Later, inside a private meeting room of the palace...
Elira sits at a roundtable with an irritated expression, surrounded by the nobles, Dargo, and Ilina. The normal escorts were excluded, but Nina, Ciri, and I were included as exceptions, though Nina opted to continue roaming the palace rather than attend another meeting. Ciri, of course, is simply standing behind Ilina in her ridiculous maid outfit, quiet as a mouse. Though...that kind of applies to everyone right now.
After several minutes of tense silence, Elira finally rolls her eyes, her tone exasperated.
"Oh, for gods' sakes...speak! I don't want to be here all night." (Elira)
The nobles all exchange nervous glances, eventually coming to some kind of unspoken arrangement about who should speak first. Darak clears his throat politely.
"Ehem...my Queen, I think we're all just a little...surprised, by your handling of the situation." (Darak)
Elira smirks, her tone sarcastic.
"Oh, surprised, are you? Well, you're in good company, Darak." (Elira)
Hearing the quippy response, Darak gives the other nobles a helpless look. Tessa, deciding she's next up to bat, interjects plainly.
"Don't you think you there was a better way to announce the engagement...my Queen? Of the Crown Princess, who's not even 50 yet, just months after a succession change? To someone from another race, not even born on this world, just hours after the truth about him was publicly announced? Also, right after telling everyone that we might be at war soon?" (Tessa)
Elira leans into the arm of her chair, propping her cheek on her hand. She smirks, shrugging dismissively.
"Like how, cousin? Tell me this better idea you had at the time." (Elira)
Tessa freezes, unsure what exactly to say, causing Elira's knowing smirk to intensify. Helena's voice interrupts, inexplicably irritable.
"Oh, quit pointing fingers already...like a bunch of children. There's nothing better she could have done on the spot, and you all know it. If you want to blame someone, blame the Princess – I've seen hookers that were less obvious about their intentions than she was on that damn stage. Or, for that matter, blame Mizuki! Honestly, boy, could you have done a shittier job acting? I've caught toddlers with their hands actively in the kur'kes jar that looked less guilty than you did answering a question from a child!" (Helena)
Ilina and I both avert our gazes, blushing slightly. Meanwhile, the rest of the room falls into stunned silence, the nobles shocked by her crass accusation. Jorah is the first to speak, his tone a mix of reproach and indignation.
"Helena, you are entirely out of line to compare the Princess to a prostitute!" (Jorah)
She throws a disdainful look at him over her shoulder and scoffs. When she responds, her voice is dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, well I suppose you'd be the expert on the difference, huh? Tell me, how many call girls have you thrown at her dear lover boy over there?" (Helena)
Jorah balks at the retort, but another voice cuts the argument short, quiet yet firm enough to broke no argument.
"Enough..." (Dargo)
Everyone glances at Dargo, who sweeps his gaze over everyone with a stern expression before continuing.
"Let's move on from discussing blame. It's pointless now, and to be frank, there's nobody who's been accused of wrongdoing that you lot have the ability to punish unless they allow it." (Dargo)
As he makes the last point, he casts brief glances and Ilina and me. The room falls awkwardly silent after that for a while. Eventually, a tired sigh escapes from Cara, who's sat there without speaking a word or meeting anyone's gaze since we all arrived, wearing a distant expression that makes me more than a little concerned.
"King Dargo's right. Let's agree on the plan going forward and be done with this." (Cara)
Seeing an opportunity to end the meeting before it turns more awkward, Alara nods, finally chiming in as well.
"Agreed. Mother, what's your plan now?" (Alara)
All eyes turn back to Elira, who raises her eyebrows, then lets out a short bark of laughter. She responds, her tone a mix of incredulity and amusement.
"HA! My plan? Why would I bother making another plan? If there's going to be a plan, it's this. Mizuki builds his trains and does his little kingdom tour. Ilina accompanies him as she declared she would, acting as lovesick as she pleases. I mean, no secret what they've been up to now, right? Our staff continue planning the wedding, quickly, and release an engagement notice like I promised. Then, these two get married – Mizuki becomes an Ophelle and official royalty.
"For anything else, you'll have to ask Ilina...because I plan to step aside and appoint her Queen Apparent as soon as they're married." (Elira)
At her last words, everyone's eyes widen in alarm, especially Ilina.
"What!? Mother, I'm still in my 30s! You can't put me in charge of the Kingdom!" (Ilina)
There's a round of quiet assent from the nobles, and Tessa addresses Elira with a serious expression.
"With all due respect to the Princess's intelligence...I wholeheartedly agree, she's completely unqualified to ascend to the throne anytime soon!" (Tessa)
Despite the resistance, Elira just smiles, completely undeterred. She casts a smug look at Ilina.
"Well, if that's what you really think, you should have acted like it instead of constantly doing as you pleased and undermining my authority. And you all..." (Elira)
Her gaze sweeps over the rest of the nobles, settling on Tessa.
"...need to listen better. I said Queen Apparent, which means that she will not be ruling the Kingdom with unilateral authority. Everyone can advise her, and if there's a relevant disagreement, call a noble vote. If it's a unanimous rejection, then I will intervene and make the final decision. We'll do that indefinitely, until I decide she's ready to fully ascend.
