Veridia

Chapter 28

Aethiria, present

Do not show your weaknessess, Aleksander.

He held his breath as applause burst out again, trying to keep his head from spinning.

Crown Prince. Me. 

Once again, Aleksander's life had been upended. Once again, it was because of Geneva Kiselev. 

Just thinking about her sent an ache in his chest. Her close proximity wasn't helping either. 

The King beckoned for him to stand, which Aleksander did, a bit belatedly. 

He had not been wearing his crown today, and it was painfully evident when Aleksander stood beside his father.

He did not look princely in the slightest.

Some sick, twisted part of him searched for Geneva in the crowd. Even after what she said, somehow he still sought her out. 

She was watching him, green eyes pensive, sword resting on one leg of her chair. Calm, even though Aleksander was all over the place.

Since he had already been coronated, there was no need for another ceremony. Since his father had announced this change in succession in front of the whole court, nobody could challenge his rule. Aleksander sat down again, keeping his eyes on the table.

"Now, as a series of very... shocking events has unfolded, perhaps we should have a pause before continuing our meeting."

King Volkov raised his hand to dismiss the nobles, and Geneva promptly began talking with Andrei about the events that unfolded.

King Volkov had named a new King of Terramore. Since there had been organized riots back in Terramore, the leader of them (and thus the most popular among the commoners) was named King. His name was Raphael Popov, a farmer with a head for politics. His son had recently died in the war, one of the infamous Valorborne assassins.

The commoners were happy with the arrangement, but the nobles were squalling like a roosters in a ring. Each of them thought that they should be king, but with the peasants sick of tyrannous ruling, there was not much the nobles could do.

Most of them were scared silly of Romanov anyway. 

Aleksander stared up at the ceiling, sorting his thoughts. 

He was now the crown prince, the heir to the throne. Terramore, Rondinia, Andalucia, The Westerly Isles, Preinne, and Laurasia all needed letters sent to know that he was the new prince. Perhaps some ambassadors would like to see him. He would need training in the foreign languages, particularly Andal, the language of the most powerful nation besides Aethiria. Andalucia was an anomaly, since it was an island nation and Veridia's closest neighbor. Rondinia and the Westerlies were on the other side of the world, while Laurasia and Preinne were on another continent southeast of Veridia. Veridia was the northernmost of the four continents, while Preinne was the southernmost. 

The throne of Andalucia had been shaky ever since one of their crown prince ran from the crown, and Aethiria had backed the young second heir as he rose to the throne. He was a good ruler, even if he had a heavy taste for revenge. His name was Dominic, Dominic León. His older brother was... Sergio? Aleksander couldn't remember directly. 

When Geneva tapped him on the shoulder, Aleksander had been so lost in thought that he jumped.

Part of him wanted to turn his back, unwilling to face her. The other part, the part not grief-stricken, realized that the world moved on.

"What is Andalucia?" Geneva folded her arms across her chest, dragging Aleksander's gaze against his will to her face.

Curiosity sparked in him, and Aleksander frowned.