Chapter 6: Dark currents in the capitol
Immediately after Elise and Ashley had left the royal chamber, all the whispers that had been suppressed erupted violently. Nobles began to gossip, and the faction leaders were worried as Elise had thrown them all for a loop. With the child no longer present, in the event of an accident all the properties would fall to the guardian. No noble was stupid enough to tend the farm only to have another reap the harvest.
"Silence in the chamber!", the king bellowed violently. "I have made the decision that Count Marcies of house Calestine will act as the stewards for the lands".
Scattered applause rang out around the chamber, but the king had enough of this farce and dismissed the assembly immediately. The nobles streamed out of the palace one after the other still shocked over the events that had occurred. No one noticed the strange man in the hood who slipped out with them as they exited the palace.
Hours later.
As the dark night fell in the capitol, a man in a hooded robe hurried along the empty streets. He seemed to be fearful of something as he kept shifting his gaze left to right as he walked. His destination seemed to be the grand cathedral of the Church of Light.
It was a building with a long history predating that of the capitol itself, it was a marvel of ancient architecture with grand stone archways and paintings of the chosen races scattered on the walls. The entrance door was unlocked, and the man swiftly walked inside.
He was greeted by a plain looking nun in a white robe who nodded quietly and led him to a small side entrance tucked away in the corner of the main hall. The inner area of the cathedral was surprisingly modest with simple benches for the congregation to prey and worship and very few decorations or sculptures present in the main hall. The man followed the nun silently through the twists and turns of the side tunnel which lead to room underground where an old man was sitting quietly on a chair with two knights standing guard behind him.
"My eminent holy lord I pray that our father allows his eternal and everlasting light to shine gently upon us all", the man bowed his head and looked up with an expression of reverence.
The old man was wearing nothing but a simple white tunic, he held a scepter in his hands and his eyes were filled with wisdom and compassion. One would be surprised to know this old man was one of the archbishops leading the Church of Light.
He developed a reputation of a man of mercy and kindness but recently had led campaigns against the dark elf villages of the neighbouring countries. While his congregation knew him as a man of peace, to the dark elves he was akin to a smiling demon. He slaughtered men, women and children with an unchanging smile on his face as he sung praises to his god. His name was Archbishop Belmont and had been serving the Church of Light ever since he was a small boy.
"What news do you do have my dear child," he spoke slowly with an almost invisible sense of pressure that weighed heavily on the man.
"Terrible news! The duchess of house Blackwolf decided to adopt the child and is going to take her back to the north" the man spoke urgently.
A small frown appeared on the archbishop's face as he processed this information, he cursed silently in his heart. I knew this king could not be trusted! The kingdom of Eternia was a vital cog in the church's plan for expansion. The girl should have been placed in the care of a puppet house and then properly disposed when the time was right. He could hardly return to the pope with news of his failure.
His hands shivered almost involuntarily when he thought of that old monster, people of this backwater kingdom might think call that duchess a 'devil', but she would be nothing, but an insect compared to the truly powerful figures on the continent.
"There is some good news however, it looks like the duchess did not push for the right to manage her ward's properties, the king has appointed the minor house of Calestine to act as the guardians of her lands", the man added on. Hopefully this news would mean the plan could be set in motion.
Contrary to his thoughts the archbishop was still not pleased by this news. That woman was cleverer than he thought, by having the royals indirectly in charge of the properties there would be a lot of attention on the land. The people calling her an idiot for not taking charge were simply fools, how could one woman manage two dukedoms at the same time.
"Dismissed", the archbishop was in no mood to continue to keep his mask on and waved his hand to show the man off.
The man bowed slightly and retreated from the room, Belmont turned to the knights and gave them a slight nod. One of the knights followed the man into the passage and soon a scream of pain echoed through the tunnel.
The plan involved several minor kingdoms and would set in motion a war that would cement the Church of Light as the foremost religion on the continent. This minor hiccup had to be dealt with immediately. The archbishop paused in contemplation then laughed out loud as he remembered a small rumour he heard.
"Sent a letter to the grand inquisitor and alert him that the Duchess Elise is harbouring members of the dark races in her dukedom." he ordered the remaining knight. I turned a blind eye because it was not time to deal with you yet but daring interfering with the pope's vision, there would only be one outcome.
Complete annihilation.
In the dark of night while Elise and Ashley slept peacefully, little did they know several hunting squads were set into action.
The next morning Elise woke up to the blinding bright sunlight of the morning, she yawned slightly then paused in amazement. There were no strange dreams, for the first time in several weeks and she felt completely awake and well rested. Elise smiled to herself and glanced down at the little bundle at the side of her, Ashley appeared to have stolen all the blankets for herself in the night and was now wrapped snugly in roll resembling a little kitten.
Elise gently placed her hand on her shoulder and shook her awake. Ashley's eyes opened in a panic as she found herself in an unfamiliar room."Did you have a good night's sleep?", Elise asked the half-awake little girl. Ashley nodded slightly then tried to get up. Unfortunately, being tightly wrapped up in blankets left her unable to move. Her cheeks puffed up in anger and Elise fought the urge to laugh, she removed the blankets and sat Ashley on her lap.
Ashley was still a tad bit nervous but when she saw the violet eyes of her new mom, she forced herself to stay still. Elise began to hum a small tune as she took out a brush and began to brush Ashley's hair. Growing up as a noble, even an abandoned one, the servants would take care of her daily needs albeit reluctantly, but this was the first time she had been attended to with such love and care.
After brushing her hair, Elise helped her into a dress and then changed herself and went downstairs. The dining room of the inn was now full and there was hardly any space to eat, Elise managed to find a spot by the entrance and sat down. However, whispers started to swirl around the room from the adventures seated beside her.
"Did you hear? The Devil Duchess kidnapped the only heir of the Precisily family"
"I heard that monster is in league with the dark races"
"Aye, I feel sorry for the girl to end up in her hands"
Elise felt she made the right choice to have Ashley stay in the room, the whispers and gossips were unpleasant to hear. She ordered two dishes of chicken soup and carried them both carefully back to the room. She knocked on the door carefully then went in, placing one bowl of soup down. Ashley placed a spoonful of soup in her mouth, "Ouch that's hot!" she exclaimed in shock.
Elise placed her hands on her bowl and a small layer of frost appeared on the edges cooling down the soup immediately. Ashley stared starstruck at the magic with an expression of longing. Elise recognised that look, she was also impressed the first time she saw her father light his sword on fire using magic during a duel. "Eat up quickly and we'll head to the village. I want to introduce you to your future knights," Elise said gently.
(Meanwhile the knights at the village)
What was going on?? Their lady was supposed to meet up with them one week ago!
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HopelesslyRomantic
HopelesslyRomantic Thank you so much for the growing number of views my dear readers. I was looking at some of the earlier chapters and I might do some editing to make the story flow a bit better. (First time author so I might make a few mistakes ?)
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