"M'lord, the day has begun." One of the Royal Servants entered the King's Chambers, and pulled back the blinds, allowing the light of the sun to wake King Wullmont and his mistress alike.
"Ugh, Gods. Shut the damn light out, girl," The mistress snapped, her voice carrying down the hall outside the chambers. It reached the Queen's ears as she entered, as she did every morning, to wake her husband.
"The light won't be here long, and some of us do our work in it," Queen Rebecca said, tossing a sarcastic remark toward the whore who lay next to Kline.
The mistress rolled her eyes. She had seen Rebecca many mornings, and had even bore two of her children. The Queen snapped her fingers and pointed towards the door. Kline nudged the girl and signaled with a nod of his head. She stood from the bed and slowly walked past the Queen, her eyes glaring at Rebecca. Most of the girls had learned they were safe. Kline had all of the power, and as long as they kept him pleased, the Queen could do nothing to them. But Rebecca was no fool, and she wouldn't be made one at the hands of some whore.
"Well, go on then!" King Wullmont ordered the whore. She kept on with a ruthless stare, and a smile came across her twisted face as she finally left the room, naked and laughing. Ferenor had become a place where whores held more power than Queens.
"Have you been working hard to bring me another child to raise, Kline?" Rebecca said to her husband as she walked towards her jewelry box that near the bed. Rebecca kept all of her jewelry in it, and she came in to fetch it each morning.
She wasn't quite sure why she kept that jewelry box in his chambers. It was the only thing of hers that was still there, everything was moved into a chamber of her own. Perhaps, somewhere deep inside her sole, Rebecca loved him still. Or maybe she just longed for the idea of love. The thought of loving someone truly, it was something she wished to find, and long ago she thought she had found it with Kline.
"Someone must provide me my heirs, Rebecca. And someone must also raise them," Kline responded as he slowly made his way out of bed, getting ready to prepare himself for the day. Kline's words hurt Rebecca, perhaps more than the choking she received the last time the two had exchanged words. All she wanted was to birth a child, to have something that was truly hers, something she could call her own. The inability to do so made Rebecca feel that she somehow deserved the abuse.
She searched her jewelry box, without intentions to respond to the King's sharp words. Her jewelry was more than any woman could ever desire. Diamonds, gold, pearls from the Southern Suns, and Isles of across the Farsea. It was all beautiful.
But she found little interest in any of it. She had learned at a young age that wealth had its limits, it could not love or care for her. Yet, neither could her husband. But Rebecca knew that wealth was all she would ever have. Ferenor was all she knew, and now that too was slowly slipping away. The Queen gathered her thoughts and turned to face the King as she placed a diamond necklace around her neck. "Is the High Council to meet soon?"
"Indeed, we meet today. I have sent Sir Vicar Alaine and a portion of the Vanguard East, to Oaksguard. A revolution has begun there, one that poses a threat to the unity of The Realm," Kline responded as he stood, clothing himself.
"A revolution? It seems something of the sort was bound to happen, in the wake of the Great War. But a threat to the uniting of The Realm? That seems unlikely. A group of peasants battling their way against the joined armies of Miriela? I'd say the odds are in our favor, Kline." Rebecca did not see a revolution as a threat, not like King Wullmont did. Instead, what concerned the Queen, was the idea of the Vanguard leaving the city's walls.
They only did so in times of war, to ride into battle. The thought of an uprising, no matter how small it may be, did not seem justification to leave the city the Vanguard was sworn to protect. Rebecca knew that Kline did not just want to remain in control of each city of Miriela, he needed to. Kline had told Rebecca, time and time again, that the only way for peace, the only way to ensure Ferenor's safety, was to control its potential enemies. But Rebecca knew better. Ruling over five kingdoms was no easy task, and Miriela had always been a land of five Kings.
The thought of the Vanguard abandoning Ferenor continued to trouble her. How could the King leave his own city so vulnerable? The revolution was taking place in the East, far away from Ferenor. Mountains, rivers, and trees separated them from it, what threat could this revolution truly be? Mobilizing the Vanguard, however, that could truly pose danger to the city. Other Mirielan cities which also lie in the West could turn on an under defended Ferenor and attack.
Hearing this struck fear in Rebecca's heart, a fear that was accompanied with rage. Her husband's stupidity had finally reached its threshold. He had cast away the protection of Ferenor, and sent away the Vanguard.
"Losing control of a single city, could mean the destruction of Miriela. So, tell me, what good are guarded Ferenorian gates if the rest of The Realm has fallen? We must be united if we are to ever again fight off an attack from the East. Or have you already forgotten of the Great War?" Kline continued to dress himself, making it clear he felt no need to justify the decision to his wife. Rebecca knew that the King wouldn't listen to her. Just as the Grand Preceptor dismissed her opinions, so would he, and Rebecca saw no point in wasting breath.
