Breaking Providence (Original Fantasy)

When the Crown Princess first requests another meeting, Serafina’s first instinct is to deny her. Not only had Elsenthia’s last… visit left a bad taste in the Holy Pope’s mouth, but she also had made no effort to apologize for her words.
 
Serafina wasn’t perfect. She didn’t pretend to be. But she was only one person. She couldn’t be everywhere at once in the entire Empire, and to hear Elsenthia act like she was somehow in league with Tobias Williams simply because she’d put her signature on a piece of parchment… it’d made Serafina’s blood boil.
 
Had she intended to give a corrupt man like the Paladin Commander free reign over an entire Convent of defenseless Priestesses? Of course not! But did the Crown Princess seem to understand that? It certainly didn’t feel like she did. The girl didn’t understand much of how the world worked, truth be told. Privately, Serafina blamed Elsenthia’s mother for that. The Queen had long sought to shelter her daughter at all costs.
 
That said, the Holy Pope did not have the time to waste coddling the Crown Princess while she threw yet another temper tantrum in her office. She was far too busy trying to locate Marcus. Unfortunately, with her Shadow busy dealing with the Nobility and the Church’s upper clergymen, she’d been forced to rely upon… less skilled trackers in the past few months. Marcus had stayed in the wind, and to Serafina’s utmost chagrin, so had the latest Dark Lord.
 
It was particularly galling, still having absolutely zero clue who the Dark Lord of this generation was. By all rights, the Dark Lord should have already been Awakened. By all rights, they should have either been discovered in one of the Church’s many Chapels, or have made themselves known somewhere out in the Holy Empire making a mess of things.
 
… If only they’d been with General Roka-Ra’s Warband down south, then maybe Marcus could have slain them there and all of this would be so much easier to take care of. On the other hand, if the Dark Lord HAD been down South, Serafina isn’t sure if Marcus would have survived the encounter. Especially not with the traitors she’d had in her midst diverting the Princess and Destined Hero’s reinforcements, leaving them and their single Crusade hopelessly outmatched.
 
Serafina knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Marcus was the sole reason Elsenthia hadn’t ended up an orc’s plaything all those months ago. But if he’d had to contend with both Roka-Ra AND the new Dark Lord… he might not have fared so well.
 
For a time, the Holy Pope had even wondered if the Dark Lord might have somehow escaped detection with the help of her own clergymen, and was somehow infiltrating the Church itself and using it for their own ends. She kept expecting them to uncover the Dark Lord in their cleansing of first the Church and then the Holy Empire’s Nobility… but it never happened. There was plenty of corruption and horror to be uncovered, but not even a whiff of the Dark Lord.
 
And that? That kept Serafina up at night.
 
So yes, her first instinct had been to ignore the Crown Princess’ latest request for a meeting as the childish tantrum it so clearly was. But then Lisanna had reached out as well, and the Queen had told Serafina that she would be there too, that Elsenthia wanted to meet with both of them. Lisanna had even gone so far as to say that she was sure her daughter had seen the light and meant to apologize.
 
This, the High Elf Queen had confided, was because Lisanna had finally told her daughter the truth. Not just of the Pact between the High Elves and the Empire’s Royal Family… but the truth of the Dark Lord versus Destined Hero Doctrine. Honestly, it was about damn time. Keeping that a secret from Elsenthia was one of the few things Serafina and Lisanna butted heads on over the years. That along with Lisanna continuing to claim that Elsenthia was not ready to be coronated as Queen.
 
Serafina had never pushed the issue, but privately she believed that the Princess should have been coronated as Queen years ago, when Elsenthia first came of age and Awakened. It was how it had always been down with Crown Princes in the past after all, and just because Elsenthia was female didn’t mean they needed to go against tradition.
 
However, Lisanna had been vehemently against it. She’d said time and time again that her daughter simply wasn’t ready. Moreover, the Queen had claimed she was not ready to leave her daughter either. After all, once Elsenthia was Queen, Lisanna would no longer have a reason to stay on this plane and would likely be recalled by her people.
 
Because of this, Serafina hadn’t pushed the issue. And now, with how she and the Crown Princess felt at odds, she supposed she was glad she hadn’t. It was easier dealing with Elsenthia as just the Princess, rather than as Queen of the Holy Empire. It meant Serafina didn’t have to do anything… final.
 
Regardless, with Lisanna’s assurances, Serafina had come to the Palace with her Shadow at her back, and been ushered into a room where the Queen and Princess were both awaiting her arrival. Rising from their table as she enters, they both bow their heads respectfully.
 
