Gathering In The Throne Room

POV: Lucien

Thanks to Alexandra’s diligent care I was good to go the next day. I didn’t hate that we got to sleep in the same bed again while she nursed me back to health. It was the best sleep I had had in a long while. I didn’t know if it was because of her Healing Heart ability or if it was the fact that the woman I loved was in my arms. Whatever it was, it was an amazing feeling. She had left before I woke up, Malinus had insisted that she go home as quickly as possible so that I could prepare myself for the Gathering. All the nobility would be assembled in the throne room as Malinus had sent the summons for them out yesterday. I was a little upset with Malinus about kicking her out of the castle before I was able to wake. He told me that she was fine with it and he sent her on her way through the tunnel to Blackwood so no one would see her. She had said that her mother would expect her home early since there was an official court function today. Malinus told me that Talia was a stickler for proper dress and manners so it would take her some time to tell Alexandra what was expected at this summoning and how she should dress. Since this was an official court summoning, the dress was uniform for all. Every family wore a uniform with their house colors on them. Batiste would be in navy and teal. The official uniforms weren’t often worn while I have been King since I rarely summoned anyone. I didn’t like to use that power often because I didn’t want my subjects to feel like they were under strict rule.

Malinus was helping me dress for the occasion I had to wear red and gold. As Grand Pretre had predicted, I only needed a small bandage and it could have been explained that I had bumped my head at some point that incurred a small scratch. With my red and gold suit, I had to wear the sash with my house's coat of arms (a shield with a lion standing on a bed of lilies) and a few of the medals I had earned when I took my mandatory two years in the Citadel. I hated to wear all this stuff because it was heavy and stiff which was another reason why I hated to call an official summons. This had to be done though because two candidates would be eliminated from the Queen competition and the council had agreed that any eliminations would happen via an official summons. This would give the ladies the dignity and ceremony they deserved for going through the process. Each family that had an elimination would receive compensation of gold from the treasury and one other prize of their choosing. We knew that there would be one elimination before the Fall Masquerade, we wanted the competition to boil down to three by then. It looks like there would be two eliminations since the council had yet to convene on the other eliminations of the remaining five women. I shuddered at the thought of having to put this garb on again.

I would have Count and Countess Delnaro arrested for attempted murder and treason during this session too. Malinus had already sent the Elder Council my intentions and the evidence to back it up was sent by the Citadel. There was no mistaking that they had indeed committed both serious acts. Of course, with Alexandra being the target of their murderous intents, her family would have a say in their punishment. I had asked Alexandra ahead of time what her father would want to do with the Count and Countess. She said that her father would probably want to put them to death if he was asked on the spot and she didn’t want that. I asked her if he needed some time to process the information. She affirmed that and how her mother, uncle, and grandfather would need to talk him off of his proverbial ledge. She said he never listened to her when it came to making others pay for hurting his daughter. She told me that Talia was usually the one that was passionate about things but when someone tried to hurt Alexandra, Reginald would be the fierce one. I could only imagine how he would feel being face to face with some of the people who ordered Alexandra’s assassination. I suppose remembering that, that it was best that she got to Blackwood sooner rather than later. Still, I was deprived of waking up next to Alexandra another morning and that made me somewhat cranky.

Malinus had just placed the final piece of flack on my suit and looked up at me, “What do you think will happen today, Your Majesty?” I shrugged, “Chaos likely. There will be families that will object to the eliminations but once they are offered the consolation prizes they may not be so upset. The other matter…” Malinus sighed, “It isn’t often you have to depose a man and woman of their title. I don’t envy you the task.” I sighed, “I’m resolved to my task considering what they have done and would have done if they weren’t found out. I just worry about the fallout for Lady Delnaro. She knew nothing about her parent’s plans and they did it so that she could become crown princess. This will devastate her on a few levels. She will need all the support in the world from her friends. I have already asked Alexandra to look after her. She had promised me that there will be an open invitation to Litha to Blackwood should she choose to use it. I believe this will go a long way with how people see her.” Malinus was brushing lint off my coat and stopped to look at me, “What do you mean by that?” I nodded, “Well if you think about it, you can see what I mean. Alexandra was the intended victim of their scheme. If Alexandra maintains the friendship with Litha, as she does intend to do, then the perception would be that Litha had nothing to do with it. This may soften the blow to her in high society.” Malinus resumed the brushing, “I suppose that makes sense. How does Alexandra feel about all this? She will have to face her tormentors in court, does she know what that entails?” I nodded again, “We went over it last night. I told her what was going to happen during the trial and how she would be called forth to tell the nobles what she went through. How this has damaged her and her family. All the rest of the procedure was explained, though not in detail.”

