Private Tales This Is Not A Request [Wil]

[Elspeth Sirl]

My dear Elspeth,

While I am certain your current endeavors have taken you far from your father and your home, it is with great haste that I require your return to Vel Anir.

We are to hold company with the King and Queen in the Capital on the 15th of the month. There is nothing that takes precedence over this and this is not a request. As such, I expect your prompt arrival at the royal halls on the date. A most important development is to be announced.

Signed,
Lord Doran Sirl


While she and her father had not seen eye to eye for quite some many years now, Elspeth was not the sort to press her gentle rebellion against him into the territory that involved the crown. Curiosity as much as social propriety pressed her home from her humanitarian travels in the north, though she'd been planning to take her leave for Vel Castere within the next weeks anyway. What was this development he spoke of and why did it involve the King and Queen?

He'd been against her crusade to expand medical care throughout the Kingdom, but had her persistence finally won out? Had he taken it upon himself to speak with the crown for some unknown approval or project? Why did he not see fit to provide more details? Whatever the case, she made straight for her flat in the capital and then to the modiste. It had been quite some time since she'd worn anything fit for company with royalty.

While she would have rather gone with something sleek and clean, bereft of bauble and decoration - that she knew would not please her father who never once denied himself, his wife, or Elspeth the ability to flaunt their power or their wealth. Though, tastefully. Choosing a modest cut that suited the more militant style of House Sirl, Elspeth arrived in the colors of her namesake and family crest just shortly after breakfast on the 15th.

Doran greeted his daughter with scrutiny in his gaze that lifted to something far more approving as she stepped into view. Despite the tension that had slowly built between them since her decision to move out, Elsi moved to hug the man. It had been quite some time since she'd done that.

"Your father has missed you," Doran rumbled into her neatly plaited and arranged hair, taking care as his wife had once taught him not to put anything out of place.

"Has he?" Elspeth breathed as he gave her a stern squeeze, looking up with color in her cheeks, "That is good to hear, father. I've missed you, too."

He looked upon her for a moment, holding her out at arms length and lifting one to put her into a slow spin, "Our colors look good on you. Yes, I think this should please him well."

"Please who?" Elsi blinked at him, skirts sweeping around her heels as she stopped.

"You will find out shortly."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"Won't you take breakfast with us, Wil?"

The Prince hesitated mid step and glanced over his shoulder at his mother who had asked the question. He had just grabbed an apple and had been about to head to the stables as he had done every morning since being put on house arrest. His morning rides were one of the few chances he got to go outside of palace walls, even if it was with a heavy escort, and he had come to cherish them. He wouldn't have given them up for anything. Except there was something different in his mother's tone today that made him hesitate.

He would curse himself and her for it later.

Warily he glanced at the place that had been set for him and the two empty spaces they kept for Lynus and Kizzie, even though both were away from the capital currently. It felt like a trap.

"For Kressake Wilhelm we're not going to poison you. Come, sit. Your mother wants to hear how you enjoyed the Season Ball," his father buttered a slice of toast in between waving the knife around in which he suspected his father hoped was an intimidating manner. All the same his shoulders relaxed. Yes, the ball last week. He'd avoided his parents well until now with his early routine but today they must have had a state meeting to get to to rouse them so. With a sigh he slid into his chair. Five minutes thats all it would take.

Thirty minutes later and Wil was struggling not to make it too obvious he was looking at the time keeper on the wall. His mother had asked him every conceivable thing from what ladies had he danced with to what his favourite piece of music had been. He'd even been coerced into eating a full plate of food which would no doubt upset his stomach riding.

He was just about to make an excuse to leave when a servant opened the door and announced the two figures behind him.

"Lord Sirl, and the young Lady Elspeth. Your Highnesses."

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

"You still haven't told me what the purpose of this meeting is?" Elspeth said to her father as they were escorted through the castle.

