The Unforeseen [EDITING]

Chapter Ten

"Sybil means more to thee; we can bide our time to plan." He repeated the words to the messenger, ensuring that his words were clear and concise.
     The messenger bowed his head before disappearing into the crowd of civilians.
     The guard did not waste another moment standing around, as there could have been witnesses. It was dangerous for him to be out in the city instead of back at the castle.
     It would be weeks before his message made it back to his counterpart, but now he was certain that the princess could be used as leverage. There hadn't been anything that the king had particularly cared about in his life, besides his kingdom, but Timena would change that.
     After learning of the prior covenant between King Jarvis and King Vassar, he'd discovered that shortly after Jarvis' death, it had been amended by King Silas. Princess Timena had been written into the agreement, stating that she was to marry the King of Calyx for his continued alliance and support.
     He wondered why King Silas had taken such an interest in the princess, he hadn't noticed anything remarkable about her, apart from her capability with a sword. However, his reasons for wanting her weren't important, only that he did.
     Silas would pay for what he'd done to his sister.

      Timena had traded restless sleep for a dreadful reality. She skulked around the castle, avoiding everyone, all the while the guards following closely behind.
     She stood in her father's study, among his large collection of books and souvenirs from parts of his past. Above the fireplace hung a large portrait of their family, she scoffed at the sight of her parents and sister—they had all betrayed her in some way.
     "Are we hiding?" Aldus' quiet intrusion startled her, she groaned.
     "There's nowhere to hide, your brother has me trapped."
     He offered a smile of sympathy. "I am sorry Timena, truly I am. I've spoken to him and I don't agree with what he's done, but in the interest of your country-"
     "Oh, I know all about it. I'm the mule that was traded away." A dry laugh escaped her lips.
     Turning her around by her shoulders, Aldus looked at her seriously.
     "I will continue to dissuade him, but I'm not sure it will do much." His gaze dropped to his feet. "You have to know that he's wanted your affection since we were children." 
     "Well, he's never going to get it." She snorted. "My life has essentially been about becoming a knight, or at least a version of one, I've never had room for much else."
     "Yes I'm aware," He chuckled. "But is that the only thing you've wanted?" He inquired further.
     Timena moved to sit in one of her father's chairs, she began to think. She'd shown interest from a very early age and her father had encouraged it, teaching her things he would have taught his son. Her life from then on had consisted of daily training and sparring, she had honestly loved every minute of it. She had diligently learned basic skills, the fundamentals of court life, then moving through to the process of becoming a squire. Over the course of sometimes days, she'd witnessed the knighthood ceremony.
     During her early adolescent years, Timena had been introduced to the workings of the monarchy; attending council, learning additional languages, management, and defense of the estate, military strategy, and hunting, et cetera. She'd been somewhat reluctant however, knowing she did not want to inherit the crown and kingdom, much to her father's dismay.  
     She wondered if her mother had taken her under her wing as she had Delacroix, would her interests have been different?   
     "As far as I can discern, yes." She answered, solemnly. "I've just never considered marriage, I like being by myself, I always have. I don't want to be in the shadow of a man, and I certainly don't want the title or responsibility of being queen."
     Aldus smiled. "I'll try my hardest to reason with him, get him to see things from your perspective, but as I've said-"
     "It mightn't do much, I understand." She conceded.
     "In the interest of Mororcin, don't attempt to run again." He half teased before leaving the study.
     Timena considered the idea of marriage, that it was something that she'd need to do for her people, to ensure their little island would continue to prosper. She could be angry with her father, but she couldn't deny that he'd made his decision for his country. As king, he'd made a sacrifice to ensure their future.
     Looking back to the portrait, Timena thought about how her life would change if she married Silas, involuntarily, she cringed. But her people were more important than her disdain for him so she would do what was needed if that was her only option. She took deep breaths in hopes that it would quell the nerves in her stomach, but it did little to soothe her. 
     In the midst of her thinking, a disembodied voice whispered her name.
