Fires of Adversity

Kathryn, Princess of Thuirene, rose early to enjoy the sunrise in peaceful solitude. As much solitude as a member of the royal family ever got, anyway. She’d have little enough of that in the coming days, that every moment without someone demanding her attention was a gift to be savoured.

In the harbour, far below and several miles away, though the distance made it appear closer, two ships were coming in to port. Kathryn squinted, trying to make out the colours they flew. An offered spyglass made that much easier. “I don’t think you can actually set them on fire by force of will, sister.”

Kathryn glanced briefly at her brother, Crown Prince Lukas, who had offered the spyglass in the first place, before returning her attention to the harbour as one of the ships fired upon the other, the faint ‘boom’ carried over the water. “They seem to be doing a fine job of that themselves.”

Both ships flew the flags of Mirvaria, on the other side of the Inland Sea, and a different second flag. The arms of the noble house they conveyed, perhaps? Kathryn passed the glass back to her brother, “I don’t recognise the Secondary flags, do you?”

Lukas looked for himself. “Old King Mark’s rival heirs, Duke James of Slesian, and Count Ewan of Thwentis. They have an equal claim through the old King’s uncle. The Duke’s father was the younger son, while the Count is the direct heir, but his mother had a distant matrilineal claim, so that brings them up to equal in succession, and they are said to be going to great lengths to strengthen that claim however they can, now that it actually matters.”

Another shot echoed across the harbour, before both ships passed the outer wall, and any further cannon-fire was at risk of retaliation from the harbour defences, not to mention an even worse first impression than the one they’d already created. “Great lengths and greater distance, to have risked the crossing this early in the year. Are they what Father meant about my marriage prospects, last month?”

Kathryn and Lukas were descended from Old King Mark’s youngest child and only daughter, who had married their father, King Luke of Thuirene to seal a peace between the two countries. By an odd quirk of Mivarian Law, royal daughters and their heirs could not inherit directly, but could augment another existing claim through marriage. On the balance of things, the law was a blessing, or Lukas would have been asked to take up the old King’s Crown, after King Mark managed to outlive his sons and grandchildren before finally dying, and an absent foreign ruler trying to balance two crowns was only ever a recipe for disaster.

Lukas nodded, spyglass still trained on the harbour, where Kathryn could only see that some kind of activity was happening. Hopefully they didn’t try to race through the city to the palace, as well. Her brother lowered the glass, “Our Dear Stepmother was all for it, of course, but Father insisted on you meeting them and giving your consent, first. He won’t send you away unless he thinks you’ll be in good hands.”

Their mother, also called Catherine, had died of a fever when Kathryn was a year old. Their father had eventually remarried, but the new Queen Maria had so far born only daughters, and while she could accept her children coming after the Crown Prince, she hated that they also came after Kathryn. Marrying her step-daughter off to a foreign alliance and getting her as far away from the court of Thuirene as possible would be a dream come true for Queen Maria.

Kathryn was close to her brother, but there were some things he would never understand, because he would never need to. He could offer marriage to his choice of bride, within certain parameters, while Kathryn was lucky to have a father who conditionally supported her ability to refuse a suitor he also disliked. “Well, then. What do you know of my options, and which one was trying to literally sink the other’s chances?”

Lukas laughed at her bitter joke. “Both are young for their titles, only a handful of years older than me. Duke James of Slesian is the one who fired on his… I think they are third cousins? Rumour has it that they’ve never agreed, and competition over the throne of Mivaria hasn’t helped.”

An understandable sentiment, if an inconvenient one. “Which would make us second cousins once removed. I’d prefer a little more distance between the bloodlines, but it could have been far worse.”

Lukas shrugged, “When it comes to royal bloodlines, the options are always a bit limited. You can afford to be flexible with whoever your children marry, at least, and ensure that they are decently distant. Your cradle betrothal was a first cousin, and you were raised to become a queen, not to waste away on some minor nobleman’s country estate.”

Kathryn scowled briefly at her brother. Their father’s sister had married the king of another country bordering Thuirere, and suggested a betrothal between their children. Kathryn had been only twelve when her cousin took the throne, barely old enough even for a proxy marriage, and as the years passed, he’d found reason after reason to delay. He’d finally agreed to a wedding date only when a bloody civil war erupted, and King Luke, insulted by the sudden about-face, insisted that the aid of his armies were conditional on a ring on Kathryn’s finger and a crown on her head.

