90 Chapter 9It took a fortnight for the ship to reach the island of Loni from the harbor in Maldonian border. After Prince Ambrose was pardoned by his brother, he left Stonedance and abandoned his men. At that instant he knew the war was lost.
Later on before he booked a passage, a free rider came to him with Castellan’s crown made of white and blue diamonds. This crown has been worn by numerous kings for centuries, including their father.
“Is he dead?” asked Prince Ambrose with tears starting to form inside his eyes. The free rider nodded, he wasn’t much of a talker.
Hence Prince Ambrose took the crown with him to the island of Loni where his sister Princess Thelma was married to their cousin Lord Lothar Taelin. After the death of their uncle, Lothar was named the Lord of the island. Lothar was a good man and same age as Ambrose, they were both twenty-seven of age.
Perfectly built and lean and fit, Lothar was every maiden’s dream in the island. He was tall, his black long hairs fell down his shoulders and he had such fiercely looking brown eyes which was the weakness of many women he met. A dashing handsome knight with a good looking face and charming behavior, Thelma herself fell for the lord because of his steamy eyes and wide smile.
However, unlike Ambrose who was yet to wed and hadn’t fathered a child yet. Lord Lothar had two sons from his first wife who was deceased two years ago. It had been a year and few months ever since Princess Thelma was sent off to wed Lord Lothar by her brother, and she bore him a beautiful daughter. Together they named her Allysa after the princess’s mother, Queen Allysa of House Brown.
The arrival of Prince Ambrose to the island was unexpected. A week earlier they received a raven from the King’s City with a note explaining the coronation of a new king of Prophis – Gandalf. But the worst news was about the execution of Castellan and that his head was rotting on top of the city’s gates for everyone to see. Also the Queen and her two sons were put to the sword and her little brother Frost too.
For days Princess Thelma couldn’t eat nor drink, she let the wet nurses take care of Allysa while she mourned the loss of her home. Lord Lothar knew what his wife was going through, she was young and she loved her brothers who must have perished in the Battle of Stonedance.
The arrival of Prince Ambrose proved different, not all of Thelma’s brothers perished in the battle and this day she wept tears of joy. Being born by the same mother made the bond between Thelma and Ambrose strong, and they have been friends ever since they were young.
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Although battered and worn out and wounded, Ambrose found the comforts of home in the castle of his cousin Lord Lothar. He was fed mammoth meat which was washed down with mead and stout, the singers and mummers entertained him while he explained the tales of the worst war in the history to his cousin and his sister.
When Lord Lothar asked if it was true that almost one hundred thousand corpses were left to rot, fodder for carrion crows and wild dogs. Prince Ambrose exhaled softly and softly replied “It’s more than one hundred thousand corpses, the angel of death worked overtime in Stonedance”
“The war was lost before you even marched. Why did you go while you knew you were outnumbered?” asked Princess Thelma.
“Because I believed in Lucian Mithandir, and I hated our brother. I wanted him to feel powerless as we were, I thought I was avenging you but it seemed...” Ambrose looked at how happy his sister was with Lord Lothar who happened to be a very good man unlike what Ambrose thought him to be. “You are happy, aren’t you?”
Princess Thelma looked at her husband who was holding their daughter Allysa, and Lord Lothar managed a simple smile. No words were exchanged between them but the glances alone spoke a lot about their current situation.
Then Lord Lothar intervened “When your sister arrived in Loni, she was tearful. She was reduced to skin and bones, her servants said she refused to eat because she wanted to die before reaching the island. I had just lost my wife and I was miserable too, I think we bonded because of our griefs”
“And a bond shared in such times is strong. I never thought I’d love a man and here I am... now I can’t imagine my life without my husband” Princess Thelma had indeed found the love of her life and she wasn’t shy or reluctant to show it.
There was a huge smile on Ambrose’s lips the whole time just looking at Thelma and Lothar explaining how they fell in love. The way these two joked and seemed so comfortable with one another brought him much comfort.
“I have something to show both of you” Prince Ambrose reached out for his belongings and took out the crown.
There was a moment of silence between these three kins as they acknowledged the death of their brother and cousin. Loth Lothar suggested they keep the throne until one day when they are strong enough to take their home and install a Taelin on the silver throne.
He even insisted to Ambrose “You are now the true heir to the throne. We shall fight back when we are ready, I believe once more a Taelin will sit on the silver throne” and Lothar himself was also a Taelin hence Ambrose understood that his support came from the fact that they were kins.
For the remaining of the night when Allysa was taken to bed by the wet nurses, the three of them talked about politics on the island of Loni, trade, and several opportunities for Prince Ambrose. The next day Lothar named his cousin and brother in law, Master of the ships.
Prince Ambrose hence controlled all the ships coming and going out of the island. Rather a small isle with misty green forests, windswept moors, grassy plains and dismal swamps not forgetting a small population of just twenty thousand people. However, Loni was famous for its harbor.
All the ship sailing to Maldonia, the Liberty Cities, Prophis or other islands were ought to make a stop at the harbor for refreshments and rest. The ships were charged for every night they spend at the harbor and that’s how Loni made its fortunes, they used the Silent Sea, the Sunrise Sea and the Black Sea to their advantage.
Ambrose stayed at the island for just four months and he was ready to get married. Princess Thelma made him a match with Arya of House Greenwood, a twenty-year-old shy girl who had kept her maidenhood for her husband. The Greenwoods were the respected house in Loni and they were so thrilled to learn that “The true heir of Prophis” was to wed their daughter.
During the bedding ceremony, it was Thelma herself who disrobed her brother and watched as Ambrose deflowered the young girl. Three Faith Crones were also present to witness the bedding ceremony, and they dare say the young girl screamed of pain when she first felt her husband’s manhood inside of her.
However, the days to follow, she couldn’t stop wanting Ambrose and at night the servants of the castle claimed to hear Arya moan of pleasure from Prince Ambrose’s chambers. Thelma and Arya became the ladies of Loni and great friends, a year later Arya bore Ambrose a son.
In order to honor the legacy of their brother, Prince Ambrose named his son Castellan, the second of his name and once more Castellan Taelin was reborned on the far isle of Loni.
During that whole time Prince Ambrose was making it clear that he was the true heir to the silver throne. A mess he made in such a way the news had reached his siblings, the three sons of Queen Taliya of House Ingiam from where they hid across the Sunrise Sea and into the lands of savages.
It so turned out the rumors had been fanned by hot winds like a fire and finally reached out to Katarina who was safely hidden in the comfort of her home with her two sons and Frost who she escaped with him. The three sons of Taliya though their little brother also died during the battle of Stonedance and this is what made them wroth with Gandalf.
“He is not the true heir to silver throne, my son still lives” Katarina said to herself when she received such news. She had taken a new identity in Whitebridge as Lady Misenda and she owned a castle with slaves and several markets across the town, she met Aprophil more than three times when they collaborated on a trade opportunity to which both of them made a suitable profit.
Because she agreed to save her sons from slaughter, Katarina knew she shouldn’t make a mess because Gandalf had friends in all the Liberty Cities. Spies were many in Arkala, Penrith and Whitebridge and they were looking for just a sign to attack.
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