****
Solmaris, Month: 94, Year: 226.
While Elise’s body lay wrapped in the thick weight of the inn blankets, her mind had already fled. It wandered the corridors of the castle she had escaped from, stone halls she didn't wish to see any time soon. Yet returned to them all the same. That memory seized her now, pulling her back not just to the halls of stone, but to the moment that had branded her destiny.
She emerged from the corridors onto the balcony overlooking the gardens in bloom. Sunlight struck her eyes, warmth spread through her body, and the breeze carried the perfume of flowers from the earth below. The sensation was vivid, so real it felt less like memory and more like reliving the moment in flesh.
Below, at the center of the garden, a large table had been set, three figures seated as waiters delivered food and drinks. The servants moved stiffly, tense as if a single mistake might get them sent to work in the mines for the rest of their lives. Not one of the three figures sitting on the table bothered to speak to the waiters or look back at them.
She saw him and took a step back: the patriarch of House Valcour and the second highest authority of the Solvarria region, behind the Emperor. He was the father of Elise’s mother, Anelika; or, as most people would say, Elise’s grandfather. Not that she had ever called him that. First, because Elise was deaf and every attempt of speaking she ever made was met with his disapproval, claiming she had an awkward and embarrassing voice; second, because even his other grandchildren, the ones who could hear, speak, and use their magic instinctively, the ones who were not a shame to their family name, were required to address him using the highest of honors:
Grand Prince of Solvarria, Vorsik Valcour.
He sat beyond the rose bushes, in the middle of the garden, drinking with his guests.
His company was Lord and Lady Belvik, heads of the most important non-royal house of the Karalon region, rulers of the city of Delvora, possibly the richest city in the empire.
Elise hid behind the balcony rails, lowering her head as she watched from above. Cool marble pressed against her elbows, and despite her fine dress, she felt no hesitation in dragging it across the floor as she shifted carefully from one spot to another, searching for the best angle to follow the movement of their lips as they spoke.
Elise felt no remorse for spying. Rumors like that of their visit spread so fast and loud, that even the deaf could catch them. She had a clear sense of what this meeting was about. Grand Prince aimed to become Emperor, and with the elections getting closer, he would have to use all his resources to gain influence and support. Resources such as herself, his youngest granddaughter were definitely not off the table. And since her presence was neither required nor desired in the arrangements concerning her future, she saw little choice but to watch from a distance.
“You are asking for a very large commitment, Grand Prince,” Lord Belvik protested. “And with all due respect to you and your family, Grand Prince Br?kel has made a far more generous offer for our favor.”
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“We can always adjust the political arrangement to better suit your interests, Lord Belvik,” the Grand Prince replied. “As for Princess Elise, she bears one hundred and twenty-four sunmarks and comes from the purest royal lineage.”
Lady Belvik spoke next. Elise could not read her lips from this angle, but whatever she said was enough to draw a sharp response. The Grand Prince’s normally restrained demeanor shifted, if only slightly, toward aggression.
He brushed his blond hair back with one hand, a gesture he used when trying to hide his frustration. “What house doesn’t have an outlier in its family tree?” Grand Prince Vorsik replied, carefully steadying his expression. “But consider this: one hundred and twenty-four sunmarks. More than Emperor Rasbertillius. More than former Emperor Br?kel. There is no clearer sign of Solenya’s favor than Princess Elise’s blessings.”
He fell silent for a moment before continuing. “With Princess Elise’s royal lineage, and as the mother of your grandchildren, your house would be all but guaranteed an unparalleled future. They would hold the right to campaign for the throne themselves, should that ever suit your interests.” He paused briefly. “She will reach legal adulthood very soon. At that point, the arrangement can be honored.”
Lady Belvik spoke again, holding the word for a particularly long moment. Once again, Elise could not read her lips, but whatever she said made the Grand Prince frown again.
“You may have your most trusted physicians examine her,” the Grand Prince replied. “We have been assured that, aside from her deafness, she is perfectly healthy and fertile. We have also been assured that her deafness was caused by the difficult circumstance of her birth and is not something that can be passed on to your potential grandchildren.”
Lord Belvik spoke then, adjusting the bracelet at his wrist. “Thank you for the offer, Grand Prince Valcour. We will give it our careful consideration,” he said, his expression faintly dismissive.
“I don’t think you’ve fully considered the extent of my offer.”
The Grand Prince took a sheet of paper, wrote briefly, and slid it across the table to the lords across him.
