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It didn’t have to go this far. It never should have gone this far.
The former Queen of Hilton was declared deceased to the entire nation. Reports claim that she succumbed to isolation and had taken her own life through the witch's execution. Her body drifting ever so slightly, swaying side to side in the rotting air of her prison cell of a bedroom when she was found.
The beloved dowager queen Krista, a woman cherished by the people of her country, was now a disgrace who had been sentenced to her new title of a criminal via the words of her own brother-in-law and sealed away with servants whose loyalty lied with the new Queen Navier. A once adored woman by all now mysteriously found lifeless and ready to be cremated, her ashes would be scattered wherever as long as it was far away from the grounds of the palace of Lazlo and any property owned by house Zemensia.
A tragic suicide out of desperation to escape the consequences of her crimes, for trying and failing to steal the crown away from Navier, a responsible queen turned desperate and pathetic false accuser.
But Erlene knew better than that.
Compshire wasn’t always a secluded land for dowager queens, it was once a prison for nefarious nobility. A prison that utilized the wild imaginations of those locked inside as punishment, anything that could be used as a weapon was strictly forbidden and the estate itself only had one story, no stairs and no high roof tops. There were no short cuts to escape justice in Compshire, and something as glaringly obvious as a red rope was still seemingly left behind.
The Grand Duke of Zemensia grieved as one would expect out of a father who lost his daughter whom he had raised ever since she was born into this world. The old man who once terrified his grandchildren with his strict discipline could not bear to be away from them, embracing them with the most love he had given them in years, all while cursing the names of two people, two people who not only written down Kristas demise, but deliberately allowed for her death to occur.
All out of paranoia for the potential of house Zemensia's rage.
Erlene knew, she knew her brother better than anyone. It was never a matter of “if”. It was always a matter of “When”. When would Heinrey take his first steps descending down into the depths, abandoning every moral he was taught and every promise he ever made.
He may have claimed to the world that Krista took her own life, but she knew otherwise.
McKenna’s pleas for her to reconsider and take a deep breath were all in vain, the fury of a sister could no longer be contained. The rococo dressed woman marched down the corridor with powerful strides and broke down the doors of the throne room where her brother and sister-in-law had been just finishing up the preparations of where Krista’s assets would go.
The ginormous doors swung open, and the king and queen, along with the council of nobility that had been summoned for assistance, diverted their attention to the scene in front of their eyes of a princess pointing an accusable finger at her younger brother while McKenna desperately attempted to hold her back.
‘Your highness! Please!-”
“There couldn’t have been rope!” Erlene screamed. “There couldn’t have been! It isn’t possible!”
“Your disrupting his majesty quite impudently-”
“Enough! I will not have any more of his defenses! Heinrey has turned on his own kind! Her majesty, Queen Krista, has been stolen away from us via the hand of Heinrey Lazlo!”
All of the council of noblemen stared at the enraged princess with bewilderment, before a combination of annoyed sighs with a sprinkle of quiet chuckling. The Princess was always known for her hysterics, it must be one those days again.
Navier almost thought about reaching out for her sister-in-law, Erlene must have been grieving and for all she knew, she could have just now entered the second stage of anger, she knew how close Krista had been in Erlene’s heart and stood by her defense until Heinrey warned her of the consequences to trying to help a lion who had betrayed its pride. Though the wife and sister-in-law may have not gotten along, Navier couldn’t see herself as the one who would abandon a woman at her lowest but the feeling of Heinrey’s hand on her shoulder said otherwise, he shook his head solemnly.
“You have been through enough, my queen, this is all merely another outburst that will soon pass.” He assured her.
“But will this pass as easily as the other outbursts did?” Navier thought to herself. Regardless, she nodded and directed the council out of the throne room to reconvene at a later time. If Heinrey wishes to face his own battles, then she will allow him to do so. Erlene was never known for making anything easy anyway, so what could she ever say to someone who disliked her so badly?
Once everyone had departed with the exception of Heinrey, Erlene, and McKenna, the king glared at his sister, as if to chastise her for acting so foolish at her age.
“What have you done, Heinrey?” She demanded through grinding teeth.
“You’re out of your head again-”
“I SAID! What.have.you.done, Heinrey!?” Erlene demanded again.
