675-12-11 - A Brother's Call
A Brother's Call | |||||||
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Summary: Prince Zephan pays Madalyn a visit in her chambers, to offer her some comfort and counsel. | |||||||
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Three days had passed since the queen of the Isles had summoned her children, and even though she had somehow managed to receive each of them for an audience it was quite clear that her state, even if not life-threatening as it would seem, was still not close to recovery. The days that followed were quiet, the news from the queen’s chambers more than disquieting as her health seemed to change for the worse once again. Such is the state of things on this late evening of the 11th December, when Madalyn has already retired to her chamber. A knock to the door might stir her, despite the late hour. Especially, when it is accompanied by Madalyn’s name, uttered in the low, detached tone of Prince Zephan.
Madalyn gets out of her bed and wraps a long huge scarf around her light nightgown. She hurries closer to the door as a quiet little mouse and opens it a bit, peeking outside at her brother. "Zephan?" She asks speaking in the same low voice, "Why do you whisper? What happened? Is mother alright?" And she moves aside, allowing the man to slide inside her chambers.
When she opens the door she will notice Prince Zephan leaning against the wall of the hallway, one arm extended, his attire casual, as usual. A loose shit of light blue with breeches of a darker shade. His blonde hair is of shoulder length and not tied back at the moment, the face is of a cold handsomeness, a pair of steel-blue eyes studying his sister on the doorstep. “It’s me,” he confirms with a ghost of a smirk. “And I do not whisper.” Which is true, even so he does not speak at a very high volume either. The question of her mother has him snort as he slips past her, into her chamber. “I haven’t heard anything new about mother,” he explains when she closes the door behind him. “But I came to see you. We haven’t spoken much since we came to rescue Nathan and you…” There is a flicker in his eyes as he regards her and studies her appearance, his tone remains cold, however. But knowing Zephan, Madalyn will recognize this as his usual way of carrying himself.
“How are you?”, he asks, this time with the effort to put a bit more emotion into his words.
The girl ahs quietly, when he tells that he does not bring any news. Good that there is no bad news, but she waits the good ones so much! The young girl wraps her arms around herself and moves towards the bed, where she takes a seat. Zephan will be able to see through her dress that huge bandages are still wrapped around her waist, but otherwise, the girl looks alright. Worried, but alright. "Well... I am afraid about mother. She asked me to come to her. We talked a little bit and she was speaking a lot about politics," Madalyn sighs, "She told me about marriages, that Nathan could marry Luanda instead of Jerrick, if Luanda won't like Jerrick. She told me about Nathan's child and that woman who brought it to the world, she asked to be strong and it sounded as if my time to become Queen is coming..." She looks at Zephan and tears show up in her eyes, "I am scared brother, tell me that mother will get better..."
Those steely blue eyes follow Madalyn with their gaze as she moves over to the bed, and Zephan with his snake-like movements will follow along, leaving a bit of distance at first between them. “She is in a bad state,” he confirms coldly, and even though he seems so detached, he does not stop Madalyn when she speaks about her talk with Queen Abegayle. The mention of Jerrick has him smirk briefly and he shakes his head, clearly amused. “So he won’t even get that princess,” Zephan says, more to himself. “And Nathan gets the prize, even if he fathered a bastard. What a surprise.” A mirthless chuckle leaves his lips.
It is when Madalyn’s eyes fill with tears that the Onimus prince sits down beside her on the bed, an arm extending to support her about her back. “You will be queen, Madalyn. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen that day coming in a while. I wish I could tell you otherwise… but I fear mother will die soon.” His hand pats her shoulder with a tenderness that is a harsh contrast to the chill of his words, but even so, his tone shows an odd hint of sympathy that is so not like Zephan at all.
Madalyn wraps her hands around Zephan. She cuddles to the man tightly, "I am scared. I don't know so many things and the council... They never liked me. I will need your help. And Nathan's, and Abell's, and Jerrick's... Will you be beside me?" She looks at the man. The tears fall down her cheeks, "I am scared to fail, but I guess mother will be alright. She must be." And then she burries her face into his chest.
His arm steadies her as Madalyn cuddles to him, and for a moment there is a light curling of his lips, a rare smile forming when Zephan feels his sister needs him. "They may have never liked you, but they hate me.", he remarks with soft chuckle. "Easy now," and odd combination of words for Zephan to say as his free hand reaches to wipe her tears with his fingers, the touch a gentle carress. "You will not fail. Even mother became queen and... sort of pulled through." He cannot help but snort there. "But what will you do, my sweet Madalyn, when mother is to die, which she will, eventually. You can't run away. You will have to face it." His tone has become soft and soothing, and he offers Madalyn a reassuring smile. "You /know/ you can count on me, don't you." And here his fingers leave her face, almost reluctantly, and his grip about her loosens a little to allow her to shift away from him should she feel inclined to do so.
