The Realms

3. INTENDED CHOICE.

The king paced round in his chambers. He was in dismay. The news about the demise of the Chosen one was spreading and of course it was just a matter of time before every realm was aware. And they would panic.

The king boasted of a strong army but without the Chosen one he would be no March to Dark Realm. They had black magic and a magical war needed, the Savior. She wasn't there to help.

Then the Prince surprised him. With an outsider as a consort.

His unsettled mind took him to Iris and he smiled. After the unsettling news of the missing savior, he had decided to ask Elder Markus to give his daughter, Iris,as the substitute.... The next Queen.

The king then decided, the Prince can keep his consort..... At a cost of marrying Iris as the next queen.

'That's a good idea.' the king decided.

***
In her chamber, the Queen was thinking of the same thing.
She would talk to the King in the morning.
***

Elder Markus, Iris's father, sat silently staring blankly at the dark nothingness of his unlit sleeping chambers. He flashed back to the time when the king had made a proposal and chuckled and breathed a sigh of relief.

If this news had reached Iris, she would have been disappointed tonight after the trick the prince had pulled on his arrival.

*****
Iris shivered when a gist of cold air blew on her bare hands. She stood at the balcony of their house which was a part of the palace. She had the previledge of living in this beautiful world, the palace, since her father was an Elder, a council member.

She had always admired her dad and how he tried to act up to his position.

In her young years, she was always attracted to the sword or the bow. She always loved to watch warriors train at the training squire at the middle of the palace buildings from the balcony.

Her father allowed her to train besides other boys. As the years went by she would acquire the trust of the King and other soldiers.... As the only female warrior, she was ironically, respected amongst the people and the king chose her to be his and the queen's guard.

The queen always treated her as her daughter and advisor. For her age she was too wise... The queen always told her that.

She smiled as she supported her weight on the balcony's rails. The palace main building was quiet with a few guards moving around.

The mare thought of not been able to protect the King, the queen or her people made her neuseous and helpless.

If the war happened, they would lose. What would become of them, slaves? She breathed in the crisp air of midnight and said a silent plea to the gods to give a solution.

****
" I'm not sure your people will receive me," Palin broke the silence as she peeked to the Prince who was sitted stiffness visible on his shoulders.

He had been dismissed by the King immediately after the celebration without many words. He felt a little guilty over the choice and an already made decision of coming home with a consort. He was aware of the rules.

He loved Palin, he knew that and would do anything to keep her.

He turned towards her standing form in the middle of his room and smiled at her. She was always beautiful.

"Give them time," he encouraged.
Kai stood up and called a passing maiden who looked like she would cry anytime. He was always amused at how people seemed to be intimidated by his presence and then became courageous when opposing the rules in the safety of their houses.

"Show CONSORT Palin to her chambers," he ordered.

Palin followed her outside. She wasn't sure if she would survive this long enough to be accepted. Anyway she was not one to give up. She was a little surprised when she wasn't bluntantly send away from the kingdom. She hoped that she would get a chance to make her place in the royal family.

Before she slept, she had to contact someone home.

*****
The morning came up faster than Iris thought. Today and tomorrow, she would train alone since the warriors were taking a break. She ignored the cold air biting on her bare skin slightly wishing she could train in her warrior attire.

She was in a simple maiden attire, after all she was supposed to be taking a break too. The advantage of this attire was it was light and she could move around with ease.
The disadvantage? Even though the skirt covered her lower body,the upper body was limited... the maidens wore a cloth which covered their bust only. (A cloth covered in gold strings and small ornaments.....) She hated it. Her torso was exposed to to the cold.

She always saw uncomfortable maidens in this attire since in order to look presentable, you had to be fit enough.

****
Athens, was looking for his sister,when he bumped on her body.
"Truly, people should watch where they are going," he said irritated by the owner of the body.

He nearly fainted after looking up to see the Prince looking at him with amused eyes.

"You should too, Athens?" he confirmed the name.
Athens nodded and gulped. So much for having a running mouth.

"Sorry, My Prince"
"Where to?"
"The training ground my prince"
The prince was aware that today was a resting day.
"I'm looking for my sister, she is training."

"your sister"

'What was up with the Prince? Did he go to train to become an interrogation officer?' Athens wondered

"Yes, if you could excuse me," Athens said as he bolted before the prince decided to ask about something else.

"Wait....," he wanted to know if the guard was Athens'  sister but....
"He left," he said to no one in particular.

Kai decided to go and visit the training squire.

****
Above him, his parents and from her Chambers, Palin watched him make his way to the training squire.

****'

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-Chandrakanta80