The Peninsula

The Fiction and Poetry Archive of Liana Mir and scribblemyname

A Perfectly Good Monarch (Remix)

Sep
15

Mendanbar was a perfect fine King of the Enchanted Forest, capable and magical in all the right ways, and really, the Forest, the sword, and the magic all had no problem guiding most issues to his castle steps to be handled.

But Mendanbar also had excellent taste in choosing his Queen.

It really wasn’t the Forest’s fault that she had the good favor of the dragons, the good sense of the nonmagical, and warm relationships with everyone else that could solve any problems she couldn’t.

Mendanbar liked to hide himself away sometimes, but Cimorene was delightfully available on her walk, and only frowned with a puzzled expression as she met lost princesses, a knight on a quest to rescue a princess and another on a quest to collect some magical cure, a few excited bunny rabbits who wanted an arbitrator between them and an overprotective gardener, and a flying spatula that really oughtn’t to be looking glumly at her with its non-face as if she could solve whatever ailed it.

Finally, they reached the end of Cimorene’s journey—home again, and she quietly emoted all that puzzlement and exasperation at Mendanbar. “Mendanbar, I don’t mean to interrupt, but the forest does know I’m only a member of the royal family by marriage, and therefore unable to handle big problems by waving my hands and wishing very hard, right?”

Of course, it did. But there were large problems and small in the Enchanted Forest, and no need to waste a perfectly good monarch.

Chapter 1: Beloved of the Gods

Jun
03
This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

The blood of priests and oracles ran thick in the royal family. Eleya had wakened from night sweats and visions when she was sixteen seasons old and been delivered to the convent furthest from the Royal City at the Heart of All Things. There she was devoted to the gods, and what has been devoted to the gods should not be taken back again.

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Chapter 2: City at the Heart of All Things

Jun
03
This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

There was always the element of balancing political relationships and the intricately woven web of loyalties, rebellions, even small defiances, and having the right lineage in the first place when it came time to evaluate the four royal spouses a new monarch must take.

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Chapter 3: Patterns in the Winds

Jun
03
This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

The Northern Prince was about what they’d expected, slight of build and almost delicate in appearance, with fair skin like morning clouds and blue eyes like chinks of sky, narrowed at them in wary distrust. That delicate look, those airy features had always been deceptive, and even the most coddled royalty of the first of the Four Lands had an uncanny ability to survive.

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Chapter 4: Consummation of the First Land

Jun
03
This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

The Queen’s bedchamber was opened and aired through the day as the servants cleansed it from top to bottom. The Queen herself was not allowed within during the process. Eleya tried to occupy herself by moving upward through the castle’s once familiar halls towards a destination she could not remember.

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Chapter 5: The Second and Third Lands

Jun
03
This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

Tanata rose early most mornings, except on the rare annual holidays he’d always been granted leave for. He’d been trained in the Guard since he was a young boy, newly arrived from the mountains. One didn’t laze around in bed or in the courtyard. Too young to fight, there were errands to run, messages to carry, armor and weapons to polish and care for. Too old to scramble about, there was training and light duty shifts until the day there was the strength to stand in the Guard.

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Chapter 6: Consummation of the Fourth Land

Jun
03
This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series Four Lands, One Heart

Sahasarel had wondered at the knowing words and looks Nirune used when watching the previous consummations, and he finally asked directly. “Did you sleep with others too before the marriage?”

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