Chapter 64

Princess Elora
Furia

Three moons, six fortnights, and still it felt like yesterday when Elora had to part from Yuwen Hong. Even time had not made it any easier to accept the vault left in her heart.

Through the messenger bird her father provided, she managed to write to Yu'er, hopeful that one of her many letters would remind him of his love for her and he would seek her out. He had not done that.

It had become a sickening cycle of disappointment. Writing a letter, looking forward to the bird coming back with his reply, only to see its empty legs. Then instead of giving up, she relied on the false hope that maybe he did not reply because he was on his way to get her. Yet days would follow with no appearance from him.

In the background of pining for the one she couldn't have, she was unconsciously settling into life in Furia. She abandoned her qualms for solitude and began to attend every meal.

Oren, the devoted father, convinced her to wake up early to watch him practice with the Furian army during the morning drill. On some days, she was in a better mood and would practice and learn from him due to his unyielding persistence for her participation.

It was a month after Elora's arrival that her mother decided it was time for her to start preparing for the throne seat. Obviously, Elora objected. She was in Furia to pass time, waiting for Yuwen Hong's heart to heal so he could have her by his side once again. No intentions did she have to be in Furia forever.

It was shameless, but Li Lian sometimes placed her hopes on Cai Wenjin. Yuwen Hong could be stubborn to forgive her betrayal, but the father part of him wouldn't be as difficult if his daughter started to cry for her "Li Lian". If Cai Wenjin continuously pressed on the absence of Li Lian, who had become her treasured friend, would that leave space for him to forget her?

Hopefully not.

But well, it was a week before Elora would give in to Queen Elora's persistent grousing. Because after all, it would not hurt to act like the dutiful daughter her mother wanted her to be. A dutiful daughter for the negligent mother.

What a "match".

Her daily routine began with a two-hour bathe in the lavender flowers' pond. Since the lavender flower was her favored flower, its scent and properties were to revive her Aura Strength.

Thereafter, she drank selected potions to strengthen her back. Because as the priestess explained to Elora, seeds needed fertile ground to grow and sprout to life, and the same was for the wings. A strong back would be fertile ground for her wings to break forth.

Elora's diet was changed to include foods that would aid the growth of wings. They loved to feed her purple vegetables and snow-white beans the most, which were not as vibrant as the food she was accustomed to eating when she shared meals with her beloved.

During the day, she spent time doing what she disliked the most - reading on the laws of Furia beside her mother. Queen Elora was her temporary teacher until the Liege Lord picked a tutor for her, which he was taking his sweet time on as two months later, no tutor had been assigned.

"Your Majesty, Lance presents himself for your audience," the guard announced at the entrance of the library.

Unlike Nevoria, where Elora was used to studying in a dedicated study room, in Furia, they studied in the library. It was a large room that was endless in height that some books required a ladder to reach for on the upper shelves.

What's more, there was no sunlight to motivate her studies like the Dragon Palace study quarters, which had minimal furniture, a large space for ease in focusing, and huge open windows to let in the fresh air. You did not need a candle to assist you in studying during the day.

Li Lian sighed as she eyed the candle that sometimes had her forget it was day.

"Let him in," Queen Elora responded.

Heavy footsteps proceed toward her mother. Queen Elora sat in another aisle away from her as Elora hated being beisde her and having her breathing down her neck.

Earlier, they had argued about Elora apparently having a "widow-resting face."

"A man who has not come for you this long has moved on. Have you forgotten he is an emperor with thousand of women throwing themselves at his feet?"

Lance greeted her mother. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"I sent for you and you were not in the city?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I was patrolling the border."

"Any news?"

"Good news only."

Elora could tell her mother's delight by the unintended high pitch. No matter what she said, Queen Elora controlled her voice to maintain its softness. "Share with me."

"We found a lady who we think will please the sight of the Liege Lord."

Her mother seemed to be laughing to herself before she said, " Just as in the painting?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

One month ago, a celebration had taken place where merchants presented gifts to the queen. It was surprising that they loved her so much that they found delight in gifting the queen while expecting nothing in return.

The people's feelings toward the monarchy were vastly different between Furia and Nevoria. In Nevoria, the people loved the monarchy out of fear that failing to fall in line could result in their death. In Furia, however, the love came from comfort, contentment, and admiration. Elora felt it was her mission to find out what her mother did in the past to win such reverence.

Nevertheless, a merchant presented a painting of a woman from the North of Furia who was admired for her beauty. Thus, the presents of the merchants were still piled in the throne room when the Liege Lord visited later on that day.

They say on his procession to the throne seat where the queen waited to give him audience, he stopped in his tracks, caught in awe of the painting.

"Sinking fish, falling goose, hiding the moon, shaming the flowers," he had remarked.

In simple words, this meant the visage of being so fair can halt a fish mid-swim and send it down to sink, make geese cease flight and plummet through the air, and shroud the moon behind a cloudy gown. Even flowers, with all their grace and poise, would feel shame in the presence of her. Basically, he found her beauty to be attention-stealing with the power to make all else seem overdone.

Such words moved Elora's heart even though they were not said for her. And even though she yearned for Yuwen Hong, maybe a man who had such a poetic pose would win her over. Forgetting the fact that the Liege Lord was said to be 100 years old.

His words were shocking to the people, for in the many years beforehand, he had never praised a woman in such a manner. It was rumored that he had a beautiful 20-year-old betrothed whom he had yet to touch, and the last time he had touched a woman was probably three years ago. Some even assumed that his eyes were not for women but for men.

"Have the lady prepared and presented to the Liege Lord. I hope this gift will change his mind," Elora's mother said, rising from her seat. "Take me to her. I want to see."

They left the library, and Elora's mother's excitement was palpable. She had been waiting for this opportunity to pop up its head for her to crush it.

Furia's politics consisted of three units: Furians, priests, and the Drakko.

The Drakko were a bird breed just like the Furians, but specifically stemming from owls. What differentiated the Drakko from the Furians was that the Furians were a general kind of bird species that had mixed with each other when mating, among the fact that even humans married into Furia. With the passage of time, it was difficult to determine what kind of bird a Furian had descended from. Even the monarchy, though conservative in picking their mates, barely knew themselves what they descended from. Wings could help identify the different species your ancestory was, but not as accurately.

However, all that did not apply to the Drakko. The Drakko had preserved their kind over many centuries by strictly associating with each other for marriage and enacting harsh laws against anyone who chose otherwise. Marriage or having a child with an outsider meant becoming an outcast and being forced to live outside their communities.

In the past, even just sleeping with an outsider could result in being cast out. However, with time, this was dissolved. One could consume in intimacy with an outsider and still be accepted back into the community with no judgment as long as no child came forth.

The Drakko chose exclusivity to preserve their characteristics such as wisdom and cultivated power, which were believed to be tied to their pure breed. Unlike the Furians, the Drakko preferred male leadership. However, when the nation they relied on, Gurio, turned against them, they had to flee and eventually found refuge in Furia, which was still recovering from its separation from Nevoria.

Upon their agreement, Furia expanded from two units to three. The ruler remained the Furian queen, which was not a problem for the Drakko, who preferred solitude, and the priests, who focused on prophecy and divinity.

Thus, to avoid the domination of one unit over others, they agreed that important decisions could only be made with the agreement of two units, but major decisions like changing the crown princess required unanimous agreement from all three units. The Furians and the priests did not object to Elora replacing Eleanor as the crown princess, but the Drakko held a different view.

This was why her mother was pursuing the favor of the Liege Lord, who was the king of the Drakko. Winning his heart meant winning the Drakko people's hearts, and this was crucial for the success of Elora's ascension to the throne.

S.V