A New Era: Kalparainia Chronicles Book One

Chapter Three

The Raven's Nest Inn took us a four day trip to make. The inn was on Kyrain's side of the Heartstone-Kyrain border. During that time I hadn't really seen Xander-he was too busy making sure everything was moving along smoothly. I didn't realize that there was a huge difference between the way the King of Heartstone ran things and the way the King of Kyrain ran things. My father would have left everything to his commander, but Xander was ensuring that everything went smoothly himself.

One of the men stopped beside me and bowed, "Your Grace. A messenger came with a letter from Heartstone. King Xander directed me to give you the message instead."

"What is it?" I asked as Jillian took the letter from the man. "It's from your father. He's sending your mother to Kyrain for her safety. War has started between Heartstone and Dragoon. She's two days behind us."

"We're not waiting for our mother," Celeste shook her head as she joined us. Celeste glared at Jillian, "and you may go ahead and tell her I was the one who said that."

Jillian shook her head, her hazel eyes went to the ground, "I know the love my Queen carries for her sister, and I would never betray that."

"Did I miss something?" Celeste frowned at me.

"Quite a bit, actually," I looked over at Xander, who was speaking to someone from the inn.

"I don't think your husband would stop anyways," Markus chuckled as he stretched. "Not when we have a war we need to get into."

I cringed. I knew I was going to have to get used to the thought of war. There was no knowing when the war was going to actually end now...not when it had just started. This was actually the first time in days that I had seen Xander, but he still seemed so far away. I wanted to speak to him about what had been on my mind for days. I wasn't sure how things went in Kyrain, but I knew that I didn't want to be on the sidelines looking pretty like my mother did. I just...I needed to have the opportunity to say it to him.

"It gets a lot easier," Celeste reassured me gently.

"What does?" I frowned at her.

"Marriage," Celeste watched her own husband. "Being used to him being just out of reach most of the time. Keep in mind, it's our job to be the number one support of our husbands."

"How did you end up falling in love with Markus so quickly?" I asked.

"We had time together..." Celeste's voice trailed off as she seemed to realize that both of our husbands were going to war.

I wasn't going to have the luxury of time. I had maybe eight or nine more days of traveling to the castle of Kyrain, and I already knew that I probably wasn't going to get that much time with him. With Celeste and Markus there at the inn... I looked at the ground as Celeste led me closer to the inn, and Xander was already moving farther away again. I'm not going to be able to have my talk with him...

I shook away my thoughts and looked at my sister, "What do you know about the Kingdom of Green River?"

"Not much," Celeste sighed. "Only that Green River was the smallest of the kingdoms in Kalparainia, they got power-hungry, and they started war with Heartstone."

"Lies," Jillian hissed behind us.

"You know differently?" Celeste whirled on the handmaiden. "Tell me, what part was the lie?"

"All of it," Jillian stated. "It was Heartstone that was the smallest kingdom in Kalparainia. It was Heartstone that became power-hungry...the people of Green River were peaceful. They had abolished their army, and Heartstone was the one to attack Green River. What is now called 'Heartstone Castle' was once the Castle of Green River."

"I remember that," Xander said from behind me as he joined us with Markus at his side. "I was young, but I remember hearing about Dean Shade burning down the crops and homes of the people as he made his way to the castle with his family traveling behind him. My mother cried when she heard of the deaths of the Green River royal family."

"What?" Celeste frowned.

"I remember that as well," Markus confirmed. "Many of my people went hungry when trade with Green River suddenly stopped due to the invasion. My father had to think of new ways to feed the people."

"Queen Charlotte took me from my family to ensure that they didn't stage a rebellion. Many didn't even try to make a move for the sake of the life of the Princess," Jillian's knuckles started turning white. "My mother was thrown out of her job, my father was forced to join the Heartstone army, and there were many other people who went through far worse than my family."

I could feel my sister tense up. I had no idea any of this had gone on, but...technically, this was the first time I'd been outside of Heartstone Castle. I was never given the chance to go out like Byron or Celeste had. Mother had controlled literally every aspect of my life, and now I was beginning to wonder what kind of people my parents really were. I had no idea that Jillian had held such contempt for my mother.

"Celeste..." I squeezed my sister's arm.

She shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it. If you'll excuse me..."

She rushed into the inn without me. Without a word, Markus followed after her. Jillian bowed her head quickly, "I apologize my Queen. Thinking about what happened to my people... it angers me."

"Anyone would be angered," Xander nodded his approval. "If there's anything we can do for you or your family. You let us know. Honesty is rewarded in Kyrain."

"I...I don't know what to say," Jillian bowed deeper.

