CeruleanStars
‧₊˚✩彡 Antiquated Storyteller ‧₊˚✩彡
The war had been no stranger to Prince Damar. A bloody and ruthless battle that's waged for nearly his entire life. One that's took countless of his own men and family of the royal throne, including his own father in an attempt to dismantle his family's control of their land and end the war on the enemy's terms. What they hadn't expected was his mother to so quickly step in and run their empire through the most bloody of battles; enough blood to make up for the assassination of the love of her life. Even then, she will still claim that not nearly enough blood has been shed to make up for the loss of her husband and the kingdom's leader. Both Damar and his mother were all too familiar with the bunkers where they were to hide if someone managed to break into the castle, penetrate the palace walls, a charge by the opposition was seen just in time. It's practically where Damar grew up.
Their kingdom was not always known to be a waring state with this opposing force. There was a time where there was ever-present peace, incredible trade of spices, fruits, textiles, all so unique to their region. But once the war started from a seemingly random raid on a small town near the border, Damar's teen years were upended and he had to learn how to grow up quickly. His aunts, his uncles, his cousins, nearly all of them slaughtered with no respect to the throne or the power they held in their kingdom. The only way he could survive such horrors was to become numb, so that's what he did. Better to feel nothing than to feel everything.
Regardless, it still gave him a surge of fury when his mother informed him of the arranged marriage between he and the princess of the opposing party of the war they just barely managed to end with sheer man-power. In the privacy of her own office, he yelled, he cried, he rejected the arrangement, the emotions he had been bottling up for years, more than a decade, had made themselves known as they bubbled to the surface in his refusal to marry someone from lands where it's okay to just kill innocent townsfolk out of sheer jealously, or so he perceived them. Barbarians, the lot of them. Why must he marry a kingdom of murderers for the sake of peace between them? The queen had heard enough of it and sent him to his chambers, refusing to hear what more her prince had to say.
He bottled it all up again. His mother was set in her ways and there was nothing he could do to change that now. She wanted this arrangement to be the peace treaty to keep their kingdoms from fighting again. What did it matter what the prince thought? This marriage wasn't for him to enjoy, it was merely to calm the politicians down. Of course...
In two weeks time, the prince found himself sitting in the throne room of his castle. His mother sat on the king's throne as Damar sat on the queen's throne. With this marriage on the horizon, he would become the new king of the Farhi Kingdom as his mother, still recovering from the loss of her husband less than a year ago, stated she needed time to mourn in private. The prince had yet to even meet the princess of the opposing kingdom and no doubt there will be tensions within the throne room upon their arrival, but Damar was powerless here. He had no choice but to listen to what his mother demanded, even if the very thought of standing beside the princess brought bile to the back of his throat.
His face was hard as the herald entered the room to introduce the visiting royal family. Both he and the queen stood from their thrones as the herald began the announcement, the queen's dress glinting in the morning sunlight that draped in through the large windows of the throne room, his own silver gold crown joining the glitters across the floor between sweeps of cropped hair. The colors of their own kingdom, a warm orange and deep mahogany, adorned the throne room through rugs, banners, and accents as, what looked to be, silver scattered attop the tiling, adding to the sun-catching shine across the room.
Damar bit the inside of his cheek as he watched the door with daggers in his eyes, having no intention of entertaining such a stubborn foe that had taken his father, but glancing to his mother briefly, he saw her face was as calm as ever despite the guests about to join them. How she was able to so easily set aside the war and everything these savages have done to them and their people was beyond him, but he had no intentions of stooping to her level just to appease the few. He knew he stood with the rest of his kingdom when news broke of the marriage and that was how it was going to remain. Kings and queens alike have ruled these lands without a partner and his rule will be no different once he can find a way to rid of the princess while keeping his hands clean.
"I welcome you to our kingdom warmly," the queen said as she bowed her head slightly, Damar following suit only for his eyes to return to daggars pointed at the princess.
Their kingdom was not always known to be a waring state with this opposing force. There was a time where there was ever-present peace, incredible trade of spices, fruits, textiles, all so unique to their region. But once the war started from a seemingly random raid on a small town near the border, Damar's teen years were upended and he had to learn how to grow up quickly. His aunts, his uncles, his cousins, nearly all of them slaughtered with no respect to the throne or the power they held in their kingdom. The only way he could survive such horrors was to become numb, so that's what he did. Better to feel nothing than to feel everything.
Regardless, it still gave him a surge of fury when his mother informed him of the arranged marriage between he and the princess of the opposing party of the war they just barely managed to end with sheer man-power. In the privacy of her own office, he yelled, he cried, he rejected the arrangement, the emotions he had been bottling up for years, more than a decade, had made themselves known as they bubbled to the surface in his refusal to marry someone from lands where it's okay to just kill innocent townsfolk out of sheer jealously, or so he perceived them. Barbarians, the lot of them. Why must he marry a kingdom of murderers for the sake of peace between them? The queen had heard enough of it and sent him to his chambers, refusing to hear what more her prince had to say.
He bottled it all up again. His mother was set in her ways and there was nothing he could do to change that now. She wanted this arrangement to be the peace treaty to keep their kingdoms from fighting again. What did it matter what the prince thought? This marriage wasn't for him to enjoy, it was merely to calm the politicians down. Of course...
In two weeks time, the prince found himself sitting in the throne room of his castle. His mother sat on the king's throne as Damar sat on the queen's throne. With this marriage on the horizon, he would become the new king of the Farhi Kingdom as his mother, still recovering from the loss of her husband less than a year ago, stated she needed time to mourn in private. The prince had yet to even meet the princess of the opposing kingdom and no doubt there will be tensions within the throne room upon their arrival, but Damar was powerless here. He had no choice but to listen to what his mother demanded, even if the very thought of standing beside the princess brought bile to the back of his throat.
His face was hard as the herald entered the room to introduce the visiting royal family. Both he and the queen stood from their thrones as the herald began the announcement, the queen's dress glinting in the morning sunlight that draped in through the large windows of the throne room, his own silver gold crown joining the glitters across the floor between sweeps of cropped hair. The colors of their own kingdom, a warm orange and deep mahogany, adorned the throne room through rugs, banners, and accents as, what looked to be, silver scattered attop the tiling, adding to the sun-catching shine across the room.
Damar bit the inside of his cheek as he watched the door with daggers in his eyes, having no intention of entertaining such a stubborn foe that had taken his father, but glancing to his mother briefly, he saw her face was as calm as ever despite the guests about to join them. How she was able to so easily set aside the war and everything these savages have done to them and their people was beyond him, but he had no intentions of stooping to her level just to appease the few. He knew he stood with the rest of his kingdom when news broke of the marriage and that was how it was going to remain. Kings and queens alike have ruled these lands without a partner and his rule will be no different once he can find a way to rid of the princess while keeping his hands clean.
"I welcome you to our kingdom warmly," the queen said as she bowed her head slightly, Damar following suit only for his eyes to return to daggars pointed at the princess.
