The Fall of Vequera

Chapter thirteen | Vasily

TW: RAPE AND MURDER OF A CHILD, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE, CHILD NEGLECT, BODY MUTILATION, RELIGIOUS DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE

LOCATION : ARCADIOS, VEQUERA

YEAR: 602-620 C.E

HE NEEDED TO LET IT GO.

The ruling should make him happy because they hadn't decided to kill her, but the look in his wife's eyes when she delivered the verdict haunted him. Her eyes showed no mercy and not a single drop of remorse for what she had done. What her lords had done. He glanced down at the baby in his arms with bright eyes as she slept. How could they hate something so innocent? She had done anything wrong. Well, she did one thing wrong. She had been born into House Lamonia. The same house he had been forced to marry into by his father, King Aslan for an alliance.

"My sweet girl. My sweet beautiful girl." He cooed, quietly as he sighed deeply.

'All of this because she had a gold eye?' He thought harshly, running a hand over his face as exhaustion took over his body. He placed her in her crib before kissing her on the forehead. The noise of his mind had disappeared as he stared down at her. Then he remembered, what Daefier Lance had told him only months ago. "Vequera would never accept anything that could disturb the order of things. She would disturb everything they hold dear. If she became queen, she would be the end of us all. And it doesn't matter if she were Good Queen Keila come again...They would never accept her because they are set in the old ways."

"She's not a witch. They all saw her blood, she bleeds red. She's not like them. She's just a child."

"That will never matter. That eye of hers says otherwise. The Queen and lords of the council fear what she is capable of. One day she might feel sympathy for those creatures and decide to let them back in Vequera. Who knows what would happen then. Complete utter chaos in the streets. The people would riot." 

There was a knock on his chamber door. "The Queen, your grace." The door opened and Isabella walked in with a blank expression as her eyes wandered to the crib.

"Is the babe, okay?" She asked, calmly.

Vasily ignored her with a shake of his head. He walked to his bed and threw himself on it. "Look for yourself." He grumbled moments later. His wife sighed as she did so. How could she be so calm when he was fuming inside? How could she not care about her own child?

"The wet nurse told me you refused to let the baby feed from her. Did you get a new one?"

"Her name is Valia after my mother. She's lying...she wouldn't touch her. She said she had demon blood."

The Queen hummed as she rocked the crib and her eyes never left Valia. "It's a pretty name. Valia and Nikolai. You should see Nikolai; he's gotten so big."

"He'll be a fine king one day." Isabella smiled, brightly but it fell once it met his harsh gaze.

"Did you not hear what I said? The wet nurse lied and refused to feed your daughter. The princess."

"You found a new one, so why does it matter what she did?"

"Do you want me to fire her?" She laughed, humorlessly.

Vasily glared at her. He had heard what they said about Valia, and it pained him. He knew it would only get worse as she got older, and Isabella didn't care. His heart sank. "My mother's returning from Goldenstone to see the babes in a few days. Erato and Helena might come too. Their cousins are excited to see them." He stared at the wall blankly as he listened to her talk.