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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝒀
❝ 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒔 ❞
╚═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╝
AFTER BEING ESCORTED AND SEPARATED FROM her friends to be shown to her chambers during her stay at Edoras, Vera had been given the liberty of being alone since the events that occurred moments before. Grima's words, regrettable to admit it to herself, stuck and clung to her life like a parasite, frazzling her disgruntled head, and adding more worries to her shoulders. His words have brought her past insecurities back to the present, suddenly filling her mind with doubt about who she truly was; as a child, she would notice the difference between her and the rest of her kin, leaving her to doubt and insecurity demons in her head. She was different from her kin — from her appearance to her personality — and as much as she hated to admit it, Grima's words intrigued her.
But he was long gone and never to return, which left Vera incredibly hopeless and isolated from the rest. She was rather happy about being alone, however, because it gave her enough time to think about recent events and plan on what to do next. Her feä had lifted with illuminance as Grima Wormtongue and Saruman's darkness left Edoras and was replaced by the Rohirrim's strength and happiness, but was soon replaced by her burdened shoulders and scattered brain. Thèoden had not taken his son's death so lightly after a noble lady confirmed the truth to him once asked; he had staggered backward and spent the next few minutes in solitude, only letting his family and close friends in his chambers before ordering that the guests be escorted to their rooms.
After she was dropped off by a guard in a large chamber by Lady Èowyn's own room, Vera was left alone for a while with reassurance from the guard — who she learned to be named Hàma — that Èowyn would come looking for her soon, providing her with enough clothes and resources to last a few days, as well as inform Vera of certain matters that are needed. Vera sighs deeply, running a hand through her messy head in an effort to keep her thoughts organized and at bay but her troubled spirit left her restless and completely puzzled. Before the girl could lurch herself onto the four-postured bed to groan and scream into her pillow — as all Queens do every once in a while — a knock sounded from the door.
Turning to face the wooden entryway, Vera made a sound of approval for the unknown visitor to enter her room, leaning against one of the four pillars of her large bed and offered a tiny smile as Èowyn entered her room with a large pile of dresses in her hand. Eyeing the clothed pile warily, Vera starts to back away, disliking the prospect of having to wear so many dresses. Èowyn, despite her gentle and tiny smile, didn't seem happy at all as she enters the room. Dressed in dark clothes that fit her body snugly, a shawl covering her shoulders and head, which was pulled up beautifully, and a circlet on her head, Èowyn's appearance spoke for itself.
Deciding not to be insensitive after noting that Èowyn was of noble blood and had relations to Thèoden King and his son, Thèodred, Vera stays silent as she watches Èowyn distribute the clothes onto the rack. "Right. Um...these are the robes that have been sent to me by Corin and your brother, I believe these are mostly from your own closet but I added some dresses for you too, in case you need it," Èowyn starts, informing Vera upon the pile in her hands, and sending a forced smile to Vera to conceal her pain. "There will be a...funeral for my cousin and you are invited by my Uncle, Thèoden King. You have a few hours to get ready, the ceremony will begin at sunset," she continues, her voice cracking sorely at the end.
Vera frowns openly as Èowyn turns away from Vera, stopping her sentences short, and keeping silent as she places a hand over her mouth to quieten her sobs and conceal her pain from the guest. Vera didn't know what she was feeling as she has never experienced losing family — apart from her mother but she could still communicate with her — but had experienced losing a friend. Her heart aches at the thought of Boromir and aches further at the hurt Èowyn must be feeling to lose her own blood. She pushes herself off the pillar and slowly approaches Èowyn with cautious footsteps and soft paces. Placing a timid hand on her shaking form comfortingly, Vera waits for her to calm down.
Èowyn sniffles, laughing bitterly and wiping the tears from her eyes. "I am sorry, please, forgive me, your Grace. I have embarrassed myself and my House in expressing so much this moment. I..." Èowyn attempts to apologize, nervously wringing her hands together as she struggles to express her words between her shaky sobs and heavy breaths. The sorrow and the grief were all too new but familiar for her, having had lost her father and mother at a young age, and losing her cousin and brother in one month. Her uncle had come back and many other members of the distant family remain at Edoras but it is not the same.
