Chapter 2: For Better or for Worse

Finnian Northguard

I wince and flinch away once again as mother presses the wet cloth to the cut just above my eyebrow.

"Oh, do stop squirming, Finn." She tuts. "I'm almost done."

"You know, any of the healers or servants could have just as easily cleaned the cuts." I point out, trying not to flinch again.

"And yet here I am." She retorts. "Honestly, you should feel honoured that you have such a caring and attentive mother."

"Indeed." I resist the temptation to nod. "Most queens wouldn't debase themselves by tending to wounds themselves. But you pulled me up here before I even had the chance to give my report back to father about what we found by the northern border. My injuries aren't so severe that I couldn't report first then get treated after and I know that you know that."

A small smirk forms on her face as she finishes cleaning the cut.

"So, why did you drag me up here?" I ask finally.

"Your father has important news for you and I want you to look presentable." She waves off dismissively. Before I can inquire any further, she is already across the room at the door. "He wants us all to be there, I will fetch your brother, find us at the entrance to the throne room when you are ready… don't take your time."

And just like that, she is gone. My mouth hangs open, a torrent of questions ready at the tip of my tongue.

"Do close your mouth Finn, you look like a simpleton." A new voice causes me to flinch. My first instinct is to reach for Arno and turn to face the intruder before the familiarity of the voice settles in and I groan.

"Must you always lurk in the shadows, Gertrude?" I sigh out, turning to face her. She's standing by the corner, leaning against the wall with a small smirk, her black cloak helping her blend in.

Her eyes pierce into mine for a moment, the colour of a winter storm, dark grey, similar to my own. The main difference is our hair though, much like Kai, she inherited our father's golden hair while my hair is dark brown like our mother. She only eyes me for a few moments before her smirk grows even wider.

"We all play with the gifts we are born with." She shrugs. "Mine is not being noticed."

I scoff, standing to face her. I didn't think it was possible but her smirk grows even wider.

"I picked up a few snippets of conversation between mother and father before you and Kai arrived with the rest of the patrol." She explains, pushing off the wall and approaching me slowly. "I believe I know what this oh so important meeting is about."

"Whatever it is about, is it as important as the half-blood bandits we found to the north?" I ask sceptically.

She raises a curious eyebrow at that.

"Half-bloods you say, curious…" She appears to ponder the information for a second before focusing back on me. "It seems that father has betrothed you to someone."

I feel my eyes widen at her sudden proclamation. She says it so suddenly and so casually I have to question whether I heard her correctly. I open and close my mouth several times, trying to formulate any kind of response. Gertrude simply raises an amused eyebrow, a light scoff escaping her throat.

"Good thing I told you in advance." She drawls. "If this was how you were going to react in front of mother and father I would have been embarrassed on your behalf."

Snapping my mouth shut and taking a deep breath, I collect my thoughts before finally responding.

"Betrothed?" Is all I manage to croak out, voice dry.

"Yes betrothed." She rolls her eyes. "It means promised to be married."

"I know what it means." I almost growl at her, making her snicker in the process.

"Forgive me for not getting that impression, you seemed quite clueless."

I take another deep breath, resisting the urge to throttle her.

"Betrothed to who?" I ask, doing a bad job of hiding the urgency in my voice.

"Princess Luthera Revena of Illis." She responds easily.

"King Tristan's daughter?" I inquire, earning a nod from her.

We fall into another long silence.

"Ponder over it on our way to the throne room." Gertrude says as she grabs my wrist and leads me towards the door. "Father is waiting to break the good news to all of us."

I numbly follow along as she drags me threw the winding hallways. Betrothed? Do I even know anything about this Luthera? Gertrude must sense my reluctance because she stops before turning to give me a critical look.

"Gertrude, I don't think I…" I say numbly.

"Not here." She hisses in Eldian, catching me by surprise. "Father hasn't announced the betrothal; no one is supposed to know yet."

I blink a few times before taking a moment to see where we are, close to the throne room, several servants and maids shuffling up and down the hallways.

"Sorry, I forgot when I was for a moment." I reply after a beat. Gertrude lets out a small scoff.

"It's 'where' not 'when'." She corrects me before smirking again. "You should brush up on your Eldian, if I recall correctly Princess Luthera is very fluent in the language."

I groan at the reminder of my predicament before she continues leading us towards the throne room. Unsurprisingly, mother and Kai are already at the entrance waiting for us. I try to adopt my most casual expression, remembering that I am not supposed to know about the betrothal yet.

"We were starting to wonder if we should go searching for you." Kai remarks, clapping me casually on the shoulder.

"Would you believe that we got lost?" I offer, earning an amused scoff from mother.

"In we go." She gestures towards the doors.