"You have united The Realm, and only you can keep it so. Forgive me for questioning your actions, my King." Rebecca complimented her husband, something she had not done in sometime. Although she didn't truly mean it, she hid her true opinions behind a masked face, something she had learned to perfect. "I must be off, the children are awaiting me," Rebecca said, and left her husband alone with the Royal Servants.
Rebecca had other chores to attend to. The children would be expecting her at the Estate, but it was the maidens who truly cared for them, the maidens who raised them. Rebecca just didn't feel like a mother to them. There were five in total, Elena, Alexi, Elias, Noah, and Mira. Every time Rebecca saw them, she was filled with pain, reminded the\at she was not unable to birth a child of her own, that she could not do the one thing that a woman should. They were all bastards in her eyes, products of the man who had caused her all of this pain.
Yet, they were just children. And they believed Rebecca was indeed their mother, as did the rest of Ferenor. So, Rebecca forced herself to try and love them. She pretended as best she could to be their mother, despite the pain it caused her. But the children were a heavy burden to carry, one that weighed down upon her and prevented Rebecca from her own desires, her own wishes. But that seemed to be the way of a Queen. She was never meant to have a place of her own, and the Royal Estate was where Kline would imprison her, while he led Ferenor to its destruction.
Rebecca wore a dark red hood which flowed into an even darker gown, that hung below her feet as she walked. She often wore something like this when she traveled outside of Overland and through the city. Not many would recognize her face, but she enjoyed hiding it, nonetheless.
She was heading to purchase wine, where the Common District and Nobel District became one. Years ago, on her way to the Catredal, Rebecca noticed a young girl on the side of the cobblestone streets. She couldn't have been any older than her eighteenth or twentieth nameday. She stood on a box, shouting aloud with two bottles of wine in hand. She was selling a Southern Wine, an important from the Southern Suns. It came from the Vineyards of Calsheth Island. Rebecca heard her voice carrying over the crowd, 'Calsheth Wine, get your Calsheth!'
Rebecca was on her way to visit Melvin, and he loved Calsheth wine, perhaps more than anyone. The old preceptor had mentioned Calsheth to her before, a wine that Melvin used to drink with Rebecca's father, so she stopped to buy a bottle. Melvin enjoyed it so much, that Rebecca stopped to buy from the girl each week, when she came to the Noble District to sell. It was too expensive to be sold in the Westbottoms, or even the Common District. But Rebecca knew that today the girl would be selling her wine, and she wished to take some to the Grand Preceptor.
Rebecca swiftly slivered through the crowds, tracing her footsteps back to the Catredal, where she knew she would find the girl along the way. The girl was still small, skin and bones. Her face was always dirty, and her clothes never changed. Rebecca never asked, but she wondered how a poor peasant girl from the Westbottoms managed to get her hands on some of the most valuable wine in the world. Nevertheless, the girl sold it at a good price, and always had plenty.
"Hello, Sia," Rebecca said softly. She did not reveal her face, nor did she look at the girl directly, she didn't have to.
"Hello, Hooded Lady," Sia responded with a bit of a giggle, as she always did. She stepped off the box and reached down to grab two bottles of Calsheth Wine. Rebecca reached out a handful of gold and the two exchanged. They never spoke any more than this. Sia had offered her name to Rebecca, years ago, but Rebecca kept hers to herself. So, Sia took the liberty of naming of her, the 'Hooded Lady'. She seemed to think it was funny.
Rebecca took the wine and vanished back into the crowd. Melvin would be thrilled for his Calsheth, she knew. He would sometimes drink an entire bottle himself, as Rebecca sat to visit. He loved the Gods and he loved his wine, though sometimes it seemed Melvin could not distinguish between the two. He was a drunk, and Rebecca knew it. But so were half the men in Ferenor. And what are holy men if they are not first men themselves?
Rebecca arrived as usual to the Catredal, passing under the Great Trees. She entered into the large narthex and found preceptors buzzing about as normal. They scattered all around and traveled up and down the tower's grand staircase. The first level of the tower was a church, but the second, third, and fourth were classrooms, libraries, and studies.
The Catredal was just as much a place for academia as it was religion. The preceptors all wore their brown robes, and the minor preceptors wore white. Only Melvin, the Grand Preceptor, was dressed in purple. There was no more to the hierarchy. A minor preceptor eventually became a preceptor, and the Grand Preceptor was then selected by the faith, led by the will of the Gods.
Rebecca removed her hood and made her way to the grand staircase, wine in hand. The stairs were stone, old, jagged and difficult to walk. The Grand Preceptor lived on the fourth floor of the Catredal, in his chambers, which were fit for a king.
Rebecca finally made it to the highest floor of the Catredal, and walked her way down the halls, which looked down into the sanctuary below. All floors above the first had openings at their center, everything was built around the place of worship. At any point, a service could be seen or heard, by simply leaning over the rails and looking down. Chanting voices filled the entirety of the Catredal and carried down its every nook.
