Throne of White Roses.

Chapter twenty two: Alliances can be broken.

Maksim

I sat in my room, with a goblet of wine in one hand and the old wrinkled letter on the other. I put my legs up on the stool in front of me. I remember two years ago when a man arrived shivering in the cold, in the middle of the night. My mother refused to see him at first. She did not care that the man was waiting for hours outside. The weather in Savajonne is harsh.If you are not born here, you will surely die.

I remember coming from the kitchen, when I heard the guards whispering whether to let this man inside or not. My mother was a true Savajonnian. Her heart was as cold as the winter. I knew this man would die. Even her servants had more of a soul than she did.

And, to be honest I did not care. My days were filled with training and my nights we filled meaningless passions. I enjoyed it. I loved how much she did not care about her only child. I never knew who my father was. She always looked at me with disappointment and often said I remind her of him. And, that night was no different.

The young servant girl was more than happy to spend the hours in the arms of a prince. Who would not be?. But, the man did not move. He stood there and kept asking for the queen. He said he has important news. After days, she finally agreed to meet him. Not out of curiosity, it was more like out of boredom.

After meeting him, she came to my chambers that night. And, I almost threw the folded paper in my face. I was too drunk to care. " This is what you were born to do, maybe you are useful." That is what she said and left without an explanation. I did not open the letter. I did not care.

But, you cannot avoid some things in life. I did not know what made me open the letter. But, I did. It was a letter from the Queen of Leucos. Leucos. A kingdom that was at war. Everyone wanted Leucos. And, why not?. But, this was not something I was expecting. She was offering an alliance. She was offering her daughter. Her only child is like some kind of a doll. She hoped that we would agree. She also stated that she has other suitors for her daughter as well, but if we want maybe we could present our suitors and maybe ours will be picked.

I laughed at the letter. No wonder my mother thought this was a good opportunity. She loved power. She is a beast when it comes to blood. But, her hunger knows no boundary. She will sacrifice me if she has to just so she tastes more power. The queen of Leucos wanted an alliance so her husband and the king could have more power to defeat the army of Nesh and win this war. End the bloodshed once and for all. I knew I did not want to be any more of a puppet than I already was. I wanted to tear up the letter but I could not.

After months, my mother did not discuss anything with me and said she already wrote back and agreed. It was the night of the yearly winter celebration. She did care if I wanted it or not. She knew this was something that could stretch our kingdom far.

That night, I drank like this was my last night. And, after the celebration ended. I stumbled in my bed with ladies who came to join the court celebrations. I think she was the daughter of a duke or maybe a baroness. I do not remember anything clearly.

My fate was sealed. I hated her. I hated the queen. I hated the young princess who would soon be my wife. I hated my life. I wanted to look her in the eye and ask her if she wanted this as much as her desperate mother did. So, I left. Everyone thought I was in a brothel. It was nothing new. And, my mother would not ask for me if it was not absolutely necessary. And, before I knew it. I was inside the broken, old and smelly inn. I waited to find the right way to see her.

But, what I did not expect was a runway princess. Rumors spread fast among the drunkards. I did not know what was true and what was not. I drowned myself with cheap ale. I wanted to throw up because of its horrible taste. And, then my eyes caught the man who entered the inn. He was wearing clothes that said he was too good for this place. There was something about him that made me curious. And, after a few hours a young woman walked in. She took a seat beside him and she took something out of her pouch. It looked like a piece of jewelry or something of that sort. But, I thought she was stupid for taking out an expensice piece of jewel inside an inn that was crawling with men and women of all sorts. But, then she took her hood off a little. Enough to see most of her face. I did not know what it was but I was drawn to her.