"All will be made clear in short order, dear daughter," Doran replied, his deep voice as smooth and pleased as velvet. It was a tone she'd not heard him use in some time, and while it was good to hear and see him look so ... positive? It was also more than a bit unnerving, not knowing why. No amount of love for her father would allow her to overlook his dark and sordid history as the Sirl patriarch... nor all the House Heads that came before him.

She looked ahead as they were announced into a dining hall and silently marveled at the beauty and splendor of her surroundings for the first time. Elspeth moved forward at her father's arm, dipping into a fluid and respectful curtsey alongside his militant and practiced bow.

"My King and Queen," Doran greeted them first before his gaze shifted next to the stormcloud presently glowering over its breakfast plate, "young Prince. We are honored to join you."

"Your Highnesses," Elsi echoed to her Crown, then to Wil, "my Prince. I hope you will forgive my absence from the Ball last week, I was rather involved with humanitarian services in the northern Anirian territories."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

This couldn't be good.

Wil's eyes went from father to daughter, then he slowly turned to look at his parents. His fathered ignored him entirely which was not unusual - especially when there was company. Indeed Randall got to his feet and moved around the table to greet Doran with a touch too much warmth for Wil's comfort. But that wasn't what truly unnerved him. What unnerved him was that his mother refused to meet his gaze. Something was seriously wrong.

Slowly he looked back to the young girl - Elspeth? - and tried to paint on the type of smile the women of court seemed to like so much.

"I'm sure that was more rewarding than a Ball, but that seems to be all my parents trust me to do at the moment. Do you want some tea?" he glanced to a servant who was already pulling back the two empty chairs he had assumed were for his siblings.

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

Wil was not the only one made quite uncomfortable by the entire situation. Her father was acting so... normal. So friendly. Even among his closest acquaintances he did not act this way. In fact she had not seen him smile with his teeth since her mother was still alive.

Elspeth schooled her face into that of a lady who looked appropriately pleased to be where she was, though it faltered slightly as she turned her gaze from that of the Queen and back to the Prince. The look on his face made a tight knot immediately form in her gut and she quickly lost her smile, gently cleared her throat, and looked away politely to the help who had pulled out a chair and gestured for her to take a seat.

"Yes...ah, well, it's certainly rewarding in its own way," her brow dropped as she heard her own words stumble out and to save face she spent an additional moment attending to the lengths of her skirts while she tidily took her place at the table.

A glance back showed her father sharing quiet words with the King. That knot twisted a little tighter.

"I would love some tea," the reply came with a look to Wil, brows pinched upwards over a slight smile that seemed to silently ask if he knew what in the Republic was happening here, "thank you." The smile didn't reach her eyes.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Whatever reassurances he had hoped the other girl would give him vanished the moment she looked across at their fathers and practically grimaced.

"Sugar? Milk?" it was a duty the servants could have done and indeed they seemed to hover just behind the Prince's shoulder waiting for the chance to swoop in and do it for him. No doubt the head footman was wrestling with the instinct to tackle Wil away from the silver because he was doing it wrong. He knew it was wrong for Aniria, but then again Wil had first tasted tea somewhere far away. There they had taken it with honey and the awkward tradition of his countrymen of using milk and sugar instead was not one he had mastered. He tended to put too much of one or the other in it.

Only half paying attention to what he was doing didn't help.

"Mother what is going on?" he muttered to the Queen who still sat rigidly in place, smiling at the young couple as though this were all a pleasant, planned morning.

"Oh I just thought it would be good for you to meet some people of your own age! Elspeth here is quite the accomplished young lady."

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

"Neither," was Elspeth's response, as if she had read the Prince's thoughts though she had no such abilities, "I usually take my tea with honey, but if that is not an option then black will do."

She did not feel a need to seem apologetic about this, though a glance at the Queen to defer to her good grace was offered, "My years spent in Dornoch have had some... lasting effects." She might've spun into all the researched health benefits of honey but the Prince cut in with his own question.

