A Chess Piece, Reborn

Esme had woken up completely alone the next morning.

She was waiting in the throne room for her father and brothers. A man from the Yard was coming by and was supposed to question every member of the family. However, after an hour of waiting, they never showed up. Esme and her ladies in waiting went through their rooms to search for them.

It wasn't until they got to Francis's quarters they found all their bodies. Lifeless. Francis was on the bed, Vero was face down in front of the door, and Claude was hung by the neck.

And then there was one.

When the bodies were discovered, the Yard quickly called in the police to investigating the murder of three members of the royal family. The guards rushed Esme into the drawing room. They locked all windows and the doors. Only one person was allowed to enter and leave the room. Alessandra.

However, the trauma left Esme shaken and hurt. She sat in the corner, hugging her legs close to her chest. Tears flowed out of her eyes and stained her black dress. She could hear guards, maids, police, and members of the Yard rushed back and forth of the castle. Esme's stress quickly went up, and soon she experienced a panic attack. Alessandra got the royal doctors to come watch the princess until the situation was settled.

But for now, an end and start of an era needed to be planned.

❆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ❆

It had been a month since Vero, Claude, and Francis were killed. Thankfully, Alessandra had increased the security of the palace and made a public statement to the villagers about the recent events. As a kingdom precaution, nobody was allowed to enter the castle or any royally owned grounds up until Esme's coronation. Nobody was allowed to leave or enter Glacies territory for any reason unless granted permission by the High Council until Esme's coronation when she is crowned Queen.

But the real concern now was Esme.

Since her initial lockdown in the castle, Esme has been preparing to become Queen. Only after a day of finding her family dead, Esme was approached by a member of the High Council. Sir Gandalf sat her down and explained to her that she was next in line for succession. Unfortunately, since the previous King had not made an official statement about Vero not being next in line, the council would need to speak on it. After a few weeks, they approved of Esme's succession and gathered tutors from around Teyvat to come teach the young Queen.

Today, Esme had lessons with Sir Carter for dancing, Lady Eloise for etiquette and hospitality, Grand Duke Greyson for history and political affairs, and the Grand Duke's son, Sovereign Duke for horse-back training and lancing. Esme was also scheduled to meet with Viscountess Adeline about decorations for the coronation. She also had to prepare a menu, select music, get her dress fitted, and write her speech. All of this had to be finished by tomorrow night.

Alessandra sat on a nearby couch, scribbling on her notepad whilst watching Esme and Sir Carter. Sir Carter had choreographed an easy waltz for Esme to preform at the after-party of her coronation. She was expected to preform it with the Sovereign Prince of Requiem. Alessandra assured Esme it was just a simple dance and no matchmaking would be involved. But really there was some matchmaking in the mix.

"One, two, three, one, two three, and finish." Sir Carter counted as he carefully watched Esme's feet slide against the polished floor. "M'lady, may I be so intrusive but," he walked over to Esme and pointed to her feet with his cane, "Your feet are just horrible, horrible, horrible! How could a lady ever dance in front of her kingdom like this?" Esme looked down and frowned. "I'm sorry sir, I've never taken dance lessons and my feet are only made for walking."

Sir Carter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright then, we shall continue this later I assume. I'll be returning to my quarters. Please send a maid for me if you wish to run it again." Sir Carter tapped his cane on the floor with each step he took. The guards opened the door for the nobleman and closed it when he passed the threshold.

Esme groaned and planted her exhausted body next to Alessandra. "My god, does he ever shut up about my feet? It's not my fault I never learned how to dance." Alessandra continued to stare at her notepad. "Well, why not?" Alessandra spoke up, "You are a young lady after all." Esme looked down to her feet. Her ankles were red and blistered. In between her schedule, she needed to find time for a spa day.

"'Cause I was never supposed to be a queen!" Esme exclaimed, extending her arms to the newly polished and decorated Queen's quarters. The old artwork of her late mother's and all her clothes were moved into another bedroom for storage. All of Esme's belongings were transferred here and the bedroom became her own.

Alessandra put down her notepad and looked at Esme. "But now you are, so you have to suck it up, Esme. This is what your mother went through, and much more since she was a commoner. At least you just need the basics. Your mother needed more than just simple etiquette. She didn't even know what spoon to use at the dinner table!" Alessandra laughed to herself, remembering the early days. She was a young teenager when she first joined the staff. Fresh out of middle school with no money to go to high school.