Vera swiftly interrupts her, shushing soothingly while rubbing her back to calm her down, gently leading her to her bed and forcing her to sit down in order to keep herself collected and calm until the actual funeral. Vera was all too aware of what she was feeling as she had felt that same emotion not so long ago. "'Tis alright, Lady Èowyn, I understand grief much better than most would expect...I deeply give my condolences to you and your family...may Nienna grant you and your family the strength to overcome this moment of weakness, and may your cousin's spirit find his way to your forefather's home," Vera quietly reassures, continuing in her endeavors to comfort her, and sends a prayer to the Valar for Èowyn's sake.
"I would've never thought that a Queen would be comforting me in a moment like this," the blonde chuckles sadly, wiping her tears and smiling sorrowfully at Vera. The brunette chuckles herself.
"Nonsense. Now, lift your head and walk out of that door with your head held high. You will get past this...ready yourself for the ceremony. At least you won't be forced into uncomfortable corsets and itchy robes," Vera tries to lighten the mood, adding jokes in between her sentences but sending the blonde the right message for her to understand and do as she says. Èowyn nods, laughing along with her at the horrid attempts of a joke and stands up. Vera erects along with her, giving her one last smile before moving to detach herself from the girl she just met but stops as Èowyn embraces her swiftly. Shocked, Vera numbly pats Èowyn's back.
"Thank you."
Vera smiles. "Anytime."
Vera had never been to a funeral. She had experienced death, she had sung songs, but she had never experienced the ceremony in which they officially say goodbye to their lost ones with dozens of people gathered to withhold one's memory. In Vera's opinion, she had never seen the use of it and found it a waste of time, thinking that there is no point in going to such lengths about the horrors of death but her opinion changed quickly as she experienced her first funeral. Granted, it was to keep the memory of a man she never met and did not know, but a funeral nonetheless. The people of Edoras were beautiful in their traditions, Vera realized, as she stands next to Legolas with her head bowed down.
The flowers and small bumps on the ground surrounding the newly made tomb are lovely and meaningful, giving Vera enough notice to know that these people honored the dead and did not see it as a curse, despite the sorrow that comes blindly with it. Vera's hair had been organized and cleaned after her quick bath — one in which she was more than happy to relieve her body of its stresses by entering and relaxing under the floral scents — by Èowyn's helpful hand. Half of her brunette locks are bound back in intricate braids and complicated twists to create a perfect hairstyle, leaving the rest of her hair flowing down her back neatly. The dress she wore was fully black, slight golden designs decorating the front, which was covered by a black cloak given to her by Èowyn.
Vera had bonded rather nicely with the girl after their small talk with one another and only increased their friendship when Èowyn offered to do her hair and gave her a circlet to bear when bowing to the dead. She had accepted gracefully and now wears the silver, beautiful circlet upon her head as she follows behind Thèoden, who follows the guards who hold his son's body with a somber expression. Vera frowns, feeling her eyes tickle with something wet and wills herself to not let it fall but the sadness of Thèoden and the reminder of death made her feä soft. Her previous predictions have been proven correct upon seeing Thèodred's body, which didn't exactly help her situation, and only brought her more guilt for no reason at all. Thèoden holds a bundle of white flowers, the same flowers that Vera holds in her hands now.
The People of Edoras, who had just seen a spark of hope and experienced a time of strength with the breaking of their darkness and return of their youthful King, now gathers together to mourn and cry over the lost soul of their Prince, and the grief that befits the Royal Family. Open cries, sobs, and tears fill the air, giving credit for how much they truly loved their Prince. While Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Vera, and Gandalf followed Thèoden and Thèodred to the grave, Èowyn was standing next to a frail woman, both of whom are crying, while Grimmund and Edgar stands behind them, a few men surrounding their little circle. Vera unintentionally lifts her head, meeting eyes with the same man who called her Adelaide and furrowing her brows in confusion. He stands next to Grimmund, tear-streaks on his cheeks.
