Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 314: Violet: A Force of Nature

23 July, 1353. Magdaline Castle, Islia.

The messenger ran into the crowded banquet hall, weaving though dancing, smiling courtiers in his mud splattered clothes. When he reached King Edward at the high table, he flung himself to the floor, panting for breath.

"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, for disturbing your dinner." the man wheezed anxiously. "I was asked to deliver this message with the most urgent haste, from our delegation of lords in the north."

The king took the parchment in the messenger’s hand with a smile, clearly expecting news from his brother. His smile was replaced by a confused frown when he turned the parchment open and saw the wax seal holding it closed.

"Whose seal is that?" Violet heard the queen ask.

"Lord Enseley’s." King Edward replied, opening the message and starting to read.

Violet saw the colour drain from his face as he seemed to read the letter over and over. She saw one of his hands clutch his tunic, right over his heart. The king’s eyes, usually so narrow and wily, were now wide with shock. All of a sudden, he stood up so quickly that his gilded chair crashed backwards onto the floor.

"Edward!" Queen Celia gasped as she looked up at him.

The king bolted from the hall, almost running. The musicians abruptly stopped playing and the dancers went still. A tense silence filled the room as no one dared move.

Violet looked her husband, who looked lost. He in turn looked at his mother.

The queen stood from her chair and hurried after the king. Leo stood up to follow as well.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Violet asked.

He shook his head. "Something serious must’ve happened. Better that I ask alone."

She nodded. Leo didn’t have to say it out loud but she knew the king and queen wouldn’t appreciate their disliked daughter following them, especially if they were dealing with worrying news. "Let me know what you find out."

Leo nodded and strode out of the banquet hall.

The dancing and merriment were well and truly over. Instead, the courtiers looked at the high table in confusion. It would’ve been a strange sight to not see their king and queen sitting there, to see only their three youngest sons and two daughters-in-marriage.

Violet stood up as well, deciding to go back to her apartments. No point waiting for news in front of the court.

She let her thoughts wander as she walked, trying to think of what could’ve made the king looked so stunned. Perhaps Prince Johan had failed to push for a proper peace accord and now the King of Moraigth was now threatening war.

Yes, that had to be it.

If that were true, Violet wouldn’t be sorry. War was unfortunate of course, but the thought of the perfect Johan failing at something was a satisfying thought. Maybe war had already been declared and the king was so furious that he might banish his brother himself.

Violet stopped in the nursery on her way back to her rooms. Seeing the three little sleeping faces warmed her heart. She pressed a kiss to each child’s cheek and quietly slipped out of the room.

Back in her own apartments, she ordered her maids to quickly undress her and help her get ready for bed. She was determined to wait up for Leo and find out what was happening.

Please don’t let tonight be one of the nights when he stays out late whoring, she prayed silently. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

- - -

Leo was late returning to their rooms, but she could tell right away that he hadn’t been with other women. His face was stern, though not overly upset.

"What the hell is it, husband?"

"Johan is dead." he blurted out.

"What?" Violet threw back the blankets and rose from their bed. "That can’t be. How?"

"It is." Leo’s voice was soft, sounding as stunned as she felt. "He caught some kind of wasting fever and died two days ago. His body is on its way home, along with all the other men."

"I...I just can’t believe it..." Violet was dumbstruck. The mighty, powerful prince who’d seemed a force of nature in his own right, was dead? "Men like him don’t just die..."

"That’s exactly what Father said." Leo’s words were drenched in suspicion. "It seems very strange that Johan fell ill the day after leaving Port Canfirth and that he was the only one affected. Very strange and also convenient for the Moraigthians, don’t you think?"

Violet’s jaw dropped open. "Are you saying he was murdered? That the Moraigthians had him killed?"

"I don’t know." he admitted. "Father is completely distraught, I don’t know if he truly believes that or if he’s just rambling."

Violet leaned against the bedpost. The king would be devastated, but would anyone else? "How did your mother take the news?"

"Shocked of course, but stoic. Mother is a strong woman."

More like she’s not grieving the loss of a man she never much cared for, Violet sneered quietly. Out loud, she asked, "What happens now?"

"A grand funeral is to be arranged, I suppose. It’ll probably be the grandest funeral in two generations. The delegation shouldn’t be too far away from court now." Leo shrugged. "And Father will announce royal mourning for the entire court. I hope you have plenty of black and dark blue gowns because I suspect you’ll be wearing them for quite a while."

Violet almost laughed out loud. She could’ve put put to good use all the plain, dark dresses her mother had once sent her to court with, if she hadn’t discarded the hateful things as soon as she was married.

"I’ll have all my time consumed with planning this funeral." Leo sulked.

"Yes, you’ll be helping your father as his trusted right hand now." she said softly.

Her husband jerked upon hearing her words, the stared at her. She stared back and didn’t miss the gleam of understanding in his eye, or his slight nod.

It had taken over four years of marriage, but there was finally a measure of respect in his gaze.

- - -

The Islian delegation arrived at the castle, the following day and dressed in black. The coffin on the back of the wagon tethered to a stallion was also draped in black cloth. Violet contrasted the grim faces and swathes of black fabric, to the high spirits of the group when they’d originally set off from Magdaline.

The lords that had escorted Prince Johan on his final journey now dropped to one knee and bowed their heads to their king.

The king, dressed entirely in black and with a clenched jaw, received their greetings silently.

A smaller figure was suddenly revealed when several taller lords kneeled. A golden haired youth, dressed in black and with a vacant expression.

Queen Celia burst into tears as soon as she saw Prince William and rushed to embrace him. The boy stood, stiff and quiet, as the queen folded him into her arms. His face remained expressionless.

Violet was reminded of the way her own mother had fussed and embraced her brother. As Abel grew older, he’d looked more and more embarrassed at his mother’s fussing. He certainly hadn’t liked standing in her embrace for long periods.

But now, William didn’t even look embarrassed as he just stood there. He looked like...nothing.

Violet said as much to Leo later on, as they both walked to the nursery to see their children before getting dressed for dinner.

"Poor lad has nothing to mourn for, does he? He had no father when Johan was alive, so nothing has really changed now that he’s dead." was Leo’s blunt assessment. "If I were him, I wouldn’t feel a thing either."

"Why did Johan hate his son so much?" As a mother, she couldn’t understand how someone could reject their own child. Then again, hadn’t her own mother done the same thing to her?

"Some men aren’t fit to be fathers, I guess." Leo swung the nursery door open and roared like a bear in his usual way of greeting the children. The little ones loved it of course, giggling and running to their father as fast as they could.

Violet laughed as well. She was grateful that for all his flaws, Leo cared about their children. She wished she could hide away in the nursery and not join the court for what was going to be a very somber dinner. There would be no dancing, no music, no raucous drinking. It would be nothing but dark garbed courtiers eating in silence.

It would be that way for three months, she thought in despair. That’s how long King Edward had announced royal mourning would last, an unprecedented amount. Even the previous king had only been officially mourned for a month.

"Come now, wife." Leo eventually grumbled as he lifted the children off his lap. He seemed equally unhappy to leave the nursery. "We must get ourselves dressed for dinner now."