Finally, I was fully ready and stepped out into the hallway and took the back stairs to the throne room where I would enter through the door only the royals and their attendants could enter. I met with Sylphia and Nystasia there. They smiled at me and Sylphia spoke, “Your Majesty, we are sorry we didn’t visit. I was told by your mother that you shouldn’t be disturbed.” She looked around and whispered, “I do hope you enjoyed your time with Lady Batiste.” Just as she finished her sentence, my mother and Blake entered the hallway. Blake looked hyped up, “Brother, I have been waiting for this day for a while. I will be so glad when we can wrap up getting all of those traitors and Alexandra can finally be safe.” My mother patted him on the arm, “You need to keep your decorum about you, my son. We, as royals, need to maintain neutrality through these trials. He sighed, “I know, this is me getting it out now. Let me have this, mother.” She sighed, “Very well, get it out but no peep out of you when we get in there. I also don’t want to see anything on your face other than stoicism.” He looked down, “That might be a little hard but I will try.” Nystasia patted his back, “There, there Blakey. You’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.” Nystasia was clearly making fun of Blake for having to suppress his feelings. Sylphia shook her head, “Nystasia, you must remember not to react as well. We especially need to remain neutral.” Nystasia crossed her arms across her chest and puffed her cheeks out, “Fine but I want to let Alexandra know that I am rooting for her.” Sylphia rolled her eyes, “You can give her your support afterward. That’s the best you can do. And NO, you cannot send her your magic butterfly. People will know that that is fae magic. Restrain yourself or there will be consequences.” She turned away from Sylphia towards the door and Nystasia put a thumbs up toward Blake. Sylphia sighed, “Mother won’t be the one to punish you by the way.” The life drained out of Nystasia’s face and she straightened up. She then shrugged at Blake who also sighed.

The princesses were announced first and their attendants walked into the room with them. Their official dress was high collared white gowns with long chiffon trains. When they walked into the room each woman carried themselves gracefully and officially. When they took their seats it was my brother’s turn to enter the room. When he was announced he let out a shaky deep breath. He turned to me, “I will do my level best to remain a neutral party, brother. Feel free to throw me out of the room if you feel that I am becoming a distraction. Everyone in Vellum knows that I regard Alexandra in the highest sense so it wouldn’t be surprising if I don’t remain neutral.” He walked into the room and looked over to the section where the Batiste and Esperanza families stood. My mother turned to me, “Whatever happens today, just know that you have my fullest support in whatever you choose to do to the Count and Countess Delnaro. This won’t be easy but I know the Batiste family will still have your back after all is said and done.” I nodded at her, “I know, Mother. Alexandra has assured me that she will not have ill will towards me if I choose to give them the lightest sentence.” She sighed, “What of Reginald though? You have to weigh carefully what will offend the current Duke of Blackwood. They are the most powerful dukedom in all of Vellum not to mention your intentions towards his daughter. You don’t want to make an enemy of him. I am told that Reginald holds Alexandra on a pedestal.” The herald announced my mother and she turned to me before leaving, “Just remember balance.” She stepped out onto the dais and took her seat to my right as was always her place as my right hand.