Rebecca arrived at Melvin's door, to be met with surprise. The doors were in fact closed, and two preceptors stood outside, the way guards stood outside Rebecca's door as she slept.
"I wish to see the Grand Preceptor," She said.
"I'm afraid he is unable, my Queen. The Grand Preceptor has been ill for some time, as you know. The medicine maidens are with him now, and they require solitude. His illness has become much worse," One of the preceptors said.
Rebecca's eyes fluttered as her heart sank. She realized that she may never see Melvin again, not alive anyways.
"Very well." The Queen looked down. "Can you give him these?" Rebecca held the wine out. Remorse filled her softened eyes.
"Of course, my Queen," The preceptor said. He stepped forward and took each bottle. Rebecca turned, crystal tears trailing down her pale cheeks. She never knew her true father well at all. He was off at work, building the Windland Bank and gaining influence. But now she knew the fear of losing a father, and it was terrifying.
As she left the Catredal she couldn't help but think of her own children. Even if they were bastards, to them, Rebecca was there mother. Perhaps all along she was destined to make the mistakes of her father. Regardless, it was the Estate where she would go, though she dreamed of escaping someplace else to hide.
The Estate and the Catredal were the only places that she had known for years. And if Kline knew about her trips to see the Grand Preceptor, his fists would likely have something to say about it. He hit Rebecca often, and she had learned to expect it, to withstand it. She used to cry, whale, scream, and beg. But not now. Now she was too calloused, and each punch just seemed to make her will more unbreakable. She had been through a lot, but she was still there, deep down within the abyss of her mind, she was still Rebecca Winland.
But she felt most at peace hidden amongst the crowd, where no one could see her. Rebecca pulled the dark red hood up over her face and moved with the crowd, like a shell drifting in the ocean's tide. But the tide soon carries to the shore, and soon enough Rebecca had found herself, once again, in Overland.
She approached the Royal Estate, the Royal Servants tending to the gardens in front. She could hear the laughter of the children pouring out into the open air. The sound warmed one half of her heart, but to the other half it was simply a reminder of her boundaries. The Queen faced constant confliction. She wanted to love the children as her own, but to truly do so meant accepting this prison as her fate.
"Mother! Mother is home!" Mira yelled from chamber's balcony on the second floor. She was the youngest and Rebecca's favorite. Rebecca smiled and waved back to her. Mira bolted back into her room, no doubt to come greet Rebecca at the door.
"Hello, mother," Elias said. He was the third born, a short boy with red hair. His skin was fair but that was perhaps the only thing that he and Rebecca had in common.
"Elias," Rebecca smiled. "Have you all began your chores for the day?" Rebecca asked.
"Yes. All of us besides Mira. She's been sitting on her balcony all morning waiting for you to come home, from wherever it is you were. Elena, Alexi, and Noah are all in the library," Elias said.
"Mother!" Mira came rolling past Elias and threw herself into the arms of her mother. Rebecca laughed and squeezed Mira tightly as they hugged.
"I was only gone for the morning, sweet child," Rebecca continued to laugh. Mira seemed to always want to be by her side. Even when Rebecca was only gone for a few hours, Mira was always waiting for her on the balcony. "Come, come let's go find the others in the library. Elias, come along," Rebecca said.
"I was heading outside, to the archery range," Elias said, contesting his mother's orders.
"Right, very well then. Go, run along Elias. But be safe," Rebecca said, as she and Mira entered back into the Estate. It was about noon and the Estate was busy with maidens and servants alike.
Rebecca entered the Royal Library with Mira at her side, the two hand in hand. "Elena, Noah, Alexi. Good afternoon," Rebecca said softly. Sometimes she felt like she was speaking to complete strangers when it came to Elena and the boys. Mira was young enough that she still fell under her mother's charm. But the boys were all past their tenth name day, and Elena was almost fifteen. They had little interest in obeying their mother. The boys seemed more interested in war, fighting, and running about Overland. And Elena, well Rebecca seemed to have no clue what it was that interested her.
Kline hardly ever spoke to them. And when he did come to visit them it was not for long.
"Hello mother," Elena said, still looking down at her book.
"Mother," Alexi said. He looked up and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Mother," Noah said. Rebecca stood, in an awkward air. She had no idea how to respond, so she didn't. She wanted to feel, she wanted to be connected to them, but she simply wasn't. After a moment, Rebecca looked back towards Mira and smiled.
"Come along, love. What would you like to do? I can teach you to dance today like you've wanted me to," Rebecca said.
"It's ok, the maidens have taught me already. They heard me asking you and finally said they'd do it themselves. I can show you!" Mira said, so innocently. The Estate was a prison, and the children were inmates there as well.
The Queen was more aware of it now than she ever had been before. They were all trapped in a cage, and kept from becoming who they truly longed to be. The powers of Ferenor held the cage's key, and Rebecca was certain that the only way to take it, was chaos.