Kai is the first to move, pushing open the door and holding it open for mother and Gertrude, the latter takes the opportunity to poke fun at him for the gesture.

"Such a show of chivalry." She coos. "Melina has trained you well."

Forgetting my own predicament for a moment, I find myself letting out a genuine laugh. Kai shoots me a glare before leaving the door so I have to push it open myself.

"Apparently not well enough." I remark. Gertrude bites her lip, holding back a laugh of her own as mother turns with an exasperated sigh.

"Glad to see you are all in high spirits." Father remarks from next to his throne, leaning against it with an amused look.

"Dear." Mother greets, offering her his hand.

"Dearest." He smiles softly, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles.

"Father." Kai greets with a small nod, earning a wide grin from father.

"My boy." He pulls Kai into a brief but big hug. And here it comes. "I heard your patrol at the northern border was successful, I expected nothing less."

"Yes, well…" Kai trails off, clearly trying to brush off the praise. "We should really talk more at length about that…"

"In a moment, son, worry not." Father reassures him, patting him gently on the shoulder

As father pulls away from Kai, our eyes meet, my stormy grey and green clashing with piercing blue. The atmosphere immediately becomes charged with tension as we stare each other down. I offer a short nod as a greeting, much like Kai.

"Father." I greet impassively.

"Finnian." His voice is equally as impassive.

"Father." Gertrude cuts in before the air in the room can get even heavier.

"Dearest heart." His demeanour shift as he goes from me and her is almost dizzying. He pulls her into a warm hug.

"Shall we get to the announcement as soon as possible, father." Gertrude requests politely. "I have to get back to my training."

"This will not take long, dear." He assures her.

Mother joins him at his side so it is the two of them addressing the three of us. I brace myself, thankful that I already knew the purpose of this meeting before it began.

"A few days ago I had a meeting with King Tristan." He begins to explain. "As you already know, Illis has been our ally for some time now. But our enemies do not recognise this alliance, so we found a way to send a message to them, that our two kingdoms will gladly ride to the others aid should they bring war to our front doors."

All three of us are silent, me mostly because I'm still silently hoping that Gertrude is wrong. But I know the odds of that are slim to none. Mother's eyes turn to meet mine, something in my eyes must give away that I already know something because she offers me a small reassuring smile.

"Finnian is to marry King Tristan's daughter, Luthera Revena."

A small, strained sound escapes Kai's throat. I feel my eyebrows furrow and my jaw set almost painfully, my hands are fidgeting behind my back as I look down towards the floor, trying to school my expressions. I hear them talking but my clouded mind can't make out any of their words.

"Finn." Mothers voice breaks through the clouds.

I look up to find her familiar eyes, the same stormy colour as mine. Her look is that of deep concern, I must have been unresponsive for a while because everyone is giving me a similar look, even father.

"Surely there must be other ways to symbolise an alliance." I say, trying my best to keep the distress out of my voice. Father lets out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his knows before replying.

"None as absolute as this." He says, keeping his voice even. "Luthera will make a good wife for you, she's educated, disciplined and understands her duty. You might serve to learn a few things from her."

Normally Father's jibes don't really get to me, but I am in no mood for them right now. Gertrude must sense that I am about to do or say something rash because I feel her gentle but firm hand wrap around my wrist. I look down at her, she shakes her head ever so slightly, I doubt anyone but me would have seen it.

Supressing a groan, I turn to once again face mother and father, this time however, mother cuts in before either of us can say anything.

"Finn, I know this isn't what you want." She says, making me pause. "But we have to put our wants aside, when it comes to our duty. Remember, our kingdom and our people always come first, you made that promise when you… when you were given Arno."

My eyes glance down to the sword hanging from my waist, it suddenly feels a thousand times heavier. Mother was the one who officially bestowed me this sword, she knows full and well about the vows I made.

But still…

"Just out of curiosity…" I start, too tired to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "What if I refuse."

Father's face adopts something dangerous. He takes a small step towards me but I can feel the warning in that one step.

"You don't have that option." His voice is flat but filled with threat.

"Death is always an option." I shrug, feeling both Kai and even Gertrude flinch as the words leave my mouth.

"Finnian!" Mother's sharp voice cuts through the tension between me and father, causing all four of us to turn to stare at her in awe. Mother never raises her voice… never…

Father's words and threats don't really affect me anymore, I've long since gotten used to the looks of disapproval and even disdain that he often throws my way. But this… the murderous look mother is directing at me has me fidgeting on the spot, desperate to look away but unable to.

"That is enough." She says in a voice filled with frozen fury and suddenly the gravity of my comment suddenly hit me, especially how it must have hit mother.

