The chief accountant fidgeted where he stood as he wondered how the king would react to the proposal, and his partner stood beside him and looked equally nervous.
The king was a good man but he would have to make the challenging decisions that came with his title, and this was one of them. He was to ensure that his people were as comfortable as possible, often reducing taxes when his routine disguised walk across the kingdom showed too many people suffering in these grim times. At this rate, even the palace was going to start experiencing the hardships of cutbacks.
Over and over, King Maurice read the proposal and felt a squeeze in his chest. He never expected that a tax increase would be the only way. As far as he was concerned, his people were already overtaxed and a further increase would cause some families to go hungry. On a good day, he would have immediately torn the proposal and sent its bearers out, but this was not one of those days. The king was grateful that his account handlers noticed it early on, though he wondered what would have happened if the matter had gone unchecked.
He sighed, if only they knew. Revealing the true state of the kingdom would cause panic. He cringed inwardly as he began to analyze the positive side of the tax increase, as he knew the people would not see it that way. They would be quick to assume that the king had fallen prey to the manipulations of members of his council.
One of the men cleared his throat and shuffled a few steps forward. “Y…your majesty?”
The king looked up briskly and the man jumped back, mistaking the steely expression for anger rather than what it truly was: Pain. He stared at the man wordlessly, then returned to his silent scrutiny of the proposal and how the money would be used. It was a long-term plan, but in the long run his people would be better for it. Wasn’t that his job as king? To make sure they had the best, no matter the cost? Now more than ever, he wished that the queen was still alive. His late wife had been his rock and had a real eye for things like this. She would have taken one look at the proposal and known if it was something to pass or discard. Her support in times of crises had always been something he missed terribly.
Then, his mind went to his daughter, Esther Anna. He knew if anyone missed his late wife as much as he did, it was her.
Maurice just hoped that in a couple of years his actions would be justified.
He sighed and looked at the man standing before him. He could see the hopeful glint in his eye and he sighed again, and signed the document, before handing it over.
“Do it.” The king finally spoke, and the two men hurried out. King Maurice stared after them, wondering if he’d truly done the best for the kingdom. He consoled himself with the knowledge that if there had been any other way, he would have taken it. After a moment, he straightened up and adjusted his expression. He was king, doing this for their own good and if they complained, called him evil, then so be it. In time, they would realise the folly of their ways and sing his praises once more.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
It was overcast in the Kingdom of Dormality, with a grey tinge that was less seen and more felt. A year had passed since the taxes had been increased, and things had only gotten worse for the people. The land had depreciated so terribly that the more spiritual members of the kingdom attributed it to the gods, deities that claimed the people had sinned and somehow offended them, requiring various means of appeasement. The ground seemed to be angry with them as the crops it produced were either too small or less than appealing to the taste. The palace was flooded every single day with members of the community and numerous complaints about the poor state of the land.
King Maurice sat in his throne and watched as his guards escorted in the next citizen in line. It could have been the hundredth person, but he lost count. It was a young man who looked raggedy at best. His clothes hung off his shoulders as those on a scarecrow would and his cheeks were sunken, as if he would topple over at any point. The boy looked vaguely familiar, but with other concerns on his mind, the king overlooked that thought. He instantly ordered that a chair be brought in for the boy along with some water and cheese bread, and the youth immediately ate the meal and gulped down the water, and soon after fell to his knees to thank the king.
“Thank you, your majesty.” He said, bowing. After the king waved him up, the young man rose to his feet, and after the meal it was noticeable that he was standing a bit better now. “My king. I know that for the better part of the day, you have been given complaints about the kingdom. I am not here to do any of that. Your majesty, my father was a farmer of honest means. Taxes increased and things became very difficult for us. Soon after that, he became ill and not long after, he died.”
As the king stared at the boy, he resisted the urge to shift in his throne, as he had to maintain his regal air. The boy’s face seemed familiar still, and he struggled with the memory of where he’d seen him before, but he couldn’t remember. He felt terrible for the boy’s father. His tax policy had failed miserably and soon enough, the king needed to open the castle stores to at least assist the people, but even that had proved insufficient. Now the kingdom survived on weak crops and most could not afford to pay the taxes which were still very much in effect. It seemed rather odd that things could have gotten so bad in just under a year.
You know what you must do, an inner voice said, referring to something his chief advisor had told him the previous day. It was something he didn’t even want to consider. But do you have a choice?
The king shook his head, returning his attention to the boy. His face was in his memory but the recollection of his face eluded him. He prepared himself for whatever it was the boy wanted to say, not expecting it to be good in any way. Nobody had had any good thing to say all day.
“Your majesty, I’m here to tell you that I trust in your judgment. My father told me many stories of how you’d saved the kingdom even before I was born, and I know things were not always this bad. He had faith in you, and so do I, your majesty. I know you have a plan to save us once more, I only ask sir, with all due respect, that you do it with haste, sir, so no other family should suffer through the same loss. Thank you.” The boy bowed and turned to leave.