     Timena couldn't have been too certain at first as she surveyed the room, but she saw that it was empty. She got up slowly, walking towards the doors before opening them and to her surprise, there were no guards outside. As she stepped into the hallway, from her peripheral view she noticed a silhouetted figure moving in the distance. Her head snapped in that direction, her eyes only catching the end of what looked like a dress passing into another hallway.
     Timena questioned if she'd seen correctly, her footsteps speeding up before rounding the corner. At the end of that hallway she saw the figure of a woman turned away from her view and as her steps grew nearer, the woman turned yet another corner. Timena immediately ran after her, only slowing down as she noted the open door leading into the cellar. She gripped her sword, removing it from the scabbard before slowly traveling down the staircase— passing the torches along the walls, she looked for any sign of the person.
     "Over here." The voice whispered.
     She was led in the opposite direction, walking past the barrels of wine that were lined up, she followed the whisper again. The figure stood to the farthest right side of the room, in front of another row of barrels. Timena approached slowly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. 
     "Did you miss me, Sadon?" Clara turned around slowly, a sad but guilty smile appearing on her lips.
     Timena stood a short distance away from her, mouth agape with disbelief, if only for a moment. Her features hardened as a wicked smirk spread across her face. She began walking again, this time with a purpose—she'd had the notion that Clara had been involved somehow.
     "Now Timena, I understand you're upset, but you have to at least listen to me."
     Despite knowing that Clara could probably stop her with the snap of a finger, it did little to deter Timena and all too quickly her fist connected with Clara's face.
     It had been a shock for them both, Timena at the realization that she'd been able to hit her without delay, while Clara had been shocked that she'd let it happen. The sudden rush of pain was evident as Timena shook her hand around slowly. 
      "Well, I suppose I deserved that." Clara resigned, massaging her cheek. 
     "Start explaining what happened and why you're here," Timena demanded as she paced back and forth across the room. 
     With a sigh, Clara nodded. "Do you remember the story I told you?"
     "Wha-, about King Jarvis, yes, why?" 
     "Do you know why I told you that story?" Clara hesitantly asked.
     "I was telling you about Silas, and that he was like his father." Timena replied dismissively.
     "Do you remember what I told you about the girl?"
     She nodded. 
     "Can you think about who she might have been?" 
      Timena's posture straightened slowly as she began to understand what Clara was hinting at.
     That's not possible... is it? She wondered.
     Clara smiled hopefully as their eyes met.
     "Are you saying that-"
     "It was me." She blurted out.
     Timena was in shock, avidly trying to make sense of the revelation. There had been many possibilities of who Clara could have been that had crossed her mind in the passing weeks, but Silas' mother was not one of them.
     "Did you lead him to me?" Her voice grew thick with anger.
     Clara pursed her lips and nodded slowly.
     Timena exhaled deeply, "Meeting at the stable, it wasn't a coincidence?"
     "No... it wasn't." She would tell the truth in its entirety, there was no avoiding it. "I knew that Silas was looking for you, and I knew who you were because I'd been watching you long before he came to Mororcin."
     The furrowing of Timena's brows prompted Clara to continue.
     "You see, when Jarvis banished me away, he cursed me, ensuring that I could never get anywhere near Silas." She said sullenly. "I just about went mad trying to find ways around it, but all my attempts were useless. I went back to my home in Dehleen and stayed there—my parents had died years before I'd met Jarvis and I had a sister, but we'd had a falling out before I left for Calyx and that was the last time we spoke. Naturally, I went back to our old home and back to my old life, but I secluded myself. I didn't see or speak to anyone unless it was necessary."
