The Festival of Renewal Pt. 2

The mass dissolves in shouts of praises. Cynane waves her hands and smiles sweetly to the roaring audience. She cannot remember the last time she has felt this happy in her life.

"Thank you", she mouths to the crowd and bows one last time. She turns around and finds her family at the furthest back of the stage, all looking at her with great joy and approval. She approaches them and sits beside her mother.

The queen dowager reaches out her hand to Cynane without removing her gaze at the crowd. Between Cynane and her brother, Filip is the one who closely resembles their mother personality-wise. They always have that calm and collected quality about them which Cynane always associates to being clever.

"Smart people do not let themselves get carried away by their emotions. They do not get angry easily, and almost nothing really surprises them", Cynane would always say when she was younger, every time she would try to explain to people how wise her brother was.

In fact, Cynane has rarely seen her brother, nor her mother get provoked or perplexed. On the other hand, Cynane was always the emotional one. She would often go hysterical, especially on things that made her mad, which mostly are people and things that she perceived as "bad". She is impulsive in nature and would jump at anyone whom she found to be a person who is not good, except for her father.

Cynane feared the late king Phirrus. He was a strict one and would get mad even over simple things. Growing up, she struggled to form an emotional connection or bond with her father. No matter what she did, it seemed like it was never enough. He was very difficult to please - a man with very high standard. And even though Cynane genuinely loved him, she felt so distant to him. It was as if no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to reach him - like there was always a barrier between them.

"How was it mother?" Cynane asks as she squeezes her mother's hand. It is as soft as Cynane remembers it to be.

"Excellent would not be enough to describe it my daughter. That was the best performance of Veto I have ever seen in my entire life. I am so proud of you Cynane", voice.

Hearing those words come from her mother gives Cynane a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Her father might not have been a good father to her and her brother, however, their mother made sure that they were loved well by her. She had always known that her children were searching for the love and attention of their father. She had tried her best to fill in that longing in her children's hearts, hoping that they will not grow up 'broken'. The queen dowager raised them with so much attention and care.

"Thank you, mother. I'm sorry for not showing up and visiting you for almost a month. We were busy since the enrollment of new recruits started last month. I was needed for the screening and admission. Now, we're busy training the new students", Cynane explains to her mother as she remembers what her brother told her when he had a meeting with her and her fellow generals.

"I understand. However, I cannot help but still miss you. You haven't been with us for four years, and now that you are finally back, I still rarely see you," the queen dowager replies as she lets out a sigh.

"You know what they say, when your children are still young, they'll cling to you all the time, like their lives literally depend on you. However, when they finally turn into adults and see the outside world, they would rarely stick with you anymore. You and your brother were inseparable from me when you two were little, but look at you two now, you are always away for army matters and your brother despite being in the capital also seldomly sees me as he is drowned in his work. I should have savored more being with you and your brother when I had the chance. But who would have thought that you'd grow up this fast."

Cynane's mother has always been so loving and caring towards her and her brother, but Cynane has noticed as she grew up that she is a lonely woman. Just like Cynane and her brother, their mother did not have a good relationship with their father as well. Their parents rarely talked with each other and Cynane has never really seen her mother smile around her father, not even once. When Cynane was younger, she thought that it was a normal thing between couples, but as she matured in mind, she realized that her parents' relationship is not something that you would expect to see in married couple. For years and until now, she continuously asks herself if her mother and father even really loved each other. One of their maids in the royal palace once told her that her parents' marriage was an arranged marriage. As sad as it sounds, but it was actually expected, especially for royalties and aristocrats like her father and mother. Arranged marriages in the world of the wealthy and powerful are very common.

"I'm really sorry mother. I'll make up with you. I'll visit you more often now that I am here. I promise. But mother, I am worried about your health. Did you lose weight?" Cynane asks as she studies her mother's physique. She looks pale and thinner compared to the last time Cynane saw her.

"Are you even eating well? When was the last time Doctor Val came to check you?"

Doctor Val is the royal family's doctor for decades. He comes weekly to check the condition of the queen dowager.

"I am alright. I just need more sunlight. Worry about yourself. While I am proud of your achievements, I cannot restrain myself from getting worried every time you are out there. Your brother may not show it too, but he is just as worried as I am."

Cynane smiles at her mother's words. Of course, they will worry about her. They have always been, especially knowing how reckless she can be.

