No Rest for the Wicked or Moral

[Nocte Luna]

It was not often that Geneva became so anxious. All throughout the morning, she couldn't stop thinking about what would occur during the afternoon hours. Due to her lack of focus, Iles released her from her studies early, so Geneva was left to wander through the library until her lunch and clothing arrived.

A few minutes after the clock chimed noon, a package, contained the dress, arrived. Geneva unwrapped it. It was sort of greyish greenish with an apron to match. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't anything like the dresses she realized she really loved.

A few minutes beyond that, lunch arrived. Geneva felt almost too nervous to eat, but she still ate just a bit of food anyways, exiting the library and heading to one of the guest rooms to change.

No one could know, she thought to herself as she carefully folded her dress and tucked it into the empty closet. This new dress felt more comfortable, though it was simple, its corset was not very tight at all, and Geneva was able to do it up herself. She fastened the cloak around her neck and opened the door slowly, peering down the hallway. Quickly moving out from the room, she made small, careful steps down the hallway towards the staircase, awaiting Blakely’s arrival.

A couple seconds passed, and she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Ducking into one of the other unoccupied guest rooms, she watched as a man made his way up the stairs, coming closer into view. It was Blakely, so she opened the door and left the room, appearing a few feet in front of him in the hallway.

“You look so different, princess. It’s an unbelievable change.” Without a moment of waiting for Geneva’s response, he turned around. “Shall we leave?”

“Yes, we can leave.” The princess repeated, stepping forward and heading for the stairs. This was going to be the most difficult part of the journey. Hopefully, everything was planned accordingly so that the king would not emerge at the wrong moment.

Geneva made her way down the staircase, looking around the corner with Blakely standing at her side, looking the other direction.

“I think we’re in the clear. Hurry.” He gently pushed her forward, encouraging her to move down towards the staircase that was on the northeast corner, which was farthest away from the throne room.

The duo made it to the semi-formal entrance, hurrying down the steps and staying close to the stone wall so no one on the walkway would notice the two rushing about the grounds. Finally, they turned the corner, and the two rushed down the long drive to the palace gates, Blakely waving a hand and the gates swinging open almost instantaneously.

Geneva felt a rush of nerves as she left the palace for the first time without her family, accompanied by only a guard. It was thrilling, but a little terrifying.

She was suddenly steered off to the left. “We’ll enter the city from the north side. It won’t take too long to walk there.” Blakely told her, taking larger strides. Geneva tried to stay in step, and hurried along with shorter footsteps.

“I still have some questions, though. Why did you chose me?”

“Your mother, though caring and kind, is not in any state to receive this sort of information. Your father is extremely busy, and would not care enough, I think.”

Geneva frowned. “You picked me because I have time?”

“Not always, but more than the king. Not only that, but you would help me gather the necessary information and reason your way through it. If I’m correct, you’re good at writing speeches to persuade people, you just don’t like speaking very much.”

“That is correct, Captain.”

“I believe you would be excellent at determining important evidence. So I chose you.”

By this time, the duo had made their way to the northern part of the city.

“Be careful, Autumn. The city can be rather dangerous.”

It was with some hesitance that she began to pass some of the small homes on the outskirts of the city, Captain Blakely walking next to her. It felt strange, but she accepted that it needed to be this way.

A gentle hand on her back steered her down to the main street. Geneva cleared her throat and muttered a quiet, “Captain…” underneath her breath, barely loud enough for him to hear, and the hand was removed. She slowed for half a second, glancing down the long stretch of road in front of her. It was full of subjects, people she would someday come to rule over and ensure their happiness.

Shops and small sale stands lined the streets, and Geneva couldn’t help but feel a strong sense unity between the people. They all laughed and made conversation, trading objects and currency between each other, talking to everyone who passed on the street. She stopped for a second, and sure enough, there were children running about, circling Geneva’s feet and racing down to parents, who scooped them up in their arms or sat them down in an attempt to keep track of them.