“Your Holiness.”
 
“Pope Serafina.”
 
Smirking slightly, the red head bows her head in turn, more of a nod really… but then, they might be Queen and Princess, but SHE was the Holy Pope. Her power was undeniable.
 
“Your Majesty. Your Highness.”
 
As the Queen, Lisanna gestures to a comfortable looking chair, just as ostentatious and grandiose as their own.
 
“Please, have a seat.”
 
Together, all three of them sit down at the same time. Serafina’s Shadow, meanwhile, takes up presence at her back just behind her chair, like always. And just like always, she goes ultimately unnoticed, neither the Queen nor the Princess paying her Shadow any mind.
 
Lisanna snaps her finger and a servant enters, providing them all with cups of wine. Only once the servant is gone does the Queen speak, breaking the silence.
 
“Things have certainly been quieter of late. The malcontents in the Nobility have been dealt with most effectively. It is good that the cover story has such truth to it. The evidence gathered of their misdeeds made it easy enough to spread the idea of them all turning on each other and taking one another out.”
 
Indeed. Truth be told, they had reason to thank Elsenthia for making her ultimatum, though Serafina had no intention of saying so out loud. In the wake of their strike against the Nobility, Serafina’s Shadow had uncovered a full-blown organized effort to overthrow not just the Royal Family, but Serafina herself. Between her own traitorous Cardinals and the treacherous and overly ambitious Nobles, there was a plan in place… one that might have spelt not just Lisanna and Elsenthia’s doom, but Serafina’s as well if she hadn’t gotten the chance to see it coming.
 
Elsenthia had opened her and Lisanna’s eyes to the daggers in the shadow being primed right for their backs. For that, Serafina could be grateful… but that did not mean she was simply going to forgive the younger woman for how she’d spoken to her.
 
And yet, despite Lisanna’s assurances, Elsenthia doesn’t take this opportunity to thank Serafina for lending her Shadow to the cause, nor does she speak up to apologize for how she’d talked to the Pope back in her office. Narrowing her eyes, Serafina sips from her own wine glass, before smiling thinly.
 
“Yes, my Shadow does quite good work, doesn’t she?”
 
Lisanna is quick to tilt her head in acknowledgment, lifting her wine in Serafina’s direction.
 
“Quite right, your Holiness. Your help has been greatly appreciated in these past few months. We live in trying times, but thanks to your efforts, times are a little less trying now. Aren’t they, Elsenthia?”
 
Sitting stiffly, Elsenthia startles at having her name mentioned. She looks between the two of them… before bowing her head.
 
“Yes, mother. Thank you, your Holiness, for all you’ve done for the Empire. Your efforts cannot be discounted.”
 
Well… she sounded somewhat contrite. But Serafina still wasn’t hearing an actual apology. Frowning, the red head just shakes her head and moves on.
 
“The Church has similarly become quieter of late. The deaths of so many Cardinals… it is a time of mourning for our institution, of course, but also a time of rebirth. Age will catch up to all of us after all, no matter how powerful or… instrumental we might think we are. Time comes for us all…”
 
She pauses and then flicks a gaze of amusement over at Lisanna.
 
“Well, time comes for all of us mere mortals, I suppose. Some are a little luckier than that.”

Though, Serafina didn’t truly believe that. Sure, the Elves had gotten a pretty good deal from the original expedition into these lands. They’d used what they’d gained from the device to not only form the Pact with their human companions, but also eventually ascend to the Higher Plane completely, leaving this plane of existence behind.
 
However… Serafina would take being a human over an elf any day. Sure, their existences were fleeting… but there was so much to do down here. So much life and vibrancy. She couldn’t say what the Higher Plane was like, but she’d gotten something of a negative impression from Lisanna over the years, even if the High Elf Queen did not mean to give it.
 
No… Serafina was quite happy living a mortal life. Just so long as she could locate Marcus and the new Dark Lord, saving the former and vanquishing the latter. If she could properly set Marcus up with Elsenthia and see the two married and happy and ruling over the Holy Empire, then she would be content. Her… mistakes and regrets would be rectified.
 
Until that happened, however-
 
“Mother. Your Holiness. I think it’s time we talked about why I asked for you both to meet with me today.”
 
Blinking, Serafina is pulled from her inner thoughts to see the Crown Princess squirming in her seat, looking between her and the Queen. Raising an eyebrow, Serafina exchanges a glance with Lisanna, before the High Elf gives her daughter a motherly smile.
 