It took only an instant for Lord Belvik to glance at it before responding. “What is this?”
The Grand Prince rose and gestured to one of the servants standing watch nearby. The servant handed him a large roll of parchment, which Vorsik spread across the table. It was a map. He pointed to a marked location.
“We’ve estimated your daily earnings from administering the Human Trinity Canal,” he said, meeting the lord’s gaze. “How far off are we?”
The lord shifted the paper to show it to his wife. Elise could not tell if Lady Belvik spoke, but she did not appear to, from the edge of her mouth she only offered a tightly restrained smile.
The Grand Prince continued. “It must be convenient for your house to control the Human Trinity Canal, the ancient megastructure that allows both land and maritime passage between the northern part of the continent and the Sutherlands."
He lowered his hand on the map. “When former Emperor Alderic Br?kel began the invasion of the south,” he said with a sigh, “I can scarcely imagine how much those blockades cost your city and your family over the more than two years the conflict lasted.”
The Grand Prince leaned closer to his guests, meeting their eyes directly. “You know this already, but another Br?kel on the throne.” He paused with a sign. “Grand Prince Bezebius Br?kel is in no position to keep the Southerners in check. He is impulsive and shortsighted, and now that the counselor who once kept him on a leash has passed on to a better life, I doubt he will act in your house’s best interest. No matter what he promises you now.”
Vorsik returned to his seat, driving a finger into the map where the canal lay. “The Sutherlands already maintain fragile ties to the mainland. Under such a ruler, those ties may snap entirely. What would happen then?” He smiled faintly. “Whatever Br?kel has offered you pales beside my proposal: securing your control of the Canal for generations, cementing stability on your region, and the promise of heirs with a claim to the throne.”
The Grand Prince folded his hands on the table. “I believe you’ve already made up your minds to support my campaign to a higher or lesser degree, almost regardless of what House Br?kel may offer.” His smile was assured. “You are merely waiting, feigning skepticism, for me to present the strongest possible terms. And in that, I'll be honored to oblige.”
The visiting lords shared a glance, saying nothing but ultimately looking decided enough to take his offer. “Would you be so kind as to let my wife and I share a word before agreeing to any deal?”
“Take all the time you need.”
Elise felt a hand pat her back and startled. In her memory, no one had ever caught her spying from that spot. She turned, bracing for a reprimand.
Instead, it was Danira, signing urgently. [Wake up, Elise. I’m sick, please help me.]
The dream shattered as someone in the real world shook her, her body being rocked back and forth, dragging her abruptly from sleep.
Elise opened her eyes, but her body did not follow. She lay stiff and unresponsive, as though she were trapped beneath her own weight. Her vision was a smear of shadow and pale light, shapes refusing to settle as awareness crept back into her inch by inch. Her breath felt delayed, every thought sluggish, as if her mind had forgotten how to give orders to the rest of her body.
Zulanah’s face filled her vision, worried and tense, her hands rocking Elise with growing urgency. Elise tried to respond, but her body resisted, sluggish and cold. Zulanah spoke, her lips moving visibly, but Elise caught none of it.
The sensation and control over her body returned, surely but frustratingly slowly.
Elise finally managed to shift and saw Danira beside her. One look was enough. Danira’s face was drawn tight with pain, her breathing heavy. Elise forced her sluggish body forward and pressed a hand to Danira’s forehead. She was hot, too hot. She shook Danira’s shoulder, again and again. No response. Elise looked to Zulanah, who only shook her head. Zulanah spoke urgently, but even with a clear sight of her lips, Elise could not understand the language of the Drakvari.
Elise slid her hands down to Danira’s neck. The skin there was hotter than her forehead, hotter when her fingers met tender nodes under her chin and along the sides of her neck. Danira’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused, her gaze settling on Elise and apparently murmuring something incomprehensible.
Elise’s own body finally caught up, her heart hammering now, breath coming deeper, warmth returning to her limbs. She reached under Danira’s arms and flinched at the tenderness there as well, the same unnatural swelling beneath the skin.
Elise signed just in front of where Danira could potentially see, almost fumbling between gestures like an amateur, despite a life-long practice with the language of hands. [I'll bring help. Please wait.]
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.
I’m a medical doctor who writes as a hobby, hoping to one day create an immersive world like that of Tolkien, Herbert, or Rowing.
I post a new chapter every two weeks, always trying to keep the quality high.
Thank you very much for your feedback.
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