Nostalgia ripped through the princess as she remembered a visit to Marrford she took with her brother, years ago. Everyone loved him, with his wide smile and laugh that carried across the city blocks. A tear formed at her eye, and she wiped it away.

“Autumn…are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Her voice softened as she used the contraction. It felt strange on her tongue, and she picked up her pace, heading down the street.

“Left here, we’re going to the headquarters of a resistance.”

“Resistance against what?”

“The ruling family.”

Geneva stopped suddenly. “What do you mean, resistance against my family?”

“Yes, come on, we must go, Autumn.”

“No, stop and explain to me first!”

“My dear, you can’t be so naïve to think that there isn’t anyone who dislikes the royal family. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“There, you see, not so young, perhaps, but still naïve. Has there never been any thought of the potential for there to be a resistance?”

“No, of course not, I’ve lived almost my entire life at home.” Geneva responded, greatly distressed. “So why are we visiting them?”

“To see what they think.”

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,

I’m a music lover for sure, but I’ll always love classical music the most. I listen to music when I write, and ironically, Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat Major by Beethoven showed up on my Pandora. It’s a beautiful piece, and I really think it captures the moment when Geneva finally sees the main street of Marrford. Ironically, it’s other title is Emperor. This song came on while I was writing about the people, and it just seemed to be very fitting.

For anyone who listens to the full 45 minute version, the part that gives me the sort of feeling I like for entering Marrford is about ~13 minutes.

That’s all I’ve got, friends.

Love from,
Nocte Luna

[Ranger of the North]

Wow, this does /not/ seem like a good idea

[Nocte Luna]

“What – you can’t – we can’t – I certainly can’t – you’re insane.” She finished a long babbling stream of word vomit.

“You’ll be fine. I’ll be right there, with you the entire time. In fact, I’ll even give you a scarf to wrap around your neck, mouth, and nose. You’ll look like you’re prepared for the outside weather, and you can keep your cloak up to help hide your appearance. Trust me.”

“This isn’t going to work. They’ll find out, and…goodness knows what will happen.”

“Just for a few minutes. They might have key information regarding your brother. They’re reliable for information.”

“You’ve used them before?” Geneva was shocked and a little angry.

“Yes, they’ve helped alleviate many flaws in the security system. I give them a little bit of my salary every month, and I get information to help protect you.”

“This seems absurd, Captain.”

“I know, but it’s for your brother. You would do this for him, yes?”

“Yes, but this is absurd.”

“Just two minutes, please.”

“Fine. It’s going to be fast, and if anything happens, you need to get me out of there.”

“Follow me, then.”

They crossed two blocks, and walked around back of a building, small staircase leading down to a basement. Geneva was already wary, but followed Blakely into the depths after he passed his scarf to her and she wrapped the lower half of her face with the scarf and pulled her hood up.

Inside, it seemed more like a tavern or restaurant. People sat around, eating or drinking and socializing, with a large roaring fire at the back of the room

“Amos! Good to see you!” A tall man moved forward, clasping Captain Blakely’s hand and shaking it. “Who’s this young lady?”

“This is Autumn, she’s a friend of the family.” Blakely responded with a smile. Geneva moved forward, heart beating so loudly in her chest she swore the whole room could hear it.

“Hello.” Geneva offered politely and quietly, muffled behind her scarf.

“A bit chilly, hm? We’ve got a fire going over there, go ahead, take a seat!”

“Not today, Henry, we’ve got to be going quickly. Just a brief question, though. Do you know anything about the prince’s death?”

“No, unfortunately, but it didn’t seem like a death to me. The time was impeccable, yeah? Right before the Years’ End Ball, that’ll throw their system off a bit,” Henry responded with a chuckle, “But they do have another kid, we’ll see how she does. Seems passive, bet she would make a silent wife type when they decide to marry her off to the highest bidder. Even you could have a chance to-“

Geneva didn’t bother listening to him anymore, she simply turned and left, racing up the stairs. How dare that awful man say such things? She was not a piece of meat, her family was trying to help everyone. What had they done to offend the man?

