The Traitor of Inlustris

V

It was nightfall when my raeda crossed to Solennes Jubar. The outside was dark, so I didn't bother looking out the window.

I sat, bored, staring at my hands every once in a while. There was nothing to do to pass the time, and I didn't want to fall asleep yet. The ride was going to be long, but soon we would stop by the border of Solennes Jubar and Fortis Crystallum to a Royal's Inn before going back to the road by dawn.

It would be the same routine for days on end until we reached my home.

The Allicere wasn't much. It was a tiny kingdom, but the people made it seem big, or at least that's what Mother used to say. Every single night, she'd put me to bed as a child, sharing a story of our kingdom. Her words made it sound magical, but I grew up to see our people suffering.

They were humble but poor.

I wished to see our kingdom through the optimistic eyes of Mother, but I could only see the grim, dark side. People struggled to feed themselves, some were fatally ill, and others were found dead in a ditch.

Marrying Queen Antonella was going to turn my kingdom around. The Allicere would be under a new rule, my rule, and with Potentia Flamber's resources, my childhood kingdom could rise up from the ashes and leave poverty behind.

It was a win.

Mother and Father will be proud. They were already happy that I was chosen to marry into the most powerful kingdom in Caeleste. The odds of that happening were slim, but here I was. Queen Antonella miraculously chose me.

I highly doubted that she did her research on my kingdom. The night I met her she looked bored out of her mind until I gave her the red rose. She immediately changed her attitude and we danced for hours.

Who knew a rose would strip me off my poverty?

I'm sure if Her Majesty knew of my kingdom's condition, she would've chosen someone with more riches. She was the richest queen after all.

"So, Prince Mahli," the rider spoke back to me after opening the divider. "What brings you to make a trip as harsh as this one when we're at the brink of war?" The thick accent of a Northerner Flamber reminded me of my lessons on the kingdom before moving into the palace.

"Queen Antonella wanted a red rose," I said.

"Ah, that girl only wants and wants, eh?"

I said nothing. These people worked for her. I was not going to fall into the trap of talking about my future wife behind her back to her own royal servants. If anyone found out, namely Philip, I could be sent back to The Allicere and drown myself in poverty once again.

Having nothing else to do, I picked up my log journal. Every day, I wrote what happened, and sometimes I'd look back to see the changes in my life. The greatest one so far was moving into the palace with Queen Antonella.

From being stuck in a one-story palace that resembled the average domum at Potentia Flamber to getting lost in a maze of a huge palace, I couldn't believe my luck. Everything was falling into place.

Now what was left was marrying Queen Antonella, so I could rule how I wished.

"Were you upset about the cancelation of your wedding, my Prince?" The rider asked.

I looked up from my journal, surprised that he'd continue asking questions.

"Well, I was upset, but I understand. She'd rather plan the kingdom's defense than plan a wedding."

Unfortunately.

"Gah, you're too good, my Prince, too good." He laughed.

I smiled and went back to my journal. Comments like that have been in my ear for weeks since I moved in. Everyone was surprised that I was 'so nice.' Mother had raised a gentleman. I was taught good manners since birth, and it was a blessing because it got me the chance for the crown at Potentia Flamber.

I took out a pen I was given back at the palace by one of Antonella's servants, and started transcribing the events of the day. I wrote about the upcoming war, the death of Theodora, and how I started my trip to The Allicere in hopes of cheering Antonella up.

I liked to solve Antonella's problems. I offered her advice on how to come up with a logical solution, but lately she kept me out of the loop. The sudden death happened and there was nothing I could do to fix it. The rose she asked for was the only thing I could physically do to bring her mood up.

Once I become king, she wouldn't have to worry about anything. I would step up and take care of everything. Antonella would only need to worry about keeping appearances.

But in the meantime, I was still Prince Mahli who did everything to make his queen happy.

My body was tired from the events of the day. I wanted to take a slumber, but I knew it was futile since we were soon to stop at a Royal's Inn.

"My Prince, I think there's a messenger for you flying beside us," the rider said.

I frowned and looked out the window. The darkness made it hard for me to make out the winged creature carrying a scroll. I opened the window and the creature flew in, dropped the scroll, and flew away.

In my shock, I managed to close the window again before the scroll was lost in the darkness. I picked it up and felt the smoothness and heaviness of the paper. It was tied together by a dark green ribbon, looped to make a simple bow.

My fingers itched to remove the ribbon to see what the letter might contain. With the war approaching, I was fearful to see its contents. It seemed to be a lot by the amount of paper, but I wasn't sure.

My heart quickened when I started pulling on one end of the bow.

"My Prince, we have arrived at the Royal's Inn."