A Cracked Crown

The safehouse was an abandoned manor at the edge of the city. It was spacious and luxurious, yet almost hauntingly still. After choosing our rooms, we all decided it would be best to continue the conversation and our plan next morning, given how exhausted we were.

I lay in a massive bed, all by myself, the icy wind outside rapping against the glass window to my right, unable to get a moment’s rest. My mind wandered from fractured courts to Fredreich’s impending war.

As I rubbed my eyes, a knock on the oak door caught my attention. “Come in,” I called out.

Amber walked into the room, holding a lantern in her hand as she made her way over to my bed.

“Lucius will be here tomorrow afternoon with a few nobles from within Alaric’s court,” she said, sitting on the edge of my bed and placing the lantern on a table beside it. “And I’ve sent the letter you asked to Lianne; we should be hearing from her soon.”

I got up, sitting against the backboard of the bed, watching Amber as her gaze remained fixed on the floor beneath. “What’s wrong?”

“I never wanted this,” she replied, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Fractured courts, wars, alliances. None of it. It was nice, living with Otto. We’d help a few people out, we’d come back. Now, it’s just—”

“It’s a bit much, I know,” I reached an arm out and placed it on her shoulder. “But if we won’t stop it, who will, Amber?”

She shifted her gaze to meet mine, her eyes glassy yet fierce. Her hand moved to her stomach. “Aizawa….I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

“I’m pregnant,” she replied, her eyes now swelling with tears. “And I didn’t want to bring a child into a world where they’re running from power-hungry kings and trying their best not to get killed.”

“You’re sure?” my eyes darting from Amber’s face and back to her stomach, my mind unable to even conceive the possibility.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she screamed back at me. “And I don’t know what to do, I’m scared, Aizawa!”

I buried my face in my palms as I took a deep breath. “How long have you known?”

“It’s been a few days,” she replied, “but even then I didn’t think—I…didn’t want to believe…” Before she could finish her words, tears started dripping down her face, her shoulders shook as she covered her face.

I held onto Amber’s hand and pulled her closer into me, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s going to be okay, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t want to come back,” she sobbed into my chest. “I didn’t want to be queen. Why can’t we just go back home, Aizawa.”

“We can’t, Amber,” I pressed my lips against her head. “Not now. We have to build a world where our child doesn’t have to run from everything. A just world.”

She continued to sob as I held onto her tightly, the night around us still, yet waiting. “I’ll go back to my room,” she said, breaking away from the embrace. “I still need to think about everything.”

“You should stay—”

“No, it’s getting late, and we have a lot to prepare for tomorrow,” she got up and proceeded to make her way to the door. “Goodnight, Aizawa,” she sniffed one last time as she closed the door shut.

I hit my head against my fist and sank back into my bed. “As if there already wasn’t enough going on,” I thought to myself.

After hours of wondering about Fredreich’s next steps and Remus’ potential alliance, my eyes started to get heavy and within a few moments sleep finally did come.

I woke up to the sound of my door almost being flown off its hinges as someone rammed against it repeatedly with full force. “The soldier from yesterday is here,” Jaeger’s voice called out from behind the door. “Faelar was calling for you.”

“I’ll be there in a minute!” I yelled as I rubbed the grit from my eyes.

After putting on the clothes that I had hung out to dry, I made my way downstairs to the living room, where everyone waited for me. I brushed off some dust from the shoulder of my wrinkled coat as I thought about the convenience of dry cleaners and the severe lack thereof.

Upon entering the room, I was greeted to a sight where Amber sat on one of the green velvet lined sofas as both Jaeger and Faelar stood beside her while Lucius sat across alongside four other people who I didn’t recognize.

As I entered the room, all eyes fixed on me as I scurried over to the couch and sat beside Amber.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn,” Lucius snorted, “but who do you think you are to sit beside her majesty?”

“Such insolence,” a middle-aged woman clad in noble attire spoke up from beside him.

Realizing I had made a mistake, I stood up but Amber’s hand held onto my arm, pulling me back down. “I would like him to sit beside me, if that is alright with the rest of you.”

“Well, of course, if her majesty wishes for such,” the middle-aged woman spoke out, while the others whispered amongst themselves.

An old man, with a mustache that extended well across his face, adjusted his monocle as he began speaking. “Your highness, the military, the people, and the nobles have had it with Alaric,” he croaked, “and the four of us had discussed in great detail on how to move forward after deposing him.”

“Lord Matthew here,” Lucius scoffed, “suggested martial law be put into effect after deposing Alaric.”

“Oh dear no,” the old woman cried out as she opened a paper fan, swinging it violently toward her face. “What message would that give to the rest of the Kingdom? That we’re brutes who can only rule because of our military?”

“Commander Lucius,” I spoke up, “please correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t the military also be subject to criticism by the people, given the fact they had been doing Alaric’s bidding for years at this point?”

Lucius nodded, looking back at Matthew. “Which is exactly what I had been telling Lord Matthew here. A military government carries the risk of a revolution by the people.”

A younger woman who sat beside Matthew, clad in a pure white dress and silk gloves, raised her hand to speak. “Is it then not best to transition to a republic?” her voice soft, yet commanding. “The people in the West have already overthrown their monarchs and established republics throughout their nations.”

“A kingdom as vast as Ur would not survive becoming a republic, deary,” the middle-aged woman replied. “The only thing that kept the kingdom together was the Ashvale legacy in the first place.”

“The royal guard has been loyal to the Ashvale line for centuries, Lady Nora,” Matthew twirled his mustache. “They would never accept the Kingdom becoming a republic, and neither would the rest of the military.”

Amber’s grip around my arm tightened, her voice cut through the nobles’ murmurs. “Please, tell me, were the people and military not happy under the rule of my grandfather?”

“They were, your highness,” Matthew nodded. “To suggest otherwise would be false—”

“And I am sure that my father, Arthur Ashvale, was well-liked amongst the military, as well?”

“That, he was,” Lucius replied, a smile spreading across his weathered face.

“Then I think it’s settled,” I clapped my hands together. “Amber is your best bet if you wish for the Kingdom to survive.”

While the rest of the nobles seemed to chatter in agreement, Lady Nora raised a finger once again, her eyes peering into my own from beneath her feathered hat. “Her highness has been gone for years,” her tone similar to what I’d find in courtrooms. “Do you think the people will willingly agree to a new monarch that’s left them in despair for so long?”

“Lady Nora!” Lucius grunted. “That is no way—”

“Pardon my insolence, your majesty, but you must see how this won’t sit right with the people, either!” she pleaded as Amber’s gaze fell onto the floor below.

“Lady Nora,” my voice got the attention of the nobles, as all eyes fixed on me. “Mittengrad wishes to invade Ur in a matter of weeks with its entire military might. I’m sure you’re aware?”

“Commander Lucius has told me something about it, yes,” she replied.

“Then, do you really believe now would be the best time to have the military fractured from within, and somehow hold elections when the biggest military in the continent comes knocking at our door?”

Matthew nodded silently as Lucius watched me with a sly smile spreading across his face. Nora seemed lost in trying to find words to respond but failed every single time her lips parted to speak.

“I believe, that being the rightful heir to the throne of Ur,” I gestured toward Amber, “she lead the people through this war.”

“I suppose there’s no other way,” Nora sighed, nodding in agreement. “Then so be it.”