SS 1.3 – Crown Restoration
The captain of the late King Henry of Albion's royal guard was doing push ups in his dark cell when he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way.
He settled down into a sitting position, breathing lightly as several figures came into view on the other side of the prison bars.
The imposing armored form of General Fairfax came to a stop, turning to face him, flanked by two officers and two prison guards.
"Open the cell," he ordered.
As the guards moved to unlock the prison, the captain stood up. "What's going on?"
"You have a new assignment, Captain Coventry," said General Fairfax.
"Is this a joke? You think we would serve in your army?"
The door to the prison was opened, but the captain did not move from his spot.
"Captain Coventry, with whom does your loyalty lie? Do the oaths you swore when you became the captain of the royal guard still hold true?" Fairfax asked slowly.
"Of course! My loyalty is to King Henry and the house of Tudor! I will never serve traitors such as the likes of you!" Coventry snarled back.
"Then prove it. You are being called to duty again, to serve the royal blood once more. Or are your words just empty bluster?"
At those words, confusion was etched onto Coventry's face. "The royal blood?"
Fairfax gestured and one of the officers stepped into the cell.
He was carrying a small wooden box, which he placed onto the table inside the cell. With a quick movement, he opened the box, then removed a neatly folded uniform and a swordwand, before returning back outside the cell.
Coventry stared at his uniform and swordwand. "This is a trick, isn't it? Are you trying to tell me you're secretly loyal to the Crown? Or have you defected again?! I don't believe it. No, I refuse to believe something so ridiculous!"
"Believe whatever you like. If you do not want to return to duty, you do not have to. My orders were only to release you and offer you the opportunity," said Fairfax. "Guards, lead him out once he is ready to go. We're done here."
Then he turned and walked away, the two officers following.
Coventry watched this with his mouth agape. His hand moved to his swordwand, and the guards did not seem to react, simply standing there with the prison door wide open.
He ran out the door with swordwand in hand, and looked down the corridor to see that Fairfax was really leaving.
It wasn't long before he shouted after them.
O O O
Back in his uniform, Captain Coventry followed Fairfax out of the dungeons and was led around the castle until they reached a particular room which was protected by two guards.
A female servant greeted them at the door before going back inside. After a while, she came back.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal will see you now."
Confusion was etched onto the face of the captain as he followed Fairfax into the room. He knew based on familiarity that he had been imprisoned in the palace at Londinium, and they were still there. So how could there be a princess, let alone Princess Royal, a rank which the king had never awarded? The only Albion royal still alive should have been Prince Wales.
When he saw the figure waiting inside beside a tea table, confusion turned to shock.
There, sitting demurely in a decorated white and gold gown was the bastard half-elf daughter of King Henry, Tiffania, the very same one who suddenly appeared before the King's duel with Cromwell.
She gave him an inquisitive glance, then turned to greet Fairfax.
"General Fairfax, what I can help you with?" She asked.
"Your royal highness, His Divine Greatness feels that you need a proper guard to ensure your safety. This man is the former Captain of your father's Royal Guard and therefore possesses the necessary qualifications to lead your own guard," said Fairfax.
"Oh um…it's a pleasure to meet you, ah…um your name is?" The half-elf spoke with none of the refined manner that one would expect from a princess. But Coventry knew she had never been trained in the royal etiquette.
"Lambert Coventry, your royal highness. It is my honor to meet you. Although in truth, we have met before while I was in the service of His Majesty King Henry. I believe you were only three years old then."
In fact, he had met her more than once. The King had secretly visited her several times after sending her away. Coventry had been there to see her happily taking care of orphans, living alone in a forest but for the occasional visits from her caretaker in the Saxe-Gotha family. It was painful to remember.
It was all the more painful to remember that somehow Cromwell had gotten to her and convinced her that he was fighting a just cause. Had the king been heartbroken to see her appear with the enemy, or happy to know that she was at least safe and alive?
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"Please do not apologize, your royal highness. It is only natural that you cannot remember something from that age," said Coventry.
"I have other business to attend to, your royal highness, so I shall take my leave. Please send a messenger to inform me if you find this man suitable," Fairfax said with a slight bow.
"Of course, thank you general," said Tiffania.
Soon it was just Coventry and the new princess left.
An awkward silence followed while Tiffania fidgeted with her fingers.
"If I may, your royal highness?" Coventry asked eventually, burning questions on his mind.
"Huh? If you may what?" The confused Tiffania asked back.
The former captain silently berated himself for following an etiquette the princess did not understand.
"My apologies, I mean that I have questions."
"Oh, please go ahead."