"Mother… I…" Before I can say another word she narrows her eyes at me even further and I can feel ice begin to spread through my veins. I bow my head, finally breaking eye contact. "I'm sorry mother, truly. I was careless with my words."

A few beats pass before I hear her release a long breath. I risk a glance up to her, her eyes are focused down on the floor.

"Yes, you were." She finally let's her posture relax once more before meeting my eyes. "The princess and the king will be here in two days for the ceremony, make sure you are prepared for their arrival."

I nod without a word, all the fight having left me by now. Father glances between the two of us for a few moments before clearing his throat.

"Now that is settled I think you can give your report, Kai." Father says, directing his gaze towards Kai who just simply nods. "May I ask you two to give us the room."

Both mom and Gertrude offer polite nods before leaving us alone. Gertrude shoots me a sympathetic smile before leaving with mother.

"Now then, I trust everything went well at the northern border." Father inquires, focusing on Kai, probably for the best.

"We intercepted the bandits as planned, father." Kai begins, voice firm and clear. "But it seems the rumours about the bandits proved to be more than just rumours."

Father's eyes widen, taking in the news.

"You mean… you mean they were mutants?" He asks hesitantly, voice carrying the slightest hint of hesitation.

"We saw them." I decide to cut in. "There was this… woman, I suppose. Ashen skin and scales, pointed ears and teeth, it was bizarre. There was also this ogre, it was the size of a giant."

"Are you quite certain of that, Finnian." He quirks a mocking eyebrow. "Or could it just be delirium from the blow to the head you suffered...."

"I saw them too, father." Kai cuts in, just as I am about to fire back a scathing retort. "We were able to fight them off but regrettably they escaped. They're dangerous father, we'll need more than a regular patrol to deal with them."

Father eyes each of us critically for a few minutes before his shoulders sag in defeat. Can't say I blame him, mutants like these aren't supposed to exist, the fact that they do…

"Do you think the Royal Vanguard can deal with them?" He finally asks.

"They are our most well-trained forces." Kai nods.

"Be discreet about this." Father says, his voice becoming hard and stern, snapping us both into full attention. "I want the number of people who are aware of these mutants to remain as small as possible, tensions are high enough as it is and the people of Kamrion don't need to know about these aberrations, have the Royal Vanguard set extra patrols to the north and snuff out the mutants." 

"You know someone must be creating these mutants." I blurt out the thought before I can reconsider it. Father fixes me with a hard glare while Kai is merely staring at me with curiosity. Well, too late to take it back now.

"What do you mean, Finn?" Kai asks, encouraging me to keep talking.

"Mutations such as these don't occur naturally." I explain, vaguely remembering one of the many lessons on magic we were taught as children. "It goes against the way we know magic works, so someone has to be inventing magic to create them… perhaps if we have the Veiled look into it they could find the source of the mutants or maybe if we alerted the Sentinels of…"

"NO!" Father abruptly shouts, cutting me off completely.

I feel my eyes widen and my mouth snap shut. All the colour has drained from father's face, his eyes wild with panic. I can't help but give him a concerned look, I share a brief glace with Kai who also appears concerned with father's reaction.

"Father…" Kai starts, raising a placating hand so as not to startle him. "I know the Sentinel's methods can be extreme…"

"No, no, no… you don't understand." He cuts again, voice flat but his eyes unfocused as if staring off into a distant memory. "The Sentinels cannot be involved in this, their judgement is unpredictable and merciless, they are just as likely to kill us for allowing abominations like these to be found in our kingdom than they would be to kill their creator. Under no circumstances are the Sentinels to be alerted… Understood."

"Understood, father." Kai agrees immediately. "But be that as it may, Finn is correct, someone is creating these mutants and it would be in our best interest to find them. No one is better at finding people or being discreet than the Veiled."

Gertrude would certainly love an assignment like that. She's certainly grown more restless from nonstop training and the occasional minor task.

"We will not alert them just yet but we will keep that option open, ready the Vanguard." He nods lightly to Kai before turning to me. "And you, be ready to receive your betrothed."

Father doesn't even spare me another glance before exiting the room with a few quick strides, leaving just the two of us.

"I believe congratulations are in order." Kai attempts to lighten the mood. I level him with an unimpressed scowl.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair before trying again.

"There is nothing I can say that will make you feel better." He relents. "But brooding and lashing out isn't going to help your case."

"Then I suppose I should be all smiles and rejoice the fact that I've just been bartered off for the sake of sending a message.'" I retort, raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Oh, do not be so melodramatic." He rubs his temples as if trying to supress a headache. "Besides, mother was right, when we were given these blades they came with a promise, an obligation that we were to fulfil. We knew the power we were accepting came with a price… this is the price."

