Adallis drags him off again

Before Riekan could make any new choice, Adallis walked up to him, a smile on her face.

“The future queen of Falbrein and an elven ambassador. Impressive, Riekan,” she said. “You might be better at diplomacy than me.”

The prince laughed. “Please, Adallis, you were taught by our mother herself,” he replied. “I was just trying to meet some different people, learn a little about them and their kingdoms.”

Adallis nodded and her gaze went to a few of the other tables before coming back to her younger brother. “Let us dance again, Riekan. The Volnesses’ youngest daughter is staring at you again.”

Riekan’s laugh intensified as he led his sister to where the other guests were dancing. “I assume you have talked to her as well?” he inquired. “We have known the Volnesses ever since forever, so our paths crossed in other occasions, and well, she always seemed rather shallow and annoying.”

The princess groaned. “Don’t remind me. Cecilie was my friend even before Roghan started courting her, and suffice to say, the sisters are nothing alike,” she explained. “I do not want you married to someone like her.”

Riekan gave her a rueful smile in response, his father’s words about possibly having to arrange a marriage for Adallis coming back to his mind. He did not want his sister married to a lowly count or a savage warrior either. The elven princess seemed to be the best idea, if their father managed to convince the Church of Alxer to allow for two women to be married. He decided to keep the subject to himself to not be reminded of Adallis’ potential situation.

“Why do you think I would even consider marrying her?” he asked, twirling Adallis in tune to the song.

She chuckled. “Please, you saw how father was quick in agreeing to marry Roghan and Cecilie. You probably won’t have to marry someone to secure an alliance, or something similar, but if he saw you and that young woman together, he would jump at the opportunity.”

Riekan cocked his head to the side and raised a confused eyebrow. “Why would Father want Roghan and I married to the Volness sisters so much?”

Adallis gave him a small smile. “Oh, Riekan, you know nothing about it, do you? Even if most of the kingdom loves us, there is a part of it that still resents our father for declaring war on Duskath and depleting almost all of our gold years ago, even amongst the lords. Look at the situation in Sollion, for instance, it is only a matter of time before the same thoughts sprout in Kinend, if it isn’t here already.”

Riekan pondered her words, trying to make sense of it. “So, Father wants Roghan, maybe all of us, to marry someone from a Kinwaldian family to appease the people?”

Adallis smiled at her brother’s quick thinking. “Precisely, it does not have to do with the Volnesses themselves, they are just the most prominent Kinwaldian family besides us.”

The prince nodded. “It makes sense, I just do not see how marrying a Volness would turn the people in our favor. You would think that the common people who hate the Lionwells harbor the same feelings towards the other noble houses.”

“Aside from us, the other noble families also hold a lot of sway with the opinion of the common folk,” Adallis began to explain. “Have you ever read the historical records of Kinwald? Our mother is not a Kinwaldian, and neither is our grandmother, or several generations of Queens before her. Father found out a few noble families were starting to feel angry with the royal family because of that, the Kings and Princes were not marrying local Kinwaldian women. It makes them feel irrelevant or something like that. That, coupled with the war debacle, makes Kinwald dangerously prone to separatist campaigns, like the one in the County of Sollion, or even a coup,” she told him. “Such as the one that happened in Arcans.”

Riekan’s eyes widened at that, he had never noticed that trend of Lionwell men marrying foreign women. Now the connection was clear to him, by having the future king, Roghan, marrying a native Kinwaldian from an important family, King Albran secured the nobles’ support, and by proxy, a great portion of the common people in the kingdom. That also seemed like another good reason to have Roghan take Reywan’s place as first in line to the throne, if Reywan married a local and Roghan didn’t, it would be all for nothing when Reywan eventually passed away in the near future.

Adallis laughed. “In that sense, do you know Sarine Crowslaw’s mother is a Kinwaldian?” she inquired. “If you ever find yourself in that situation, she possibly would be an acceptable bride.”

“I will not marry her either,” Riekan replied dryly. As much as the thought does not repulse me in the slightest, he mentally added. “Which family?”

“Oh, it’s a minor house,” Adallis responded. “They don’t even live in Kinend. The story says that Sarine’s father was passing through our territory on his way to the Banfaul Academy years ago when his carriage broke in front of their estate. He asked for shelter and met the Lord’s daughter.”

“Quite the story.”

“Indeed. Hey, don’t become so gloomy. Hopefully, with Roghan’s marriage, you will not need to be **** into an arranged marriage.”

Riekan couldn’t bring himself to tell Adallis that she probably would have to be. Or maybe she knew and was putting on a brave face, something that made him admire his sister even more. The song they were dancing to finally ended and they pulled away from each other.

Adallis briefly hugged her brother, smiling warmly at him. “Hey, I meant what I said, cheer up.”

Riekan nodded and watched as his older sister began returning to her table. The prince thought he had one more dance left in him, so he figured that a wise choice was in order. Looking around the ballroom, a wicked smirk grew at the left corner of his lips as his gaze fell on the perfect target to help him unwind from the tense conversation he shared with Adallis.