Footsteps stomped up the stairs and she turned around to see Captain Blakely, very red in the face.

“Autumn…you shouldn’t have heard of any of that. My apologies. What Henry said does not represent my views of you, I don’t-“

“You’re right, I should have never heard any of that, we never should have gone. It was stupid idea and I should have pushed harder against it.” Geneva turned back, crossing her arms.

“I understand that you’re angry, but it wasn’t him who killed your brother. They will remain where they are.”

“Why? Why should they exist? They wish to destroy my family, for reasons I dare not understand, you know of their existence, why not stop them once and for all?”

“Because the city needs a balance. If they do not exist, then more extreme groups will appear, more violent groups. They have committed a few of the acts in the past few days, but they mean them as a warning.”

“That’s a poor excuse for letting such groups meet. They should be stopped. We can find the more extreme groups and ensure they don’t cause any problems, just take them all out. What acts did they commit?”

“We can’t, we’ve tried taking them out. Henry is one of the most extreme members, but no one really follows him or his ideas. They splattered the blood on the wall and let all the horses out. Harmless acts, luckily, but they’re meant to scare you.”

“How did they get in?”

“I have no idea, quite frankly.”

“You need to address these security concerns immediately! If you don’t know how they got in, something else could happen, something much worse.”

“We were patrolling the grounds all day and all night. No one could have gotten in elsewhere.”

Geneva sighed unhappily. She had no rebuttal to the captain’s claim.

“Look, you’re almost home. Just focus on getting back inside without your father noticing.”

The pair drew closer to the palace gates, entering and heading down the path to the northeast side staircase, making their way up to the walkway. Geneva pulled off the cloak and sprinted down the walkway to the stairway, racing upstairs to her bedroom where she quickly changed dresses. A knock at her door sounded, and Geneva opened the door to find the pale messenger.

“My dear princess, your father requests you in his study.”

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,

It’s been a long day. I woke up later than I intended to and barely did anything this morning before rushing off. Honestly, this is a pretty short chapter compared to what I’ve had in previous times, but it’s pretty important to make sure everything keeps moving along. I think I’ll expand more on her visit to the city when I do re-write stuff, because this chapter feels super low energy and kind of fluffy.

I do have some more interesting stuff coming up though, but I’ve got a question: how much do you (the reader) know about Geneva? How much do you know about the kingdom? The people? Because though I have all this mapped out in my head, and I do try my hardest to give you all the details, I do forget that you know less than I do. So, if you’d like, let me know what you know (or even remember – because if I need to emphasize details, I can work on that too) .

The usual stuff as well. Thoughts and questions, critiques.

Love from,
Nocte Luna

[Nocte Luna]

Geneva visibly paled, anxiety flaring up. Could he have seen? Could he have known she had left without his permission?

Hesitantly, she followed the messenger down the hall to her father’s study, knocking twice before a tired “Come in” emerged from the room.

Geneva entered, softly closing the door behind her. Her father sat at his large, wooden desk, papers strewn about. Bits of quills and ink stained shreds of paper lined the waste bin, topped by a large amount of uneaten food.

“Take a seat, dear.” Thomas’ voice was quiet. Geneva followed the instruction, folding her hands in her lap and keeping her eyes trained on the ground.

“Geneva,” He began, “You know as well as I that your mother’s condition has shown little improvement.” The princess dipped her head in response, looking down.

“I know that you, as well as I, have hope for her. She is still young and strong, and her condition could very well be temporary. But I believe she is missing something else.”

“Father?” Geneva questioned, looking up sharply.

“I believe that removing her from the current situation is our best option right now.”

“You want to send her away?” The princess frowned, tone turning more defensive.

“Geneva, please understand I want only the best for our family. Seeing her every day like that is heartbreaking for both of us.”

Geneva almost began to shake, emotions becoming stronger than her self-control. “You cannot send her away! I do not want to be without her, not now, not ever!”