"Let Alyse know, and we'll go from there," Xander led me into the inn. He gave me an apologetic glance as Markus waved him over. "I'll try to make it to you tonight. If I don't...then we'll figure something out later."

---------------

There was still sleep in my eyes as Jillian helped me into the carriage the next day, and Celeste decided that she was going to join me. I had waited up a better part of the night-hoping to have a word with Xander about how things worked in Kyrain. I had no idea how to act as a Queen... the only thing I had a reference for that was my mother. I didn't know if I was just a trophy wife for him, or if I was going to be able to help him rule. I could already tell that Celeste was pretty much a trophy-wife, but that didn't seem to bother my sister at all.

"Markus's younger sister, Lydia will be joining us in Kyrain within the month," Celeste told me, practically refusing to look at Jillian. "Mother should be in Kyrain two days after us as most, and then we can clear these awful rumors up."

Jillian opened her mouth to say something, but I shook my head. After speaking to her alone last night, I had discovered that her parents had died. Her father got taken while protecting my father during a hunt, and her mother was taken by a fever a year later. The only family she had left was her slightly older brother who was actually part of my mother's escort. I already knew that Mother wasn't going to be happy when I did what I had promised Jillian, but it wasn't as though Mother was concerned with my happiness.

"What if she confirms them?" I asked my sister.

Celeste shook her head, "Mother would never try to hide something like that."

"What if she did?" I pressed.

"Look, I understand that your relationship with Mother has been strained over the years, but that doesn't mean that she'd support the s*******r of innocent people," Celeste snapped at me. "She would have included all of that in my lessons."

"Celeste, I don't have a relationship with Mother. She's never been able to stand the sight of me," I reminded my older sister. "Most of my life I've actually felt that she hated me."

Celeste shook her head again, "She wasn't expecting to have another child, Alyse. She had only wanted two."

"Yet, she had three," I stated coldly. "Not once did she say that she was proud of me or anything along those lines. The only times she truly spoke to me was to ensure that I was doing what she wanted me to. I wasn't allowed to do anything. You were my only friend until you got married."

Celeste clamped her mouth shut as she stared at me in shock. I'd never said anything against our mother before. I'd never questioned the way things were before. The only times I was treated like I actually mattered was when Damien Rysse asked me to dance at Celeste's wedding, and the few times I've interacted with my own husband. Not once had anyone cared about my feelings until Xander stood up for me yesterday. I had decided last night that I wasn't going to allow anyone to control my life any longer. If Xander wanted a trophy-wife, then he'd need to find himself a new wife.

When I had told Jillian this, the handmaiden looked proud of me. It was the first time I had anyone in my life look at me in such a way. If I had been told yesterday morning that I would start counting on Jillian so quickly...I would have thought they had gone mad. The truth was-aside from Celeste-Jillian was my first friend...or at least that was how I felt. A small nagging part of me was claiming that she was playing me the way Mother wanted her to. She was getting me to trust her advice so I would bend easier to my mother's instructions. I kept praying and praying that that wasn't the case.

"Father-" Celeste started.

"Father encouraged the treatment," I cut Celeste off. "He stated many times that it would build character for me, and that one day I would understand. He could have encouraged me, or any number of other things, but he seemed just as determined as Mother to keep me away from everyone. No one actually cared about me except for you."

"That's how you feel about our family?" Celeste frowned.

"Xander and you are my only family now," I could even hear the coldness in my voice. "If you think little of me for my beliefs, then-"

"I love you no matter what," Celeste shook her head. "I just...I was so swept up in my own little world, I didn't realize this was how you felt. I had thought that you were given some of the same treatment as we were."

"Queen Alyse would get locked in her room for even asking to go see the land of Heartstone," Jillian voiced for me.

"I-I didn't realize. I'm sorry," Celeste sighed.

--------------

The remaining days of the trip went by in an awkward silence. Celeste still rode with me in my carriage, but there were two days where I wanted to tell her to just ride in her own. I wasn't so cruel as to act like my mother though. I knew that if she were with us, she would have had me ride separately from her and Celeste, and if she did want to ride in the same carriage-it would have been to snap at me and tell me what I was doing wrong already. I couldn't say how happy I was when we finally stopped in front of the intimidating castle...the capital of Kyrain.

As I got out of the carriage, one of Xander's men helped me out happily, and I was surprised to see the entire castle staff there, bowing before me. I looked over at Xander, who stepped beside me and held out his arm.

"I sent word ahead. Your coronation as Queen of Kyrain is happening right now," Xander stated. "When it finishes, I have to leave, but when I get back-we'll sit down and have a long talk."