Quiet settled upon her as she listened to the short exchange between Queen and Prince. The response seemed far too ... simple? To have commanded the presence of a major Noble's head and heir? No, something was most certainly amiss. Elsi may have been absent from Court but she was no idiot. Her eyes slid sideways to her father and the King who seemed to be wrapping up their private conversation. Doran turned with a mild chuckle and a gleam to his eye that made the knot in her stomach turn a touch tighter.

"Indeed she is," Lord Sirl remarked on the Queen's words, "set to become Vel Anir's premiere most affluent Doctor," with a snap he flipped up his coattails and took the open seat next to his daughter with, "with the support of the Crown I wager Vel Anir will surpass even Dornoch in medical technology, practice, and education."

"Support-" Elspeth tried very hard not to sputter over her first sip of tea, "support of the crown?"

"Of course," Doran offered her a cutting smile which switched to the Prince, "let us not be coy about the subject of this meal. My King, would you care to elucidate on our agreement?"

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"You are to marry," the King announced.

Wil stared at his father trying to make sense of the words coming out of his mouth.

"Doran and I have worked it all out. It is in the best interests of both of our families. Elspeth will be a good influence on you Wil, and in return Sirl will get the money they need to expand...." The rest of his fathers speech was drowned out in a roaring of white noise. He couldn't stop staring at the King. Couldn't stop the murderous intent from rising up within him. He could lunge across the table and slide the cheese knife right into his throat before any of the guards could reach them...

A hand suddenly landed on his forearm.

"Wil, please say something. Elspeth is a nice girl, she'll make you happy," the Prince looked down at his mothers hand and then up at the Queen, her tentative smile and hopeful eyes. Wil had never felt such loathing.

"I'm sure she's lovely mother," for a moment relief flickered across her face. "But I'm not fucking marrying her."

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

She froze as soon as the words left the King's lips. Tea cup held delicately between both hands, Elspeth's eyes unfocused as she latched on to the feeling of her heart grinding to a stop.

"This is not a request, young Prince," Doran intoned with a level voice that few beyond the royal family dared use, his gaze a molten spear honed straight at the boy's head. After a beat, he smiled, "It is an opportunity for all involved to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones."

Elspeth's hands jerked at the sensation of pain in her chest - the unbearable agony of heartbreak's first crack. Her cup toppled from her hands to the table, spilled, then rolled off and shattered on the floor by her chair.

"No need for such theatrics, dear," Doran eyed her, "you're getting what you've always wanted are you not? The means to build and shape your dreams of Anirian betterment? It is an ideal match, one that the Weiroon's could never provide through their own son."

She couldn't speak no matter how hard she tried. Every fiber of her being screamed at her, but she couldn't tell what it was they were screaming for.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"I'm sorry, the last I checked I was a Prince and you were merely a Lord," Wil stood up and in his fit caused the chair he was sitting on to crash to the floor. "You can speak when you are addressed."

"Wilhelm! That is enough," Randal seethed. Indeed, his fathers face had turned from the usual red shade Wilhem had come to accept was just a part of his complexion when talking to his youngest son, to a purple one he had only seen once. Right before he had packed him off with Kassandra to the devils pit. The king took a step towards his son but Wil had fixed his gaze back on Elspeth.

"You're already engaged?" This could not be happening. An almost hysterical laugh escaped him. "This is low father, even for you."

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

"There is but one man in this chamber that has the right to command me," Doran rebuked, tone and gaze unflinching and mired with distaste at Wil, "and it is not you, young Prince."

By Elspeth's side a flurry of maids and servants had arrived to mop up the mess and replace her teacup.

"I'm... so very sorry," she offered to them on a hushed tone.

"It's alright, m'Lady," said a maid in return, gently patting her forearm, "it was just an accident. No harm done."

"You're already engaged?"

She felt his gaze on her without even needing to look, but look she did. Disarmament by the tides of the discussion had left her pale beneath the traces of blush on her cheeks. There was no sign of apology, but that of her own shock. She did not touch her fresh cup of tea for fear of dropping that as well.