Esme sat up and looked at Alessandra. "What was mom's coronation like? Was it all fancy?" Esme asked, lifting her knee up to the couch. Alessandra looked at Esme and smiled. "Yeah," she sighed, "It was truly beautiful."

❆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ❆

Eliza paced back and forth in front of the large marble doors. Behind them, she could hear an orchestra playing music as guests and her fiancé waited. Today was her coronation, the day when her commoner name would be changed to nobility. Her reputation would rise and everyone would look to her.

Alessandra stood by as her Head Maid and Eliza's Lady In Waiting tried to calm the soon-to-be queen down.

"Eliza, please, be calm! Your coronation will be fine, do not worry!" Eliza stopped and spun around to her. "Katelyn, you cannot actually expect me to be calm right now! Glacies is watching a commoner become a queen, my fiancé is watching! The whole of Teyvat is watching!" Eliza harshly whispered, pointing at the door. The music began to slow down, and the chatter in the hall died down. Eliza swiftly looked at the door, realizing what was about to come.

Katelyn looked at her watch, gasping and rushing to grab Eliza. She placed her in the middle of the red carpet. Older maids rushed over to apply extra makeup, adjust Eliza's beautiful navy blue dress, and smooth out her hair. Katelyn grabbed a white lily in a nearby vase and placed it in the bun on Eliza's head. The music was now very quiet, and the crowd was silent.

The maids rushed to the side where nobody else but themselves could see each other. Alessandra peaked around the cracks to watch the doors finally open. Bright lights shone onto Eliza. Her dress glimmered slightly in the light and her light brown hair looked just a bit softer. Katelyn smiled and watched as her princess marched to become a queen.

Eliza stood slow and steady steps. She kept her eyes on Francis who stood proudly at the end of the aisle. The Archbishop stood by him, smiling at Eliza. Eliza smiled back and heard a whisper from the crowd. She gracefully moved her head to see her old school friends waving at her. She gave a small wave back and then turned her head to look at end of the aisle once more.

Finally, she stopped and bowed her head to the Archbishop. The Archbishop nodded and lifted his hands above to the sky. Eliza raised her head in coordination. "Today, we come together for the God of Ice and Snow has chosen his new court. A king of which will be betrothed to Eliza Julien Maria Corvenious, our new Queen of Glacies." The audience clapped.

A butler carried the orb and specters on an ivory pillow, bringing to the Archbishop. He picked up on the orb and extended it to Eliza who took it from his hands. She spun around and faced the crowd. They stood and pierced their hungry eyes into her. Eliza's let out a long breathe while steadying her feet.

One of the other side of the Archbishop, another butler carried the same ivory pillow with a tiara on it instead. It was silver with a blue ruby on the face.

The Archbishop rose the tiara over her head and spoke, "Bless we beseech thee and sanctify this thy servant our queen, and as thou dost this day set a crown of pure ice upon her head, so enrich her royal heart with your abundant grace, and crown her with all princely virtues through the heavenly principals."

The tiara was placed on Eliza's head and the crowd cheered. Eliza turned back around, hands shaking, and gave the orb and specter back to the Archbishop. He smiled and nodded. Francis rushed over to hug his fiancé, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You are now the Queen of Ice and Snow dear. No longer are you a citizen of Requiem now. You belong to us." Francis said lovingly while stroking Eliza's hair. She smiled awkwardly.

Francis interlocked his arm with hers and stood by, waving at the crowd. "Long live the Queen!" the crowd exclaimed. Francis and Eliza walked down the aisle together and into the hallway, feeling the wind of the doors closing behind them.

The ice has frozen over the free flames of life.

❆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ❆

After Esme's long waited coronation and the after-party, she threw herself onto her bed and groaned. Alessandra neatly hung Esme's dress and covered it with a sheet. "Esme, do you want me to bring you tea? Maybe some hot milk?" Alessandra asked, hanging the dress on a nearby hook. "No, I'm fine." Esme sighed.

Esme turned over onto her back and starred up. Since she first moved into her new room, Alessandra issued for bed drapes to be installed around Esme's bed. White pillars held up the silk and light blue ribbons kept them tied to the pillars. Alessandra walk over and started to untie the ribbons one by one and pulled the drapes to cover the princess, all except for one.