The king stared at him in awe and open admiration, losing the cool demeanour with which he had addressed everyone else. He suddenly remembered where he’d seen that boy before. Just a year ago, while he stood at the eye in the sky, the king watched as two boys collided carts in the market. That had to be him, he knew. The king was stunned. He had expected some form of respectful admonishment, a plea for assistance or questions about his plans for the kingdom. Anything really, except from what he’d just received, as the boy had just praised him. Even in this time of crisis, there were still people who trusted in his judgment. He couldn’t help but smile. This created an urgency. He could not let such hope fall to waste.
King Maurice noticed then that everyone was watching his quiet reminiscing and he cleared his throat. “Send in the next one.”
Esther Anna laughed as Adam told another one of his jokes. This was one she’d heard many times, but it never seemed to get old. Perhaps it was the way Adam told it, or the story itself, but it always seemed fresh every time she heard it.
“Oh Adam, what would I do without you?” she asked as she hugged him.
Adam grinned. “A lot actually, I do tend to hold you back sometimes. You know how amazing you are right dear sister?”
“You’re amazing too.”
Esther Anna was twenty-four, and the spitting image of her late mother. It was so strong that sometimes her father slipped and called her the queen. She always smiled and took it as a compliment. The queen died giving birth to her, so she never had the opportunity of knowing her mother. Sometimes, her father would talk about his wife’s famous stubbornness. The stories always made her feel closer to her mother and he knew this, so he always told them. Her only brother Adam also told her tales and adventures and other kingdoms. They always made her feel the need to travel and explore unfamiliar places an
d eventually she’d voiced this interest out loud. Adam promised to take her on his next outing, but sadly they hadn’t gotten around to it.
“Father is on his way up.” Adam said.
Before long, the king stepped into her room “My queen.”
Esther Anna smiled and rose to greet him. “Hello, father.” She hugged him and led him to a chair. “You’re finished talking to the people?” When she asked, she could see her father visibly flinch.
“Yes, my dear, for now. I shall continue tomorrow. It’s the least I can do, because at least like this, they feel like their voices are being heard. Giving them a listening ear helps them.” King Maurice said, more to himself than to his daughter.
She nodded. Esther Anna was a very observant girl, aware of the suffering in her kingdom. From time to time, she left the palace under disguise, accompanied by Adam, and set out to hand out food to children on the streets and saw the deterioration of the kingdom before her eyes. She looked at her father and sighed deeply. He was starting to look older than he was, and the lines on his face seemed to grow deeper the more he worried about the state of the kingdom. Matters of state weighed heavily on him, and she wished there was something else she could do. She didn’t realise how long she’d been staring at him, and when his gaze caught hers and he looked away. He always looked tired these days, but as she examined her father’s expression now. It was clear that he was going through something else, bothered about something new, and she was curious to know what it was.
King Maurice cleared his throat before he spoke. “Someone praised me today.”
“Praised? Really?”
“I was as surprised as you looked now too, my dear. It was a youth. about your age. Remember the boy I told you about once? The one who ran recklessly towards the market with his cart? He collided with someone, and the cart had toppled over.”
She nodded, remembering it all quite clearly. Her father must have seen some significance with the events of that day, because every time he told her that story, there was an odd glint in his eye.
“Well, it was the same boy. It turns out he lost his father, and that his father had nothing but good things to say about me. It was just…odd. I’d expected some form of respectful criticism or complaint of some kind. It was refreshing.”
Esther Anna waited for him to continue as she could sense he wasn’t finished. He seemed to be struggling with something, and in her heart, she knew it concerned her.
“Do you remember what I’ve told you about your mother? She always knew how to make the challenging decisions. Decisions that were often for the good of the kingdom. I apologize for not mentioning this before, but I’m going to need you to think about how much good we would be doing. How much good you would be doing.” He held her hand, a bit uneasy. “I want you to know that if there had been any other option, I mean, any one at all, I would have taken it.”
With that, he got up and walked to the door, leaving her seated on the bed, clearly confused. At the door, he turned to look at her again, as if he was about to say something, but he thought better of it and left the room in silence.
“Hmm. Well, that was intense.” Adam cut in after a moment of silence. He walked towards her and sat on the bed. “What do you think all that was about?”
“I have no idea…” Esther Anna replied, staring at the empty doorway. She struggled to make sense of his words, but he had been so vague that she could not make heads or tails of it.
Adam seemed confused as well, and sat across from her staring into space for a while, then her turned to her, smiling. “Cheer up, sister. You know father has always had a flair for the dramatic. It’s quite possible that whatever it is, isn’t as heavy as it seems. He loves you, and I doubt he’d do anything that would put you in harm’s way, unless he wants mother to rise from the grave and give him a good ol’ knock on the head!”
She couldn’t help smiling at the thought. Adam was right. Esther Anna knew their father loved her, and he also loved the kingdom. She only wanted to know what was needed of her.
Maurice led his daughter towards the altar as the wedding bells chimed in the background. She looked gorgeous and he could tell from the large smile on King Pierre LaChance’s face that he thought so too. The marriage between Esther Anna and the King of Tibethia was one that would broker new ties between their two lands and bring in funds to relieve them of their current financial crises, as well as a new farming method that had been developed.