Some day I had hoped that that seat would be occupied by Alexandra but everything had to go right. I took the words my mother had just said to me about her father and realized that I couldn’t give the Delnaro’s mercy. These were the decisions as King that I wasn’t particularly fond of. I would have to listen to what Reginald had to say about their punishment as was his right as the head of the house that was offended. I nodded at the herald who announced me and I walked into the room and took my seat at my throne. I swept my gaze across all of those assembled, “I have called this official court summons because we have two eliminations to address. I have granted the princesses the ability to eliminate one candidate each since we will need to maintain a friendly relationship with their realm in the future. If Princess Sylphia please address the court and let us know who she has chosen to eliminate.”

Princess Sylphia rose to her feet, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I carefully observed each candidate to understand, not only their ability to easily converse with us as envoys, but also their honest feelings towards His Majesty. Not by voiced out thoughts but by the feeling they give off. As you all know, fae put a lot of weight on the emotion of love. For this reason, I feel my choice was the correct choice. I am choosing to eliminate Lady Alesha Baltiliard.” A gasp came up in the room as everyone turned to look at Alesha. I rose to my feet and addressed the room, “Princess Sylphia has chosen to eliminate Lady Alesha Baltiliard. Will Marquis Baltiliard please come forward?” Marquis Baltiliard stepped out to the front of the room and bowed, “Your Majesty.” I waved him from his bow, “Marquis Baltiliard as the head of the house with a daughter who has been eliminated from her candidacy of Queen, you are entitled to consolation. You will be rewarded a gold sum equivalent to her final ranking in the competition. As she ranked fairly high, I would imagine that you will receive a substantial sum. You may also name an additional prize.” Marquis Baltiliard looked over at his daughter and smiled, “If that is the case, I would humbly request a betrothal of my daughter to the son of House Maigny.” I looked across the room and saw Reginald Batiste flinch then I looked towards the House Maigny. Marquis Maigny was beaming that he could align his “son” to another powerful family. I nodded, “I will discuss the details with his father separately. You know that it is within my purview to help negotiate the dowry.” Marquis Baltiliard bowed, “Understood, Your Majesty. We look forward to a favorable reply.” I asked him, “Do you have anything else to say?” Marquis Baltiliard shook his head, “No, Your Majesty. I am satisfied.” I dismissed him and he stepped back to his family.

I addressed the room once again, “Now I will ask Princess Nystasia to reveal her choice for elimination.” Princess Nystasia rose to her feet and smiled while her gaze swept across the room, “I won’t have a huge speech about who I chose to eliminate. I will just say that there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. We fae don’t like that type of attitude so I chose Lady Hazel Kastilidan.” A gasp once again resounded across the room mixed with a sob. I looked towards House Kastilidan where Hazel was sobbing about her elimination. I rose to my feet, “Princess Nystasia has chosen to eliminate Lady Hazel Kastilidan. Will Count Kastilidan please step forward?” Count Kastilidan who looked a little angrier about his daughter’s elimination stepped forward. He bowed, “Your Majesty.” I addressed him, “Your house will also be compensated equal to her ranking. You may also request one additional prize.” Count Kastilidan clenched his jaw and pointed at Alexandra, “I request that you eliminate Lady Alexandra Batiste as my prize. As an outsider, I don’t feel that she belongs on the throne.” The Elder Council started talking amongst themselves until Elder Enzo rose to his feet, “Your Majesty, could I, as representative of the council, speak?” I nodded at him, “You may.” Elder Enzo stepped away from the group toward Count Kastilidan and looked him in the eye, “His Majesty does not have the authority to fulfill your request and since you have decided to insult House Batiste, House Kastilidan will be punished by forfeiture of their additional prize.” Elder Enzo stepped away from Count Kastilidan whose face got redder. I spoke to him, “Have you anything else to say?” He huffed a breath out of his mouth, “No Your Majesty.” I dismissed him to rejoin his family. I drew a deep breath and addressed the crowd again, “Now to the other piece of business we have to address today. I would like to call forth Count and Countess Delnaro to the front of the room.”