"An unofficial betrothal that was never solidified following the revolution," Doran waved it off dismissively, his own gaze having shifted to his daughter, "childhood infatuations do not an engagement make."

Elspeth felt her brows pinch over an expression that was trying very hard to stay schooled. Her gaze moved from Wil to her father, then to her King and Queen as a frown tugged at her lips and her hands curled tightly together in her lap. She took a moment to swallow the horrible, burning lump of grief forming at the back of her throat and offered a jilted nod to her father's words, "It is as he says, though we had every intention to see the prior arrangements through, my betrothal to Olvir Weiroon was never officiated."

Another glance to her father whose gaze of molten fire was bearing down upon her with silent meaning.

There was no getting out of this. Her future with Olvir had shattered with that teacup. She was bound by duty and the command of her father.

"You deeply honor me with your consideration," she said with a small bow of her head to her lieges, "I will endeavor to live up to your name and family and be an exemplary wife to your son."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"Ollie...?" images of a young boy flashed through his mind. Of playing and using sticks as swords as they can about the garden at dinner parties. Another girl from the Luana family tagging along and showing how she could make storms in her hands... He stared at Elspeth, at the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes that she held back with a grace and strength her wretched father could probably not begin to appreciated.

"No."

Wil considered whether punching his future father-in-law would be enough to get the man to pull his daughter out of this stupid deal. Or if punching his own father would get him thrown out of the royal family altogether. At the very least it might make him feel better. There was clearly something on his face that indicated the verdict he had landed on for his mother stood and grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Please son. Elspeth is a good woman. I know that it is disappointing not to find a match yourself, but your recent actions--"

"My actions are entirely your fault!" Wil ripped his arm out of his mothers clutches.

"I will drag you down that aisle myself if I have to boy," the King snarled and gripped a hold of his shirt before he could escape this wretched room, this stupid conversation.

"Then do it," Wil replied in a low, calm and altogether chilling voice. The ring seemed to pulse on his hand. "You can explain to your people who your son is in chains for there is no other way I am marrying her."

The king gave no warning before he backhanded the prince to the floor.

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

The yelling made Elspeth flinch and she was for the second time grateful she'd not picked up the new teacup. Doran Sirl descended from a long line of revered and feared leaders within Vel Anir. And while they had made their name by carrying out the deeds for those who did not wish to dirty their hands, Doran Sirl rarely if ever raised his voice.

He never had to.

When people moved against the Sirls, they disappeared.

When enemies of the crown moved against them, they found themselves in one of the countless Sirl prisons established across Anirian territories. Her father feared no one, especially not the Prince. The man's expression did not falter as his eyes tracked the Prince's movement in the way only a seasoned and decorated military man would. When the King finally asserted his dominance over his son to bring an end to his tantrum, the Sirl Patriarch once again looked pleased.

Elspeth stared in shock and disbelief, her eyes locked on the figure of the Prince now flat on the floor.

"A great deal of Anirian history is built upon the model of arranged marriages," Doran spoke up after muttering to an attendant for a glass of wine, "including my own, which brought me the love of my life, may she rest in peace."

Elspeth knew the story of their marriage as it had been shared with her as a child more times than she could recall. What she did not know if he was saying this to remind her of the sacrifices required for the greater good, or to drive home that very point to the Prince - of whom her eyes could not stray as she watched him. She did not have to actively push down the desire to go to him and help, her body was frozen in place.

"Elspeth has a great many goals and dreams for Vel Anir," Doran's gaze shifted to the Queen, "assisting her with these things will give the Prince a sense of purpose and direction."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

The Queen sat paralysed, her eyes unable to leave her son where he lay crumpled on the floor.

