Chapter Text
Chapter Sixteen
The bright joy on his Light’s face as she stood before her paternal grandparents made all the political negotiation, passive aggressive speeches, and enduring unending amounts of human arrogance worth it. Well, mostly.
"Grandmother, Grandfather, it is most pleasing to meet you.” Lucette greeted with a low perfect curtsy, the smile on her face bright enough to light a ballroom. She looked stunning when she had entered the ballroom on Tavetti’s arm, her many jewels and finery glittering on her like stars, the silk of her dress rippling like water with every movement. All eyes had been on her the minute her name was heard, the audience in awe of her. As they should be.
She looked like a goddess plucked from the night sky, with the stars as her veil, the river as her dress and the sun as her smile. Alma had done well.
“Come now, child, we do not need for such proper speech here. Come come, let me have a look at you.” Akeelah urged, hugging Lucette tightly.
“You are truly a welcoming sight for this old man’s eyes, dear one. I see so much of our son in you.” Varma remarked, the usually sharp orange eyes clouded over by nostalgia. Kane felt a twitch of annoyance, a familiar emotion that he’s been too well acquainted with in his years of function. She did take much after her father. That was unfortunately true. Her hair, her stubbornness, her power; All of it came from that damned man. Afolabi. A blight upon the family, a diseased tree whose roots were in too deep to rid. But Kane did not voice any of his thoughts, keeping them locked up in his processor as he watched the reunion.
“Thank you, you are kind to say that, Grandfather. It makes me so happy to have you here. There are...so many things I want to know.” Lucette continued, a flicker of hesitation appearing in her eyes. Nervousness, perhaps?
“Come, sit. We have time to answer your no doubt overflowing questions.” Akeelah replied, guiding Lucette by the hand to sit in a chair next to her. Knowing that his presence would be unwanted, he patted Lucette’s head in farewell and left the chamber, closing the doors behind him to leave the family to talk privately.
‘Hopefully, they can give her the satisfactory answers she searches for regarding Capstan. Even if she doesn’t like them.’
Lucette had a tendency of sulking around when she gets answers she doesn’t like. It was impossible to snap her out of it unless she reached a personal epiphany. An annoyingly time consuming human trait but is occasionally useful.
“My father, who was he really? He never told me he was a prince.” Lucette asked first, fingers playing with the tips of her gloves, filled with a nervous energy.
“Yes, and for good reason. Your father was Crown Prince Afolabi, heir to the throne of Lioneria.” Her grandmother answered, wistful and proud, her light brown eyes faraway in the past.
“But….there was a brother.”
And there it was. That wince, as if Lucette had just taken a hammer and smashed it through her sweet memories. She tried not to feel guilty about it. She needed answers, even if they hurt.
“Yes, your father had an older brother. Negatus. My eldest child.” Her grandmother explained, her husband holding her hand gently to comfort her.
“What happened to him? Cassandra said….She said that her father was the heir, not mine. So, how did it move from Negatus to Father?”
Akeelah inhaled deeply, her eyes closing as if to prepare herself for something. When they opened again, they were hard and stern. A mask. The queen hiding away the grieving mother.
“This will be a long story, one that ends in tragedy and anger. Are you prepared to hear of this?” She questioned Lucette, who nodded her head silently. Akeelah sat up straight in her seat, her eyes focused on Lucette’s own.
“It is true, Negatus was previously the heir to the throne. But it all started when he was 23 years of age. The advisors were calling on him to search for a wife. In Lioneria, the heir must be married before they can ascend the throne.”
“Why?” Lucette asked, confused by the odd law.
“To be sure that an heir will be produced next. To avoid any of our kings dying without children and causing a war of succession.” Her grandfather, Varma, explained.
“Negatus was always the dutiful one out of the two. Always mindful of his role and duty to our people. We never had to fight with him on anything.” Akeelah reminiscence, giving her husband a fond smile as she thought of her children. Lucette was intrigued. She had thought that, based on Cassandra, that Negatus would’ve been the stubborn child.
“So what about Father? Was he troublesome?”