As Thèodred's wicket is passed along his kin to be placed in his tomb, Èowyn starts to sing a captivating song for her dead cousin, along with the woman beside her, "Bealocwealm hafao frèone frecan forth onsended. Giedd sculon singan glèomenn sorgiende on Meduselde pæt he ma no wære his dryhtne dryest and mæga deorost. Bealo..." Though Vera didn't know the words, she thought it was sentimental and signified something in their culture and that was all she needed to know.
Once Thèodred's body had been sent to his tomb and blessed by his King, Vera and the rest of the guests and people of Edoras were forced to leave for their King to grieve in isolation in front of his son's tomb. Vera, personally, felt horrible for the unfair circumstances given to the people of Edoras and their King, especially. Her heart called out for the lost and poor souls of Edoras and she couldn't help but sent a prayer to those above for the strength of the Rohirrim. She didn't know why she suddenly felt such compassion for these people but her kindness was not forgotten, nor was it swayed. In truth, her own feä didn't feel as bright as it once was as the darkness still lingered inside of her. Something else was drawing it out. She just didn't know what.
Remaining silent and deep on thought, Vera returns back to Meduseld with Legolas and Aragorn behind her while Gimli rushed back to the warmth and comfort of the Golden Halls. She didn't exactly know what she was doing or where she was going as she seemed to be in a trance and dazed state. Legolas and Aragorn were discussing mere matters that privately goes between the two of them, matters in which Vera wasn't interested in, and so she decided to remain quiet. She felt such sadness for the King, disbelieving to how awful it must feel to bury a child. She, herself, would break down if her child was ripped so callously from her — if she ever decided to want children. Of course, she never really thought about her future in that light as she always thought her mother would plan it out for her...but now she was dead and Vera has Legolas.
A voice brings her from her thoughts. "Vera." It called, appearing in front of her with a placid expression and a small limp in his form. Vera snaps out of her thoughts, blinking and shaking her head lightly to react better, and flashes a quick smile to Legolas and Aragorn, giving them the signal to continue later and she would meet them soon. She then turns to Corin, the same smile on her face, as she inspects the man worriedly and helps him towards one of the noble houses. He grunts painfully but continues speaking, "Come. You must see your brother. There are important matters we must attend to."
Vera sighs, nodding her head once and choosing not to speak for fear that she would break down. Some part of her was hoping that she would attain a break from the politics and updates of her Kingdom but was proven wrong as Corin reported to her and thrust her back into the reality of their world. She was forced to forget her insecurities and Grima's words, alongside the prospect of burying a child and Boromir, as her mind replaced them all with impersonal matters such as the prisoners released from Atlantis and the several renovations needed to be made. Letting Corin lead her to a quaint house by the seashore, Vera lets Corin slip in first before following after.
"Vera!" a new voice greets happily, sounding rather similar to her brother's sarcastic tone, and bows quickly at her presence. Vera grins cheerily at the sight of her brother, freshly clothed and bathed, with a peek of a beard showing on his face. He still remains in his bow pose, awaiting his Queen's orders to allow him the decency of standing straight despite his bubbling excitement.
"Oh, you buffoon, why are you bowing? Stand up, I am your sister and I have missed you!" Vera smiles, teasing her brother and playfully reprimanding him for his behavior. Neptune looks up cheekily, sending his sister a wink, before straightening his back and accepting an embrace from his well-missed sister, grunting slightly at the pain coming from his side at her weighted impact. Corin watches with a knowing smile, hints of concern hidden inside his eyes which is concealed with happiness at seeing his friend reunite with them again. They connect eyes knowingly; they have a lot to tell Vera. "Oh, look at you! You've grown a beard, how suiting!" she teases before furrowing her brows at his pained expression, "are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Vera. I just need to sit down, that's all," Neptune tries to pass off, accepting Corin's hand in leading him to the small cot by the window where he normally rested to heal his severe wounds. Vera watches them both like a hawk, observing their movements and strained actions, and immediately raising concern and alarm bells in her head. Something had obviously happened to them during their journey here for them to be caught up so badly and beaten to near-death. Atlantan warriors don't relent to pain or experience pain so easily; something really bad has happened.