It was unlike any rage Erlene had expressed before, the anger was ordinary, but there was never this much fear at the same time, fear that she actively ignored as she took five steps closer to Heinrey. Mckenna was ready to hold her back again but Heinrey raised his hand against it, he wanted to see just how far the mad woman would go.
“There is no rope in Compshire.” She muttered.
“Compshire is still a grand estate, rope is bound to be found at some point.” Heinrey argued.
“You promised him… You promised Wharton you would always take care of Queen Krista!” She cried.
That exact phrasing… “Queen Krista.” She hardly would address Navier at all just to avoid referring to her as “your majesty” or “Queen Navier” Heinrey held back his contempt for now, he’d rather not subject anything toward his own sister, but her disrespect was getting all too ridiculous for someone of her standing.
“... Dowager Queen Krista can’t possibly be the Queen, your highness, how could a dead woman even hold any right she may have had?”
“She holds all rights over the land she ruled alongside her husband when she was murdered!”
Heinrey mustered up a gasp in astonishment. “Is this one the stages of the grieving process!? What on earth are you even saying!?”
“MURDERED! I said murdered! You brought the rope! You brought your men! And you stole everything from her, right to her last breath on the hangman's noose! Have you any idea what you have just done!? Krista isn’t just dead, Hilton itself will be torn apart! You betrayed us all when you declared war on house Zemensia with Krista’s very own carcass!”
Tears dripped down Erlene's face as she repeatedly poked Heinrey’s chest with every accusation, each one opening up more doors within Heinrey’s mind of every worst case scenario that could become a reality, but he slammed all those doors shut save for one, a door where everything would be okay, and when he opened that door, it slammed against the wall much like his hand did against Erlene’s face, sending her spiraling to the ground.
McKenna winced at the sight, whenever he attempted to take the next step for de-escalation, Heinrey held up his hand again, now with an intense glare that ordered him to stand down. All the blue haired nobleman could do was watch as his family slowly unraveled like yarn.
Erlene didn’t howl or scream when she was struck down, much to the surprise of her brother and cousin, she lay there silently, holding her burning face before steadily lifting herself back up. The rage she had felt now transferred from her voice to her eyes.
“What is any of this for anymore?” She asked. “What do you gain from tearing everything apart?”
“I will gain my queen's happiness.” Heinrey brushed off. “And if that means having to wrangle you when you are threatening her, then I will do what any husband should do.”
“I don’t believe that to be the case.”
Heinrey’s anger grew, more than it used to when Erlene scolded him. It wasn’t the same as it was when Erlene barked and barked like a mutt, she meant every word she said, words that were filled with pure hatred for him.
“You only love her because she always finds it in her heart to forgive you and your sins.” Erlene mocked.
“That- What are you even-”
“I can’t say I blame Navier, if I had met a man who promised to destroy his country in my name with his greed as a weapon, then why should I be mad when that tyranny is what will protect me from criticism.”
“You don’t know what you speak of!” Heinrey yelled. Erlene’s taunts didn’t cease; she reveled in her turn of the power. The further Heinrey backed away from her and towards the throne, the more giddy she became once she realized she was finally reaching him in some way.
“But that will not last the way you think it will, HEINREY!” Erlene emphasized. “Sooner or later, you’ll lose that breathing excuse once she becomes frightened by you.”
“That's enough, Erlene! Enough I say!”
“How can she know, Heinrey!? How could she know that you won’t have her without her head once she knows that nobles aren’t immune to your impulses? Would you be heartbroken? Or just disappointed that you’ll have to find ANOTHER excuse to marry once she opposes you! But it won’t matter! Not anymore after what you had done!”
Heinrey denied her truth further, shaking his head while clenching his fists. There were no chances to defend himself, no arguments he could make without her interrupting him, not even a physical slap put her in her place.
“I am warning you, Erlene, Cease this-”
The princess closed on the king, prepared to verbally cut him from head to toe. Something grand had to be done to shut her up, no deep cutting insult would do, a severe beating would yield no results, Heinrey’s fingers wrapped around the scepter around his waist that he had once cherished, a former sign that his sister had at long last accepted his marriage to Navier, a wedding gift that he promised to cherish as what was supposed to be the turning point in the siblings relationship.
So much for any and all hope. The deeper Erlene’s words cut, the more Heinrey began to consider it.