“Oh yes! The most troublesome child in all of Lioneria! Every day was a fight with him on something or other. “Mama, why must I wear this mask?” “Mama, must I wear these shoes? Why not my other pair? They are far more comfortable.”. Always standing his ground, even on the most mundane of things.”
Akeelah sounded both exasperated and fond, the edges of her eyes crinkling in joy.
“And from what I’ve heard, you have inherited that bit of your father. Even the sneaking off bit.” Varma laughed heartily, causing Lucette to blush, embarrassed that her exploits were known beyond her clockwork family.
“Our sons were truly opposites in many ways. But they loved each other fiercely. When the time came for Negatus to choose a wife, Afolabi offered to help. Thankfully, for all our sanity, Negatus wisely turned him down. Though, now that I think about it….perhaps that was a mistake.”
Lucette noticed the change in tone in her grandmother’s voice, becoming saddened and weary, burdened by something that haunts her every step.
“What happened?”
“When Negatus told us that he had finally chosen a wife after 2 years searching, we were elated. He told us so much about her, about how kind she was, of how proud her spirit was. She sounded like everything we dreamed for a wife for him to have. Then….he brought her in.” There was disdain in her voice now and her eyes were narrowed into thin slits of displeasure.
“What was wrong with her?”
“I will admit, he did his best to disguise it. He taught her much of the court manners and rituals. He dressed her as an appropriate court woman, with all the necessary jewels and headdresses and such. But tried as he might, he couldn’t disguise the way she stumbled on the train of her dress, or the tension in the back of her neck, unused to the weight or the way she fidgeted with the material of the dress.” Varma interjected, a bitter smile on his face, unhealed wounds on full display now. Akeelah shot him a stern look, of which he responded with his own, eerily similar to the one Lucette remembered her father would give her when she was especially naughty.
“What does he mean?”
“.....The woman he brought in was….not of a high station.”
“Do not sugarcoat it, Akeelah. You have never been the one to sugarcoat things, do not start now.” Varma snapped sharply at his wife, receiving a sharp eagle eyed glare in return.
“Fine then. I will say it plainly. Negatus brought in a commoner woman and tried to disguise her as a noblewoman.” Akeelah said bluntly, her sharp stare boring through Lucette who reeled back in shock.
‘Disguise? So he was ashamed of her and tried to hide it. He wouldn’t have felt the need otherwise.’
“Then what happened?”
“Chaos broke out! In front of the entire court! We demanded for him to explain himself!” Varma raged, slamming his fist down on the armrest. Lucette flinched in the face of the display of anger but Akeelah was unwavering, not even batting an eye.
“And what an explanation he gave us, indeed. According to him, he had been traveling through one of the villages near the outskirts of Lioneria when a storm of locusts forced him to seek shelter with a farmer’s daughter. His stay turned from a single night into a whole month. And he….fell in love with her.” Akeelah explained, the look on her face displeased, as if she bit into something sour and was trying to hide it.
“In only a month?” Lucette asked, confused on how someone can fall in love with someone that fast.
“Odd, isn’t it? How one could fall into love with such quickness? Reasonably, we were suspicious and disapproved of the match. The court refused to allow the marriage and demanded Negatus to pick someone else. And to our surprise, he refused. Instead, he announced to the court, with a fire I’ve never seen before in him, that this woman can either be their queen or he would be one of our subjects.” Akeelah answered bitterly, silver gray brows furrowing in anger.
“Meaning?”
“He would either be allowed to marry her or he would give up his crown. A foolish ultimatum! I have never seen such foolishness in that one before! Afolabi, yes, but Negatus? Never!” Varma raged, his gestures wide and erratic in his rage, while Akeelah was as still and cold as a statue.
‘Such polar opposites in displaying the same emotion. I can see why they were married to each other.’
“And of course, as always, Afolabi leapt to his defense and offered him his support. It was this that made the court hesitate. It is easy to argue against one prince, but both? As a united front? Very risky. Too risky. So we dismissed court and sent both of them to their chambers with the promise to discuss this the next morning.”
Lucette noticed that Akeelah’s body language was now nervous, her hands collapsed together on her lap and her right leg shifting. Something else happened and she wasn’t completely willing to talk about it.
