In Character Discussions Leg A - Branwyn and Tiberius Wedding
Jennevive,
There are urgent things I must convey and I need someone with a calm head, an interest in protecting Sam, and your particular strengths and knowledge. As you must know by now, I shall marry Prince Branadarus this evening. I have been quite masterfully separated from both Tiberius and all of you. So other than getting this letter to you, I am not sure when or for how long I will be able to speak with any of you. Queen Annia wishes all of us to leave for home first thing tomorrow. All of us except for Lord Sam. He is to remain with her.
Indigo is not here to shout at me about the prophecy and how Sam must be protected, but he does not need to be in the same room for me to know what he wants and believes. And I cannot in good conscience leave him here unless he wants to be here of his own volition. You have said that you would protect Sam, and so you need to know what is to happen. The Queen will keep Sam and attempt to make him King of Terraguard. She insists that he shall not be held by force or controlled by magic. I do believe that she does not plan to magically control him. You and she are both correct in that it is too difficult a task for the long term. However, though she may not keep Sam in shackles, when one has little gold, no protection or allies, means of transport, or knowledge of the lands, then one’s options are not far from that of a prisoner in a cell. Prince Loplin has so overly protected his ward that he knows little of how to maneuver in the world and we would be leaving him in a viper’s den.
We were very wrong about our hostess. She is not a witch as Prince Branadarus so mistakenly believes, but a vampire. Her daughter is one as well, albeit not as powerful as her mother. This changes much as far as how much opposition we can muster in so short a time. My fate is sealed. There is no turning back for me now. I shall marry Prince Branadarus and take him away from his mother. My heart aches for him and I do not know if I have the strength to shatter the illusion of what he thinks he knows of her.
I do not know how to save Lord Sam without putting our entire group in mortal danger. Angering this woman could bring death and destruction on all of our heads. She could easily kill us one by one until we handed Sam to her. We cannot hope to fight her for Sam and have all of us walk away with our lives. Even if we could defeat her, she has priests and mages and guards and others who support her that would not let us simply do this thing. Battle is not an option. I cannot have that blood on my hands on top of everything else that I can never put into words.
I have nothing to leverage against this woman. No cards I can play to gain an advantage. If Sam dies, yes, she loses a tool she may use to gain power, but she isn’t any worse off than before she heard of him. Human life has little to no value to her in comparison to her own needs. She may want him, but she certainly does not need him and so we have nothing to bargain with.
But with that knowledge, perhaps Sam is in better hands here than what it appears. As I struggle with all of this, I could not help but think – What better protector for this man and possible king-to-be than her? If she wants to make him a king then she will protect him and she is powerful enough to do so better than any of us. I know that is a horrible thing to write, but truth is not always pretty and more often than not extremely uncomfortable. I do hope that I am amusing you. None of this is easy for me to write, but I think no one will understand better than you. And so here we are.
I will cooperate as I can in order to protect everyone and plan to gain further assurances of our safety in leaving. Please tell the others what you think they need to know that will allow them to remain vigilant, but do not allow them to get into any kind of panic or uproar. You know from the catacombs of Ilero’s feelings about the undead. You are also aware that Kel tends to overreact whenever he feels Shi is in any kind of danger. Hugh is quite admirable in his high moral and ethical standards, but that can lead him at times to let his emotions rule over caution. So please be careful with them. I know you love chaos to reign, but I am pleading with you to do what is best to get all of us out of this cursed kingdom alive. They must know that I know what this woman is and I marry of my own free will. We are leaving in the morning and all will be well.
About Lord Sam, I do not know what to say other than I hope that between you and Marisu, who know him and care about his future most, and the priests who are with us, that you will be able to assure me when this is all over that Sam is making a decision to stay that is not coerced. If at the end of it all Sam does want to leave, then perhaps this is a matter we can better resolve not on my wedding night, but in the morning when the sun is shining brightly on all of us. But also knowing that the hours between day and night can be painfully short.
Branwyn
