Breaking Providence (Original Fantasy)

“It is time to come home, Lisanna Layla Leliana.”
 
The bright light filling the meeting room is nearly blinding in its intensity. And yet, somehow, despite said light being centered upon Lisanna and her chair, Elsenthia is able to make out her mother’s panicked features all the same.
 
“P-Please… my daughter… Serafina… h-help me! Don’t let them t-take me! Don’t let them do this!”
 
Elsenthia tenses, half-expecting the Holy Pope to step in… or at least, try to. She’s ready for it if Serafina does anything. It’s all part of the plan. Which is why it’s a little disconcerting when Serafina stays right where she is, not moving a muscle as she watches the proceedings in silence.
 
All the while, Lisanna is the exact opposite of silent. Her mother is growing more and more frantic by the moment, which is in turn making Elsenthia’s throat close up and her eyes burn with unshed tears. It wasn’t like she wanted this to happen. It wasn’t like she wanted this to be how it all ended. But… in the end, her mother had left her no choice.
 
So long as Lisanna remained Queen of the Holy Empire, their people would not recall her. So long as Elsenthia remained Princess, she could remain on the mortal plane in order to continue raising her daughter. And so… her mother was incentivized to keep Elsenthia as Princess indefinitely. Truth be told, it had taken a long time for Elsenthia to realize as much. It had taken far too long for her to come to understand that in order to grow and begin truly living her life, she had to remove her mother from the picture.
 
Understanding that fact did not make this any easier, however.
 
“Do not fight it, my daughter. It is past time for you to return to us. Your place is among your people, Lisanna Layla Leliana.”
 
As her grandfather’s ancient, wizened, and altogether arrogant voice echoes through the room, Elsenthia can only grimace and watch. It’s too late for her to actually stop this anyways. As soon as she contacted the Higher Place and told her mother’s people the truth, it had been too late. From that moment on, it only became a matter of time before Lisanna was recalled.
 
That didn’t make this any easier, and as Lisanna looks stricken and teary eyed at her, Elsenthia opens her mouth to say sorry… but her mother beats her to it.
 
“You don’t… y-you don’t understand, Elsenthia! It’s so BORING up there! There’s nothing to do! It’s unending tedium!”
 
Wait, what?
 
“At least here, people die! And because they die, they also live! Up there, they merely exist! They survive but do not thrive! Please, I can’t go back! I don’t want to! It’s so DULL!”
 
Elsenthia stares blankly at her mother, as if just seeing Lisanna for the first time in her entire life. The Queenly visage, the knowledgeable attitude… it’s all stripped away in the face of the High Elf suddenly throwing a temper tantrum over… over being BORED of all things. That was why her mother had done everything in her power to hold Elsenthia back? That was why she’d let YEARS pass after Elsenthia’s Awakening, avoiding her coronation while letting things get worse and worse with the Nobility?!
 
… She should have been Queen years ago. She should have taken up her father’s crown ages back. In an instant, all of Elsenthia’s guilt and pity disappears. She sits there stone-faced as Lisanna is finally recalled, unable to hold her father at bay or resist the teleportation spell a moment longer. As her mother disappears from the mortal plane and returns to the Higher Plane where she’s always belonged, Elsenthia lets out an explosive breath of relief, as if a massive weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
 
Despite there still being torches lining the walls of the room, it nevertheless suddenly feels quite dark in the wake of the bright light’s absence. It takes Elsenthia a few moments to blink the spots out of her eyes, but when she can properly see again… her mother’s seat is still gone. The wineglass that Lisanna had been holding appears to have gone with her. She-
 
Elsenthia jolts, as the sound of clapping suddenly cuts through her inner thoughts. It starts slow at first, as she turns her gaze towards the other woman in the room. Serafina sits where she sat before, having not moved a muscle in defense of her friend. The Holy Pope even has a wide smile on her face as she brings her hands together time and time again.
 
“Well done, Elsenthia. Well played. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you. Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought the High Elves would have even listened to you, given your status.”
 
Elsenthia hesitates for a moment. This… conversation wasn’t part of the plan. But then again, Serafina hadn’t acted as expected. She’d made no move to stop Lisanna from being recalled, and so she had not had to be stopped just yet in turn. Was Serafina not powerful enough to contend with her mother’s people on the Higher Plane? Or did she simply not care?
 