“You will accompany her.”

“No! I cannot, that is absurd!” Geneva stood up, slamming her palms down onto the desk.

“Sit DOWN, Geneva.” The king had risen from his chair, intense glare boring into Geneva’s rage-filled expression.

“I said SIT.” He repeated, holding Geneva’s gaze.

Geneva slowly lowered herself into the chair.

“I am your father, I know what is best for you and your mother. Iles with remain with you so you may continue your study. You are going to remain with your mother and inform me of her condition when it changes. I will remain here.”

“None of this makes sense. You cannot simply send us away. I can stay here, I can stay with you, please.”

“No, I wish for you to accompany her. You said yourself you would not want her to leave without you.”

“But I do not wish to leave here either, with or without Mother.”

“Geneva, this is not a topic for discussion. It will happen, no matter what. You will leave after the ball. Your mother will leave in three days with her nurse. Iles will meet you there.”

“Where are you sending us?”

“You are leaving Ferevor through the east, and traveling east and then north to reach Varal. They have a warmer climate, I believe it will do your mother some good.”

“Leaving Ferevor? Father, who will protect us?”

“The government of Varal has arranged for some guards to accompany you once you reach their border. It will be a safe journey through Ferevor.”

“I cannot do this, I must stay.”

“Geneva, just do as I say, this has nothing to do with you.”

“But it does!”

“No, it does not. You are excused, princess.”

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,

Tomorrow’s chapter will be up fairly early. I still have to finish writing it, oops. But it’ll be fun, I get to listen to tons and tons of fun (classical music) . I don’t know if I’ll have an author’s note tomorrow, but I might do it just because I really like having the same format for each chapter.

I’m not tired of writing yet, I’m just starting to slow down a little more. I’ve gotten to a point where there’s a lot I can do plotwise, it’s just not writing itself like this used to. But that’s okay! That’s what being a writer is! You have to keep pushing and writing if you want to write more. I still love writing this, so that’s what really matters.

I’ll leave you all with that today.

Love from,
Nocte Luna

[Nocte Luna]

The mood that overtook the Castle at Marrford was very strange. Everything felt like floating to Geneva. The whole situation seemed too surreal.

While a few were preparing to leave, many more were entering the grounds. Each of the regional overseers had arrived, Geneva greeting Lady Bella warmly and accepting a handwritten letter and personal trinket gratefully.

Quietly, on the third morning after the meeting with her father - whom she had avoided like the plague – Queen Cara Ederny left the palace for Varal, with a few solemn goodbyes from her husband and daughter.

While chaos whirled around the castle, finishing preparations for the Year’s End Ball two nights before the event, Geneva was tucked away in her room or her study. She had been avoiding her father, and almost everyone but Bella. Everything felt unsatisfying and left her feeling empty.

She migrated back and forth between the rooms, trying to find something to take her mind off the thoughts that raced through her mind. It was a horrible feeling that she couldn’t quite shake off by herself. Oftentimes, she spent long nights alone, sitting by the fire she managed to keep alive. Though she had no reason to be awake, she had gotten over many of her previous nightmares, she still felt the constant need to be awake.

The mornings were spent with Bella in her study, breakfast still fresh as at arrived via servant. They had lengthy, deep conversations about their future and who they truly were as people, which Bella enjoyed.

The morning of the ball, Geneva and Bella were discussing nothing other than the dance. The event was going to be late at night, so both held off on preparations until late afternoon. Until then, the duo chatted.

“Promise you will have a dance with me?”

“Of course, Bella. We are together now, nothing can stop us from being apart.”

The two giggled softy, giving each other wide smiles and looks of admiration before a knock resounded at the door of the study.

“Princess, my lady. My lady, you are required downstairs with your parents, I suggest you hurry.”

“Thank you,” Bella stated clearly, then turned back to Geneva for half a second, “I will see you tonight. Have a wonderful rest of your day!” She exclaimed, rushing out of the room after the messenger.

