I know it's not possible to murder the treasury guards before the vote of no confidence, but I was thinking of what would happen if Joslyn voted against Elodie, and this popped into my head. I guess that technically makes it an AU?
The noise of ringing glass cuts through the murmurs of the crowd like a knife. Elodie whips her head toward the sound, knowing who it is even before she rests eyes on him. His lips are drawn up in a sickeningly sweet smile, but he cannot hide the contempt that flickers through his eyes of ice.
"If I might have your attention?" he begins, speaking calmly and pleasantly. "I believe we should offer our compliments to our lovely hostess."
Unlikely, Elodie thinks. He has no reason to love me. It must be a trick.
"Her respect for tradition and the rights of the nobility means that we can all sleep safe in our beds. Our boundaries are strong and secure, our lands well-defended. No one would dare to steal from us." Here a menacing edge crawls into his voice, lacing his words with bitter sarcasm.
Elodie thinks back and realizes what he's talking about. Of course, it must be...his sister. Angry that I punished a criminal, dear duke? Oh yes, what respect for order and tradition you have.
Fine, then. If he cares for his sister so much, he can join her. I tire of these petty plots.
Elodie grits her teeth and struggles to keep her voice even. "I don't have to listen to this. A petty fool like you doesn't deserve your title. If you love your sister so much you can be a commoner like her. Guards, arrest him!"
Elodie had hoped such an ultimatum would throw him off-guard, but it only makes him grin wider. "Do you see?" he snaps back almost immediately. "Impulsive, violent, and chaotic. Is this really what we want in our leader?"
Where is he going with this? A sense of dread creeps up the back of Elodie's neck. She can't allow him to keep talking, she has to act now –
"Guards, I said arrest him!"
A guard steps hesitantly towards Banion, but...the other nobles...no. This is wrong!
They're defending him. Joining ranks. The guard stops in his tracks.
"Traitors!" Elodie shrieks in despair.
"Listen well, all of you!" Banion shouts, this time loud and clear. All ears are listening to him now. "I respect our royal line. I make allowances for the princess' youth and recent tragedy. But in these troubled times, we require strong leadership. In light of her inexperience, I move that the princess be married to the strongest available candidate. That man will then hold the throne as King Regent, to protect our princess and our domain. As the sole eligible duke in Nova, that duty would fall to me."
His transparent power grab makes Elodie want to gag. How can they not see it? "So you admit, you're just trying to take power for yourself," she snaps.
"There is no other choice! You clearly could not wed your own father or uncle, young Elath is still a child, and the Duke of Kigal is happily married. For the stability of Nova, I am the only candidate."
Liar! He doesn't care about Nova, he'd run it into the ground, he only cares about his petty vengeance –
Joslyn speaks up, though his voice is hesitant. "...By right of blood, Elodie is your queen." Yes. They'll listen to Father, he's King Dowager, they have to...
"Elodie would retain her title and her children would inherit," Banion says magnanimously, "but we cannot afford an incompetent queen."
Joslyn stares at Elodie, his expression unreadable. It seems she must defend herself.
So this is what it comes down to, my duke? Well, two can play at that game. You're not the only one with a silver tongue. "Father, I am capable of speaking for mys–"
Suddenly, Elodie feels her father clamp a firm hand on her shoulder. Softly, he says, "We should listen to what the Duke of Maree has to say, Elodie."
Elodie stares at him in shock. He can't actually be agreeing with him? She's been a good ruler, she has, except for...except for...
And then Banion speaks, and Elodie realizes her chance is lost.
"I call for a vote among the dukes and duchesses of Nova," he says with finality. "Do we leave our fates in the hands of a child, or do we take action? The vote of Maree is for change."
Joslyn is the first to speak up. That's good, Elodie thinks. No one will go against him, she can still win this. He says –
"Caloris votes for change."
– and Elodie's heart shatters.
She understands why, and she hates herself for it. She wants to scream, she wants to cry, she wants to disappear, she wants to say no, no, I'm sorry I had to do it it wasn't me it was Julianna I had to and you shouldn't have done it anyway and I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry
Instead she just stands, frozen, and stares at the fire behind Banion's cold eyes. The other nobles speak amongst themselves and cast their votes, but Elodie can't hear them. She knows she's already lost.
Banion smiles.
8 8 8
"I'm sorry, Elodie."
She is staring out her elegantly-framed window at the immaculately verdant courtyard below. It is beautiful, she tells herself, it is everything a princess could want.
"Maybe...maybe it's better this way, dear. It's hard to run a kingdom, I know. It's not a job for a child."
"And it wouldn't be half so hard if you didn't try to stop me, did you really think I could rule without it, that I could be your dear little girl forever, that you could shelter me from all the hardships, well I'm not a child, I want to grow up, I know what I'm doing, I had to do it, Julianna said so, she's been a truer friend to me than you!"
...are the words she doesn't say. She trembles with the effort to stay silent and grips the armrests of her chair until her knuckles are white. She hopes he doesn't notice.
He sighs sadly, and she hears him turn to leave.
"I'm sorry, too."
She hears him stop abruptly. There is a moment of silence.
"...You're a good person, Elodie. Never forget that."
He leaves, the echoing patter of footsteps on marble tile slowly fading to nothing.
When she's sure he's gone and no one else is around to hear, Elodie grabs a pillow to muffle her mouth and sobs.
8 8 8
Her husband's first act as regent is to restore his sister's titles and invite her to court.
Ixion declares their peace treaty void, and invades once again. This time, the new ruler wastes no time in going to war.
"I should have had her executed. I think you'd find it's rather harder to to bring back the dead."
He smacks her.
But in truth, her heart's not in the jab, a childish thing born of anger. If she executed everyone who looked at her funny, all the things he said about her would have been true, wouldn't they?
8 8 8
For all his plots and all his planning, there is one thing her husband overlooked: Duchess Julianna.
Elodie may be a puppet, but she still has her lumen crystal. The price was high – too high – but it is the only weapon she has left and she will use it. Julianna instructs her in secret, and slowly, her power grows.
One day he won't be able to control her anymore.
8 8 8
She finds herself thinking that perhaps it's better this way. She still has the pretty dresses and the servants, and she was even allowed to keep some of her tutors. Running a kingdom isn't a job for children. Studying art and history is so much easier.
(However, when she goes to see her spymaster and master-at-arms hoping for training, they refuse to speak to her. Her husband isn't stupid. He knows knowledge is power.)
But every day, Elodie looks out the window and wonders what would have happened if things had been different.
8 8 8
She sees the doors to the palace cave in, and the man with hair white as bone and eyes red as blood walks in like he already owns everything in the world.
He says what he wants and states his terms, and her husband blanches before him – for once he is rendered speechless. His once-confident face beading out in sweat, he casts an involuntary glance at Elodie, and the ghostly man follows his gaze.
She steps forward calmly and tells the ruler from beyond the sea that she's the one he wants. She can sense his power – unlike anything she's ever felt before – but she knows she can match it, that this is her chance to show what she really is. She feels the power flow through her veins, and knows this is what she was made for.
Elodie turns to Banion and smiles.