Like a River Page Two: Raging Rapids

Chapter One: The Silent Sovereign

Inside the throne room of the Kingdom of Avantasia, the queen, Queen Isabella, wearing a long white gown with just as white long hair, blue eyes, and wrinkled features that show her age, sits upon the throne at the center of the back wall, wearing a golden crown. The room is very neatly decorated with fine marblework crafted by some of the best artisans of the bygone age. It has several openings along either side, being placed pretty high up in the castle, with walkways along the outside. These fancy balconies can be used to see the vast cityscape of the capital, with all of its liveliness on full display.

Towards the throne walks a delegation from the Kingdom of Lupresia, being escorted by castle guard to ensure that they pull no funny business, as the Avantasian government is rather skeptical of outsiders. The delegates stop before reaching the throne, surrounded by castle guard. They bow to show their peaceful intentions, but Queen Isabella is still skeptical,

The leading delegate, a middle-aged man, stops bowing and the others follow suit, nervously. He looks at the queen and smiles in a non-threatening nature.

"Your holiness, descended from the god of man, we have come to bequeath unto thee a message of great importance." He says to her, clasping his hands together and looking at her with an air of peaceful intentions. Queen Isabella seems intrigued by this statement.

"Go on... I am listening, but I do not have all day. I have a bath ready for me." She says to the lot of them, looking as though she's impatient yet interested, grasping the arms of her throne. This lets the lead delegate know immediately that the water could be testy with what he is going to say.

"I see... My dearest queen, the news I have is rather troubling." He says, uncertain of how she'll react. Though he is trying to gather the courage required to say what he must, taking a breath. "Your son, Prince Haden Holstein... Has perished in Lupresia." He notices the immediate change in her demeanor, with her jaw lowering slowly as this news sinks in and her hands grip the arms of the throne even harder than previously.

This development is unsettling to all of the delegates, as the air is rather palpable. Queen Isabella is known to be rash with such news, as when her husband was killed around fifteen years ago, it led to even the innocent falling of her rage. Rage that was meant to be directed at the assassins but ended up skewing in a less than reputable way. "The Mad Queen" she was called in that era of her rule.

"Is that so...?" She asks, her grip on reality loosening ever so slightly. "My son, dead? My only begotten child, a child sent from God, dead?" She asks with a threatening menace about her, as her hands shake as if enraged. "Who did it?" She asks with a subtle anger.

"We... We don't know, unfortunately..." He says with a bit of nervousness in his voice. "We wish we did- but we don't. As far as we know, a..." He lies, trying to think of an excuse as he fears that telling her a citizen was let off with no punishment would anger her, and doesn't feel like mentioning how he supposedly killed the king and royal advisor out of fear it would be seen as an unjust execution and result in an even worse result. "... A bounty has been put out for the culprit." He says sheepishly.

She looks quite upset yet still maintaining her dignity the best that she can. Ie. not flying off in rage. "Very well... If you say that, I have no reason to not believe you." She sighs with closed eyes and leans back in her throne, her hand on her forehead. "Please, leave me be now. I need to wrap my head around this all." She tells them, and they look at one another.

After a moment, the lead delegate responds, his mind now more at ease thanks to her not-so-angry reaction. At least not as angry as he expected. "Yes, understood, your holiness. Thank you for lending us your time, and sorry for your loss." He says with a polite bow and turns around when he notices his colleagues not doing the same. He motions them with his hands upset and urgently to bow, and they then do it. They stop and he turns back to the queen to notice her glaring towards them, frightening him. "We- We will excuse ourselves now... Thank you again."