Their cousin never had the chance to reply. When the dust finally settled, there was a new King in charge, and he was already married, his children much too young to consider Kathryn as a bride.

Honestly, Kathryn had started to wonder if she would ever marry. These two suitors, barring any serious defects, were likely to be her best chance, and Kathryn could hardly object to helping avert another civil war before it started. “Hopefully they make a better second impression than they did their first.”

Her brother laughed, until one of Kathryn’s maids shooed him out so they could get Kathryn ready to meet her potential future husband.

She had not yet been summoned to the Throne Room, so Kathryn waited in the hall outside, where her suitors would have to pass through in order to greet her father. This was partially a practical choice, as she wanted to see them for herself, and partly to escape the argument between Queen Maria’s principal Lady-in-Waiting and her own, who had very different ideas of which tiara and jewels she should wear.

The first to arrive was a tall blond man, dripping with jewels and clearly used to a leisurely life, who strode past her as if she didn’t exist. A few of his escort were a little more aware, shooting her panicked, apologetic glances as they scurried in his wake. The door at the other end of the hall opened just as the door to the Throne Room slammed shut.

Fortunately, the heavy wood also blocked the slew of insults from the dark-haired man that headed the second retinue. He was also dressed in fine fabrics, but limited his jewels to a plated chain and belt, and rings on his fingers. His build was that of an athlete, or at least someone who spent a lot of time outdoors.

Kathryn was cautiously optimistic about this second impression. “What did the other one do to earn that?”

The newcomer gave her a courteous bow, not-so-subtly seeking any indication of rank in her appearance. “Overturned a cart in the market, to block our way. My erstwhile cousin might be able to absorb such a loss, but the farmer will have more difficulty.”

The first newcomer’s second impression was getting worse and worse. Kathryn beckoned to a page. “Go find out who was affected, and if they were the only one. I will see to it that they are compensated for their loss.”

The second newcomer smiled at her, clearly surprised. “We stopped to help them recover what we could, but it is kind of you to do so.”

Kathryn waved a hand. “My people do not need to suffer from a visiting noble’s bad behaviour. I should be thanking you for helping them to your own disadvantage.”

He bowed more deeply. “You are the Princess Kathryn that I’ve come to court, then? I am Count Ewan of Thwentis, and these are my cousins, and the son of my steward, who is in charge of my retinue here. His father thought he could use the practice.”

Kathryn did like men who could think practically. “Then why are your cousins here? I would have thought that the one who barged past me was enough.”

Count Ewan flashed white, even teeth in a broad grin that caused a small flutter in Kathryn’s stomach. “Why, to stop me from throwing myself into the Inland Sea should I fail to impress your lovely self, of course.”

Oh, this charming rogue was going to be trouble. Kathryn tried to cover her giggle, while Lukas, who had just arrived, laughed outright. “I like you, but why are you out here with my sister, instead of greeting our father?”

Kathryn indicated the closed doors. “Duke James is attempting to make a better impression on Father than he did to me. Count Ewan has the manners to wait to be presented.”

A patter of small feet came running down the corridor, heralding the arrival of Kathryn’s eldest half-sister, Anna. A pair of maids were some way behind her, in hot pursuit. “Kate! Mama says you have to finish getting ready.”

The Lady Governess to the younger princesses was a plump, motherly woman who was all things kind and gentle, but keeping up with her extremely swift charges was sometimes a trial. Lukas and Count Ewan looked down at Anna with some surprise. “How does a child move that fast on such short legs?”

Kathryn often wondered the same thing. “I had better see what my Lady Stepmother wants.” She smiled at Count Ewan as she swept Anna into her arms. “Good luck.”

He bowed, his eyes warm. “The point is not luck, but to persuade you that I would be the better choice of husband and consort. Never the less, I will gladly accept your support in whatever form it takes.”

Rogue. Kathryn looked forward to speaking to him again at the banquet tonight.

I wrote this first chapter after reading a few too many "Historical" Romances where the princess runs away from a marriage of state to be with a handsome peasant, somehow without starting a war, or at least not caring.

I wondered what a more historically accurate story would look like, where the princess placed duty ahead of desire, for the sake of peace and stability.

Maybe I'll continue it, maybe I won't, but it was fun to write either way.