"I appreciate your concern mother. I promise, I will always be careful. Also, I am not the Cynane you used to know. I am better at controlling myself now", Cynane says proudly.

"Oh really?" her mother replies, looking amused.

"I am not kidding! Ask brother!" Cynane defends.

The queen dowager laughs at the way her daughter responds. She is out here claiming to have gotten better in controlling her temper, yet just a small teasing from her mother causes her to feel agitated and be defensive.

"Okay, okay young lady. I believe you."

After Cynane's performance, the king walks up to the lectern standing at the right corner of the stage and delivers his long-awaited speech for the night.

"...and as our family's oath over the years, I say this again tonight, "The crown exists for the kingdom and its people. Long live Macedea!"

"Long live Macedea!" the crowd repeats the words of their king.

"Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!" King Filip says at last, finishing his speech and closing the ceremony. He takes his son who fell asleep on his seat and leads his family to the Great Hall.

After the culminating ceremony, it has also been customary for the royal family to hold a banquet at the royal palace's great hall.

As the king and his family nears the huge double doors of the royal palace's great hall, he calls his butler, Ruben, and gently hands his seven-year-old son to him. The child is timid and often gets tired easily when surrounded with many people. They cannot explain how, but it seems like huge crowds drains his energy, so it isn't a surprise that he falls asleep tonight.

"Please bring him to his room and just leave a snack just in case he wakes up and gets hungry in the middle of the night", the king instructs nicely to Ruben.

Ruben nods.

"Yes, your majesty."

Ruben quickly disappears with the young prince in his arms. Ruben is a tall dark man with a scar on his forehead. Prince Milan used to be afraid of him when he was two years old. He would cry every time Ruben tried to come near him. No one could really blame the young prince since Ruben does look like a scary man on the outside. People could easily judge him to be a menacing person - plus the huge scar on his face does not really help. However, what most people do not know is that Ruben is one of the most soft-hearted persons they could ever meet. He came from a small town in the Eastern region of Macedea, got married young, had a son, but he would soon lose them after a group of bandits attacked their small village. That's how he got the scar. Ruben sees his son that he lost in prince Milan, and he vowed to himself to serve the prince all the rest of his life. When he finally got the trust of the young prince, the two of them became inseparable.

"I'll check him later. I'll probably not stay long at the banquet. I feel quite exhausted myself tonight", Queen Elisie says as she wraps her hands around her husband's arm. The king gives her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I won't stay anymore as well. The night has been long for me", the queen dowager utters. She does look very tired. Just looking at her complexion, anyone can easily tell that she is not feeling well. She nods at her side, signaling Martha, her personal maid to come and get her.

"I won't stay as well then. I'll just look after you mother."

The queen dowager shakes her head. "No, stay with your brother, Cynane. All of the people there are waiting to see you. Do not worry about me, Martha will take care of me", the queen dowager insists.

Cynane does not push the matter any further. She knows her mother is right.

"Okay mother. But do not forget to eat. Martha, please take care of her well. Thank you."

"Yes, your majesty", Martha replies as she gently takes the queen dowager's hand to assist her.

"Well then, good night my children. I'll retire myself now. Enjoy the rest of the evening", the queen dowager says, addressing Cynane, King Filip and his wife.

"Good night mother", the three reply in unison.

"Should we go in then?" the king asks to his wife and sister.

"Yes please. I am already starving!" Cynane reveals without any shame.

The king and his wife chuckles at her bluntness. Dusko, the king's personal assistant is waiting in front of the door. The king nods his head and Dusko nods in return. He pushes the huge double doors and announces to the audience, "His majesty King Filip, her majesty Queen Elisie, and her royal highness Princess Cynane have arrived!"

Everyone bows their heads as the three royalties enter the great hall. Somehow, Cynane feels uneasy with the act of courtesy that she is currently witnessing. When she entered the army, she was not treated as a princess. She was just a soldier, just like everybody else in the camp, and even after becoming a general, she instructed her men to always treat her as their general, not the princess of their kingdom.

Cynane's eyes quickly searches the hall, intently looking for someone. After almost a minute of searching, her eyes finally land on the man she is searching for. Her heart almost drops when she realizes what he is doing.

There, near the main dining table is Michal laughing heartily with Mileva Vasil.