Chapter 123: Prick From The Heart
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Meanwhile, back in the Palace of Agroven, Ivan had taken his seat in front of Queen Lucinda as requested, and his piercing eyes, which appeared presently dim, inquisitively fixed themselves on the chessboard in front of him. Silently contemplating on his move, Ivan carefully moved a hand-carved black Knight before proceeding to break the repressive silence that lingered within the room.
"We have been apart for many years, but in those times, I heard you were always a master of strategy, Aunt Lucinda." He subtly praised. "Do tell, this is more than just a game of chess, isn’t it?"
Listening to the vampire Lord make certain enquiries, Lucinda lifted an eyebrow without shifting gazes. Her pale fingers gracefully swept against the board as she moved a white bishop before leaning back to retract her icy, but assertive stare on Ivan.
"Indeed." She clipped, her silky voice laced with a hint of mockery as she gestured at the board. "In this game, as in life, one must understand the art of manipulation, my dear Nephew. Tell me, what brings you to my Palace? Knowing that an urge for power runs in the veins of every vampire I happen to know, has the throne of EmptyHollow finally slipped beyond your icy grip?" She queried, still maintaining her cool, yet inexplicably cold demeanor. "If that happens to be the case then why are you bothered? I assumed you were different, Ivan, or are you here to prove that my judgments concerning you are.... discouragingly false?
Ivan’s crimson eyes flashed with a mix of curiosity and vulnerability at her wary inquiries. He understood what his Aunt meant when she mentioned ’different’.
When he was younger he never wanted the throne, he never dreamed of ruling to be more precise. Growing up, he saw the inevitable stress his Father had to tolerate with each day, and he wished never to be like him. During those times, his Aunt Lucinda still visited their Palace to pay her sister, his Mother a visit, and yes, she hated the fact that her older sister was married to a vampire King... she only ever visited to make sure they hadn’t killed her sister for her, but then, the struggling bond between their Kingdom instantly crumbled after his Mother’s suicide, and when the court decided that they weren’t going to give his Mother a befitting burial, Queen Lucinda’s hatred for his kind only made her grow ten times colder towards his so-called family, and their absurd rules.
He wasn’t excluded.
Exhaling from his lips and swallowing gently, Ivan bobbed his head. "Yes, you are right." He answered gravelly, "but they are not for reasons you think of. My older brother returned from Vesunard with a scroll that grants him the favor of the council. In a few days time the scroll will be taken to the court of public opinion, where the announcement shall be made publicly. Eamon already has the support of the people, although it’s merely a hypothesis but he’s brainwashing them. My powers are waning, and rival clans are silently getting stronger."
"And you think coming to me would solve all of that problem? What makes you think I’d be willing to offer any help to the family that killed my sister?"
"Your kingdom is connected with the Orb." Asserted Ivan as he moved another chess piece, his tone remaining undeterred. "I have to admit that I sincerely acknowledge how you handle your people, ruling a kingdom all by yourself has earned you my respect. You’re doing Justice to your status as the Queen of Agroven, but that doesn’t change the fact that your Kingdom is presently undergoing what we are facing, and there’s no denying it."