Primogeniture

Chapter 2 - Constitutional Monarch

   In the south of the Ashian Peninsular, were the Marqland plains. There sits the newly formed country that will later be known as the People's Republic of Altracia. It was barely a year old and the leaders of this young nation was transitioning from a absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy system. In a castle that sits atop the only hill in those plains was the Marqland Castle, home to the rulers of Altracia, the Laystorm royal family.  

   "Mother?" A young princess walked into a chamber filled with the rest of the royal family and their royal advisors. They were seated around a roundtable and having a heated discussion. The young princess wore a plain white dress that put emphasis on her sunset-colored hair wanted to have fun after being locked up in her chambers for the entire day. Her presence drew the attention of all the advisors that sat at the table, and this stopped the argument. The queen looked at the girl and spoke up.

   "Circe, return to your chambers. We are currently having a discussion about important matters." She said returning her gaze to the advisors at the table. The advisors reciprocated her gaze, and they kept silent not wanting a teenager to eavesdrop on any important information that might leak out behind closed doors. 

   "Yes mother." The teenager said while solemnly bowing and walked out of the chamber, closing the door behind her. Circe Laystorm, the second daughter of King Kalith Laystorm and his second child of the two children he had. She was elegant at times like these but was hotheaded and impatient when one is exposed to her true nature. She was bored of studying the endless scrolls and scriptures that filled her room. She was well versed in multiple languages and her tutor taught her on swordplay and honed her immense magic talent. She was still young and was kept out of politics of this fledgling nation, this irritated her as she thought that she had the capacity to contribute to the politics of the nation. 

   In the chamber where the advisors and royal were having the discussion, the sudden presence of the second princess lifted the heavy atmosphere in the room and her mentor was in that room. He saw the disappointed look on the first princess' face. Chika Laystorm, the first princess of Altracia. She is seven years older than her little sister and she was the one in training to be the next heir to the throne. Currently, even ascension is a distant dream as a new Prime Minister will be elected to govern Altracia. She is just a constitutional monarch, nothing more than a figurehead in the future. The queen was looking at Levi and he noticed her gaze. She then spoke.

   "I expected better from your student royal advisor Woo." She said with a irritated tone and Levi sighed in response. The other advisors saw this and sighed in unison. This was out of Levi's control and yet he has to take responsibility for this incident. The Laystorm royal family has always been unreasonable, that is also the reason why they were never in-line for the throne before the split of Altracia form Historia. They were hot-headed, this was a trait that ran in the family, even in the more docile second princess. Levi gathered his thoughts and spoke.

   "Your highness, I believe that the second princess is bored from studying from when the sun rose to when the sun had set over the horizon. That dismissive tone and the way your highness had told her to leave was uncalled for." Levi said with a disinterested look as he stared back into the queen's eyes. His words left the room in silence, this was the first time that Levi had spoken against the royals. This was also shocking as they thought that he was a yes-man for the king. 

   "Levi?" One of his colleagues whispered to him, Levi looked at him and gestured to leave him be. 

   "Advisor Woo. What has gotten into you?" Seeing this situation unfold, the second princess cut into the conversation, trying to cool the temperatures. 

   "Second princess, let this lowly advisor tell you a story. It is a short tale about the youngest advisor in recorded history to serve an old duke. His seniors warned him about the duke's ambitions to rule the kingdom. He was also warned that impatience was an inseparable trait of the duke's lineage." Levi said that and took a sip of tea from a cup that was in front of him. He then placed the cup on the roundtable. Chika listened to Levi's story, and she raised a question.