Worth Is Measured In Love

Chapter 9

The reason why Natsu was on his way to the castle was because today was the coronation of King Faust's only legitimate heir, his daughter Erza. For ten years she had been kept confined in a tower, forced to wait until the day her father's death would set her free and finally the day had come. Her father was dead and now she would be queen, a position which she had spent those miserable years in isolation preparing for. Studying all the royal laws and documents, knowing England's history by heart, and learning about other nations as well. The day the king sent her to that tower, she made a sacred vow to God.

"When I am queen I will atone for my father's sins and restore England to its former glory."

She entered the throne room that day, now a wise, firm, well-educated, regal, embittered young woman but not without a kind heart. She had dressed herself modestly in garments of black and grey for she did not view herself as shining yet. Not until she had right the wrongs of the king. Though time had made her remarkably gorgeous, even more so than when she was a girl and her scarlet hair was practically flaming in the light, stunning her subjects.

"Princess Erza of England." The archbishop Makarov Dreyar announced. "We graciously welcome you back to court."

"I am grateful to return." She said. "My father is dead and cannot send me away ever again. Archbishop."

"Yes my lady?"

"You were at my mother's side when she passed. What were her last words?"

"Do you not mean to know your father's my lady?"

"No. When my mother took ill, my father did not let me go to her, nor did he allow me to attend her funeral. I never had the chance to say goodbye. So I must know, what were her last words?"

"With her last breath she uttered a curse upon your father and then cried out 'Long Live Queen Erza.' "

Erza only allowed one tear to be shed when she heard those words. Then she knelt down before the archbishop and all within the court rose to their feet. A crown on a velvet pillow was brought to Makarov, the golden circlet once worn by Erza's late mother. She insisted that she wear that instead of her father's.

"I crown thee Queen Erza of England." Makarov announced as he lowered the crown upon her head.

When she stood up, all bowed before her.

"No." She said. "It should be I who bows to you. For now I am a servant to the people of England. From this moment forward, I shall undo my father's cruel methods and be the ruler he should have been. My people shall be fed before I sit to feast. I shall not take my rest until I know they are safe. I shall always think thrice before I make a request. I am not only a queen but a trusted friend and protector. As long as I live, England shall never again know a reign like my father's."

All within the court cheered for their new queen. All except for one. Mard Geer he was called, a former officer of the court but now a judge in parliament. He was also a parasite yet cunning too. He used his wit and intelligence to make himself popular with the former king. In the king's last few years of life, the wretched creature had actually tried to convince Faust to revoke Erza's birthright to the throne and make him his heir, and the king almost did it too. But luckily, the archbishop was loyal first to the late queen and her children, so against his better judgement but necessary for the good of the court, he paid a young prostitute to become the king's new mistress and distract him from making that change until he died.

But Mard would not be undaunted. One way or another he would have the crown. He just needed to manipulate the queen just as he done the former king. Unfortunately for him, she was not naive or foolish and she hated him. She hated him because he was responsible for her getting locked away in the first place. She hated him because she could see through him. She knew that underneath his charisma and proper way, he was nothing more than a social climbing worm. She would have dismissed him but she had no proof of his wretched ways and he did perform an act of "kindness" a long time ago.