Hope Falls

“That better be a compliment.” Thea chuckled, leaning into him. Glancing around the castle as everyone began their day.

---

“Hopefully no secret siblings, the like.” Lucian mused, sitting back in his seat. “I shall leave you to your thoughts for a while… If you need my help with Cassius later then fetch me.”

"You think Cassius is going to need more support through this then Aesira will?" Conan mused, eyebrows raised. "He hasn't seemed too distraught this week, ranting more over Ira avoiding him."

---

"The boys are like niether of us, both are too reserved and understated."

“I think Aesira favours you… and Cassius favoured his mother, if we are being honest. Aesira still has the parent she runs to first for comfort. You. She has always been a daddy’s girl. Not to say she does not love Dagmar, or will not miss her - of course not. But we were exactly the same as Cassius. We both ran to our mothers first before our fathers. And it’s not as if we had bad fathers, so don’t think I’m implying that either.”

---

“That is Danica and her influence.” Thea mused with a small laugh. Though as her noise faded the arguments of others began to raise in volume. Moments later she flinched as two bodies slammed to the floor in front of her.

Aesira had tackled one of the newly stationed Valkyries to the floor. Both were already bloody, and as Aesira was straddled on top of her opponent and continued screeching and reigning blows it was clear that the Valkyrie was holding back in defending herself so as not to hurt Aesira in return.

"Aesira." Magnus grabbed the Princess' arms so he could drag her off of the Valkyire. Chastising with sharp voice, "This is one of your new guests, here to serve as guard for Karina and Ira. You do not get to brazenly attack your own staff, your parents have raised you better."

---

"As Eden has come to you, across the years, long before she thought of bringing things up with Karina. It just seems to be the way of things, I'm not taking offence." Conan grimaced. "Cassius has just always been the calm and collected one. I fear to see what his grief will even look like, I can't predict it."

Aesira screeched as she was pulled off, fighting one of her arms free and using it to swing for Magnus.

“Thank you, your grace.” Synnøve murmured as she stood up off the floor, brushing herself down and stemming the blood from her nose. “No harm done… The Princess is angry, it is understandable.”

---

“I have a feeling he about to spend a lot more time in the training ring and the armoury. And I hope God is with his sparring partners.”

"He needs practice in both of those places, according to the last update I received from the trainers on it may do him well. Keeping busy in that way is better than any other option he has available to him." Conan hummed. "He'll be okay, they both will. It will just be... difficult at first."

---

"I imagine you are too, being saddled with this job as opposed to being allowed to fly home with your sisters and revel in their glee." Magnus let out a small 'hmph' of breath as he intercepted Aesira's swing, meeting her gaze with narrowed eyes. "Don't you dare."

“It’ll be a healthy outlet for him. Rather than anything else… we both know I’d be on the bottle if something like this happened to me.”

---

“You let them take her.” Aesira half hissed, half sobbed as Magnus caught her arm. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye! They locked me in my room like a fucking dog and I didn’t get to say goodbye! She’s just gone!”

“I go where I’m told. Thank you again your grace.” Synnøve murmured, bowing her head before leaving.

"The healing quarters are several wings down, ask for Devika, she will look you over. Conan and Liara would be horrified if you aren't seen by one of their staff." Magnus called after her, pushing Aesira back into the room with more force than he had intended. "Your mother is facing enough shame among her sisters, you believe behaving no better than an animal will make her happy? That is not appropriate behaviour Aesira."

---

"Mm, and I would just... run."

“What’s inappropriate is that my mother has been sent away because she fell in love with my father! Because the stupid bitch he married opened her fucking mouth and got her sent away!” Aesira seethed, shoving Magnus to try and leave the room.

“I’ll leave you to deal with this, I’ll be in our room.” Thea said gently, giving Magnus a gentle pat on the arm as she left.

---

“Your son will do better…” Lucian assured.

"We can only hope the Blackwood genes are stronger than the Zarersky ones," Conan squeezed his cousins hand. "Go and bath, you stay this close to me any longer and I will need to burn the tips of my nose to purify it from the scent."

