Viva la Vida

The Truth in Torment

Arulet took a moment to calm her anxiety as she mentally prepared to reveal to not only her family, but also to the maid she trusted most and the guard who now risked his life on a regular basis to protect her, why she is so readily eager to dethrone her husband. "As you all know, I have been queen for two years now, and in those two years, the kingdom has come to prosper. However, unbeknownst to most, this prosperity has come at heavy loss to others, loss I have never had the power to stop. The conversion from Arteahism to Christianity has caused the private execution of many who refused to change their beliefs. Small crimes are met with large punishment, and age no longer has a say in the harshness of said punishment."

She stopped for a moment to recollect herself. The shocked anger in her siblings' eyes, and the shame in those of the maid and the guard were almost enough to make her stop short in her story, but she continued on. "But...no amount of cruelty to the people will ever outmatch that of which he has shown towards me..." She slowly raised the sleeve of her right arm up to her elbow, displaying the many scars that littered that part of the appendage. "As you can likely tell, Arc...none of these are fresh. These are only a few of the scars of the wounds he has inflicted upon me over time. Over the two years he has kept me imprisoned in the castle. No amount of luxury he can offer me will ever properly disguise the prison that is that place. No amount of beautiful paints and tapestries will convince me that those walls are not secretly concrete and dull. No amount of beauty seen through a window can fool me to believe that invisible bars are not left there." She rolled her sleeves back down. "This is why I have not come home in two years as casually as I have now, and why I so desperately wish to aide you all in dethroning Ralton. The throne should be taken by a man, and Ralton is no man. He is nothing short of a monster," she scowled.

As she looked around at her companions, she took mental note of the emotions their expressions portrayed. Arc, as she had expected, was filled with rage. Taloco and Aeldun each shared similar, horrified and disturbed expressions. Andeyo, curiously, only seemed mildly annoyed. "I am sorry I have been unable to bring light to this sooner," the royal apologized.

Aeldun was the first to respond, his voice full of regret. "I should have known...I've seen that rapier as often as Mirlan has, and I always knew it seemed as though it had been recently used...but against his own wife..." he was clearly troubled.

Andeyo added in her own concerns. "I had always had an idea such a thing was going on. I came to a few assumptions when you began to wear longer sleeves, refusing to wear anything that revealed your arms or back, even the shoulders. It is...upsetting to know such ideas of mine were true."

The ruler turned from her castle companions in favor of viewing her brothers. Taloco was clearly distressed while Arc was muttering to himself darkly. She sighed brought the two into a hug. "This is why I was eager to avoid answering..."

Arc hugged back but quickly responded to her. "You can't go back there...not with him doing this to you."

She looked him dead in the eye. She knew he was going to say those words exactly. "I have to. He allowed me out of the castle today and has not harmed me in months. If I just suddenly disappear after being allowed outside with one of the highest ranking guards and supposedly most loyal servant, imagine the chaos that would ensue. It would be even worse if he were to find me afterwards. So I can't stay. Not now. When this is all over though, when he is no longer in charge of the kingdom, I will come to visit as often as I can."

Taloco, who had yet to release her, looked up at her. "Are you sure you can't stay..?" In Arulet's eyes, and likely all the others', he looked heartbroken. She hugged him close and comforted him.

"Yes...it's for the best that I don't. I wouldn't want you or the others hurt because I didn't go back there for a while." She smiled and kissed his forehead, ruffling his hair. "But let's not think about all this for today. I haven't been given a proper bloody break in ages," she chuckled. "I say we go back to the bar, maybe you all can grab a couple friends, and we relax for the time we got, forget about the git on the throne for a day." She smiled as she said this, her grin widening as her friends and family all soon agreed, smiling themselves.

She was not anticipating the chaos she had just unleashed.