Just like that, Geneva was alone again.

The rest of the day was filled with loud noises from downstairs, from guests racing about, chefs ordering more ingredients, and decorators draping the staircase with wide silver ribbon and taking down the black ribbon left over from the funeral. Around 6 o’clock, Geneva began to prepare for the ball. Her ball gown was a long, white dress, with red and silver accents to match. For one night, she was wearing her crown, a small, silver piece that circled half her head and tucked into her long, black hair.

This was the sort of night Geneva adored. She was going to be truly, truly beautiful, and the evening was made for her. Everything was supposed to perfect. It was going to be perfect, she reassured herself.

An hour later, she floated her way down the staircase to meet her father and discuss the last minute details. The princess knew, as the only other ruling member of the household, that she would be having the first dance of the evening to start off the ball.

She found her father outside the dining hall, conducting everything from where the extra clean plates were going to go to how the dignitaries would be entering. Light from the massive chandelier overhead glowed warmly onto the shining instruments below, which were carefully being maintained by the musicians. Food and drink covered the long, parallel tables, and final decorations were being hung along each wall and draped in front of the table where there was space. The ballroom was large, but with so many people, it would get very crowded.

About 150 guests would be attending that evening, as Geneva later found out. Thus, it was imperative that everything run smoothly. It was one of the largest Year’s End Balls in the history of Ferevor, which was impressive.

It took very little time to finalize the little details and give the musicians the instructions for their dance, so Geneva wandered off into the gardens. No one would be out that night, so she wandered among the dead crocus and zinnia flowers, staying close to the palace. The princess watched from a bench as visitors entered the ball room, announced by one of the guards. She began to make her way back up the stairs, finding her father and waiting with him until the doors were closed before they stood before the doors.

“My dear, are you ready to become true royalty?”

“Of course, father.” Thomas gave her soft smile, taking her hand in his. It felt odd to be accompanied by her father in such a way, however, she would have to get used to it, as this was all the evening would be.

The doors swung open and the orchestra launched into a soft, but passionate little portion of music to mark the king and princess’ entrance. Over the music and applause, the guard announced Thomas and Geneva as they made their way to the center of the floor.

The orchestra paused, reset quickly, and were poised to begin, and in less than a second after Geneva and her father hit their designated mark in the middle of the ballroom, the music began, and duo began to make their way across the room, moving perfectly in time with the music.

They swept across the ballroom, the princess’ skirts flying as she kept time with her feet through the turns, making sure she wasn’t leading too much or making too many large movements. Everything was very practiced, but still looked light and floaty as they danced. Faces blurred, but the music stayed constant.

The chandelier stayed perfectly in the center of Geneva’s field of vision as she spun, eyes pointed toward the ceiling before she was turning back to her father. The music began a new, quieter section with a slightly slower tempo, so she finally got a chance to look at the decorations.

The stone walls were hung with banners from all the regions and nations represented, accented by long streams of silver ribbons swooping below the small oil lamps that were high on the wall, out of reach for any of the more intoxicated dignitaries.

The dance floor was made of a matte tile in the center of the stone floor, small tables all around the sides. Nearby, the banquet tables were parallel on either side of the dance floor, piled high with delicacies. All the tall windows were dusted with frost, which made the glass shine even more.

The best part was the people. Everyone was dressed up and looked wonderful. Some of the more conservative dignitaries that didn’t care much for beauty turned up looking the best of all. It was stunning.

Geneva was brought back to reality as the orchestra struck out its last few notes of the opening piece, slowing down and stopping perfectly with her father. The audience burst into applause, and the king bowed while Geneva curtsied, dipping all the way to the floor and rising back up slowly, perfectly in control of her body.

“With that, my esteemed guests, let the Year’s End Ball officially begin!” Thomas spoke loudly, voice echoing to the ceiling above. The guests cheered once more, and the floor began to fill with figures asking for dances. Both Thomas and Geneva made their separate ways off the floor, receiving many compliments from all the visitors, which she gratefully accepted.

