Of Rookie Godmothers and Imperfect Spells

Of Rookie Godmothers and Imperfect Spells

Chapter: Introduction

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He knew that it was improper, but he could not force himself to return downstairs to face the wholly sympathetic and compassionate crowd that his mother had so crassly called his 'family'. 

The balcony where he stood overlooked the church commons, where thousands of indeterminate black blurs swelled and contracted, their voices rising together in a low, continuous rumble. The commoners had all come to witness the final rite in the life of Princess Laurine de Concordia: burial. They were unperturbed by the fact that only the royal family was allowed in the sanctuary. Their bodies stretched on as far as the eye could see, as close as they could come to the first royal to be borne of their ranks.

For a kingdom wracked by civil war, the marriage of a civilian and and a royal had been a sign of hope. She was supposed to fulfill a prophecy, to bring about an end to the horrors they'd endured. But then, she'd contracted tuberculosis. Her condition had deteriorated immensely in the following weeks, until eventually, her hand-servant had come with her herbal regiment to ease her pain and had found her dead and cold. The news had hit the kingdom with unprecedented force, and as the high of hope died away, they were ushered into an indefinate period of mourning.

"Marius," a gentle hand closed around his shoulder, and he covered the satin-clothed hand with his own. "Mother worried that you'd run off. Come downstairs - you have duties to attend to."

Marius' mouth stretched with a wobbly smile. "And for a moment there, Charlotte, I was mistaken in thinking you were actually concerned about me." 

Her dark, reddish-brown eyebrows knotted together, and her petal-pink mouth turned down at the corners. "Standing and overlooking this crowd won't bring her back, brother."

"And playing host to those strangers Mother calls 'family' while my bride lays cold in her casket won't bring her back either." He replied flatly. He turned from her, looking back at the crowd. "These people... they don't care for formalities... or propriety... they care for Laurine."

"And you care for her too much." Charlotte said. "She was not the one, Marius -,"

"You dare talk ill of the dead?" Angrily, he stared fiercly into Charlotte's eyes, face becoming hot. 

" - there needs to be room in your heart for another." Charlotte continued seamlessly, as if Marius had not spoken. "The fate of Concordia is in your hands, brother. Now is not the time to be selfish or talk about the downsides of propriety and formality. Now is the time to be the ruler they need."

His sister did not understand, and how could he rightfully expect her to? The product of an arranged marriage, she did not know what it meant to 'love'. There was no denying that she respected her husband, but having been promised to him at the naive age of six, she'd never been allowed to cultivate her emotions as Marius had. He had known what it meant to love, and even if he hadn't at first, had come to love Laurine deeply. To simply write off what they had shared, to act like she had meant nothing to him... it simply couldn't be done.

It was crass and insensitive of her to speak of loving another woman on the day he buried his wife, but then, Marius had never known his sister to be tactful. In that way, she was undeniably like their mother. Their mother's first priority was finding the woman who would fulfill her son's prophecy - every boy of royal birth since time immemorial had been born with a prophecy, which would define their legacy as a ruler if it was to be fulfilled before their twenty-first year. As as the only son of King Valentin de Concordia, he had much to live up to. 

His twenty-first birthday was seven months away. They were running out of time and their mother was long past the period of fertility. If the prophecy went unfulfilled, then the period of unrest currently laying seige on the kingdom would tear it apart until nothing remained. Seven months stood between him and a crown that he did not want, seven months before his father stepped down and he became the ruler that was supposed to bring about a century of peace. But only if he could find this woman of the prophecy - a woman of the people who would end the civil war.

Charlotte came to stand beside him, the intricate folds of her black gown subtly swirling about her. "As difficult as it might be -,"

He cut her off, "Don't pretend as if you understand."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, took a calming breath, and started again. "As difficult as it might be, understand that your actions reflect not only upon you, but on the entire kingdom. You bring shame upon our family name by your impropriety."

"Sister -," he began, but was cut off.

"Do not make me make a spectacle of this before these commoners, Marius. Come with me, now."

He chanced a final glance down at the miserable throng below, feeling a similar darkness consume him as well. He didn't even fully comprehend that his hand was moving toward Charlotte's until her fingers closed around it so hard that it hurt. She turned then, all but dragging him away from the misery and into the hushed reverence of the church library. Dusty tomes of all sizes and colors lined the walls in thick, oak bookcases. The books documented everything from the birth and death of every citizen of Concordia to the history of the first town built within the kingdom.

"I would like to think that Mother would find it improper that you're dragging the crown prince down the stairs." Marius said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Mind yourself, brother." They exited the library and took the first staircase down to the sanctuary, where she practically flung him in the direction of the door. "And remember: they're our family."

"They're strangers. They just happen to share our namesake." Marius corrected.

"They share our blood, Marius." Charlotte amended impatiently. "And you'll do well to remember that, in the end, blood is the only truly binding contract. You can chose your friends, your servants, and for the lucky few, your spouse. But you cannot chose your family."

Marius met her dark, thoughtful eyes for a moment, and then spat out, "I certainly would not have chosen this."

But he stood by the heavy mahogany doors leading into the sanctuary, greeting distant relatives that he'd never met with a fake smile and a firm handshake. It was, after all, his duty. And if he did not do it for family, then he did it for Laurine. Because Laurine had not asked to be brought into this world of propriety and ruin. She had simply met the acquaintence of a rookie fairy godmother, unaccustomed to 'happily ever after'. And so he recieved their condolences with a sad nod of the head, and handed them over to the usher to be taken to their seats...

And when the last relative was seated, he ran - propriety be damned.