Iftia: Royal Palace, Outside the Banquet Hall
• Elizabeth •
"Elizabeth, it would only get colder through the night," Finneas reminded softly. "Please return to Krystal Palace soon."
Elizabeth paced outside the banquet hall for a long while now because she had been waiting. However, it seemed that her wait was going to be a futile one. Sighing, she turned and pivoted her feet towards her carriage.
Just at that moment, the heavy door leading to the banquet hall was pulled open and Rowan appeared right through. Whipping herself around, she saw him striding quickly towards his carriage and she hurried called out to him from behind.
Startled, Rowan's feet immediately halted to a stop and he turned around, his eyes wide with surprise but he quickly composed himself. Bowing slightly, he greeted politely, "Her Majesty of Thethia."
"Is it too much to have you address me as Elizabeth?" she sighed a little. "I stopped you for a small request if you don't mind."
"We no longer stood on equal rank, addressing you by your name would be inappropriate," he responded simply. "Please do tell and I shall help if it's within my abilities to provide assistance."
"I heard you calling Tazin by his name, Rowan. There's nothing inappropriate about it and if anything, we're going to be in-laws soon," she huffed out a small laugh and paused a little. Unsure how to express her thoughts, she tangled her fingers together and her voice had a nervous crack when she asked, "If it's allowed, I would like to see Elianna."
Ahead of her, Rowan fell silent for a brief moment and she knew that she shouldn't have hoped for much. Her shoulders slumped slightly from the disappointment she felt as she turned around, ready to leave when Rowan mentioned, "I'm afraid I can't make the decision for her but would you at least allow me to lead the way to Lyx?"
"Of course! I would appreciate that," she quickly added. The anticipation in her had bloomed and she quickly turned to Finneas, not caring that she was actually gripping on his arm as she exhaled excitedly, "Finneas!"
"Your Majesty," Finneas coughed in a reminding manner. Elizabeth quickly let go of her hand and giggled softly. Lifting her skirt, she walked swiftly and got onto her carriage. The horseman was instructed to follow behind Rowan's as they made their way to Lyx together.
Finneas carefully held onto her and supported her down the carriage while Rowan stood in front of her and addressed her politely, "Elizabeth."
She lifted her head to meet his gaze, pleasantly surprised that he had willingly called her by her name. She smiled, "Please do speak your mind, Rowan."
"My betrothed may not be in her best condition to accommodate a guest, I would ask for your understanding to not hold it against her."
"Rowan," she laughed lightly. "Do I need to also remind you that your betrothed is my sister. She doesn't have to uphold any formalities with me."
The only thing that Elizabeth didn't add was the fact that she knew about Elianna's condition — from the Goddess herself.
※
Guided to the receiving room, Elizabeth saw a lady walking out of the room and by her dressing, she asked, "You must be Elianna's lady-in-waiting?"
The suddenness of her visit must've caught the lady by surprise because she shrieked a little and stammered, "Y-Yes, my name is Jana. Greetings to Her Majesty of Thethia."
Jana looked frightened by her and the self-consciousness grew in Elizabeth. Relaxing her shoulders a little, Elizabeth tried to put forth a less menacing front but it seemed that it didn't work that well because Jana still looked uptight.
"Could I trouble you to announce my arrival?" she requested in a light tone, not wanting to scare the poor lady-in-waiting any further.
"R-Right away." With that, Jana scrambled into the room again and a brief second after, she walked out and gestured for her to enter. Elizabeth nodded appreciatively and entered the receiving room.
Her eyes quickly fixed on her sister, who stood by the long couch. Even after five years, they still looked like mirror images of each other and when she kept her eyes closed as such, it might be really difficult for others to differentiate them apart. Elizabeth turned to look at Jana, who looked rather apprehensive still. Understanding her fear, she mentioned politely, "You're most welcome to stay if my presence would cause any worry."
"Jana, it's okay. Please leave us to be," Elianna assured, her tone familiar and the way she spoke to her lady-in-waiting only showed her warmth towards them. Jana turned to leave and soon, they were both left alone as the door clicked shut.
Elizabeth moved towards her sister and mentioned," Why are you standing up, Elianna? You do know that you don't have to care about these troublesome customary greetings with me, don't you?"
"I simply stood because I'm excited," her sister laughed, she could feel the relief in her tone. "Elizabeth, we meet again."
Frowning a little, Elizabeth scolded lightly, "I do hope you realise that you're a rather heartless sister, Elianna. If Rowan hadn't mentioned your name over the banquet tonight, I would still be kept in the dark about your whereabouts."
"If only circumstances were better for me," Elianna responded with a sigh.
"That aside, I'm very glad to know that you're safe and sound," Elizabeth expressed earnestly. She reached her hand out, wanting to help her to sit but hesitated to hold onto her sister's hand. Eventually, she retracted her hand, thinking that if she had acted to familiarly suddenly, her sister may not find it comfortable. She said, "Please have a seat, Elianna. I have a few matters to talk to you about and they're quite serious."
"Please do tell," Elianna tensed a little as she settled down.
"I really have to apologise to you for making a pretty rash decision tonight without going through you first."