"I know. I know that my brothers will be beside me and help me. I know," Madalyn nods and she does not move away. The girl's arms squeeze brother as firmly as injured fragile princess can, "But you will leave... you always leave to your oceans. How I will be able to come to you, when it will be hard? Who will advise me? I am scared of Nimoria, and others... I am not sure. They are good, I know, but still... How to impress them? And mother talked of marriages. She said I will have to marry someone of high status, even if I love sir Moshe..." She sighs and cuddles her cheek to the man's chest
It's the mention of the ocean that breaks the spell of the moment, if only briefly. Zephan's demeanour becomes a bit wistful as his eyes shift towards the window, and his gaze hardens. "It will be hard to follow the advice of all," he says then, a soft sigh leaving his lips as his steel-blue eyes shift back to the sister in his arm. "You must make up your mind who you trust the most...", he adds then almost casually, his free hand moving to stroke her white hair. "I may... leave now and then, but I won't be gone for long. Just... be yourself. You'll be the queen. They'll respect you, you'll see." Then she brings up the topic of marriage, and Zephan straightens a bit. "Remember, how you said you'd want to marry none but me?", he jests, with a calculating glance in her direction. "You were a tiny little girl back then, you had just learned how to speak..." Truth or a bold lie, hard to tell. However, Madalyn won't be able to remember such occurence; but she might have been too little to have any memory of it. Her confession about loving Sir Moshe is met with little more than a lift of the brow.
Suddenly the girl’s cheeks blush brightly. Because of her pale skin the redness of her cheeks is even more vivid than it would be if she would have a natural color of her skin. However, a smile curls up her lips and tears stop rippling across her cheeks at least, “I?” She asks in surprised tone.
The young Princess raises her gaze up straight to Zephan’s and she stares at him for a few moments, “I told this, when I was little? Really? I do not remember that at all, but it looks like that you were my favorite brother, don’t you?” She giggles and rubs her cheeks with tiny fists in order to clean them from tears.
“You did,” Zephan affirms, steely blue eyes taking in her reaction, noting the blush. “I was your favorite brother, aye. Am I not anymore?” He lowers his gaze, reaching for a handkerchief finally to dry her tears more efficiently than her bare hands are able to. He will wipe her cheeks gently, taking his time as he continues: “And to be honest, Madalyn… We are of holy blood, descendants of… Onimoria herself. Has it ever occurred to you, that mingling it with petty nobles will make it thinner? Less holy? Why, if we would marry among our own family, it may concentrate the holy essence, and make those that come after us even more powerful?” His tone is calm and rational as he brings forth this possibly scandalous idea.
Madalyn blushes even more, when the man asks if he is no longer her favorite brother. She lowers her gaze to her lap, when Zephan finishes cleaning her tears, "Well... I love you, Zephan. How could I not love you?" She peeks at him, "But... you done some bad things. Mother told that you did, Jerrick told, even Nathan. People are speaking that you are a bad brother. Well, not all people!"She shakes her head and nervously rubs her hands to the sides, "But I know that people change. You are like me at some point," the girl nods and looks at Zephan for a longer moment.
"Mother was always a bit disappointed at you. Others were always looking differently at you. Commoners like me, but nobles - they don't. So, I may understand why you took bad decisions in the past, brother. You were feeling lonely," Madalyn nods, "Sometimes I feel lonely too... But we can change things. We can."
And then she hears his idea... Her eyes grow wide and the girl stares at the man for a long time. Who knows what thoughts boil in her head, but when she speaks she is very quiet, and blushes even more, "I knew that I will never be allowed to marry the man I fall in love with, because usually they are of lower birth. Real nobles never like me. So, once I thought... I mean... I read the books about religion and... Onimoria and Lotingus were brothers, right? They all were brothers and sisters, and Onimoria with Lotingus are twins..." She sighs and turns her gaze away from the man, "I am scared. What if the council will make me to marry someone like Arif? I am afraid of him..."
