Monroe Wildrose - Fate of Ruby and Throne

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental mostly.

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Copyright owned by Teapots and Stolen Souls Publishing. This book may not be copied, reprinted, or distributed without the authors consent.

This book is dedicated to my best friend, Brits.

For listening to my crazy ideas.

For enjoying the soup.

You are far more precious to me than you can know.

BYYYEEE.

Contents

Dear Reader,

This book contains the following things that some people may find triggering, or uncomfortable:

• Death
• Decapitation
• Brief mention of physical abuse
• Brief mention of physical abuse of children
• Mention of blood (minor)
• Poisoning
• Recreational drinking
• Violence
• Vomit

The intention of this note is to be as kind and courteous as I can, to any person looking to immerse themselves in a fictional world. If you have a specific trigger and would like to know beforehand if my book contains it, please reach out to me via my website monroewildrose.com, and I will happily answer your queries.

May all your adventures be pleasant.

Love shook my heart,

Like the wind on the mountain

Troubling the oak trees.

-Sappho

After being kidnapped by pirates, on her way to an arranged marriage to King Cyril Kosdel of Northern Ralice, Mercy found herself aboard The Siren, a pirate ship captained by two notorious pirate twins. It was made clear to her that they had been hired by her betrothed to return her to Northern Ralice, she reluctantly warmed to the idea of sailing on a pirate ship. She started to fall in love with the ocean, and with Elias the pirate captain as well. They were pursued by the evil King of Southern Ralice, and just when they thought they would escape him, Mercy fell ill. Right when it seemed her fate was about to change, and she wouldn't have to marry the King, the pirate ship was overtaken. Mercy was whisked back to her own country of Adamas. There, her brother informed her that the pirates she sailed with, and their friend Absalom, were murdered. Not only that, but King Cassius Dalion, of Southern Ralice was not the villain they feared and was helping Mercy's brother locate her after she was kidnapped. After grieving, her brother tried to tether her into being a token of war and Mercy made a public statement that she would no longer be a pawn in his political game.

In the aftermath of trying to sail Princess Mercy to safety, alongside her brother and childhood love, Absalom, Georgette found traitorous thoughts of life on land coming more frequently than she would have liked. After the devastating news that Absalom was betrothed to marry another, Georgette picked up the pieces of her heart to focus on evading King Dalion as he pursued them across the sea. Caught off guard at a port by King Dalion's men, Absalom attempted to explain the situation, but was killed by one of the men who had ambushed them. Georgette was dragged away grieving, having traded her life for her brother's and the rest of the crew aboard the ship. Once she arrived in Southern Ralice, she learned that the King planned to marry her. She defiantly approached the throne on her wedding day, but she saw someone unexpected seated there. The guard that took her from her pirate ship, who she had built a shaky friendship with, turned out to be King Cassius Dalion. Sworn to hate her husband for what his men did to her friend Absalom, she plots her revenge as the Queen of Southern Ralice.

Three months.

I had been the Queen of Southern Ralice for three months. It had also been three months since I had spoken to my husband. In that time, not a word had passed between us. Not that I was complaining about that. If I never had to hear his dark, challenging voice again, it would be fine by me.

I was required to see him, however. We ate our evening meal together every night in a terribly long dining room. Places were set for us directly across from each other, and unless he was off on kingly business, he was in attendance, but hardly acknowledged me. The first month I didn't eat anything. I spent the entire time tipped back in my chair with my boot-clad feet resting on the table as I drank several glasses of wine. The food would go cold, and I would leave once he had excused himself.

I stopped when it became apparent to me that he was enjoying my rebellion. The more defiant I acted at the dinner table, the more he grinned as his gaze slipped over me, lounging across from him. So, after a month, I simply ignored him. I didn't let the incredible food go to waste. Some days I brought a book and would immerse myself in reading while in his company. Some days I thought over everything Devika, my principal lady, had taught me or what research I had done of my own.

Because I was still planning on taking Cassius' throne out from under him.

I soaked up information about his kingdom like a sea sponge. I greedily hoarded Devika's teachings and read all I could. I eavesdropped on guards' conversations and visited the market at High Hallow almost every day. Soon it would be time to move forward with my plan. A plan which was unformulated and unfounded as all the plotting I had done had been alone when I had brief moments of solitude. The plan would end with this arrogant king begging me to leave or me murdering him. I didn't have a preference on which it was. I imagined running a knife across his throat and watching him bleed out all over his fine gold plates. Or perhaps I would come from behind and run him through the way he had allowed Absalom to die.

I was sitting in the plush velvet chair, swirling my glass around after finishing my dinner. My mind wandered to when I asked Devika about the small town outside Hallow. The one I had seen people starving in when I had first arrived. The boy's face came to my mind and the way he thanked me for some small coins. I learned the town was called Larkin. Once, it had been prosperous, as it sat just to the side of acres and acres of land. Land that once held many orchards of fruit. It was where the palace and the city had, once, bought most of its produce. Then the orchards had dried up, and the crops failed, and now the people there were too proud to leave but were still starving.

When I had told Brees I planned on visiting Larkin, he had bristled and looked at me as if I were insane. He said he would ask for permission and I told him I would be going with or without Cassius' good tidings. He had let out a long breath and shot daggers at me. His hatred of me dripped from every salty look. Shortly after my wedding day, Brees had been assigned as my guard. He followed me around like a fly that would never die.

He hated allowing me to do things, but it seemed he wasn't in a position to question me. As a queen, I did almost anything I pleased. I had thought that I would feel imprisoned but aside from not being allowed to see where Cassius' chambers were (which was just good sense on their part), there was not much from which I was restricted.