The Heiress

Chapter 1 - If I have to

 A month has passed since her father's death, but Ashen did not get used to it. In a matter of a week only, she had to change from the carefree Princess that only thought of her present, to the aggrieved Queen overwhelmed with sadness while she had to think about future, both hers, and all of her people's one. The lightning-fast disease that took the King away did not let her the time to prepare to this, and, even if he told her many times that this would be her destiny, she never wanted to think about it. And yet, this destiny caught her when she least expected it, and in a way more painful than she anticipated. At only twenty-two years old, she was now both an orphan and a Queen, while she would have wished to be neither one nor the other.

Since this baneful day, she had to take up her new duties, and it did not arrange anything to her grief. Nobles had come from all over Bôrn's territories to bring her at the same time condolences and recommendations, but no words could have ever lessened her affliction. She listened, smiled, thanked, but did not heal. At every hour, she was expecting to hear her father's voice, who would remind her to study, to listen better to her lesson, to not let the dogs spoil her gowns while playing, to stop stealing apples in the kitchen to feed the old white horse, to stop playing fight with the young soldiers. But nothing ever came, and her despair began to feel so heavy that, if she could have, she would have screamed her ache at the top of her lungs.

The only thing that refrained her from spending her days crying in her private quarters was the idea that she now had millions of life between her hands, and, while she was mourning the loss of someone so dear to her heart, others were living the same suffering. But these people, these unknowns, these no-names as some used to say... No noble would ever go out of their way to comfort them. No, nobody would ever do. They would stay there, alone with their pain, and Ashen could not tolerate this. She had to be strong for those who were weak, to be able to help them, like the King did for her some years earlier. She had to respect his wish, and to reign on Bôrn with all the compassion she always had, no matter the loneliness. She had to.

Sitting on one of the red velvet bench of her bedroom, the sound of the opening knob pushed her out of her thoughts, and she woke up in a jump, dusting her long cream dress with her palm. Entered a young Elf her age, clothed in a light armor dedicated to training, his short ginger hair messy and his cheeks covered in both freckles and dirt. When she saw him, Ashen let out a light laugh coming out of her lips: she recognized there the usual look of Hanz Herzeben, Captain of the Guards, and most importantly, her best friend since childhood. Him, on the other hand, finally realized that he did not even take the time to knock before entering, and bowed in confusion.

– Please excuse me, Your Majesty, I-... he started, perplexed.

– Oh, Hanz, if even you start to speak to me this way, I will feel like the lonelier woman in the world, she sighed in return. Please do not use such etiquette when it is only the two of us, alright?

– Alright... But I still entered your bedroom without your permission.

– Permission granted, just a bit late.

They shared a laugh, while she walked towards him, curious as to the reason of his visit so early in the morning.

– You seem to be right out of training, she remarked, detailing him with her amber eyes. Is there anything urgent?

– Well, yes, or else I wouldn't have let my nephew unattended. Please, promise me that if he gets injured, tell Tristael it wasn't my fault, or he will kill me, this time.

– Promised. What is it?

– A herald has come from Khardûll by order of King Dazorwin, so that to call upon our help against the Jarkhan.

At these words, the young woman's face became pale abruptly, and she had to put a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming of surprise. She finally realized the full scope of the task that would be hers now, and her chest tightened just thinking about all the choices she would have to make, as well as all the consequences they would have. She went back to sit on one of the seats, getting some seconds to calm down, then looked back at her friend with a serious look.

– Tell him to go back from where he came from. Bôrn will not help such a tyrant under any circumstances.

– Should you not consult your ministers, before sending your answer?

– Even if I would ask them for their opinion, the choice would still be mine at the very end, and I refuse to caution Dazorwin's acts. Send the herald back.

– Alright, my Queen.

Hanz bowed down again, in a move full of respect, then left the room in a hurry. He had a light smile on the lips while leaving: even though he didn't want to give her his opinion for fear of influencing hers, he was more than happy with his friend's choice. Ashen stood there for a while, her eyes a bit lost, her thoughts a bit tangled. Everything she wished for at this moment was that this decision would not have any bad repercussion onto her kingdom, and even more onto her people. But quickly, she dawned on the fact that she would have to worry about what her people would think of her choice of dismissing her very own council, long before she would have to fear for their safety.

– What have I done...!