Honestly, Elizabeth hadn't felt so nervous and uncertain in her life up till now. Unknowingly, she even started to ramble, "I had put forth a marriage proposal between Rowan and you. However, you don't have to worry about it because if that's not what you wanted, I can always have it refused. After all, I'm the Queen of Thethia and it should be alright to—"
"You did that?" Elianna inhaled a shallow breath, sounding surprised.
"Exactly, I wasn't thinking. I'm terribly sorry, my sister. I should've visited you first but my temper got the best of me and I—"
"Elizabeth." Her sister's sudden call of her name and caused her shoulders to jump. She hadn't known how to react until she heard a kind, "Thank you."
"Oh, Elianna, please don't thank me yet. There are definitely implications that come along with this marriage proposal." Elizabeth became even more nervous. "You have to understand that you're to marry Rowan as the Royal Princess of Thethia, Elianna Evarix. Therefore, should the marriage proposal be accepted by both sides, you'll have to accept the royal title and fulfil the responsibilities expected of a Thethian princess."
"What would be expected of me?" Elianna asked.
"Etiquette, composure and political relations," Elizabeth explained. "You have to be well-versed in them and establish your circle of relations accordingly. You wouldn't just be the Crown Prince's Consort of Iftia, you're also expected to present yourself as the Royal Princess of Thethia."
"I would need guidance," Elianna mumbled, her fingers tangled together in unease.
"You need not be afraid, Elianna," Elizabeth assured. "I'll have my Royal Secretariat to discuss with Sir Tristan and we would start with etiquette for you. As for political relations, you'll naturally form your own sphere of influence as time goes by. It all sounded serious, but the most important relationship you should keep in mind is me."
"Do I have to worry about being in a bad relationship with my sister?" Elianna laughed softly.
"Of course not, you silly," Elizabeth dismissed her question. "You would only have to worry if you dare to keep anything from me again."
"Can I thank you now?"
"If every term I stated hadn't caused you to want to be a runaway bride, you may thank me," Elizabeth huffed out a chuckle.
"Thank you, Elizabeth."
"You're most welcome, my dear sister," Elizabeth smiled, feeling an unfamiliar warmth radiating in her. She continued, "I would need to discuss with the Royal Treasurer regarding your dowry. That aside, I have also prepared something for you."
"You don't have to do that," Elianna gasped. "You've already done so much for me."
"I owe them to you," Elizabeth mentioned.
Then, the door clicked and Jana reentered the room with a pot of tea in her hand. The lady-in-waiting placed the tray down and left the room. Elizabeth carefully poured the tea into a small cup and placed it in Elianna's hand. "I brought this tea from Thethia. It was Mother's favourite."
━━━━━━━━━━
Iftia: Lyx Palace, Elianna's Bedchamber
• Elianna •
"I knew she was up to no good!" A familiar voice fumed from beside her and she recognised it as Jana's.
Feeling the heaviness in her head, Elianna was finding it difficult to wake up. In addition, the brightness that seeped through her eyelids was hurting her eyes. Scrunching, she fluttered them open and the blinding rays in her room were causing great discomfort.
Wait.
A sudden realisation struck her. Disbelievingly, she jolted upright, blinking several times and rubbing away the remains of sleep as her vision sharpened with each moment. Ahead of her was no longer the perpetual darkness, but a worried face of Jana who had been crying her name. Her heart nearly stopped.
"Elianna?" Jana sobbed. "Would you please say a word? Don't scare me like that..."
"I can see," Elianna inhaled sharply, darting a glance across the room, still unable to adjust to the unfamiliarity of regaining her lost sense. She gasped, "Why?"
"What?" Jana sniffled, she didn't manage to fully understand what she meant because she wailed, "That Queen must've added something else into the tea! Oh goddess, what should I do, Elianna? Kiran and Thunder would really hang me this time!"
The door to her bedchamber swung opened in one violent push and she quickly turned to see a tall, lean figure dashing into the room in a hurry. The loose wave of his hair sat messily atop of his head and he was breathing in a hard and erratic manner. He exhaled, "Eli?"
"R-Rowan." She covered a hand over her mouth and his blue eyes widened when their gaze met. He looked at her, unsure but he took a few wide strides towards her bed and pulled her into his embrace.
He squeezed her tight in his hold and breathed her in, "I was so worried, love. Thank goodness you're alright."
She chuckled breathlessly, though tears had started to fall. Her attention was once again focused on the door when a small figure rushed in with teary eyes and fear apparent in his adorable features. The five-year-old cried, "Mother!"
Elianna hadn't known how to react, the emotions that surged in her was overwhelming and almost bursting at the seams. "Oh goddess," Elianna couldn't believe it. Her voice was shaky when she sobbed, "Please come here, Arell."
The child dashed towards them and snuck in between their embrace. Elianna wished she could express all the emotions within her as she murmured, "You're such a beautiful angel."
"Mother?" Arell stared at her with his blue-gold eyes, with many questioned etched into his expression.
She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around Arell and Rowan, holding them tightly in her arms. She cried, "I finally got to see both of you."
※
before i get murdered, i have to explain that elizabeth is not blind, don't worry. the reason why elianna went blind was because 'light' was taken away from her. elizabeth simply gave her 'light' to elianna. this meant that elizabeth gave a part of her gift willingly. other than being weaker in magic powers, elizabeth is alright and alive.
please vote and comment if you're enjoying the read!