Lips thinning out, the Crown Princess chooses to be slightly magnanimous, shrugging her shoulders.
 
“They were grateful to hear from me, actually. The sense of time and scale up on the Higher Plane is apparently quite terrible. My mother’s people truly believe that I wasn’t of age just yet, and that she had to stay down here and continue being Queen for just a little bit longer.”
 

Glancing at the empty chair, Elsenthia hums to herself for a moment.
 
“Not only have they lost the ability to understand how time down here on the mortal plane works, but it also takes pure High Elves hundreds of years to mature in the first place, apparently. Once I… corrected the record, they were more than happy to take my mother back.”
 
Serafina nods, before raising her wine glass in a salute and taking a long drink from it. Once she’s done, she smacks her lips… and laughs.
 
“Leaving you free and able to finally ascend to your father’s throne in your mother’s absence.”
 
Hesitating again ever so briefly, Elsenthia nods. It wasn’t like she’d wanted to do it. Sacrificing her mother in order to become Queen. She’d never wanted this. But… it had become a necessity. Because at the end of the day, her mother was part of the problem. And until Lisanna was gone, Elsenthia couldn’t begin fixing things.
 
Not that Serafina has any intentions of letting her do that, of course. Chuckling to herself, the red head suddenly becomes… somewhat sinister as she leans forward.
 
“I acknowledge your gambit, Princess. Most impressive. Quite… clever. However, I wonder if you truly thought this through. Do you really think the path to the Crown is as secure as you think it is now that Lisanna is out of the way?”
 
Elsenthia’s lips thin out at that, and she stays quiet as Serafina takes another drink of wine.
 
“This is your problem, Princess. You’re so… entitled. It’s not entirely your fault, of course. Your mother is at least partially to blame. Perhaps I am as well. You’re convinced that the only acceptable choice for ruler of the Holy Empire… is you.”
 
Serafina scoffs at this, shaking her head.
 
“I’m not quite sure I agree if I’m being honest. And that’s a problem for you, don’t you think? After all, there’s only one person who can coronate you in the whole of the Holy Empire. Me.”
 
She’s right, of course. The Holy Pope is the one who performs the coronation. Dating back centuries, this has always been the case. It’s not a tradition that goes all the way back to the founding of the Holy Empire of course. The Church is not quite over a thousand years old like the Empire is, but it’s getting close. And for centuries now, hundreds upon hundreds of years, the Holy Pope has been the one who has placed the crown upon the King’s brow.
 
For a Royal to try and rule the Holy Empire without the Holy Pope’s blessing? Why… it’s unheard of. And for Elsenthia especially…
 
“You, more than anyone, will require my blessing Elsenthia. Even with all of those dead nobles and clergymen who were plotting against us, there are still plenty who aren’t quite sure whether your birth was a mistake or not. The first half-elf daughter to a King of the Holy Empire in the entire span of our history.”
 
Shrugging, Serafina’s smirk grows.
 
“If you’d been born a boy, perhaps you wouldn’t need me. But if I do not give you my blessing, if I decide not to coronate you… no one will follow you. You will be Queen of Nothing.”
 
The Holy Pope’s eyes glitter here with malicious glee as she runs a finger along the rim of her wine glass.
 
“Will you beg, I wonder? Will you get down on your hands and knees and beseech me to allow you your crown and throne?”
 
Elsenthia remains quiet. She stays seated. After a few moments of silence, of her just staring, Serafina’s smile becomes wooden before dropping altogether. She lets out a laugh that sounds fake to Elsenthia’s ears.
 
“No, of course not. As I said… you are much too entitled. Perhaps you think I need you as much as you need me, hm? Perhaps you think I should want you to be my figurehead, that without you, there’s no one better. But then… you’re not thinking very hard on this if that is the case.”
 
Setting her wine glass down on the table, Serafina finally stands. Elsenthia tenses, but the older woman makes no move to attack her. In fact, her Holiness even clasps her hands behind her back as she begins to pace back and forth. Her eyes remain affixed on Elsenthia though, like a predator staring at a particularly juicy piece of meat.
 