According to the stories, Tibethia had been built on arid land. However, due to cleverness of its farmers, farming methods were developed that used as little water as possible to grow their crops, and they even implemented the use of improvised fertilizers. As a result, the crops were unnaturally resilient and were famous for growing rather large, even under even the most terrible conditions. Their technique was world renowned, but no one had been able to duplicate it. It was exactly what Dormality needed.
Pierre had taken pity on Dormality’s situation and had been more than happy to help them with whatever was needed to get back on their feet, especially considering what they were offering in return, more than willing to accept the offer of marriage. He’d seen Esther Anna at a ball and noticed her beauty, though more importantly, it was her innocence that drew him in. Since he’d lost his wife, Pierre had little interest in other women, but was intrigued by the princess. He knew that Esther Anna was a lovely young woman, and reckoned her kindness and gentle demeanour might be a good example for his daughter, Noelle. She had been without a motherly figure for so long, their union would make his family whole again.
Maurice wasn’t always sold on the idea of marrying his daughter off in favour of saving his kingdom. Arrangements like these weren’t uncommon, but he always wanted something different for her. He wanted her to have the choice over her suitors. Esther Anna did have her mother’s spirit, however, and Maurice was sure she would agree with the hope to save her kingdom. The king eventually accepted the proposal. He knew that Pierre LaChance was a great man and a noble king who would treat his daughter well and their kingdoms would prosper. They had a meeting prior to the wedding, and Pierre and Esther Anna hit it off, with a beautiful chemistry. He spoke highly of how intelligent she was and she’d impressed him by being well versed in places she’d never even seen.
Then, the day had finally arrived. It was a grand ceremony, and everything was perfectly in place for Esther Anna LaPointe to be handed off to Pierre LaChance. King Maurice reached the altar and smiled brightly as he delivered her to her new husband, before going to take his place with the others. The rites proceeded without any issue. Pride shone in his eyes, as he felt the spirit of his late wife was beside him, and sharing that same pride for their beautiful daughter. He sighed with relief.
The Kingdom of Dormality had been saved once more.
“My queen.”
Her lady-in-waiting greeted her, and Esther Anna smiled at the title. For so many years her father had called her the very same thing because of her mother, and now here she was, an actual Queen, and now a part of the Kingdom of Tibethia. The people of Tibethia welcomed their new queen warmly, and Esther Anna Lapointe felt right at home in her new palace.
Today, she was going to meet Pierre’s daughter, Noelle and she was both nervous and excited. The fifteen-year-old had been unable to attend the wedding as she’d been feeling under the weather and Esther Anna felt it was her duty, and would serve to foster good relations, if she checked in on her. She was led towards the other section of the castle, and accompanied by two other maids.
The guards announced her presence and the Princess Noelle ushered her in. Noelle was a beautiful young lady with a winning smile, and Esther Anna had liked her immediately. Due to their closeness in age, they looked more like sisters rather than step-mother and step-daughter, and their relationship bloomed into a wonderful bond. Esther Anna couldn’t have asked for a more perfect companion. The girls talked about a wide range of things, especially about the subtle lifestyl
e differences, culture and tradition between Dormality and Tibethia.
The position of queen didn’t really carry as much work, though she insisted the king listen to her ideas as related to some of his policies. Pierre was so used to running the kingdom without the assistance of a queen, and after so much time he started to prefer it that way. Nevertheless, he found value in her ideas, so he listened. Aside from that, she usually had a lot free time on her hands, so Esther Anna spent some of her time with her brother or Noelle.
Esther Anna searched the palace and couldn’t find her brother Adam, so she made her way towards Noelle’s room. As she reached the corridor, she noted the distinct lack of guards and maids around. This is unusual, she thought, as she hurried towards the room. Once she approached, there were odd sounds coming from inside. The queen pushed the door open and sharply gasped. She cupped a hand over her mouth and watched in horror as Noelle pranced around a maid, who she recognised as the made Talia, hanging upside down from the ceiling, completely naked. There was an empty, claw-footed tub placed underneath her. She was paralyzed in fear as Noelle picked up stranger-looking dagger. She proceeded to make those odd and eerie sounds as she sliced the maid’s body and her blood was spilled into the tub below.
Noelle proceeded to disrobe and she covered herself in the woman’s blood.
Esther Anna could not hold back her cry of disgust as she turned and ran, hoping desperately that she had not been seen or heard. She didn’t get very far away when suddenly, Noelle materialised in front of her. The queen stopped in her tracks, looking at the Princess with unmistakable fear in her eyes. She could not bring herself to speak.
Noelle looked at her with a smile in her face. Her eyes rolled as she reached up, tapped Esther Anna on the forehead and spoke in a foreign tongue.
Everything went black.
Over the years, Esther Anna didn’t understand why Noelle’s presence caused the hair on her neck to stand on end. She even told Adam about it, but he just brushed it off as a side effect of the changes caused by her marriage, climate due to her new locale, as she was becoming acclimated to her new palace and its staff. It was overwhelming, she agreed, but there was still something odd about the princess. Her memories were hazy between the time she’d met Noelle to the present.
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