“But something else happened, didn’t it?”
The two monarchs exchanged odd looks between each other before sighing, coming to a decision.
“Yes. Late in the night, we summoned Negatus alone and questioned him about this mess. He told us that he knew and understood the risk he was taking. Tried to tell us that she would make a good queen and a good daughter in law. Yet, how can she possibly be a good queen with no training? She does not know the court’s customs or rituals nor does she know how to handle and control all the snakes that make up the court? Our enemies?”
‘She’s right. That’s too much to teach one person in such a short span of time. It took me years to learn half of that and even then, I don't have much experience in doing so as I am not queen yet.’ Lucette hated to admit it, but her grandmother had a point in that regard. Being a ruler was an intimidating and stressful job that has crushed many under its weight in the past.
“Could she not have become Consort instead?” She asked, only to receive a twin pair of shocked looks.
“Oh my dear, I have forgotten that Valencia operates differently from home. We do not do Consorts in Lioneria. If you marry the heir, you are expected to be able to handle the work of ruling beside him. You are either Queen or a concubine. Simple as that.”
Lucette felt like she was being lectured by one of her tutors all over again.
“Ah, I see. That makes it much worse of a problem.”
“Indeed, but Negatus refused to see that! Clinged to the notion of ‘marrying for love’.” Her grandfather spoke of a marriage out of love as if it were childish dreams, stinging that part of Lucette who still held onto the dream of marrying someone she loves. The adult part of her chides herself for still even thinking of that damned dream. But the childish part of her, that little girl that still believed in fairy tales and legends of heroes rescuing princesses and living happily ever after. Maybe that’s what Negatus wanted too?
“We tried to convince him to let her go. That we could find him a lovely woman who would make a worthy queen and a better wife. He would’ve grown to love her, I’m sure. But....It seems the fire in our eldest has finally ignited at the worst possible time. He refused to back down from this and the court was growing restless. Heads of many powerful families were getting angrier at Negatus, both for daring to challenge us and for not choosing one of their own daughters. Eventually we gave him the same ultimatum he gave us”
“The woman or the crown.” Lucette said, already able to tell by the look on her grandmother’s face what the choice was. And which one her uncle chose.
“And he chose the woman! Over his crown, his throne, the people, his birthright!” Her grandfather raged with the force of a hurricane, slamming his fists on the table. Her grandmother was the complete opposite, her demeanor icy and closed off, but Lucette can vaguely feel the waves of anger rolling off her. The fact that even now, decades later, the event still angered them so, told how much the whole fight split the family.
“And then?”
“We did as we warned him we would do. We banished him. As punishment and hoped that it would bring him to his senses. And as a way to keep the vengeful court from taking things into their own hands, as I have no doubt they would. One way or another. He accepted it gracefully, packed his things, and within a week, he and the woman were gone. The court was pleased, their egos settled. However, we underestimated Afolabi’s reaction. Your father and uncle were close to the very end. We had sought to delay Afolabi from finding out, at least for a few weeks. I should’ve known better. Negatus would never leave his brother behind without saying a goodbye in some way. He left a letter behind for Afolabi.” Akeelah was now shaking her head, a weary sort of look on her face now, her shoulders slouched as if carrying the weight of the worlds on her shoulders.
“And I imagine Papa was not happy when he found out.”
“That’s putting it gently. When he stormed into the throne room, it was as if the Great Fire Lion himself come again! His body was wreathed in flames, head to toe, a tactic he only ever used in battle. His eyes were aglow with an orange that could outshine the Sacred Flame and speared terror into the hearts of everyone in the room. Wherever his foot touched, flames as red as the sunset sprouted like plants, barely contained by his fracturing control.”
“And the heat! I’ve only felt anything like it once! In battle, when I and mine own brother entwined our power together against an entire army, decades ago! I had thought for certain that the boy man that stood before me was not my son but my father instead!”
Lucette watched in awe as her grandparents described the force of nature that had been her father that day. She could almost picture it in her mind. Her father’s dark skin glowing with the power of his flames, hair having transformed into fire itself with eyes glaring down at everyone with godlike ferocity, matched only by active volcanos when preparing to blow and destroy everything in their path. She desperately wished she could have seen it.