"What happened? Can one of you care to explain?" Vera demands immediately, placing her arms on her hips and giving them a look which clearly claims that she is waiting and will get an answer no matter what they thought. Luckily for the brunette princess, her knights in shining armor were more than willing to profess their secrets and involve her in the mess of previous events. They share a look.
"Vera, I think you should sit down for this."
"I suppose I should start from the beginning."
Vera sits on a wooden chair by the fireplace of their quaint little cottage by the seashore, a little secluded from the rest of Edoras, and a little ways from Meduseld but close enough to be given their privacy and be alerted immediately if anything were to happen. Corin leans against the wall by the window pane, his left arm badly bruised but healing nicely and formulating new skin to cover the wound, as he pushes his right arm against the wooden pillars of the house. Neptune, having been more injured than his friend, lies on the cot by the window seat, lying by the fire to warm himself up and wrapped with several blankets to keep the fever from breaking and severing his recovery.
They had forced her to sit down on a chair, with a rather vague explanation about what they were about to tell her. Vera wasn't quite used to being sat down for a small briefing on what she had missed for the last few weeks, maybe even months, considering she had been left out of the loop for a long time since her departure from the ocean upon the task of reclaiming peace on Middle Earth. Corin and Neptune were silent for a while, letting their minds grasp the correct information to initiate their recap on everything, attempting to keep it short and brisk but factual and thorough as much as possible but it didn't seem become that way. Growing impatient, Vera had snapped, which is what lead them to the present time.
"We has just gotten word from you and Corin...you see, he had been consulting with me and informing me of his future plans before actually doing them...and I was freed from the prison cells the night before it was announced to Evian. Once we informed him of the new shift of power, he had gone a little mad — as expected, he's a little shit who wants too much anyway — and threatened me. It didn't end well for him. Nor did it end well for us. While I was planning certain strategies concerning our people and you with the council in their Council Hall, a guard had informed us that the prisoners in the dungeons were released — four guards were killed and seven were injured by their cause of freedom — and I was forced to order the guards to find them. Evian was nowhere to be seen. After searching the entire ocean — which took a lot of time, trust me — we couldn't find a single clue of where Evian could've been."
"He must've been on land," Vera mutters. "Is that all? Because really, we need to hurry the pace."
"Calm down...I haven't even started, Sister. Anyway, when I realized that Evian cowardly swam to the surface, I raced upwards too to catch him. I managed to do so but I caught another prisoner...an accomplice of Evian's...leaving and retreating to the woods on horseback. I didn't think much of it at the time and put all my focus on Evian...I should've known that it was a bad decision to underestimate Evian's ability to manipulate," Neptune scoffs, bowing his head in annoyance at his previous actions and permanently reprimands himself — a habit he has taken during his healing days. Vera furrows her brows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Neptune sighs. "Flash forward to after my message to you via water spirit and Corin's safe arrival to Atlantis, I inform him of certain matters. I have previously been interrogating Evian as much as I could without hurting him or torturing him too much to the brink of death in pursuit of answers to many questions. I was asking questions that were involved with his escape, his negotiations, our gold...he told me I was asking the wrong questions. So I asked another one. His answer...his answer was: 'I'm not the only one you should be worrying about.' And then it occurred to me—" Neptune seethes, breathing from his nose heavily in his frustration at his lack of observation.
However, Vera caught on quickly. "His accomplice. The one that escaped. He has something to do with Atlantis. I don't understand, how can a prisoner, who probably doesn't know anything about the land above, be of use to Evian's cause?" she asks.
Corin decided to answer this time. "Exactly what we thought. What could a witless, lowlife of a prisoner know about the land above? And why could he be of use to Evian Decourt and his schemes? So, we interrogated him once again. Nearly beat him half to death but we finally managed to get him to say something...even if it was something completely unspoken of...or considerable." His tone darkens at the end, along with the rest of his features as he recalls the interrogation process with Evian. Like poison and toxins, Corin reacts horribly to the memory of Evian Decourt.