I nodded. Should I be surprised that being officially introduced to Kyrain's people as the Queen was being rushed as well? I had a feeling that every aspect of my life was being rushed. It wasn't as though Xander could control the fact that his land was being attacked by the Dragoonian army already, or that he could control that he needed to send men to my father to help protect Heartstone. I just-I wanted at least one part of my new life to take its time, and not the carriage ride or the war.

Once Xander had me at the main doors of the Castle of Kyrain, his voice rang out loud and clear, "Good people of Kyrain. I do apologize for not doing this properly, but as you know, we're at war. Therefore, I am introducing your Queen, Alyse Shade, to you here. Upon my return, we will have a Welcoming Feast to properly welcome Queen Alyse to her new home."

To my surprise, the people accepted Xander's words so easily. They cheered for a moment, before a good number of the men started to hug and kiss their families good-bye. The people had already known how this was going to happen, while I had no idea. Another thing that I've been left out of, I thought bitterly. I shook the thought out of my head mentally.

Xander turned to me and placed his hand on my cheek gently, "We'll try to get some time alone when I get back. Williem will help you as much as he can. He'll get you used to life here until I return home."

"I understand," I forced myself to nod.

Before I knew it-Xander, Markus, and their men were already heading out of the huge castle gates. I bit my bottom lip and looked up at the intimidating castle. I'd never seen anything like it before...it was almost as though it had been built into a mountain. The walls were tall and proud-it was as though they could hold anything back from attacking. With the afternoon rays of sun beating down onto the place, it nearly looked as though the stones were sparkling.

An older man around my father's age stepped beside me and bowed deeply while I was lost in awe of the castle, "My Queen, I'm Williem, the Queen's Stewart of Kyrain. I apologize for things being rushed, but please know that King Xander's mother went through the same thing when she became Queen of Kyrain. For all we know, that's tradition now."

"Thank you for trying to cheer my up," I forced a smile at him.

"Its just facts that I'm stating, my Queen," Williem smiled. "I'm here to make adjusting easier for you, and help you understand some things about Kyrain. It's my job to ensure you're comfortable and understand what's going on in the Kingdom. We can worry about that later, is there anything I can do for you now? Would you like to rest or meet your Royal Guards?"

"My mother will be arriving here within the next day or two," I wringed my hands together out of habit. "Can you get a room ready for her?"

"Of course, my Queen," Williem clapped his hands together and people started getting busy.

"Wait, Alyse gets her own Royal Guards?" Celeste frowned.

"Yes, Queen Celeste," Williem bowed. "After the late King of Kyrain, Jarred, watched his father beat his mother nearly every night...and eventually killed the poor woman-Jarred created a separate Guard just for the Queen of Kyrain, and gave her a separate Stewart. It's our duty to be loyal to the Queen-even before the King."

"So you're saying that Xander won't have any control over my sister's Royal Guards or you?" Celeste looked even more confused.

"Our loyalty is to our Queen alone," Williem stated firmly. "If the King were to raise a hand against the Queen-it would be their duty to protect her, even at the risk of the King's life."

"But you all report to the King?" Celeste pressed.

"No, as I have been saying-we serve the Queen not the King," Williem's voice held a hint of aggravation. "We do not answer to the King, we do not take orders from the King. We are for the Queen, and only the Queen."

I was surprised-this wasn't something that I expected. I had thought that every kingdom was ruled nearly the same, but this was already a huge difference. My mother's guards reported to my father...Celeste's guards reported to Markus, but what Williem was telling me was that Xander had no control over the Royal Guards for me...or over himself. They would only take orders from me... I fidgeted with my hands as Celeste, Jillian, and I followed behind Williem. This was a lot to take in already. I had realized that Celeste didn't even let me answer Williem's question about getting some rest, but there was no harm in meeting my Royal Guard first. Right?

When we got into the throne room, eight heavily armored men, clad in black steel armor-knelt and bowed their heads the instant their eyes landed on me behind Williem. I couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated at the sight of the men. How do I know that I can even trust these men? What if all it takes is a word from Mother, and they turn on me?

I bit my bottom lip as Williem turned towards me, "My Queen, my I introduce your Royal Guard. If you want to ever add someone or remove someone from the Guard-let me know and I will handle it immediately."

One by one he introduced the eight men-Sirs Jamison, Nikolas, Theodor, Maurice, Oliver, Hayden, Erik, and Arthur. They each stood, removed their helmet, and bowed deeply as Williem said their names. I guess Williem had been waiting since Xander's mother had died for a new Queen...last month he'd gone ahead and gathered the best men he could find to become part of the Queen's Royal Guard. That was what I gathered from his ramblings. There's no way I'm going to get used to this...