     "One morning, I finally snapped. At first light I set off into the woods, deciding that if I could never be with my son, I no longer wanted to be on this earth. I'd been ridden with grief for so long, slowly losing my mind over being away from him. I'd missed so many important moments in his life already, the thought of him not knowing who I was, it physically pained me." A tear fell from her eye which she quickly swept away. "I traveled through the forest until the trees parted and there was nothing but open sky which led me to a cliff. I stood there, looking over the edge to see where the current would take me once I let myself fall to my death. Just as my foot was dangling over the edge, I heard a voice call out to me, it was a young girl, she looked to be about my age at the time. She asked if that's what I wanted, to die—I told her yes, that there was nothing holding me here."
     Timena could see that Clara was painfully lost in the tale of her past, it weakened her resolve.
     "She told me she could offer me a gift— more power than I could ever dream of. I asked her if that power could undo a curse, but she told me that nothing could be done as the curse was powerfully bound. I turned her away, but she tried to persuade me again, explaining that this power would offer me a longer life so that I could try to find the witch that had cursed me, and then I could have my revenge on Jarvis. Slowly, the idea began to appeal to me, so I accepted the gift and suddenly I felt this surge of energy surrounding me as she gave her powers over to me. It was the first time I'd felt something other than sadness, and when all that power had left her body and possessed mine, what I saw was a frail, old woman standing before me with a crooked smile on her face. Her skin began to crack, and dust began to fill the air as she slowly crumbled to pieces and the wind carried her away."
     "Were you responsible for King Jarvis' death?" Timena asked, sounding intrigued.
     When word had gotten to Mororcin of his death the previous year, she'd been less than surprised at the cause, murdered by the hands of the prostitute he'd been in bed with.  
     With a snort, Clara shook her head. "I wish I had been. Had I known that his death would release me from the curse, I would have gotten someone to complete the task years ago."
     Timena's brows raised in apparent shock.  
     "The bastard had bound the curse to his life and it only took me twenty-three years to realize it." Clara spat out, bitterly. "As soon as he died, I felt it, like a weight had been lifted from my body."
     "Does Silas know that you're alive?"
     Clara shook her head.
     With a sigh, Timena reminded herself that she still needed answers. "Why did you help him find me?" She queried, her tone stern.
     "When I felt that weight lifted, I felt something I thought I'd never feel again, hope." Clara said, with a glimmer in her eyes. "I saw his body in the church, peacefully on display as I watched my son and his brother standing over him. I would have gone to him then, but fear can be a powerful deterrent—I wondered what Jarvis must have told him about me, if he'd spoken of me at all and I wondered if Silas would accept me into his life. I've watched over him, for more than a year and I knew that he wanted you so I came in search of this princess who could wield a sword like no other man, whose independence intrigued him, and whose beauty beguiled him."
     Unimpressed with the description, Timena rolled her eyes, causing Clara to titter.
     "I hadn't planned on enjoying your company as much as I did, actually I hadn't planned on conversing with you at all, but you're interesting and I began to feel as though we were becoming friends." She said, her once thoughtful expression was now marred by a deep frown. "I understand why he wants you, and because I was never in his life, he and Aldus were subjected to Jarvis' cruel ways and notions. This was just, one way I could make it up to him."
     Anger stirred within Timena, it seemed that no one had had any regard for her at all. Clara cowered slightly under Timena's glare, but she stood upright, her posture almost defiant.
     "I would apologize, but you have to understand that I did this for my son."
     Timena's brow raised as the action filled her with indignation—it bothered her that Clara's demeanor was so nonchalant as they stared at one another.
     "You should have never spoken to me when you saw me that day in the stable, you shouldn't have made me think that..." She paused for a moment, pondering her next words. "You could have saved us both this pointless explanation, it was a waste of both our time. Don't come near me again Clara because if I'm given the chance, I'll do worse than a simple punch next time." Timena warned before going off in the other direction.
     As she went back up to the main floor of the castle, she exhaled deeply, not realizing she'd been holding her breath the entire way up the staircase. The words that had left Timena's lips had been harsh and she'd been sure to leave before catching the hurt expression on Clara's face. There had been no apology, only the justification of her actions; it felt as though everyone had a rationale behind their betrayal and it irritated Timena.