The Lines of Succession (Shayde x Ethereal)

[Lord Darkshayde]

Nestled in the forests of the Drath'nor Mountains lay Til'andria, the Kingdom of the Elvenkind. It was a wondrous sight to behold. Homes carved and shaped in harmony with the branches. Curtains of the most gossamer silks hung in the windows, swaying lazily in the cool breeze. Slender figures flitted about along the bridges and pathways with superb grace. It was a paradise for their kind, but a sadness had fallen over the capital. Queen Melandra had passed thirty years ago to this day. She had been struck by a sickness known as the Corruption that even their magics could not heal. The sickness that was at the center of their grief only came every bicentennial , and it was the Queen who had fallen victim this time. The forest was silent as even the animals mourned her loss.

King Valthiel had ruled by the Queen's side for well over three centuries and yet, it wasn't enough time. His face lay buried in his hands as he sat upon the Throne of Blossoms. "Why," he questioned to no one, "why were you taken from us so soon?" There were matters still to attend to, but he didn't have the heart for any of it. His beloved Melandra was gone, and his grief ran deep. The royal line was falling little by little, as the sickness spread throughout them. Dark forces had assailed their home and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. All he had left was his daughter, and she had only just come of age.

Thoughts of his girl cleared away some of the haze that seemed to hang over him. I should check on her. He pushed himself up from the throne and began the long trek to her room. Various servants bowed their heads as he passed silently. His only recognition of them was an exhausted wave of his hand. In quiet contemplation he walked until an elderly elven man approached him.

"Your Highness," the man bowed deeply to him, "it is good to see you up and about. I was hoping to have a moment of your time."

Valthiel halted and looked upon his regent with eyes filled with melancholy. "What is it Civis? I'm on the way to see my daughter."

Civis held up a wrinkled hand in apology. "Of course Your Majesty, but we need to talk about when the Corruption returns. I understand you are mourning, but we have to consider the royal line." The older man spoke earnestly and openly, and for that Val respected him. He could always be counted on to think of the kingdom even in dark times.

"Look, I understand your concern," the King started as he began walking again with Civis in tow, "but I am not interested in courtesans...at least not now."

Civis spoke up, "Yes sire, but the princess is coming of age on the next moon. Perhaps she..."

The words were cut of when the King turned on him with a fire in his golden eyes. "My daughter's affairs are not of your concern. Is that understood?"

"Yes sire, my apologies." He bowed deeply and walked quickly down the hall.

Val finally came to the princess's bedchamber and noticed the oaken door was cracked open. He thought about walking in unannounced, but instead took a moment to peek through the opening. There he saw her standing before an ornate mirror that resembled a lake's reflection. She was holding up dresses to her slender frame and comparing them. It took him a moment to realize that the dresses she was using were her mother's. It was then that he saw his daughter for exactly what she was, the mirror image of Melandra.

With a light knock on the door he entered and smiled lovingly at the young girl. "My dear, those would look absolutely wonderful on you. Would that your mother could see you now." He stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you need some help with the laces?"

 

[EtherealElvenEmpress]

The weather was beautiful as it usually was in Til'andria though there was a heaviness to the air that even Princess Lirael could feel. It was the anniversary of her mother’s Queen Melandra‘s passing to the sickness and this affected everyone, especially her father, the kingdom mourned her greatly, but they were very fortunate to get her spitting image in her, but either made the other elves rejoice in her presence or recoil with a bit of déjà vu in fear.

The usual lively forest with the sounds of animals was silent and unnerving, actually looked out the window and brushed her long auburn hair that fell way past her knees that she let grow out in honor of her mother. Princess Lira war burgundy, which made her Auburn hair stand out even more as she looked out the palace window, staring into the silence that even the birds wouldn’t dare chirp in. The King was preparing for her coming of age at 17 and it caused the palace to rejoice even though they lost their queen they had her predecessor, but most of them were still mourning their beautiful monarch and weren’t quite ready to give up on that beautiful chapter of their history since the queen and the king were a perfect match and it was hard to see his Majesty consumed in sorrow and melancholy with the loss of his wife making him only a shell of what he was when she was alive, but they knew at least with his daughter around he wouldn’t fade too quickly.

The corruption ruined so many lives in this kingdom, and they are whispers about what would happened if they did not have an heir. Would the King marry his daughter to a prominent kingdom and bring the prince to this one? As of right now, he had no son and the entire kingdom was now in Limbo. What was King Valthiel to do?

Lira who would normally be in her own room had snuck off to her mother’s, even though it might upset her father, but she couldn’t resist. She was approaching 17 and the coming of age ceremony was fast approaching and she wanted one of her mother’s dresses. Perhaps her father would not object to her barring some of them after all, they were her size!

She had laid out a rainbow dresses on the bed and holding one up to her chest, twirling around, looking at the beautiful blues that offset her emerald green eyes. His daughter was in her own little world standing before a large ornate mirror, twirling, and holding up one of her favorite dresses and contemplating how she would ask her father if she could use one for her coming of age ceremony, though she had a feeling, he might say no especially since they were her mother’s.

The knock on the great Oak door, startled his daughter, and she accidentally dropped the dress and froze like a doe before a hunter. “I was just looking…”she squeaked out, thinking he would reprimand her for touching her mother‘s things until his voice is softened as she knelt down very daintily to pick up the dress she dropped in a soft heap and hold it to her chest yet again. Standing up straight as she looked down at the dress while the mirror reflected both of them, but he didn’t yell. He came up behind her and even mentioned helping her with the lace. His strong hands on her slender shoulders. She would relax and realize he wasn’t angry. “I would really love that father. You don’t mind do you? I figured ….well I thought that maybe I could borrow one for my ceremony if it wouldn’t make you upset. I know how much you love these dresses and they’re just my size. I’ll be very careful with them. I promise….”her pointed ears twitched in anticipation for his answer, listening and wondering what he would say about her idea about using one of her mother’s dresses. “I… I can’t pick out the right color perhaps red or green mother did have some purple but I do like this blue one…. What do you think?” he could tell his daughter was nervous not because he was in the room with her, but she was fearful that he will be upset that she was touching her mother’s prized possessions that have not been touched since her passing. It seemed like her father wasn’t angry, but she planned to make sure to include him in choosing the dress that she wanted to use for her coming of age ceremony, especially since it was her mothers things.