Her first dance request came from a young prince, barely old enough to attend the ball. She accepted gracefully, and the prince seemed to fumble through the steps, Geneva trying her best to help where she could to make the steps seem smoother. He blushed afterwards and hurried away without any sort of gratitude.

After that, the night seemed to pick up. Many asked her to dance, some dancing stiffly, and causing Geneva to nearly trip over her own feet, while others added too many flourishes, which made the princess dizzy after all the unnecessary turns and dips. The only dance she left was with a man from a land she had never heard of, whose hands kept finding their way closer and closer to her hips. Geneva managed to find her way close enough to edge of the dance floor she was able to slip off into the crowd.

It was a while before she could dance with Bella, about one in the morning. Many of the more intoxicated guests had already left for their rooms, accompanied by servants, so it was easier to find Bella and ask for a quick dance. The piece they danced to was short, yet upbeat and exciting. They both led for parts of the dance, laughing and smiling as they spun through turns together. Geneva was in a pleasant mood afterwards, and hurried off the dance floor with Bella.

“I hate to leave you, but I believe I wish to undo some of my hair pins. It will be a moment before I return, however, we can talk some more after I come back, yes?”

“Of course, my lady.” Geneva responded with a giggle and a curtsy.

A few minutes later, Bella returned, giving Geneva a wide smile. “You know, those heads of the guard must be doing something good for the motivation of their staff, the guards outside are the same ones I saw at eight o’clock. It’s incredible they have been there so long. If you see either one of the Captains, let them know I am impressed.” She patted Geneva on the shoulder and bounced away to find her siblings.

Geneva frowned. Something wasn’t right. The guards were supposed to given shorter shifts so their focus would improve, so having the same set of guards for 5 hours didn’t make very much sense. For once, she sought Captain Blakely in the crowd, moving as quickly as she could to find him. He was on the dance floor with one of the ladies from Valar, talking and smiling. He usually looked serious, but for once, he looked truly happy. It suited him, in a way.

The end of the song couldn’t seem to come soon enough, and Geneva tapped her foot with impatience, waving the captain over after he was done. Luckily, he spotted Geneva and hurried towards her.

“Princess Geneva, may I have this next dance?” He asked politely, smile coming to his lips.

“That is not of importance now, Captain Blakely-“ Her words were cut off by his arm dragging her onto the dance floor.

“I did not say yes, captain, but I do not care if we dance and speak. There is something troubling me.”

“Do you not have a father for such matters? Be silent for just a moment and enjoy the dance, princess.”

“This is a security issue, captain. You are not on duty, but you very well could be.” Geneva said, getting slightly more frustrated.

With that, the music began, and the captain swept Geneva along the dance floor. His expression turned more worried as he processed what Geneva was saying, and his grip around her waist tightened.

“What is it? What will happen?” He said quietly, tipping his head down so she could hear him better.

“I know not what will happen. However, Bella Cabernale noted that the guards outside have been on duty since eight o’clock. If anything should happen, will they be alert enough?” Geneva asked, following him through the turns.

“My dear, I believe we have a problem. All guards go on three hour shifts at most, beyond that, it is harder to maintain focus without anything to do. I also do not know what those guards mean to do by remaining there for so long, however, I do have my weapon, as does Captain Atasan. We can defend the guests, if there are few who chose to try and invade. However, should anyone attempt to attack the guests who are already in their rooms, it is up to the guards on each floor to defend them.”

“What shall we do?”

“Princess Geneva, I believe the best we can do is-“

The captain was interrupted by the doors slamming open.

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,

I’ve got a bit of stuff going on the day this will be posted, so it’ll be up earlier than usual.

Just kidding, it’s late and I need to go do other things.

Love from,
Nocte Luna

[Nocte Luna]

I won't be posting a chapter later, just because the last chapter was so long, I want to take a bit more time to work on this next chapter. Thanks for your understanding and patience!