“Go ahead, Elsenthia.”
 
The two of them both wait, anticipating an apology to pass from the younger woman’s lips. An apology that ultimately… never comes. Instead, the half-elf lets out a deep breath… and proceeds to stun them both with her audacity.
 
“I think that it is past time for me to be coronated as Queen of the Holy Empire. I believe that with the corruption in the Church and the Nobility dealt with, I am ready for my father’s crown to rest upon my brow, and to sit upon his throne and call it my own.”
 
There’s a moment’s pause, and then Lisanna lets out a tittering laugh.
 
“Daughter of mine… whyever would you think such a thing? There is still so much to teach you. Still so much for you to learn. I-!”
 
But Elsenthia shakes her head, and to Serafina’s mild amusement, actually interrupts her mother outright.
 
“No, mother. If there is still more for me to learn, I believe I will be better suited learning it as Queen, rather than as Princess. There’s only so many lessons I can try and absorb. Some things, you have to learn by doing them. If I am ever going to lead my people, the time is now.”
 
Serafina lifts her brow at that and finally leans forward to interject.
 
“And what of Marcus? You would set him aside to rule the Holy Empire alone?”
 
Far from being cowed by the edge in Serafina’s voice, Elsenthia looks at the Holy Pope rather cooly. So much so that Serafina begins to bristle, only to be stopped dead by the Crown Princess’ response.
 
“I have every intention of marrying Marcus and ruling the Holy Empire WITH him, your Holiness. He will be my King if that is what HE wants. However, things cannot always work on a time table we find most favorable. Now, with the Nobility and Church cleaned up, is the best time for my rule to begin. And if Marcus hears that I am to become Queen… I feel as though he will come back to me. He will return to me in a heartbeat.”
 
Elsenthia sounds so sure of herself. Could it really be that easy? Serafina sits back in her chair, suddenly contemplative. If they announced Elsenthia’s coronation, would Marcus really return to the Capital?
 
Seeing Serafina being swayed by Elsenthia’s words, Lisanna goes a little wide eyed, a tinge of panic entering her voice as she titters nervously.
 
“But if you become Queen… I’ll be forced to return to the Higher Plane, Elsenthia. Surely… surely you don’t want that, my daughter.”
 
Elsenthia graces her mother with an apologetic smile.
 
“Of course not, mother. I never wanted to lose you. But… we always knew this day would come, did we not? Her Holiness said it herself. Time marches on for her and I and the rest of the Holy Empire, even if it does not march on for you and yours. And… the time for my ascendancy has long passed, mother.”
 
There’s a brief pause… and then Lisanna scowls.
 
“No. You’re being foolish, Elsenthia. Foolish and selfish. Once again, you’re only thinking of yourself. I say no. You are not ready, and I will not have you lead this Empire into ruin. I shall remain as Queen for a few more years until I believe-!”
 
It’s in the middle of Lisanna’s slightly unhinged rant that it happens. Serafina was just beginning to wonder why the High Elf Queen thought she was going to get a few more years given Serafina’s plans to marry Marcus and Elsenthia… when the point becomes rather moot. Suddenly, a bright light fills the room, centered on Queen Lisanna in her chair. Serafina has to shield her gaze, damn near blinded by the most holy power she’s ever seen concentrated in one place… that didn’t come from her, anyways.
 
“Wha- no! What is this?! No! You can’t!”
 
Serafina frowns, wondering exactly what’s happening and why Lisanna is panicking, when suddenly she hears a voice, deep and wizened and distinctly elven in its condescending tone.
 
“My daughter Lisanna Layla Leliana. I have come for you. Long have you toiled away in the mortal plane. Long past the time that the Pact demanded of you with the death of the last Human King. That time is over now. You will return to us. Come, Lisanna.”
 
  Eyes wide with horror, Lisanna claws at the arms of her chair, the Queen seemingly holding on for dear life as though that will stop them.
 
“N-No! I’m not ready yet! M-My daughter… she’s not of age! She’s not-!”
 
“That is not what she says, Lisanna Layla Leliana. Your daughter contacted us herself. She explained things quite clearly. For a half-breed, she is quite intelligent… and mature. Far more mature than your reports to us would suggest.”
 
Serafina’s eyes flicker to Elsenthia, widening slightly as she realizes this is the Crown Princess’ gambit. How intriguing. Intriguing… and amusing.

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