“With the Church and the Nobility cleaned up, I could take the reins myself you know. No one would dare question it. I could declare the Holy Empire a proper theocracy once and for all. No more Kings, no more Queens. The end of the Pact with the High Elves… but then, you already represent the end of that Pact, don’t you? They won’t be sending a Queen down for you, that’s for sure. So why not? Why shouldn’t I rule the Holy Empire myself? I’ve already been doing so behind the scenes for the past ten years. Why shouldn’t I do so in name as well?”
 
She was spouting madness. But still Elsenthia does not speak. She only watches and wonders… how did she not realize how frayed the Holy Pope had become? When had it started? When had Serafina’s sanity begun to unravel? Was it more recent, after the banquet? Or was it further back then that? Had the kernel of madness always been there in Serafina’s mind?
 
As if recognizing how she sounds, how she looks, Serafina… chuckles and pulls back. She reins in her manic expression, physically leaning back even as her smile becomes more… doting in a way. Not doting towards Elsenthia though, of course.
 
“Ah, but I have no desire to rule this Empire, Elsenthia. I may not be as old and decrepit as some of the men that I’ve had killed in these past few months, but I’m not inclined to become some sort of Holy Empress. Luckily for me, I will not be forced to do so.”
 
She’s clearly building up to it. Trying to egg Elsenthia on. Trying to provoke her into engaging. When it becomes clear that the Princess isn’t going to do so, Serafina grins a wicked grin.
 
“I speak of Marcus, of course. The Destined Hero will be our Empire’s next King. Truth be told, it should probably have been that way ages ago. The Royal Family has long held power within the Holy Empire. And why? Because they were here first? Your ancestors found a device and activated it a thousand years ago, so they and the High Elves should be allowed to rule over the rest of us in perpetuity? No… I think not.”
 
Here, Serafina shakes her head in wry amusement.
 
“The Destined Hero is the one who keeps this entire Empire afloat. Marcus… Marcus will be the one to set us back on the right track. Once he’s been found, once I’ve helped him kill the Dark Lord, the prosperity and providence stolen from us all those years ago will be returned. And it will be Marcus who reaps the true benefits of that as he sits upon the throne and rules this Empire.”
 
Smiling somewhat coyly, the Holy Pope lets out a laugh.
 
“I must admit, until quite recently, I wanted you and he to rule together. As King and Queen. Only now do I realize… you’re not right for him, Elsenthia. You’re not right for the throne. Perhaps… perhaps if he wishes it, you may be one of his concubines. You might even get the chance to pop out a child or two for him. But I will never crown you Queen, Elsenthia. I see now that you are not worthy of it.”
 
Glancing at the wine glass, Serafina smirks.
 
“If you truly wanted this little gambit of yours to succeed, you should have poisoned my wine, darling. You had to have known I wouldn’t just let you get away with banishing your mother without consequences.”
 
Finally, Elsenthia speaks. Her tone is quiet and light.
 
“If I had poisoned the wine, you might have suspected something was amiss, your Holiness.”
 
Serafina’s eyes dart to Lisanna’s empty chair and the Holy Pope lets out a somewhat undignified, unladylike snort of derision at that.
 
“… Yes. You certainly managed to pull the wool over my eyes in that regard, I cannot deny it. And yet… how is that working out for you, hm?”
 
The question is rhetorical, something Serafina proves when she doesn’t wait for Elsenthia to reply. Instead, the Holy Pope snaps her fingers and her Shadow steps forward, the Pope’s most trusted agent having been waiting in the wings all this time.
 
“Take the Princess back to the Cathedral Dungeons. She clearly cannot be trusted to be left to her own devices.”
 
Smiling a venomous smile in Elsenthia’s direction, Serafina’s eyes flash.
 
“Not to worry, Elsenthia. You won’t need to worry your pretty little head about leading a thing anymore. Once Marcus has returned, once I’ve guided him down the path of victory… then HE will decide what to do with you. Do not fret. As your Aunt, I shall do my best to put in a good word regarding your pedigree and good breeding. Even if you are an abomination that should have been impossible… you are still the blood of Kings.”

-x-X-x-

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