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Adele mounted Calvin and cantered back to her castle, worrying about Caelan, Alban, and why she was being called back home. They trotted through the castle portcullis and Adele dismounted, handing the reins to a stable hand. She hurried into the main hall and saw her parents' advisors, standing and debating conspiritorially. |
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Caelan stayed at home, eventually getting the strength to bathe and get dressed. He moved to his desk, sketching Adele lazily, the picture no less breathtaking than usual but no drawing could ever compare to his love |
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Adele and the advisors had a quick but thorough meeting. They decided to use the great hall of the castle as a medical center for those who were wounded in the battle, and soon after the meeting concluded, Adele saw doctors and nurses wheeling in rickety hospital beds and some of the most severe patients. She headed upstairs to say hi to Alban, and then busied herself looking over the newly updated lists of the dead. It was sorrowful work, but it was a queen's work. She sighed. |
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Caelan fell asleep at his desk and nobody came to check on him |
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Adele was so worn out from the day that once she was finished looking over reports and giving people orders, she headed up to her room and fell asleep. She was woken by an advisor knocking politely on her door. She sat up, hair incredibly messy, and hurried to brush it out as she called out to him. "Hello?" The man replied, still out in the hallway, "Greetings your majesty. Sorry to disturb you. But there's something important you need to hear." |
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Caelan woke a bit later and took his medicine, his advisors telling him to close of all contact with the day kingdom. He argued and argued his reasons but they were nearly yelling by the end, telling him they were a danger. "I love their queen and she would never hurt me or any subjects of mine!" He roared, nearly blacking out from stress and exhaustion. The crown upon his head was heavier than usual with his sickness and his shoulders slumped. "Go away" he snapped, the advisors rushing out as he sat down on his throne |
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Adele finished her hair and quickly changed into a fresh dress-- ew, a dress-- and followed the advisor back into the meeting hall. "Miss Adelaide," said the head advisor gravely, "We have some news. We recieved a message from one of the neighboring kingdoms (hasn't been mentioned before, we're gonna pretend it was a thing lol) that they won't hold up the truce we had with them now that there is no ruler for the day kingdom." Adele looked at him blankly. "What are you proposing?" The advisor took a breath and said, "We think you need to be crowned queen as soon as possible." Adele's eyes widened. |
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Caelan broke down silently sobbing, unable to contain it anymore |
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"Wh-what?" Adele sputtered. "I thought you said we were going to wait! At least until the tension with the night kingdom's smoothed out!" The head advisor looked at her grimly. "We did say that. But things can change. We have already told the priest that the day after tomorrow is the plan." Adele exploded, standing from her seat. "You can't make decisions like that without my approval!" She knew she sounded like a child, but it didn't matter. She wasn't ready to be queen, though she knew they were right about it. It was the only way to keep the truce with the other kingdom. She stormed out of the hall, running upstairs and falling on the ground of her room, sobbing now. |
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Caelan ran to the stable, exhausted still, and grabbed his horse. He mounted up bareback and sprinted her to the Day kingdom border. "I need to see Adele" |
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Overcast and Calm
