would end every single day"  she yelled, her voice saturated with emotion as she crumpled to her knees, tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at her trembling hands, her chest heaving. A couple of soldiers ran out into the courtyard with weapons raised as one asked, "is everything…" The princess cut him off as she screamed, "Get out!" her voice full of rage and anguish as she pointed to the doors. The men anxiously looked to their prince as he stood there staring at the woman and he softly said, "I need a moment alone with my bethrothed. Make sure we are not disturbed."
The men hurried out and Tavrik turned back to the tiny woman hugging herself as she wept the way he had seen soldiers weep when something finally broke them.
He wanted to weep with her, scream with her, but he just knelt in front of her and pulled her into his arms. She tried to fight him at first howling, "No, just leave me alone" as she tried to pull free, but he shook his head as he softly whispered, "Shh. Breathe," and she fell into him. Her hands twisted into his tunic as she buried her face in his chest, her body racked with broken sobs.
"I am tired, so tired. I just want to sleep without seeing men dying. I am alone! I failed them…I…" she trailed off into unintelligible weeping and Tavrik said nothing as he just sat there. He didn't move or say anything, he just held the woman as she seemed to shatter in his arms.
She wasn't the monster that had murdered his brothers on the battlefield. She was the woman who had knelt in the filth and tried to piece broken men back together, the woman who suffered in silence as she comforted her people, and the woman who had hidden her anguish behind a perfect mask of innocent happiness that had fool everyone. Yet behind that perfect mask, she was just as broken as he was.
He had no idea how long they sat there in the garden, but he relaxed as he felt her finally drift off to sleep. The prince cradled her in his arms as her stood and walked towards the palace doors.