“What did he do?”
“He demanded that we explain ourselves on why we banished Negatus. When I tried to calm him, he destroyed one of the stone pillars with only a wave of his hand. For a second, a split second, I feared that my own son would kill me right then and there. So we did. We told him that Negatus had been the first to give us the choice. We merely repeated it to him. He made his choice and will deal with the consequences. When we were finished….Afolabi….He...He looked at us with such heartbreak and betrayal. I felt as if I had murdered one son in front of the other. Afolabi...He was crushed. His fire snuffed out and all that was left were the tears steaming on his cheeks. The only words he spoke were...were spoken so softly, I had thought I had misheard. But the look in his eyes as he glared as he walked out confirmed it.
“What...What did he say?”
Akeelah was silent for a long while, so long and so forlorn that the young princess thought that she would end the story right there out of the sheer pain it brought on her. Akeelah took in a heavy breath and released slowly.
“He said “By banishing one son, you have lost another.”. And then he left.”
“The palace?”
“Lioneria all together. He took his ship and left. Our scouts couldn’t keep up with him and he disappeared for years. Every now and again we would receive tidbits of information of his sightings but they would be weeks old by the time they reached us. And that’s how life moved on for years afterwards.” Akeelah finished, leaning back in her chair with a sigh of relief and yet spirit embedded exhaustion. Varma, done with his pacing now that the story was done with and out in the open, sat down in the chair next to her, an aged but strong hand gently holding hers.The smile that Akeelah gave him, tired but loving, made Lucette seethe a bit in envy, forced to turn away so she could blink the sting out of her eyes. She wasn’t crying. She was fine. She just...needs some time. It’ll be her turn one day. To be able to release her burdens and smile like that with someone. Patience...patience.
“So what about Cassandra?”
“Ah yes, that one.” The grandparents shared a knowing look. A familiar one, that Lucette herself has shared with Terrus or Ignatia whenever a particular pesky noble started whining too much.
“Well, this is the easy part. Imagine our surprise when one day, years after, a particularly loud and ambitious young girl was escorted into our study, said to want an audience with us in private. At first, we were dismissive, naturally. Her arrogance was appalling and I have little tolerance for overconfident fools. When she had the audacity to call me Grandmama, I turned to reprimand her but….then I saw her eyes. And her nose. I knew immediately who she was. Her face...there was too much of him in it.” Akeelah shook her head disapprovingly, sighing, this time out of annoyance and frustration. Lucette reared back in shock at the news.
‘Cassandra confronted them?!’
“The child told us that she was the daughter of Negatus and the woman he claimed as his wife. To further prove her claim, she showed us something that only Negatus would’ve had.” Varma explained.
“A ring.” Lucette murmured, remembering the stories Maria told her of their shared days in Ravenwood. How Cassandra always, no matter what, wore a golden ring with a lion insignia on her left ring finger.
“Indeed. The ring that all members of the immediate royal family possess that marks them as our own. The only way she could’ve gotten it would’ve been Negatus willingly giving it to her.”
“What did she want?”
“What she always wanted. What everyone wants, in the end. Power. The throne. She told us that she wanted her birthright and what was rightfully hers.”
“And she was so sure of herself too! She thought she had us cornered with her little surprise. Heh, foolish child. Did she truly believe that we had left the matter of succession in the air for years with no answer?”
The back and forth exchange between the married couple planted a seed of unease that was blooming into dread, the petals falling to settle deep in the pit of her stomach. Something told her that the next thing is going to explain the source of Cassandra’s anger. And why it was aimed at her.
“Who... is the heir then?”
Both of her grandparents gave her a confused look, as if the answer should be obvious. Which it was. That flower of dread was embedding its roots deeper, traveling up her throat.
“Well, as Afolabi was the Crown Prince and is….is now guarded by the Fire Lion’s Paws. and you are his only child…”
‘Oh no.’
“The only acceptable heir is you, of course. You are the heir to the throne of Lioneria.”
Lucette, despite seeing that answer coming a mile away, felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach and into the abyss.
‘Damn….more responsibilities.’