Heir to the throne: Broken Blood

Leonora.

On this particular morn, Lady Senna emerged from her bedchamber, a veil of somber melancholy clouding her fair features.

"My love, why does such sadness mar your beauty this day?" Plato inquired, his deep voice laced with concern.

Senna forced a smile that did not reach her eyes. "I grow restless within these stone walls. Might we seek entertainment elsewhere, to lift my spirits?"

Plato's face brightened like the morning sun. "But of course, my radiant queen." He summoned the family to make their way to the legendary Serpent Tournament grounds by the woods.
As they arrived, a hush fell over the crowds who parted before the royal clan. They were ushered to lavish seats, affording a prime view of the sunbaked pit below where warriors clashed.

"Send me a worthy opponent!" Roman's powerful voice echoed like a thunderclap. "For I have bested every man here and grow weary of scorning the weak!"

Kyran Wessex, l whose muscular frame rippled like a great oak, descended into the arena. With a guttural roar, he contorted before their eyes, scales rupturing forth as he transformed into a colossal emerald and ebon basilisk.

The two titans clashed in a vicious ballet of snapping jaws and thrashing coils. Though his father sheer mass gave him the initial advantage, Roman's youth and blinding speed ultimately proved superioir. As they reverted to human form, the battered warriors embraced amidst thunderous cheers. Plato declared roman the undisputed Serpent Champion and Kyran hugged his son proudly.

The celebratory air was shattered by the arrival of a knights from Verdeda astride massive black stallions. Onlookers recoiled in reviled disgust at the feral interlopers whose have come to face roman.

"Enough of these pitiful games of trickery and transfiguration!" roared one knight named Elon. "Let us abandon such cowardly deceptions and prove our true might through the noble art of hand-to-hand combat!"

Roman accepted the challenge with an arrogant smirk, receiving King Plato's nod of approval. The two men clashed in a flurry of swinging axes and deft parries. Elon managed a glancing blow, leaving a crimson slice across Roman's palm while Roman's blade found purchase in the knight chest.

Hindered but not beaten, the bloodied Elon recklessly snatched up Roman's blade, swinging the knife in wild arcs as sanguine rivulets seeped from his wound. With a pivotal headbutt, Roman knocked the weapon clattering from his foe's grasp before delivering a final crushing blow, rendering Elon unconscious upon the dust.

The other knight rushed to his fallen kinsman's aid, shooting venomous looks at the triumphant Roman. "You arrogant cur!" he spat, cradling Elon's still form. "I could have fared far better against this vaunted 'champion' myself!"

All the while, Senna's eyes had never left Roman's sweat-slickened form, drinking in every flex of his chiseled muscles. Her own body burned with forbidden desire for him. A desire she knew must be eternally suppressed, lest it bring shame and ruin upon her family's honored house.

The thunderous roars of the crowd still ringing in his ears, Roman made his way to have his wounded palm tended by the nurses. As he entered the medical chambers, there stood by Senna

"Congratulations are in order for our family's greatest warrior," Senna purred, her eyes drinking in his sweat-slicked, chiseled form. Unable to resist, she pulled him into an embrace, her lithe body pressing against his cheek.

A serpentine hiss interrupted their moment as Walder, Roman's loyal basilisk companion, slithered in. "How goesss the queen'sss pregnancy?" the snake inquired, flicking his forked tongue.

Senna broke from the hug, one hand instinctively cradling her abdomen . "All is well, Walder. The child grows stronger by the day."

Before more could be said, the doorway darkened with the imposing figure of Leonora, Senna's cold-hearted mother. "My grandson, are you harmed?" she demanded, mustard eyes boring into Roman before flicking disdainfully towards her daughter.

Senna rose, back straightening. "What troubles you now, Mother? Still shaming me for the sins of my youth?"

Leonora's withered hand struck out, slapping Senna's beautiful face. "How dare you speak to me that way, you insolent --"

Roman grabbed his grandmother's wrist in a vice-like grip. "You will not strike senna again you hear me," he growled, jaw clenched.

"Who are you talking to?" Leonora cackled derisively. "It is I who allowed her to ascend to that lofty position when i made that decision years ago!"

Tears stung Senna's eyes at the gut-wrenching memory. "You robbed me of motherhood, forced me to birth  to have her ripped from my arms!"

"Do not take that tone with your sovereign!" Leonora shot back. "I did what I had to to secure our family's rightful place . We cannot have a queen muddied by petty concerns of motherhood before her duty is done."

Roman looked between the two women, his own rage simmering. "Senna queen now. Surely that pleases you, Grandmother?"

Leonora eyed her daughter with thinly veiled disdain. "It had better be. The gods only blessed me with daughters. If I had birthed a son, he would have been the king."

"Queens do not rule over the people alone," Roman countered. "Their power stems from the king, their husband. Not until he passes can a queen try to claim sovereignty."

"Do you love me, Mother?" Senna's voice was little more than a broken whisper. "Truly?"

Leonora paused at the doorway, back turned to her daughter and grandson. "I love all my children, Senna. Even when my actions seem... unloving. I do what I must to protect our dynasty, your birthright." She glanced over her shoulder then, eyes devoid of warmth. "Now rid yourself of whatever weakness allowed you to grow attached to your firstborn. You carry the future of our great house within you now."

As her mother's footsteps faded down the corridor, Senna felt the familiar ache in her very soul. "How can one simply erase the trauma of having their first child torn away?" she says brokenly. To which her mother yells back "As if birthing you and your twin sister was not battle enough..."