A SCION OF A TRAITOROUS HOUSE

[milkyi 1990]

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

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PETER THE SLOTHFUL,

My silence has gone on for long enough. I fear that if I hold my peace any longer, my own heart may burst from my chest. Not for love for you, but for the void you left within me. There was a time when I was to be your Empress, and I hope that you remember that well, for if you do not, this letter shall remind you of the day that you left me to rot.

I speak of the day that Lucia Annunziata declared herself your rightful betrothed. Not of what happened then, but of what happened next. It was so absurd I could hardly fathom what I had heard, and then every event since has boiled down to one thing. Your failure. Your incompetence to provide me with any meaningful words to satisfy the suffering that such an event wrought me. More than just emotional pain. But a deep wound, thrust into my gut. You cared as little for that as you did my thoughts. But let us not tarry any longer. Behold the true events of the night my life fell apart.

 

It all happened just so:

The Lady Lucia Annunziata stepped to the dais. She spoke those fateful words, denouncing my position as your betrothed, and as they twisted like a knife in my gut. I was in for a cruel surprise as that feeling had yet to truly manifest. To the side, an unsuspecting man. Perhaps an old acquaintance of yours. An admirer. A foe. I do not know what he was to you, all I know is that on this day he chose to commit an act of high treason. In an instant, the potion met your face, and in the next, you were on the ground. I had but a scarce moment to react, my arms outstretched to try and shield you, my one true love, from such a painful fate. Though I was too late, my actions had already set in motion my own downfall. As my eyes were averted, cast towards you in worry and shock, the brigand sent a blade deep into my gut. A cruel parallel to that which plagued my ears just moments before. As I felt the cool steel bite deep into my flesh, the rush of blood and the thundering in my mind sent me streaking into a cold dark slumber.

 

With a shriek, I awoke in a jolt of pain to a random man tending to my wounds in a room, perhaps it was yours, I do not know. You were sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball in your mother’s arms - weeping, like a baby. Your uncle, Ivan, was there as well. From what I recall along with my dear niece Darya’s explanation, I was abandoned in the throne room immediately after Peter was attacked, leaving me completely alone for the fiend to take advantage of my somewhat frailer countenance. If it wasn't for the Grand Margravine of Westfall’s intervention, I would have been crushed by the man and stabbed to death. In the bedroom as I was resting, I asked if the Empress and Ivan could leave you and I be, as I wished to speak to you of what had just occurred at court. You pleaded – begged. You begged and whined for your mother to remain. You were frightened, frightened of me and what I was capable of even though I was practically bedridden after the numerous stab wounds. 

 

As you stood before me, the weakest of men in the whole Capital, I could barely muster the words to question you. Before me was a child in a Prince’s clothing. A mere shadow of his father, and even his mother. I asked you finally, before them all. “What do you think of the girl? I do not wish to stand in anyone’s way if you want her hand instead of mine.” You did not reply. You were so broken upon the turn of events, so shattered by something in the back of your mind, that your own Mother had to pry you from her chest. And as she left us alone to speak, you could utter nothing more than the fragments of excuses left behind by the young errand boy were and still are. I left. With a deep wound deep in my flesh, I pulled myself to my feet and struggled out of that chamber. You did not pursue. You did not ask after me. You let all that had transpired fester.

 

Now I am but a lone, empty woman. My future was stolen from me by a promise unkept. Words whispered into my ears for years on had been reversed in an instant. By you. You see, I am not saddened by my loss of the title of Empress. Power has ever been of little concern to me. I was lucky enough to be born to a well-bred family. To have a decent upbringing and many options for work or marriage. I set all of that aside for you. Because I was given a chance. The chance to marry the person I loved. How could I have foreseen the future? Could I have known that I was no more than a pawn to pass by the wayside after you got tired of playing with me?

 

I loved you. I suppose I’m the fool for believing that you were capable of the same.

 

So hide away in your petty forts. Have your servants write your proclamations while you sit idly by on your throne. Perhaps if you clutch your new wife to your chest you can remember what it is like to be embraced by one who loves you. Alas, I’d imagine you’d much rather use her as a stand-in for the Lady Empress, sobbing quietly into her chest as she explains to your men why these things are simply beyond you.

 

If it is not the King’s men who slaughter you first, count on it being me.

 

SIGNED,

A betrayed lover, Ioanna Elisheva of Susa

[Franczhiz 4437]

"She did na' react the same when wee Freddie took ta' throne from 'er." The teenage William Henry MacPherson thus shrugged oncemore.

[MRCHENN 4741]

"Little Peter won't be able to cry for his mommy when the forces of the Kingdom take his head." Conrad declares.

[trinn 5146]

"This is actually quite tragic!" Melia uttered fervently, walking around in Du Loc with her friends. "I hope for her  happiness in the future ahead."

[amyselia 2962]

9 minutes ago, sashimichopped said:

"She did na' react the same when wee Freddie took ta' throne from 'er." The teenage William Henry MacPherson thus shrugged oncemore.

Claude stood beside Frederick as he printed the published papers on Ioanna's behalf, for the King had offered the Basridi refuge from the destitution that had once been her lover's paradise.

She pressed her palm over Ioanna's shoulder, watching with a ready smile before she began to speak, "To scorn a woman is to condemn yourself to a slow and painful destruction. When will men learn this?"

@Lionhz