Alessandra sat on the edge of the bed next to Esme. "Well, now you're Queen. You have a long day tomorrow. You have to select a new council, your new cabinet, find a new head maid and select your new royal advisors, and replace me." Alessandra solemnly said, stroking Esme's newly grey hair, "The God of Ice must've really liked you to give you a new form. Not even your mother had that special moment at her coronation. It was years after when she finally got a blessing."

Esme looked up to Alessandra with a confused face. Alessandra could feel Esme's stare and met her gaze. "What do you mean? I thought this hair and dress snowflake stuff was traditional?" Esme questioned, ruffling her hair and pulling a strand to her face. She dropped it and let it slide back down to the sheets.

"No, it's not." Alessandra said, laying down next to Esme. "Usually, when a queen or king is coronated, the Gods have a choice to bless them and put a part of themselves into the human's heart or leave them be." Alessandra lifted her head using her arm and stared down at Esme, "But when the human passes away or is hurt, it is reflected onto the God depending of how much they put themselves into the human."

Alessandra put her hand onto Esme's chest, "Considering your hair turned white and you're cold to the touch, our God has put a larger chunk of himself into you. He did the same with your mother, but only her hair turned white. You must be special to him, Esme." Esme looked down to Alessandra's hand. "Why me? Why would he give a part of himself to me?" Esme asked, looking back to Alessandra.

"That, we will never know." Alessandra sighed.

"Well, it's been a long day for everyone. You should get some sleep. You have a lot to do tomorrow, m'lady." Alessandra said, jumping off from the bed. She went around the room, blowing out each candle one by one, leaving the one next to Esme's bed lit. Esme shuffled around the covers and slid under the soft blankets.

Alessandra picked up the small candle by Esme and smiled down to the queen. "You comfortable? Want me to stay until you fall asleep?" Alessandra asked, looking down to make sure Esme's new life as queen starts with the upmost comfort. Esme nodded and smiled back, "Don't worry about me. Go sleep, Alessandra." Alessandra curtsied and blew the candle out. Esme watched as Alessandra left her bedroom, softly closing the door behind her.

❆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ❆

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Rafal exclaimed, slamming his fists onto the marble table. The holographic map of Teyvat in the middle flickered. Ateyur sat across Rafal, calm as ever, sipping on tea. Rafal angrily stared at his older brother. "You sent your people to kill my queen!? Do you realize what you've done you idiot!?" Rafal yelled, pointing at Glacies on the map.

"I didn't send my people, you fool," Ateyur calmly replied, "I don't know who killed Elizabeth. I wasn't aware your queen was killed until I saw my King reading a funeral invitation." Rafal leaned closer to Ateyur's side, almost climbing onto the table, "Then why did you tell Jasmine of your plans to "get rid of Galcies", huh?"

Ateyur slammed his tea cup on the table, cracking the porcelain clay. The force sent wind gushes around the room. A strand of his red hair fell into his face but he brushed it back, gaining his composure back. "I was never implying I would kill your damn queen, Rafal," Ateyur said, "I was implying that I would send an army to take over the kingdom."

Rafal scoffed. "You know that I gave a part of my body to her," Rafal said, walking around the table, "And killing her means killing apart of me. You knew how much of myself I put into her, and now look at me." Rafal stood right next to Ateyur, bending over to meet Ateyur's eye level.

"Her death took half of my torso and my right shoulder. Then Francis's death took my neck and my thighs. If one more of my people die, I will die. And then you can just storm in and take Glacies for yourself, you monster." Rafal imagined, getting into Ateyur's face. Ateyur pushed Rafal face away and stood up.

"For your information," Ateyur said as he walked to a golden portal, "I have no interest in your stupid icy kingdom. My people would freeze to death once they stepped onto your boarders." Ateyur stopped in front of the portal, his red cape abruptly stopping behind him, "And maybe don't lay your body into humans that aren't immortal, you good for nothing brother."

Ateyur walked straight into the portal, whispers welcoming him back into their domain and dying down once he hopped out on the other side. Rafal stood by the Requiem Throne. Immortality.

If he made his vessel immortal, then he would live on inside of the vessel once his body was dissolved. Sure, it wouldn't be himself since he's missing a few parts here and there, but at least he wouldn't become fairy dust with all his magic. He'd just store it away in a human, make it immortal, and live within them. Rafal smiled and chuckled to himself.

Oh dear brother, he thought, thank you for your stupidity.

❆ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ❆