---

Magnus glanced over his shoulder to watch Thea go, trying not to visibly flinch as he was shoved. Repositioning his feet so he couldn't be so easily swayed, voice dropping to a low, cold hiss. "Assault me once more." He dared.

“Or what? You’ll hit me back?! Good!”

---

“Rude.” Lucian chuckled, giving him a shallow nod of respect before leaving the room.

"I am not wasting another breath on you until you are calm," He countered, standing firm in the doorway to keep her path blocked.

“I’m not asking you to waste any! Leave! This is my home, you are a guest, move!”

Magnus raised amused eyebrows, cocking his head as he waited for her to calm in silence.

“I said get out!” Aesira screamed, shoving him once again to try and get to the door. “Get out or let me out or just fucking move!”

Magnus moved one arm to wrap around her shoulders, the other resting on the back of her head to hold her against him. "Your people can't see you like this, Princess."

“They are not my people! They do not want me! They do not want me or my brother and it’s why my dad had to marry that stupid woman who got my mother sent away! They are not my people! If they were my people they would have been happy with me and none of this would have happened! My mum would still be here!” Aesira shouted, turning into a sob as she struggled for breath against his chest. “I didn’t get to say goodbye… she didn’t let me say goodbye…”

"You wouldn't have been given that chance, even if you had been in the room. The Guardian's stopped everyone of your name, your blood from speaking to her until she is allowed to come home." Magnus smoothed her hair down gently. "Five years though, your Uncle Lucian found a way to make them agree to a time limit. The Queen, for all of her mistakes, also means well and proved she cared about you and your brother today - it is thanks to her bravery, her lies that your mother still breathes. You can be angry, Aesira, but direct it at the people who deserve it.'

“She does deserve it! She came here and she ruined everything and now my mother is gone! You - you don’t understand what that’s like! We were happy. My mum and dad were happy and then she turned up and it strained them and then she couldn’t keep her mouth shut when the Guardians came and dangled my mother like bait and of course they took it! She’s jealous that my dad doesn’t love her so she sold my mum out! Ruined our family because she can’t have her own! It’s not fair Magnus. None of this is fair! I want my mum back!”

"There will always, always be barriers to happiness. Do you believe Liara wanted to come here, marry a man whom already had a family. One who would never love her and is only interested in her to appease how he looks to the Kingdom?" Magnus challenged. "She put her neck on the line today to make sure that your mother is alive to ever come home to you, and I will not stand here and allow you to villlanise her for that. The Guardian's were after your mother, they were going to punish her and your father no matter what - they broke the rules. The same way a thief serves time as atonement for their crime. It is not always fair, and others are caught in the fray but your mother was on borrowed time and she knew it. Your parents should have prepared you more for this moment, Thea and I should have too. It was always going to happen though."

“You don’t know that, they might have left us alone. Let us to be happy. It’s not fair that my family are being punished just because my parents actually love each other! How is any of this fair? They didn’t hurt anyone. They just loved each other…”

"Love is a privilege that we, as royals, do not get to indulge in often." Magnus moved forward, toward the seating in her quarters - trying to coax her to sit. "Marriages of convince have to come first, for the greater good of it all. Marriages that we pray turn into ones of love eventually, but, most of the time that isn't the case either. It isn't fair, but it is duty."

“You refused to marry your entire reign. No wife, no children. And you got to marry Thea even though you weren’t supposed to. You get to be happy. Why couldn’t my parents get that? Wasn’t forbidding them to marry enough?” Aesira wiped angrily at her eyes as she sat down, shaking her head. “Why do some of us get to love and the rest don’t. What is the point in any of it?”

"Big questions, huge... huge questions that I am afraid I don't know the answers to." Magnus grimaced, lowering down to sit beside her. "No one's story is smooth sailing. Thea and I have been through.... Zaria is our second-born, your aware of that."

“I know…” Aesira nodded, resting her elbows on her knees. “I won’t ever do it… I won’t allow it. I won’t fall in love. I won’t marry. I’m not giving anyone children. I won’t do it. My father wouldn’t make me. I won’t make myself suffer that way… I won’t do it. Not when there is no hope. Not when it is punishable. Not when it destroys everything… I won’t do any of it Uncle Magnus…”