Upheaval
The sounds of footsteps and swishing fabric moved through the royal bedroom, reaching Galvin's ears as he slowly awoke. He sat up in bed, looking at his hands as though he hadn't seen them in months. His mind was racing, like his thoughts were trying to make up for lost time. Seeing him rise, the maid rushed over. Young, pretty, and sweet, she spoke with concern.
"Your Majesty, you've finally awoken! Please, is there anything I can get you? Food? Drink?" He looked at her, her beautiful face the image of kindness and innocence. He wanted to see it twisted in despair. With a crazed grin stretching across his face, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her onto the bed. "Your Majesty, what--" Her words then became a fearful scream as he began ripping away her clothes. "No! Please!" He silenced her with a smack across the face, just the first of many.
Up in her tower, Ziradith was going over paperwork as part of her official/unofficial duties. Berholm and a few of the royal court, now made aware of her presence and power over them, were trying to keep the wheels of governance turning, even if she was the one controlling them, and were doing their job of running everything through her. Most of her subjects had no idea they were her subjects and simply believed that the royal court was operating things while Galvin was indisposed.
As the duchess of the Herald territory, paperwork and bureaucracy were nothing new to her. The scale certainly increased, but she was more than up to the task. Being the puppet master behind the scenes of Uther left her very busy, especially with her spawn pawn lying uselessly in bed for the last few days. However, that changed when she felt a fluctuation in her manacle. As her greatest defense against usurpation, she wore it at all times, as did Galvin. It kept her cued to the Wassengel and her control over him. She could sense that he had woken up, yet when she tried to reach out and reaffirm control, he defied her like a bucking bronco.
She left the tower and everyone she passed was shocked to see her. She arrived at the royal bedchamber to find knights and soldiers standing outside the shut door, likewise bewildered at her arrival. None of them had seen her in over a year, not since the Knight's Sheath incident. However, they had more pressing concerns. Inside, they could hear the maid screaming as Galvin raped her, and all had looks of uncertainty, wanting to intervene but too afraid to.
"What are you all doing just standing there?!" Ziradith barked.
"Uh... uh... Duchess Herald, your son, um... His Majesty announced that he wasn't to be disturbed, and anyone who opened the door would be put to death," one guard stammered.
"Useless shits, all of you! Hurry up and go prepare his tea."
Ziradith shoved past them and opened the door, seeing her son slamming away at the beaten maid. She strode over and slapped him hard enough to knock him to the floor. "Disgusting little wretch, always embarrassing me." She glanced at the sobbing maid, curled up and trying to conceal her naked body, covered in welts from Galvin's beating. Tears soaked her bruised face, and a mixture of blood and semen oozed from between her legs. Ziradith scoffed in disdain and turned back to the knights and guards. "Get her out of here. I don't want to see her in this castle or city again. Not one of you says a word about this, or you'll find yourselves rotting in the dungeon."
"Mother," Galvin growled with a sneer.
"Shut your mouth. Pathetic failures have no right to speak."
He bolted to his feet. "I'm the king! You can't talk to me like that anymore!"
"Your father, for all of his failings, he was a king. You? You're not even fit to be a jester. Every day, you make me regret giving birth to you. Now, hold your tongue before I cut it out." As the maid was carried away, a guard arrived with a cup of fragrant tea. "Hurry up and take your medicine. It's been too long since you last drank it."
"No, I'm done! I'm done with you and your rules! I'm in charge now!"
"That tea is going in you one way or another. You think it feels hot on your tongue? It'll feel like molten lead when you take it the other way."
Galvin scowled and grabbed the tea, staring for several moments before forcing it down. The effects were quick, weakening his mental defenses and making him more susceptible to Ziradith's control. She extended her influence with the manacle, and Galvin spasmed as he tried to resist, before finally calming and standing with upright posture.
"My apologies, Mother. I won't disappoint you again."
"You're right, because I'm not going to let you." She spoke the words, but with uncertainty. Though she had regained control over him, her hold felt weak, like she had him on a rope, but it was frayed and tattered. Was this because of how long he had gone without the tea? Or was he developing a resistance?
She turned to the guards. "Spread the word that the king is going to address the public this afternoon. The citizens need reassurance that the kingdom and its rule are secure. Go now, and remember that nothing awaits but pain and death for anyone who speaks a word of this to anyone else."
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Following Seraph's speech, rumors about Noah spread like wildfire. The knighthood and royal court tried to keep what happened at the castle secret, but all it took was a few soldiers and knights, their lips loosened by booze, to let slip all the juicy details about his stroll into the palace. They spoke of his manifestation of the basilisk in awe and terror, believing it to be the long-mysterious art of summoning magic that populated the world with life. They were half-right, and its sudden disappearance was just as bewildering as its arrival.
With nothing but its scream, it subdued every single soldier and knight in front of it. The basilisk unleashed in Welindar had been too deformed to utilize its voice in such a way, proving just how lucky Lupin and his men had been. To have such a mighty beast at his beck and call led to speculation that if Noah wished it, he could have destroyed the entire city. After all, the knighthood and military were clearly no threat to him, especially considering how he had shrugged off all their attacks.