"What happened after Newcastle? Is the civil war over? Who is in charge of Albion right now? I'm afraid I've been in the dungeons ever since I was captured, and have been unaware of recent events."
"Um…General Fairfax has taken charge of most things, I think, but he follows Lord Muurleth's orders."
'Muurleth! That lying, opportunistic, self-serving bastard! Instead of helping us, he waited until the King was dead then took the throne for himself. And he's even calling himself Divine Greatness now? As if he's a god!' Anger rose up as soon as Coventry heard the name. 'So he is the one who granted the princess her title. But what is his purpose?'
Unaware of Coventry's inner turmoil, Tiffania continued. "After he brought me to Londinium I've stayed in the palace ever since, so I'm not sure what happened elsewhere. I wish I knew but I don't know who to ask…"
'Nobody is supporting her. A princess in name only. She has no allies or power,' Coventry realized. 'But that's even stranger. There would be no political benefit to giving her the title. On the contrary, it would make Muurleth many enemies to favor a half-elf. Yet, he not only assigned her a noble rank, but gave her the title of Princess Royal, a title that should only be conferred on the ruling king's eldest daughter, and only at the king's discretion to indicate the highest rank among all princesses. What could he possibly want to achieve?'
"Will they not let you out of the palace?"
"Ah no, I can go outside if I want to…"
'Not a prisoner in a gilded cage either. The title is meant to be taken seriously?'
"But everyone is afraid of me…I don't want to cause trouble."
Tiffania's eyes involuntarily darted to the handmaiden who stood to the side, head firmly facing down. Tiffania's own face then turned downcast as if saddened.
Coventry saw the action and understood what it meant. 'Even her own servants! Nothing has changed, after all, my liege.'
"I see," he said, while gripping his hands into fists.
"So um…you are really willing to be my guard? You aren't being forced, are you? Even though…" she trailed off, but Coventry knew the words that went unsaid.
At the princess's reminder, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. He, the former royal guard captain, was being assigned to her, the daughter of the king, who had been vested with all the authority of a real princess but did not know how to make use of it.
He even had a choice whether to accept, as if testing his loyalty. And he realized that he truly did have a choice in that moment.
It wasn't just the choice to walk away free.
Right now, here in this room, it appeared that the princess was left alone with a mere commoner servant to stand between her and a Square class mage, a former prisoner at that.
If he bore any ill will towards her, now was a perfect time to strike. He'd even been given back his swordwand to do it.
But why did Muurleth set up this scenario? If he wanted the princess dead, he could have gotten rid of her at any time, and nobody would have batted an eye.
Which meant that it was the opposite.
Muurleth wanted a genuinely loyal man, not somebody who would serve just because he commanded it, but somebody who willingly chose to be the princess's guard captain.
Somebody who would protect her without hesitation and could advise her with his experience having served the previous king, helping her step into the role of a true princess with her own faction of supporters.
Both the symbolism of all this, and the practical side of it, led towards the same conclusion.
Muurleth had awarded her the title of the Princess Royal.
A title exclusively eligible to the eldest daughter of the monarch who bestowed the title.
And in the case of there being no male heir senior to her, the eldest daughter was heir presumptive.
In other words…
'Muurleth intends to raise her to the throne?! And not as a mere puppet either, if I'm being allowed to advise her!'
The thought brought a joy and excitement he hadn't felt for months. Then doubts quickly put a damper on it.
'But to put a half-elf on the throne is no small task…and…what of Prince Wales?'
Interpreting his long silence the wrong way, Tiffania spoke up again with a sad expression. "You don't have to if you don't want to. If you're being forced to do this, I will help you escape later."
Coventry was suddenly moved by the sheer kindness of the princess. Not only did she not despise those who were prejudiced against her, she would even help them without regard for her own safety.
It was enough to make his decision.
'There is no doubt that she would be a most wondrous Queen, and a princess with Muurleth's favor has better chances than a prince still in exile. If the Tudor line is to return to the throne, then I must do everything in my power to assist her!'
He held one fist to his chest then kneeled as if making a solemn pledge.
"Your royal highness, if you will accept me, then I will protect you with my life. I would be proud to be able to continue serving the Tudor line," he said resolutely, eyes staring straight into her own surprised ones.
O O O
A/N: For those wondering what happened to Tiffa, now you know. She's alive and well.
The point of these side stories is to show MC's actions in a different way. I know some of you would prefer reading what the MC's up to directly, but it's boring to just summarize via narration sometimes. MC is doing things via subordinates and making changes to Albion in a big way, whereas his own personal interest is in magic. I don't want to have several chapters of info-dump like narration, so these side stories are the alternative.
