Night Inside Calden Castle

***

Calden Castle

Lanercoast

'I never thought of claiming the throne. All I could think of was how to avenge my mother's death,' Quentin thought to himself.

The young man was lost in his thoughts, both eyes looking up at the sky above Calden Castle's fortress, which looked clear and cloudless.

Stars were scattered in the space, twinkling with their own light. Quentin also saw two moons lined up with each other, orbiting the same Athalaris.

People called the two moons by different names: Nymeria and Ascalis. Nymeria was the largest moon, while Ascalis was the smallest.

'It's totally different from Earth,' Quentin muttered to himself.

KNOCK!

There was a gentle knock on the door of Quentin's room on the fourth floor of the castle. Standing before the room's window, Quentin spontaneously looked back and then walked over to open the door.

"Lady Arabelle," greeted Prince Quentin, seeing the first daughter of Edgar Helferich come to visit.

"Are you having a rest?" asked Arabelle kindly.

Quentin shook his head, allowing her to enter his chambers, "I just had something on my mind."

Arabelle entered the room, the chamber that Catherine used to stay in during her time in Lanercoast.

Edgar had given the chamber to Quentin because he thought Quentin or Mary had the most right to stay in it.

The beautiful, long-haired woman in her nightgown walked towards the open window. Arabelle's eyes witnessed the beauty outside the castle, which she had seen many times throughout her life.

Quentin also walked over to the window, standing right beside the 24-year-old woman, a fairly mature age for a woman to marry and have a child.

Since he was a child, Quentin had known Arabelle, but he did not really know the nature and behaviour of the woman.

Quentin only came when he and Catherine came to this place. That was why the relationship between the two wasn't very close despite knowing each other.

"I heard everything that happened to you from my father. I'm sorry to hear they tried to kill you both," Arabelle expressed.

The woman was still staring ahead, where the houses were lit up with oil lamps.

"Thank you, Lady Arabelle," Quentin replied clumsily.

"Don't call me that, just Arabelle," Arabelle replied sweetly.

The woman turned around, looking straight at the chamber where Quentin would be sleeping; a king-size bed, furniture made of the finest wood, and other things that could spoil Quentin —although not modern.

"I've come to confirm something with you, Quentin," Arabelle explained, as Quentin's attention was immediately drawn to the side.

"What is it?"

"Helferich will follow your wishes, whether it is to avenge Queen Catherine's murderer or to help you take the Throne of Castlebourne," Arabelle revealed, looking at Quentin with conviction.

Quentin was silent for a moment, his eyes transfixed as Arabelle shared his gaze.

From what Quentin could tell from Arabelle's face, the pretty young single woman was not joking around.

"You know, Edgar didn't have a son at all," Arabelle explained.

"And Helferich has a son from Queen Catherine who has the blood of a white eagle in his veins," Arabelle retorted.

"I have no intention of taking Helferich's reign. You're Edgar's first daughter; you should take it," Quentin explained.

Arabelle laughed, eyes closed and hands resting on the window frame behind her body, "I am a woman. It is forbidden for a kingdom or a house to have a woman in the seat."

"Edgar already knows that. For the past few months, he had been anxious about the continuation of Helferich's reign. However, his anxiety faded when he heard you were travelling to Oakenport to settle the rebellion there," Arabelle explained.

The woman fully told the story of her father's depression. A man's bloodline is important for a house leader because, according to tradition in Athalaris, the ruler must be a man.

If even one house was led by a woman, misfortune would befall the house until the leader was changed to a man.

Edgar could have nominated the child of Arabelle's marriage to another noble as Helferich's heir, but it would be uncertain.

The presence of Quentin, who still had a bloodline from Edgar's older sister, relieved the middle-aged man's heart.

He could plan Quentin's enthronement as Lord of Helferich with the help of his daughters' consent.

"If he knew I was going to Oakenport, why didn't he deploy Helferich's forces to help me?" asked Quentin firmly.

"There were other things he considered not helping you, one of which was Helferich's position as an enemy of Castlebourne," Arabelle replied.

"If Helferich decides to go help you attack Roderick, who is King Otto's alliance, then Helferich will be easily attacked because Calden Castle is unprotected," added Arabelle.

Arabelle laughed again softly, confusing Quentin, who seemed to be standing beside the beautiful woman, "I was impressed with Edgar. He was able to predict your arrival from Oakenport."

Quentin was silent. He did not expect the white eagle cavalry from Helferich to come to rescue him from Hartwin's pursuit.

He thought the game of politics and strategy in this place was far more complex than he could have imagined.

"We've talked about many things since then, but I have no idea why you're here," Quentin added.

Arabelle widened her eyes, looking seriously to the side, curious about what Quentin wanted to know.

"There's no particular reason. I thought since we haven't seen each other for a while, it would be nice if I could meet you for a chat," Arabelle replied.

"But if you're bothered by my presence, I can leave now," Arabelle added.

Quentin was silent as Arabelle waltzed away, leaving the young man alone as he returned to watching the landscape of Calden Castle from above.

The night was getting late, and the lights in the city began to turn off. However, Quentin was still pensive in silence, thinking about the next step he should take towards Helferich and Castlebourne.

There was another soft knock on the door. Earlier, it was Arabelle, but now it was Mary Reingard.

The girl came wearing blue sleeping pyjamas matching her white skin.

"Quentin," Mary greeted.

"What is it, Mary?" asked Quentin, curious.

"I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you tonight?" asked Mary, looking sad.

Quentin sighed, closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "Alright. You can sleep with me."

Mary began to walk towards Quentin, and unexpectedly, the girl immediately embraced Quentin's body tightly, burying Mary's face in Quentin's firm chest.

Her brother was shocked, lowering his head and watching Mary's tears fall down Quentin's chest and clothes.

The fear that she had seen directly from war made her heart tremble with sadness and trauma.

Her body trembled occasionally, unwilling to see any blood or the cries of suffering and hatred spoken by humans in a war.

"Don't be afraid, Mary. We are safe here."

Mary cleared her throat, still clutching Quentin's body tightly as if reluctant to let go of the young man.

Quentin tried to pull away, crouched before Mary until his eyes met hers.

Quentin's hands moved forward, wiping away the girl's tears that continued to flow unstoppably through the gaps in her nose and cheeks.

"I want you to be strong, Mary. We only have Helferich now. You must be ready if I ask you to do something," Quentin replied.

"It's all for our mother's sake."