Chapter Fifty-One: Scripted Prelude
1406 Words
Aleu Diox Luciano
“I am just saying that it is ridiculous you even think of such a method in the first place!”
“Look, Oberon, the choice has been made so just-”
“Just what, witness you give your love to another?!”
“I DON’T…I don’t love him. I am simply trying to protect you, my family, and everyone that I care about!!”
“By marrying another?!” he smiled,” the emperor no less, boy, Diane, if you were looking for a higher title-”
His cheek burned from the impact of her strike before he could fully complete his taunt.
“Do you really think so little of me that you believe that I would willingly agree to get married to someone I do not desire? All because of a title?”
“Oh, Diane, spare me! Spare me!! I did not know you at all.” He responded, “The woman I knew always leaned on me!”
“Yes, she was stubborn. However, she never left me out of her struggles because she believed that that was the best way to build unity!” Aleu’s hands followed the words spoken with a voice that in no way felt familiar. However, the anger searing through him pleaded for him to forget his sanity.
“The woman I know,” he continued, “wished to fight by my side, as my vice-captain, as my friend…as my lover.”
“As my LOVER DIANE, I WANTED TO MARRY YOU!! I WANTED TO BE WITH YOU! I WANTED TO BE YOURS, AND YOU MINE, MINE AND ONLY MINE! HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST THAT I BE OKAY WITH THIS!!”
Diane’s expression softened, and she drew nearer.
“Oberon…”
She whispered his name beautifully, making it easy for him to forget the lies her softness carried momentarily.
“But I suppose that it was foolish of me to dare dream such fantasies based on illusions of you because apparently I never knew you at all, well maybe as a knight. You always had your own motivations. All in all, you make for a very laughable martyr.”
“What? What do you want me to do?!” finally, she asked, “Oberon, do you think that I will leave happy if you leave my side under the guise of an ‘accident’?”
“How many times has Allios sent his men after you? How many spies has he planted by your side? Isn’t it time we just end this useless battle, call quits on trying to struggle against the ruler of the natio-,”
“I CANNOT LOSE YOU!!” he responded, “I will not.”
“This…” she sighed, “Oberon, I have…this is the choice that I have made.”
It was ridiculous. With the turbulence blistering through him, he was almost certain that he would throw something in his well-made office against the wall, yet instead, laughter tore through his pharynx.
Oberon, no Aleu, Oberon. Oberon loved her, he did, of that he was certain, yet at that moment, he envisioned constraining her in his dungeon, caging her like a bird, never allowed to soar the sky because those stupidly flamboyant wings would take her from his side. At that moment, Aleu..no, Oberon realised even if she were unhappy, she would be his. Bounded in the deepest parts of his mansion that none but him could find her. Oh, but what pretty a picture the image in his mind blossomed.
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Again, Aleu’s eyes opened in the middle of the night. His warm sweat covered body now grew cold at the onset of his awareness.
Of late, the dreams grew more intrusive. He could no longer tell himself apart from his counterpart, Oberon, but as much as it confused and unsettled him, he did not wish the dreams to stop.
Why…he had no idea.
Was he once this ‘Oberon’ character? Likely not, it was more probable to assume that his siblings were tainting his food; however, why? Was he not their golden cattle?
Aleu sighed before shifting his thoughts to more…fascinating matters.
“Diane…Oberon.” He called in the dark silence, hoping that his tasting of the syllables would answer his rampaging mind “Allios.”
However, as the names he had called out were, in fact, designations rather than a spell, nothing but silence surrounded him.
*
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Mandy
The streets of Mayflower town were empty, with the only sound and occasionally baseless chatter either stemming from the bars, dumpsters or abandoned alleys.
Though as most knew, that was the perfect place to watch dramatic events unfold, whether a shakedown or a lovemaking scene. In any case, alleys though interesting, were best avoided, especially at night.
“How much did you get from the festival?” Mandy asked her younger brother, Keaton.
“Not much, Eighteen Kerris at most?”
“Plus my twenty, that should make thirty-eight. We can probably survive for a month till Inger comes back. Still, what the hell kind of doctor picks a fight with bandits!”
“This is all because you convinced him to get you a scoop on the Empress!” Keaton responded.
“Are you insane? I am a child; he is an adult! It should be obvious to anyone that my asking him to do so will be treated as playful kiddish banter. My words are not nearly enough to convince him into doing something as dangerous as fighting armed men. I mean, have you seen him throw? Plus, how old is he now? He ought to have fully understood his potential.”
The real reason he went, as Mandy had understood, was that he was in debt. His debtor took pleasure in gambling, therefore in order to release some money off what he owed, they urged him to manipulate, or some would call it ‘convince’, his childhood friend, Hilda, a castle maid who he seemed to adore, to grant him permission or rather, access to the Empress.
All Mandy had done was blackmail him with the information she had gathered. That way, as he passed on the key points to the debtor, he could pass on some tidbits to her.
Initially, the newsgathering had been for fun; however, Preston had offered her currency per scoop, and a guarantee recommendation to the Royal academy should her scoop receive praise, attention, and confirmation. Therefore, Inger’s missing state boded very poorly for her.
“A cloaked figure escorted by two men crossed their path, and the most strikingly familiar shade of white hair caught Mandy’s eyes.
“Keaton,” she lowered her voice, “Keep to the shadows.”
Almost instantly, the children turned a corner to the alley walls then held hands.
Keaton placed his palm on the stone building wall before him. Seconds later, the area where his palm touched sunk inside the stone before the both of them followed wholly, disappearing from the night.
*
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The next morning
Azalea Oleander Cursix
“You, what is your name?” I asked a brown-haired maid from the line-up the Butler had suggested.
“Katelyn, your majesty.” She replied.
“Katelyn?”
“Alright, you seem capable enough. I will appoint you as the newest head maid, second to Hilda.”
“Oh, gods…” she gasped silently, “Thank you! Thank you, your majesty
“Your imperial majesty,” the Butler proceeded, “Another suitable candidate in becoming your personal maid is Miss Bridgette Longhorn.”
“Yes, however…” I frowned, then turned to the only red-haired maid, “Your hair, though beautiful, resembles a woman screaming in my room.”
“But your majesty, my shift is yet to be granted.” The red-haired maid defended.
“A maid that talks back?” I questioned the Butler.
“My apologies. I was under the impression that she was educated.”
“I see,” I responded passively. “I do not see the need to choose a persona maid at the moment, so Hilda, Katelyn, follow me to my chambers. I have an event to prepare for.”
- Writer