Zephan smiles when Madalyn says she loves him. “Of course,” he murmurs. “You know I love you too.” That smile fades as she continues until it finally turns into a dark smirk. “I’ve done bad things? Of course, that’s what they’ve told you, all of them! They hate me and I hate them back just the same. But… I’ve never hated you, Madalyn. You’ve always held a special place in my heart.” His expression softens when he meets her gaze with his eyes that for once do not seem cold but rather burning with a dark fire. “Yes…”, he murmurs, the arm about Madalyn tightening as he leans closer to her, his breath brushing against her ear. “Onimoria and Lotingus are sister and brother, and they were allowed to be together as they wished…” But then he withdraws from her, his arm letting go of her slender form as he just sits beside her for a moment, his hands joined before him, his elbows resting on his knees. “The council can’t make you do anything you do not agree to. You will be the queen. And people like this Arif,” he snorts, “they are rulers in their own right, they would never be allowed to leave their powerful positions, and give them up for the white-haired queen you will be. Apart from that, he /is/ a bad person. Whereas I,” here he smirks again, “have only a bad reputation.”
Madalyn blinks, watching her brother for awhile. The young girl knows his bad reputation, but here he is. He is with her, he understands her, he would never abandon her, he came to save her. He is like she. She is actually good, young, but good, but nobles do not give her a chance to prove herself. He just never got a chance too.
The girl smiles shyly, "So... you are telling, that if I will be the Queen, people won't be able to oppose me? I won't have to marry a stranger like Arif? But... I could marry sir Moshe, but I would disappoint mother... she wants me to marry a high noble or royal..."
Madalyn sighs and lowers her gaze to her lap again.
“Oh, they will try to oppose you, Madalyn,” Zephan replies, with a low mirthless chuckle. “It is a game of power, and you need someone to stand beside you. Any decision you will make, will be put into question by the council. You need a good reasoning to convince them that what you decide is right, or they will try to get rid of you.” A light shrug there, as he assesses that with a coldness that comes close to indifference. “They will try to get rid of me as well, when mother is gone. After all, it was her soft heart and her weakness that kept her from… actually ever punishing me. Despite what everyone says about me.”
Her musings regarding Sir Moshe elicit another chuckle from him. “Don’t be ridiculous, Madalyn. He’s a bastard. There is commoner blood in him.” He snorts. “So yes. A noble or a royal is who you will finally end up with…” The prince raises his gaze to meet that of sister. “Is my suggestion to marry one of your brothers so unthinkable?”, he inquires softly. “To regain the strength we used to have, Madalyn? It would elevate House Onimus, as it would help us to become something closer to the Patrons. We are, after all, of their family.”
"You are right," the girl sighs, "Mother said the same... about Sir Moshe and I do not want to disappoint her. I promised not to disappoint her again," she nods slowly. The girl starts rubbing her knees with pale fingers a bit nervously.
"I do not know how to write speeches or how to do stuff at all. How to convince everyone, but you sound... very convincing. Because... we are Onimus and they... Lotingus and Onimoria... We could follow our Patrons...Oh!" She looks at Zephan, "I don't know! Brother, when mother will be able to meet with us again, we need to offer her this. She might be happy with such idea and maybe you will raise in her eyes..."
A bit of amusement shows in those steel-blue eyes of the prince when he notices Madalyn’s nervousness. “I could help you,” he assures her, not that he has been much interested in politics before. “To convince them, and to write speeches, sister. In fact, this plan must appear like a natural consequence to the council, of our wish to return to our divine roots.” He reaches for her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “However, I doubt it will be a good idea to… disquiet our mother, in her current frail state. Maybe she would not approve of the plan, with her misconceptions about me. So, better not tell her now, I’d say. Keep it to yourself - as our little secret plan, if you will.” He cants his head to the side to shoot her a glance. “You don’t even have to give me an answer right now, Madalyn, you’ll need time to consider it.” The smile he has for her is faint, but it is there. “Just promise me, that whatever you’ll decide I’ll stay your dearest brother, Madalyn? As you will continue to be my dear little sister, no matter what your decision will be.”
Madalyn listens for her brother intently and nods, "I agree, that we shouldn't bother our mother right now. She is still sick. We will wait till she will get better," the girl does not leave her idea to inform mother aside. "And brother, remember, that you are my dearest brother and you always will be one. I love you, you are my family!" The girl wraps her arms around Zephan again and cuddles to the man, "Thank you for coming and helping me..."
“As you wish,” Zephan says with that ghost of a smile curling his lips ever-so-slightly. “And that is good to hear.” When his sister cuddles to him, his own arms will wrap about her, as he leans forward and places a gentle peck on her forehead. “There is nothing to thank for, as I had to come and see you,” he murmurs, his breath brushing against her ear, as his head leans against hers for a long moment, temple against temple. “But I shall leave you now, Madalyn. You should rest, and I’ll see you on the morrow.” And so he disentagles himself from his sister’s embrace and moves to stand, regarding her for a moment with eyes that are looking dark with sentiment. “Sleep well.”, is said, as he turns and moves to the door, to open it and slip out onto the hallway, closing the door behind him softly as not to disturb anyone - or not to arouse attention.