Chapter 8
Rowena had become the palace joke.
After being scolded, she barely showed her face in public for weeks. And when I did happen to run into her during a visit to the Queen, I barely recognized her. She wore a lavish gown stitched in gold thread and jewels so heavy they dragged her pasture down–like she thought if she dressed like a noble, people might finally treat her like one.
She gave me a triumphant smile. “You lost, Cecilia. In the end, Edward married me. He’s mine now.”
“You always looked down on me,” she sneered. “Said I didn’t behave like a proper lady. But look around–no one dares say that anymore, do they?”
“I know you all laugh behind my back. Say I trapped him by getting pregnant. And maybe I did. But I’m the one wearing the crown. I won. You’re just one more woman left behind.”
I stared at her, this desperate, deluded version of the woman she used to be “Rowena… was it really worth it?”
Something cracked in her expression.
“Worth it?” she shrieked. “I’m the Crown Princess! One step from being Queen! And you–just a culor’s wile!”
“Edward told me everything.” she spat. “The King’s always seen the Dulce as a threat. Everyone knows the old King once favored Alaric as heir–if not for his sudden illness, he might be wearing the crown right now. And the current King? He never forgot that. He’s spent years waiting for Northmarch to fall out of favor… or just fall dead ”
The room went deathly quiet,
Only then did Rowena notice the crowd behind her–the King and Queen, other noble ladies, and rows of silent attendants frozen in horror. No one dared breathe.
Lady Sybilla whispered, “She’s completely lost her mind…”
The King’s face darkened. “So… this is what Edward thinks? That his own uncle should die for the sake of his throne?”
He turned toward Edward, who had just arrived and collapsed to his knees the moment he heard his father’s words.
“I never imagined my son would harbor such treachery in his heart,” the King said coldly Alaric is my blood claim to the throne out of loyalty. And this is how he’s repaid?”
*How can a nian with no honor, no respect, no judgment… possibly rule this realm?”
my younger brother. He gave up his
With a wave of his hand, he snapped, “Guards. Confine the Prince and Princess to the East Wing. Until further notice, they are not to leave.” The court held its breath
When the King is furious, no one is safe.
They said Prince Edward barely made it through the palace gates before strildng Rowena across the face. “You stupid!” he shouted. “You’ve ruined everything!”
He kicked her hard, again and again, red with rage.
“I’m under house arrest now, my title hanging by a thread–and all because I married a fool!”
Rowenia collapsed, shielding her belly. “Please, Your Highness–I didn’t mean tol I didn’t–our child–he’s still your child
But he didn’t hear her. Or didn’t care. His fury drowned out everything
It wasn’t until she screamed, blood seeping through her gown, that the attendants rushed in, horrified.
“The Princess—she’s lost the baby!”
News spread quickly.
By the next morning, the King was seated in court, surrounded by officials and the grim Jared Lord Southwell, who bowed silently before him Dozens of noble lords had submitted petitions to have Edward removed.
The King let out a long, weary sigh. “Prince Edward is larreby stripped of his title. He is no longer Crown Prince.”
“He shall take the lesser rank of Duke of Clearwater and be sent to govern the frontier in the East. He is forbidden from ever leaving his lands,” Southwell bowed his head. “Your Majesty… I ask for your mercy. My daughter is broken. Let her be released from this union. It was my failure that
Clope I
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GoodShort
brought her to ruin–she is unworthy to remain his wife.”
The King nodded. “The marriage is annulled.”
They carried Rowena out of the palace that same day. She looloed ten years older. Pale. Hollow. Lifeless.
Pale. Hulle
“I’m the Crown Princess,” she murmured, over and over, as if saying it might make it true again.
Edward was exiled. But before they ever reached the borderlands, his carriage was ambushed–an attempted assassination, swift and brutal.
By the time they brought him back to the capital, he was barely breathing, fevered and snaked in blood. And when the royal physician arrived, ho delivered the final blow
The Crown Prince would never father a child again.
He was finished.
Sometime later, the King summoned Duke Alaric of Northmarch.
“You are in your prime, the King said slowly. “You’ve recovered. And I….I no longer have the strength to hold this realm together. My sons lack the will. You he looked at Alaric steadily-“you were always the one meant to rule. Perhaps I was too proud to see it then. But if you’re willing now… I will not stand in your way.”
But Alaric immediately dropped to his knee. “Your Majesty, I have no desire for power. I’ve longed to retire these burdens to live in peace with my wife, away from court. I beg your permission to step away from my duties.”
I stepped forward beside him, curtsying low. “Your Majesty, Your Grace I’m with child. The royal physician advised we spend some time away from the capital, somewhere peaceful, for the sake of the baby. We hoped to travel south.”
The King frowned, reluctant. But Alaric bowed again. “Let us go, Your Majesty. Let the court rest easy, knowing Northmarch seeks no crown.”
At last, during a grand assembly, the King gave his consent
The Duke of Northmarch was released from all state affairs. No more council meetings. No more war plans. No more court politics.
We left the capital that very week.
As the city gates faded behind us, Alaric pulled me close in the carriage and exhaled
“At last,” he murmured. “We’ll be nothing more than a wealthy couple with far too much free time. No more backroom deals. No more power games. Just you and me and the open road
I laughed, curling into his side. The warm wind carried the scent of early spring.
The rivers and gardens of the southern provinces awaited us.
And for the first time in my life, I had no destination–only freedom.
