Sweet Waters Throne

94 Chapter 9The return of Queen Aurora to the capital with her grandmother and a vault which during that time she had no idea what’s in there, brought a sort of relief to Artemis. Aurora chose to go straight to her castle, Aurora’s Hill and summoned the servants for the king to meet her there in order to avoid any further spread of the disease if the good folks were to come outside and witness the Queen’s return.

None of the people of Blackmount knew where their Queen went, but they sure did ask themselves and some had come up with their own false answers. “Maybe she and the king are separating” some of the folks said and some even went further and claimed “She was born a servant, the silks and feasts bored her and she left”

Hence in order to keep the city calm, Aurora chose the Hill and she waited for her husband for a while. Artemis was well, but not that much could be said by Lord Dagon. Although he was out of the palace and down to his castle where he lived with his family, news did travel of his high fever which refused to break and that he was vomiting blood.

His two daughters took ill too, and they died that morning when Aurora arrived in the capital. Hence a very sad Artemis is what Aurora was welcomed to rather than the usual charming and always full of energy Artemis.

Like a baby when he sees his mother, Artemis bent down on Aurora’s shoulders and she hugged him tight. “Are you alright?” asked Aurora kissing Artemis’s neck. Then they sat down on the bed inside their chamber, Aurora was so worried about her husband’s condition and well-being to the point she forgot to narrate the success of her journey and retrieval of what she believed to be the dragon eggs.

“Lord Dagon... he might die. His daughters passed this morning, poor man”

“He caught the fever?”

“And it’s draining him” replied Artemis calmly. “Is there anything you can do about this plague?”

Aurora held on to Artemis and kissed his neck again, how she wished she could have stopped the disease from spreading and heal the sick. But she was a seer not a healer, perhaps her grandmother knew a thing or two about the Sunny Fever.

.....

When consulted about the disease, Visenya claimed that power is above her and she can’t make a plague suddenly go away. However, she offered to reduce the symptoms of the fever. “I shall make some herbs. Have your men distribute it to the folks, it may help the fever to break and once the fever goes, the patient is healed” said Visenya.

“I shall be indebted to you, grandma” Artemis acknowledged Visenya for the first time as his grandmother and that made Aurora very happy. They kissed again and talked even more, “What did I miss, tell me everything” demanded Aurora in her soft tone.

Artemis talked about Lord Balon resigning his position as the Hand of the King, which shocked Aurora who agreed she never saw it coming. Artemis was wroth with Lord Balon as he claimed he left his duties to chase a whore. “He knew his wife was a whore, yet he gave up the post and chased her across the Silent Sea with her paramour. I doubt it if he’ll ever find her” and Artemis’s words prove to be true because ever since Lord Balon arrived in Whitebridge, he didn’t even get a single sign that his wife might be there.

The saga about the fire and Princess Sansa faking her own death, or perhaps it’s true someone did try to have her killed and she escaped. It may have been a month, but Aurora felt like she missed quite a lot of things from the resignation of the Hand to the deadly fever killing thousands. Aurora used that time to tell Artemis that she was succ

In Storm Town where Princess Aeryn was the Lady, she just found out that she was with child. A feast was held inside the castle and several high born were invited, just a week earlier a raven arrived with news of the Queen’s pregnancy and it wasn’t met with such joy to Aeryn.

“If she bores a daughter and I have a son, our son will have a greater claim to the Sweet Waters throne” Princess Aeryn whispered this to her husband one night when they were all alone.

Unable to contain his excitement that mayhaps his son could be the future king of Maldonia, Lord Petrus told his mother – Lady Allysa Octavianus and let’s just say Allysa was more excited than her son to hear such news. As if marrying a true born daughter of the brave King Arteides and the apparent heir to Sweet Waters throne wasn’t enough, now she was assured her grandson may rule the kingdom one day.

Hence the cause for celebration and that day Aeryn received so many gifts from her good mother, and although Allysa has always been kind to Aeryn, this particular day she was kinder and softer. So were her good sisters, and that’s because Allysa managed to tell them of the possibilities that mayhaps, they may leave Storm Town and move to the capital.

Speaking of the capital, Lady Allysa asked Aeryn “When are we going to get a formal invitation to the capital? It has been months since you became an Octavianus bride” and finished with a joke which everyone laughed at, including Aeryn herself.

The table was filled with nobels of different ranks, some from far away who just heard that if Princess Aeryn gives birth to a boy, then he may be an heir to Sweet Waters throne but that was on conditions if Aurora either provides a girl or maybe have a still birth. No matter the conditions, these high born flocked to the castle for early favors.

“I... I shall write to my brother and inform him the good news. I’m pretty sure he will want to see my new family considering how kind all of you have been to me” A very matured Aeryn replied and she wooed all the highborns at the table.

One particular Lady of a forgotten land asked “Is it true that you have a whole city filled with slaves and gold?” and every one waited for Aeryn to answer.

“Yes, it’s called Mine City”

The Lady continued “I have never been to Maldonia. This recent news about the Battle of Stonedance and the hundreds of thousand men rotting under the sun made me such weary to make a travel to the capital”

It was Lord Petrus’s time to defend his wife “But the crown wasn’t an war my lady, it was my wife’s uncle and some forgotten heir who started the war. They lost Prophis, and King Castellan was turned on by his own ally – he now calls himself King Gandalf, the Lord of Stonedance”

“Good heaves! Why would he call himself that?”

“He says he won the Battle of Stonedance” Daella, Petrus’s second sister intervened. One thing about Daella is she was always very much informed. “Now he rules the kingdom from Raven, a rather dashing and wealthy city. He had to take it from Lord Boross, who was beheaded and so were his sons”

Lady Allysa seemed to like her daughter’s stories and information, but she knew that wasn’t the time. “Gandalf placed Lord Boross’s head and his three sons outside every brothel in Raven and had servants, cutthroats, sailors, merchants, washerwomen and just anyone to piss on them” continued Daella and she suddenly became everyone’s favorite at the table. As to the question where she learned all that still remained a mystery.

“Then... the true story of who actually won the Battle of Stonedance might shock all of you” Daella left a cliff hanger as a way to engage with her listeners. However, her mother cut her out “Enough Daella! We are here to celebrate the princess not to hear some... gossip” she said seemingly so wroth with her daughter.

The Princess objected kindly “I don’t mind mother... it’s alright” she said. Then Aeryn turned to Daella “So, who actually won the Battle of Stonedance?” she asked with a huge smile on her face.

“It was Gandalf’s twin sister, Lady Aryan the first woman knight. She hadn’t lost not even a single lion during the battle while Gandalf lost five including the one he was riding, and it was Lady Aryan who killed Lord Boross’s sons as a payback for their ambush which didn’t work. The true ruler of Prophis is Lady Aryan, all the king does is whoring around”

The excitement in Daellas’ voice whenever she gets to tell a story is what engaged more of her listeners. She was full of energy, funny and always knew what to say next to keep her listeners wanting more.

Princess Aeryn grew very fond of Daella, and she invited to her chambers every day where she would ask questions sometimes about Blackmount and Daella would have the clear answers always. Then after a week, she wrote a letter to her brother and informed him of her pregnancy. “If I may, Your Grace. I would love for you to meet my new family, they are so kind” that’s how she ended the letter.