McKenna couldn’t stand to watch any longer the moment he noticed Heinrey’s face begin to express a familiar rage, unlike any form Erlene could have mustered up. He wasn’t just baring his fangs, it was worse, far worse. A situation so terrible that he disobeyed Heinrey’s order and made an order of his own to himself.
“Your highness! Get away from his majesty, NOW!”
“No warning is going to keep a revolution from knocking down our doors!” Erlene cried “Whenever it’s the Fahlgren empire, or the house of Zemensia and its allies, the house of Lazlo will end with you! You and your childish tantrums that will doom not just you, I, and Royce, but as well as your excuse, Navier! You hear me, Heinrey!? Navier will DIE because of YOU! House Lazlo will FALL because of YOU!! Hilton will COLLAPSE because of YOU!!!
“I SAID SHUT UP!!!”
* CLANG*
*
*
*
“Your highness!!!”
“What happened!? Where’s the physician!?”
“She’s bleeding!”
“Her highness is in critical condition!”
“Queen Navier! Don’t Look!”
“Your majesty! What happened to the princess!?”
He had succeeded in silencing her.
No more, no more insults, no more mocking, no more reality.
...
No more reality….
There should be no more reality.
So why is she still lying there? She looks so real… the blonde wig she held in such high regard rolled away from her the moment it happened, but she didn’t try to put it back on, she just lay there, mumbling incoherently despite her natural red hair being put on display. She’s even trying to cover up the wound as it ran down her head and onto the floor.
The scepter fell to the ground with a “ Thunk” The beautiful blue sapphire of Hilton had turned into a ruby.
“Your majesty!” McKenna yelled. “Why!? What have you- why would you… Your majesty-”
No one else was making any sense. He wouldn’t hear them, not McKenna, or the council, or even Navier, but he heard Erlene, no matter how much he tried to shut her voice down yet again.
“He... Hein... Rey...”
Why was he crying? She was the one who wouldn’t stop? She’ll be fine anyway… She’s just being dramatic again. All he has to do is help her up and she’ll be her stubborn old self in no time.
He lifted her up on his shoulders and held her up nice and tall, but she wouldn’t stay on her feet, they kept giving in on themselves, causing her to drop into her brother's arms.
“You’re going too far, now… Come on, just stand up, try to talk maybe? Please…”
“Wha... Hein... You... Did...”
The bleeding dripped like a leaky ceiling that had been formed in her head onto his hand, staining it with the familiar color of the newly painted ruby in the scepter. The skin and skull were broken open, revealing a piece of the injured brain within.
“Perhaps you really are injured... But it will be fine, the physician will repair that gash and you’ll be just as you were before, maybe even better.”
The jumble of words that came out her mouth couldn’t be deciphered anymore; her body occasionally twitched to the commotion all around them. No one was allowed to get anywhere near the two siblings, any who tried would be shooed away by Heinrey.
“Stop it, Erlene... Stop it! Please! It was merely a poor act of judgement! Stop acting so stubborn and speak to me, PLEASE!!”
Heinrey cradled his older sister in his arms, sobbing and pleading with her for minutes on end to awaken even after her body stopped twitching.
*
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*
Erlene Therese Lazlo was declared dead at the age of twenty-seven to an already grieving nation. Nothing could be done, the damage was beyond the repair of any healing mage.
No healing mage could repair the damage done to the king's relationships. They both saw everything. Navier may have been ushered away before she could see for herself but the news naturally reached her ears. Reportedly, the princess was struck down after an altercation between her and the king occurred over an accusation of murder.
An accusation Navier would never dream of believing until she learned why Erlene was dead.
And Royce was unfortunate enough to bear witness to the horror. His older brother cradling their bleeding older sister in his arms, his brother being ripped away from the body by McKenna so the physicians could examine the damage, and the damage itself laid waste to his sister's head.
Navier never thought before her relationship with her brother-in-law would ever be as close as it had to be now. The young man’s family may never be the way it was before. They said nothing to each other as Royce was all too consumed with an endless barrage of feelings while he loudly cried into Navier’s shoulder. They had an understanding.
They were the only two who knew Heinrey so well yet they also did not. Heinrey was known for being unpredictable after all.
But when was he ever this unpredictable?