Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 44: Penance and discovery

Chapter 44: Penance and discovery

"Things are not looking good for us, your Majesty!" knight captain Catrina said as she was kneeling in front of her Empress. A letter has just come from the capital addressing Morrigan. Needless to say, the contents were all but bad news.

"I know. Those nobles, taking advantage of the fact that I was not in the country and the recent destruction, are all conspiring against me. They spread the false rumors on how I have abandoned the people to go on this 'ludicrous' conquest. They even defied my orders and stopped Minister Sinclair from sending out supplies for the mass. Bunch of greedy fat pigs! It's so funny that I forget to laugh." Morrigan sipped her wine.

"Then we must head back to Zagon and put them back in line. With you back in charge, the people won't have anything to complain about."

"It's not that easy. They will just press on how I do not have an heir and will force me to abandon the throne or to marry some douchebag and make him the king. Either way is not very pleasant."

"But it's not your fault! They poisoned you so that you can't have a child! It was already fortunate that you survive that." Catrina raged. She remembered the day when Morrigan collapsed, coughing blood during a banquet. With her master on the ground groaning in pain, the knight could see the eyes of those aristocrats staring at her, hoping she would die. In the end the Empress survived but not without a cost. The doctor told her that while the poison did not kill her, it damaged her internal organs and made her unable to have a child.

But that did not make Morrigan falter. She simply accepted that fact so easily to the point of being suspicious, as if she knew it would happen sooner or later but didn't do anything about it. The culprit was never officially found but she already had an idea on who did it, just not any proof.

"It doesn't matter. If I don't name an heir within the next week, they will force me to. And if I resist, a civil war might break out, just as they want it. And if I try to delay any further by not coming back to Zagon, the people will revolt. What a mess I am in! If only Alastor has accepted my proposal..." Morrigan sighed.

"I don't understand why you are so obsessed with the boy. Can't you just take someone else in his place?" Catrina asked.

"No it has to be him. He is the rightful heir after me. It's either him or nobody else!"

"Please forgive my imprudence, your Majesty, but why him? Why do you risk everything you have built just to have him?" Catrina could not understand the motivation behind Morrigan's decision. She has spent years trying to reform the court, to keep her power and now she was prepared to risk everything for that boy? The knight was aware of their relationship and the fact that he was Lakyus' son but still, to do so much for the child of another, to that extent....

"...Penance....to make amends for what I took from his mother..." Morrigan mourned.

"Your Majesty?"

"When Lakyus first came to the palace, I was very happy. I have always dreamt about having a sister, someone I could talk with, someone I could confide with, someone who is not constantly scheming for me or against me. We used to spend the entire day in the garden, picking out the most beautiful magnolia.

Lakyus was not the gloomy child everyone thought she was. Despite having been brought up in a small cottage constantly worrying about food, she held a determent and unyielding soul, the purest I have ever seen. She was the kind of person who spoke her mind without regard to ranks. The servants are so natural around her, unlike their fake smile when they were with me. In a way I envied her. I was curious about this strange girl.