"What happened?" Vera asks.
Neptune sucks in a breath. "I believe that Evian Decourt is part of our fucked up family. And, apparently, so is Corin."
Vera stops breathing. Her heart halts in its pace. Her lungs collapse within one another. Her brain smashes to bits, molding together to create anything but melted blood in an empty skull. Her senses seem to wash away as the words attempt to break past the barricaded walls of her brain and into the deeper part of her that could confirm its legitimateness. Shocked would be an utter understatement to what Vera felt at that very moment as Neptune's words
left his lips with a bitter scowl and a troubled sigh. "No," she refuses immediately, her voice more firm and cold than she expected, "that's not possible. It can't be. It just can't. Especially since..."
Neptune raises an eyebrow. "Since what?"
Corin and Vera exchange guilty looks with one another, which quickly contorts into displeasure and disgust at the thought of them having feelings for one another when there is a possibility that they are related. It was ghastly and downright repulsive! Neptune seemed to catch on to their thoughts briskly as he groaned angrily and surprisingly at the new revelation. "No! No! No, no, no! Dude! C'mon! My sister?! Why— why would you— WHY?!" he expresses, cutting his own sentences off in his confusion and astonishment.
Removing the embarrassment from her face, Vera quickly changes the subject before letting it drift along. "Neptune, it doesn't matter. We don't know if he's lying. What proof does he have?" she questions, her tone a little hopeful. Her brother glares at her.
"Fine. We're continuing this later. Anyway, we wanted to discover the truth and knowing that Evian wouldn't be so easy in claiming it, we went on a Quest ourselves. After days of research in the record room of our ancestors and any source of Corin and Evian's heritage was gathered and read, we finally collected enough information to interrogate one person who would know this more than anyone, except for Marella and Evian: Caspian. He told us that he wasn't exactly sure of our true bloodline, nor was he confirmed with Evian and Corin's ancestry, but he did tell us of something Marella did before you turned five-hundred. She hid parchments of paper, each one with different letters, at each corner of the water and monument in the ocean. We spent five fucking days to find the letters R, A, D, E, S, O, M, N, H, I, and L. We didn't know what it meant but after much consideration, we traveled to land and installed Caspian as regent."
Before Vera could interrupt them, Corin stepped in. "Once on land, we managed to formulate words with the parchment. In the end, we ended up with ADELAIDE and ROMAN. Of course, we thought it had more to do with you than anything else so we were stuck, figuring that your Mother was a sentimental Queen who liked to keep parchments of paper of her daughter at different parts of the ocean. Until, Neptune here felt something different with a few of the parchments, and we managed to articulate two new words. Turns out that M can easily turn into H when needed. So, we ended up with ROHAN, EDORAS. That left us with ADELAIDE ROMAN, ROHAN EDORAS, which is exactly what lead us here."
"We encountered some problems on the way here. We were attacked and nearly killed by rogues in the mountains and were forced to reside in Edoras before meeting with the King or consulting with anyone. We met a nice man, nice family, and they took care of us without any hesitation or doubts about who we were. After a few days, we tried finding a woman called Adelaide around these areas but no luck. Now, we're here...with you, and no where else to go," Neptune finally finishes his long tale, leaning back into his window seat comfortably.
Vera, still shocked and overwhelmed by the explanation, feels her head rush at the aspect of it all. Before she could get word out on her thoughts — all of which involved her own mother's explanation to things, as well as Gandalf's insight, and the man who called her Adelaide — a knock sounds on the door, bringing their attention to the entryway where Grimmund stands with a grim expression.
"Lady...we need you at the castle."
.
author's notes.
lol so i finished this at like 5 am and the birds are chirping and shit and i didn't sleep but that's cool because i'm not even sleepy lololol i'll probably write the next chapter but aNYWAY that was some. yes. wow. i know. this was actually fun to write ik the corin and vera thing is awkward but we don't actually know if they're related sooo :))
anyway if y'all liked it pls share some love and i appreciate y'all <3
this is what vera wore to the funeral ↴