"Also, let it be noted that I'm not suggesting this, I'm decreeing it. I've already made up my mind. When Ilina marries Mizuki, she can begin bearing the burden of running most of the Kingdom. Let's not pretend that their little group doesn't hold the most influence these days anyway. Rather than slowly become a figurehead, I'd prefer to let Ilina learn to rule in earnest, firsthand, and ease myself into partial retirement while Dargo can still spend it with me." (Elira)
The room falls into a kind of somber stillness, some resistant to the decision but hesitant to argue again, some recognizing the personal truth in Elira's words for the first time and respecting it, and some, like me, who just have nothing meaningful to say. Yet, the thing we all share in common is surprise – though Elira is over seven millennia old, she's a high elf. Someone who looks like a human in their early thirties, with the vitality of a human in their prime.
Physically, she'd be more than fit to lead until the last few years of her exceptionally long life. That's exactly what most elven rulers have done, and exactly what I'm sure everyone here expected – the thought of her 'stepping aside' in the next couple millennia would have been laughable before today.
Yet, for me at least, there's a compelling sort of logic to her words, perhaps because I still see myself as human. Ilina may be practically an infant by high elf standards, but their kind still mature at the same rate as humans. Ilina, in her 30s, is at least as qualified as any human ruler would be by the time of their ascension, and like Elira said, she's not thrusting her daughter into absolute power anyway. She'll have...training wheels, more or less. So, I see no issue on that front.
At the same time, I sympathize with Elira's other comments – both about her waning influence and about her spending time with Dargo. For the former, I feel a small pang of guilt because I'm almost exclusively to blame.
Yeah, most of her headaches are directly from Ilina, but I'm the reason Ilina's behaving the way she is, as well as the reason that there's little they can do to harshly punish Ilina. I'm self aware enough to know that I wouldn't allow her to be treated poorly over something that my Earth ideals still insist is her personal life. On top of that, I'm also the reason that Nina and Ciri are both walking around their Kingdom like time bombs, power incarnate that everyone knows is only as obedient as it pleases. So, in many ways, my very presence is like a constant erosion of Elira's authority, even if I've never explicitly undermined her directly.
For the latter point, which is basically just her nice way of saying that Dargo will only live for a fraction of her remaining life...my heart breaks for her a little, honestly. At no point ever, even as a human, have I been faced with the expectation to work tirelessly right up until my partner's death, then continue on for several multiples of the time we spent together. Yet, it's what Elira's done repeatedly already, is currently facing with Dargo, and may very well experience again after he's gone. That's the sad reality of high elves here on Azura, all descended from a common ancestor too few generations ago to pair up without an uncomfortable level of inbreeding. It's a reality Ilina faced until we got together, and one I still might face with her in return if I don't find a solution.
My introspection is shattered by the sound of Dargo's mildly annoyed voice.
"Could you all quit looking at me like I'm dying? I'm still a rather young man, in case you've forgotten. I have centuries of vitality left in me." (Dargo)
I blink, glancing at Dargo.
He's not wrong...even aesthetically, he looks younger than Elira, like a human man in his late twenties. And because he's an elf, even a normal one, that means about 25 times as much healthy living left as I'd assume for his human counterpart, who I definitely would not pity for being 'near the end'. Actually, the somber atmosphere is kind of ridiculous, now that I think about it.
A short peal of laughter escapes my lips, unbidden.
"Pffft...hahahahahaha!" (Mizuki)
The outburst earns me incredulous looks from everyone, except for maybe Dargo, who almost seems appreciative of the change in atmosphere. I clear my throat, waving dismissively.
"Ehem...uhm, my bad. Just thought King Dargo had a point, is all. A funny one." (Mizuki)
Dargo smiles wryly at me.
"Indeed..." (Dargo)
Then, he turns to face Elira with a tight smile, a rare trace of sarcasm infiltrating his tone.
"And you, my Queen...I'll support this 'early retirement' of yours, of course. But, I hope you don't expect me to take such a large step away from my own duties. Or, do I already seem so ailing and infirm to you?" (Dargo)
Elira's eyes widen slightly at Dargo, clearly taken aback. After a moment of silence, though, her expression softens. Her tone becoming vaguely...playful.
"My apologies, dear...I suppose I got caught up in wanting to spend time with you is all. Of course, you should keep working if you enjoy it, and I still find you very...firm." (Elira)
"OH MY GODS, STOP! Can you not!?" (Ilina)
Ilina is quick to interject, her expression mortified, hands rising to cover her ears. A few of the nobles chuckle at her reaction, while the smiling Elira and Dargo give one another knowing looks that linger a little long. Elira moves her gaze to Ilina, smirking.
"Still more subtle than what what you've repeatedly subjected us to. Or, do you think being a little bit younger makes it 'fun' for everyone around you?" (Elira)
Hearing that ironclad logic, Ilina's face slackens before blushing furiously. Her hands move from her ears to her cheeks, as if trying to hide herself from the shameful realization. My lips twist in a small smile at the sight.
Cute.
After Dargo manages to break the tension, we continue discussing the matters of the engagement and Ilina's quasi-ascension for perhaps another half hour. To no surprise of mine, but some dismay for others like Tessa, we eventually arrive at pretty much the same conclusions as Elira flippantly proposed.
Things go on as we intended, without the secrecy surrounding mine and Ilina's relationship, and we handle any dissent as it comes. No guarantees, no grand plan to win people over, just the resolve to live with our decisions and trust that, eventually, the elves will see our relationship in the positive light that we do.
A guy can hope, anyway.