"Yes, the boy needs focus," Randal stepped over his son as though he didn't exist and came to stand behind his wife's chair, gently laying the hand that had just struck their son on her shoulder. The touch made the woman flinch but she hid it quickly, turning her gaze back to Doran and then to Elspeth, for whom she managed a weak smile. Unshed tears shone in her eyes.

"You're very welcome to our family, Lady Elspeth. Very welcome."

Wil was almost certain his father had intended to render him unconscious. His head rung and his vision had turned black. When it returned it definitely felt as though he had missed some of the conversation. On shaking arms he pushed himself up and spat some of the blood forming in his mouth onto the floor. He dare not try getting to his feet yet with how much his body protested at sitting.

"Why don't you tell us about the hospitals?" the King asked and motioned for the servants to serve more tea.

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

Her own gaze remain locked on Wil as he slowly came-to and began to sit up. He was hurting, she could see it in the way he moved, and it was very likely the King had rendered a concussion. He needed seeing to - why wasn't anyone moving to help him? Was there no Doctor on staff for the royal family?

"You're very welcome to our family, Lady Elspeth. Very welcome."

She didn't hear the King's words and was given a sharp reminder to pay attention by her father clearing his throat. With a blink she looked to her father, who raised a marked brow at her with a shadow of disapproval, "Gracious words for you from our King, dear daughter..."

"Thank you, my Liege," her reply filtered out quietly between dry lips. The Queen finally caught her gaze and she was struck by the look on her face. One that very nearly mirrored her own but for entirely different reasons.

A mother should never have to witness the abuse or suffering of her children. If this was a peek into the life she would soon find herself married into, then she needed to find a way to get a handle on it sooner rather than later. Elspeth's gaze broke from the Queen's to draw to the teacup sitting before her. How easily a smashed cup could be replaced here. How easily these transgressions overlooked or ignored.

"Why don't you tell us about the hospitals?"

Her father had never raised a hand to her. She'd always been an obedient child... for the most part. The rebellious parts of her could easily be hidden beneath a veneer of entrepreneurial drive and simply called 'business.' Elsi sat up in her chair, hands moving to the arm rests.

"It is my aim to establish a network of hospitals across the major territories and cities of the Anirian Republic," she began, turning to look at the King with more color on her face, "accessible by all citizens of Vel Anir. I have already begun work on renovating an unused former prison complex within the capital and with the assistance of the Lady Jiya Luana we will establish the first educational medical facility where we will standardize newer health and medical knowledge for the next generation of Medics, Doctors, and Nurses. Smaller offices will proliferate the minor towns where care is hard to come by, and until then I have already began building staff teams for mobile care units to travel where they are most needed. Be that on a battle front or a village confronted by illness."

Elspeth felt her heartbeat rate itself and gripped the arms of her chair.

"Don't..." Doran uttered under his breath at her.

Then slowly pushed the chair back to rise to a stand, "My medical education in Dornoch has taught me many things, but most importantly it is that there is always room for improvement and that Vel Anir must do better."

She looked to the Prince then and without another word swept from her seat at the table to make her way over to him where she crouched down near his side.

"Please," she said to him over a concerned frown in a low voice, "you should be seen by a Doctor. Let me help you?"

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

There were two, then three angel's descending upon him with clear concern on her pretty little face. Wil blinked and suddenly there was one Elspeth. Fiancee. He grimaced and tried to pull away from her, raising a hand to rub at the part of his face that hurt. The problem was that it all hurt. One full side of his face, his nose, his neck and shoulder and back where he had landed. There wasn't enough hands to hold in the pain.

"He'll be fine," the King waved a dismissive hand. "Come and sit back at the--"

The Queen's hand landed on her husbands arm.

"Dear, we should let her see to him. They should spend quality time together now they are engaged after all," the King seemed to debate her logic before finally giving in to the soft smile his wife gave him. He chuckled and patted her hand.

"Yes, you are right dear. I've seen many a soldier fall in love with their nurse, perhaps it will do the boy some good. Go on, the pair of you. We shall discuss the more intricate details of your engagement."