Dusk deepened. Reports from downhill said that the crowd had been thinning out for a while and were still dispersing, with many who lived farther away choosing to get a head start on their long journeys home. The Queen"s aides had succeeded well in their tasks, anyway. Whatever a.s.surances and spins on events they"d told the front of the crowd, these had spread to the tail ends as almost something else entirely."The Queen was simply letting an adequate time pa.s.s to properly mourn the Prince."
"The northern states were silent because they had been effectively intimidated into lying low by the swift retaliatory actions of days ago."
"We HAVE already responded, haven"t we? No need to worry we"d be seen as weak – even Lys has recognized how formidable we are."
"Their western neighbor fell all over themselves trying to seek an alliance, that was all they"re doing."
"They"d come unasked, it was only by chance that Princess Hilde came across them – she merely did what she thought was her duty."
"No, certainly not, that wasn"t a planned meeting between two royals of marriageable ages AT ALL. How could they ever give their precious princesses to Lys, of all territories?"
On and on it had gone, the aides giving the types of answers that might best soothe inflamed emotions. "Tell them what they want to hear," their instructions must have been, and most who"d heard their many iterations and re-interpretations were either convinced or tired out by questioning whether they were true or not.
The ones who"d remained were those who were determined to hear something from the actual people involved. There were also those who simply wanted to stay until they"ve also witnessed the return procession.
Still too many, the verbal reports indicated, but at the very least, they were calmer now. As long as nothing incites them again, even the Lyseans might be able to get off lightly, in the off chance that someone comes upon them and sees through their ruse.
In time, the last broad rays of sunset disappeared and night began to descend in earnest. From where they"d gathered at an isolated spot near the white building"s right corner, the Lyseans and the soldiers who"d been quietly preparing in both body and mind straightened themselves up, all but ready to leave.
Hilde also stood from the equally isolated blanket she"d been occupying with Lord Alfwin and his daughter. Funnily enough, the rest of the pair"s family was still where they"d settled earlier among the other n.o.bles, but they"d been joined there since earlier by the rest of HER family, in keeping with their show of "unity."
Lady Ilse must have been fully committed to this cause for her to allow even more contact between Gisela and Theodar. Then again, he did seem to be the least harmless bug among the others nearby who were circling, and his unwell mother inadvertently served as an excuse for them to turn away others seeking to approach.
Among these had been other n.o.bles who wanted Lady Ilse to use her status as senior royal to step in and handle the situation. But from the beginning, her answer had been clear: as per her elder niece"s command, the younger one was in charge and the Lord General was to be the one to pick up the slack should there be a need to.
In its purity and straightforwardness, her stand on the matter appeared all the more baffling. Was it blind belief that the royal sisters knew what they were doing? Could anyone really be that unaware of how unstable the Queen had come to appear?
The only thing keeping them from a.s.suming the worst was the thought that their monarch was human like the rest of them. Up to a reasonable point, this was a day when they could all be excused for not being at their best.
The most suspicious-minded or hateful had no difficulty coming up with sinister theories, including how the Lady – by doing absolutely nothing – was setting up her nieces to fall by way of self-destruction so Princess Gisela could have a better chance at inheriting the throne.
The one thread of thought these people had in common ran along the lines of "why jeopardize the rest of us?" Most of them, especially those in the lower rungs, enjoyed the intrigues and even being in the thick of things, but as soon as they"re asked to risk something, they find that it"s not so enjoyable anymore and just want out by any means – they don"t care who"d get the problem resolved eventually.
It was different for the majority of a.s.sembly members present. Following Lady Ilse and Lord Alfwin"s leads, they too did not seek to interfere with the Queen"s orders regarding Princess Hilde. They set aside the possible reasons behind the move and how they might personally be affected by it because the opportunity was too good to pa.s.s up.
It will be years before Prince Luca could be proclaimed Crown Heir. In the a.s.sembly"s eyes, there"s really not much difference yet between him and his aunt, and in these extraordinary times, even though there were some months yet before she turns sixteen, it"s not too soon for them to begin evaluating the new second-in-line.
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Regardless of how much power these onlookers might hold, none of them was privy to what was being discussed in that small, closed-off group in front of the royal tombs" door. By choice or by circ.u.mstance, they were left to deduce things from observations as best as they could.
Some had absently noted that the Lord General was quick to commence the grooming of his own new heir, and of those who"d seen her emerge with the Princess earlier, a few had also made the leaps in logic that now seemed obvious given what the Lord had already revealed during his eulogy.
Lothar"s intense s.h.i.+ne had left his siblings under a thick cloak of shadow, didn"t it? It was just like their father to make use of even that, mused those who knew him well, though apparently not well enough. They began to wonder, how deeply had he delved or might still be willing to go without any of them noticing? And heavens, to what end?
Past the dimness of twilight, they witnessed as Princess Hilde stood when the Lyseans and their unexpected escorts did. That particular arrangement seemed to have her stamp on it. Even if it hadn"t been obvious, judging from the way she had done most of the talking earlier, the others waiting on her words and answering queries she must have posed, she had risen to the challenge of command and – thus far, surprisingly – was proving equal to it.
Along with the unfamiliar glimmer of pride and a renewal of hope that she had brought about, it dawned on many that they had come to think of her as "theirs" for quite some time now. She had already been claimed in service to Arnica, and as far as its people were concerned, her future was permanently tied to this soil and nowhere else.
What was that Lysean Prince on about, deviating from what common sense dictated and going after the wrong princess? If it"s to Lys, Arnicans wouldn"t be willing to part even with Princess Gisela, but given the right incentive, they could be induced to. With Princess Hilde, no price at all would be high enough.
So then, right now… what did she think she was doing, stepping towards them…?