"A price that only I seem to be paying." I retort with a scoff, at this point beyond being mindful of my words. Kai's eyes narrow dangerously, he takes a step towards me, there is so much presence behind his approach I have to resist the urge to step back.

"Mind yourself, little brother." His voice drops dangerously. I actually have to glance down to make sure he isn't reaching for Langris. "I know you think I'm the one who has it easy but I've made my fair share of sacrifices, you best remember that."

I resist the urge to bite back with another heated remark, I can see that I've overstepped this time. Kai releases a small sigh before stepping back, his face melting into a look of almost regret.

"First father, then mother and now me." He comments, turning to leave. "You've successfully managed to aggravate all of us in the span of less than one afternoon, quite the impressive feat."

"Aggravating father isn't really an impressive feat for me." I comment softly.

This causes him to pause. His shoulders fall before he turns to give me a pitying look.

"Finn…"

"No." I reply simply, brushing past him, I've decided to leave the room first.

I find myself wondering through the castle until I find myself at the stables. Finding Juno isn't difficult, his almost silver mane clashes distinctly with his midnight black body. I take a seat next to him, finally allowing myself a moment of rest.

"Been quite a day, old friend." I mutter to him.

He turns fully towards me, nudging me gently on the shoulder with his forehead drawing a small chuckle from me. It's times like this it almost feels like he can understand me.

"I'm afraid you might not be seeing much of me in the near future." I explain. "Apparently I'm getting married in two days."

He brays softly.

"I know; it came as a shock to me too." I sigh. "The most I can hope for is that she is the quiet type. Maybe I'll be able to find hours of the day where I can forget she's there."

I take another moment to just stay in companionable silence with Juno, with nothing but his occasional sniffs and brays. That is of course until I feel the quiet, almost imperceptible footsteps of another person entering the stables.

"I heard you coming this time." I point out. "Might have to tell Veiled Master Dahlia that your slipping."

Gertrude just scoffs before taking a seat opposite me, running her hand over Juno's mane in greeting.

"I just didn't want to startle you." She retorts, an all too familiar smirk on her face. "Your fortunate no one has sent me to assassinate you. You wouldn't even know I was there before your body hit the ground."

"You'd probably be doing me a favour." I scoff back. Her smirk drops in favour of a scowl.

"Mother wouldn't appreciate a comment like that." She points out, all traces of levity gone from her voice. "I think you've upset her enough for one day."

I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

"I'll apologise to her later." I relent. "I know she doesn't like being reminded of… that."

"She felt the loss more than any of us aside from father." She nods, leaning back, seemingly backing off. Another beat of silence passes between us before she speaks again. "I'm sorry, I know it's not fair."

"Nothing can be done about it now." I shrug, shoulders slumping down afterwards. My eyes fall down to Arno, It's black and silver sheath staring back at me. I run my fingers along it, feeling the familiar pull of it's magic. I haven't had it for as long as Kai but the pull just feels so familiar.

I hear Gertrude let at a soft hum. Looking up, I see her eyeing Arno curiously, eyes dancing with so many questions. I only have to think for a moment before lifting it up to her, breaking her out of her trance.

"Would you like to hold it?" I ask, only now just realizing I have never offered before, but then again, she has never asked. Her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she quickly schools her expression and nods.

She reaches out, her fingers gently hovering above the beautiful patterns before she takes the sword. She tests the weight, shifting it from one hand to the other.

"It's much lighter than it looks." She comments absentmindedly. "A curious heirloom you've inherited, brother."

I eye her curiously, unable to interpret the torrent of emotions spinning around behind her eyes. I refrain from commenting though, knowing she is mostly musing to herself. She slowly unsheathes the sword, running her fingers along the intricate marking along the broad side of the blade. I notice her eyes furrow in concentration.

"What do these say?" She asks. I almost let out a laugh, Gertrude has always been better with languages than me. If she doesn't know it would only be natural that I don't know either.

"I don't know actually." I admit. "The scholars say it's an old language, older than even Eldian, but that's as much as they can determine. Whatever language it is; it is long forgotten to Kamrion."

"Very curious." She mumbles just loud enough for me to hear. With another hum she sheaths the sword and the smirk returns to her face as she offers it back to me. "Perhaps your new lady wife can help interpret the markings, as I understand it she is good at that sort of thing."

"And how do you know that?" I question, feeling my eyebrow quirk.

"Friends in many, many places." She dismisses easily. "It can be something for you two to bond over, heaven knows you'll need it."

I refrain from commenting, knowing that whatever comes out of my mouth will most likely be scathing and I have enough contempt being directed towards me already. Silently, I reach out and take Arno back before slumping again. We fall back into a pleasant silence, neither of us really feeling the need to say anything more.