The Reason for Marriage

Iveca felt a little like she was drowning. The words were finding her ears and hitting her brain; but it was being relayed to her in slow motion. He had proposed, she knew that was a fact. That in and of itself was crazy. But then somehow, despite the competition, he’d managed to say something even crazier.

“…I’m sorry?”

King Daniel was a sea of calm. Ten days, he had said. A royal wedding in ten days! Suddenly, the very slight feeling she’d had before that he cared about her opinion of the matter evaporated as quickly as it had come. One absurd question about her fiancée was all he had deigned to bother asking her, then straight in with the question that was a solution to all his problems. He had even replied as if he had guessed what she wanted to say just by looking at her expression.

“Since you were born as a noble, you said you’d marry as your family decided, right?”

Iveca knew that her father would be pleased all night with the achievement of his third daughter, as though she had finally amounted to something useful. He would have the wedding ready in three days if he could.

King Daniel had adapted a tone, as though he knew the answer to her next question. Of course he would; he had her on the ropes now, didn’t he?

“Of course, you can refuse my proposal if you don’t like it. Maybe you don’t want to be a Queen?”

“We…Well, it’s not like that. How could I…”

Iveca needed a minute to think. This was all beyond sudden, a slap to her senses. She couldn’t clear the foggy clouds from behind her eyes no matter how hard she shook herself.

The King had all the information he needed. Smiling by way of a goodbye, he stooped into a shallow bow, before straightening up.

“See you later, then.”

King Daniel turned around. Iveca started after him, a thousand questions trying to force their way out at once. But it seemed he did not have any intention of taking her back to the Judicial Bureau as he strode away, leaving her with a barrage of thoughts he had stirred up in her. Only Anriq looked into her eyes for a moment before passing by. And then she was alone.

She remained in the garden and tried to organize her thoughts, but there was no path to a conclusion. No, she thought, the conclusion is already decided. If the King wants to marry to a noble family, there wasn’t any need to think about anything else. Or, much to the point, really anything she could do.

The idea of returning to the Bureau and facing a second barrage of questions from her curious colleagues was a little too much to bear. Perhaps the King had done her one consideration there; to leave her in the garden alone and return by himself first. That way no one would dare ask too many questions and once he had gone, the excitement of the situation would surely have calmed down.

She didn’t walk so much as she tumbled back to her office, tripping over endless thoughts of the situation she now found herself in. This really was a new half of her life. Whatever dreams of a free and independent life she felt sure she had harbored before her memory was erased were gone now; replaced instead by royal proposals from out of the blue. Not to mention another marriage she would now have to break off. It hadn’t even been a month since she had been wiped and now she was set to be a Queen.

She sighed as she swept her long black hair back from her eyes. Did she really want to be a Queen at all?

*

“You proposed to the Esselburn daughter?”

Daniel’s close friend, Kayden Ruthe, was employed in the Bureau; a natural talent of the sort of magical interest the Bureau had. He looked the King over with dark black eyes; the tone was sour. Daniel smiled gently and nodded, gripping a file in his left hand.

“There is no reason not to do it,” the King replied.

“I hardly think…”

“There is a revolution going on right now. Republicanism is sweeping the continent, threatening to unseat the monarchy, and science and engineering is emerging on behalf of magic. I am tired of having someone of faith staying next to me.” He glanced over Kayden as he informed him. “Didn’t everyone expect me to marry a neutral noble daughter, or an affiliated worker?”

The file Daniel was holding was shifted from left to right hand. It was a personal investigation, and the words “Iveca der Esselburn” could just about be seen poking over the top of the folder it was in. A black and white graduation photo taken in college was attached to the front by a clip.

“Iveca is both,” Kayden replied. He had already known she came from a neutral aristocrat family; her job at the Bureau was the cherry on top for Daniel, he thought. “I know your angle, but it won’t be easy. Even though Lady Esselburn is an employee of the Judicial Affair Bureau, if it’s because of that…”

King Daniel made a noise under his breath, which interrupted Kayden’s words. He tilted his head and turned back.

“Anriq.”

“Yes.”

Daniel sighed. Anriq was his escort secretary and personal bodyguard. He protected his brother, William, who originally was the First Prince, and also the Crown Prince. But after William’s death he had come to him. The King turned to look at Anriq, who was doing a good job of hiding the fact he had been mentioned in the conversation, if he had heard it. Anriq’s job was to chase him like a shadow and guard his back, stony and unmovable. This bit of information had the best, if any, chance of shaking that exterior.

“The file mentioned Iveca’s first love, Anriq. Do you have anything to say on the matter?” Daniel probed.

Silence.

Kayden turned away from Daniel and his bodyguard. It was an issue that could be extremely awkward. It was inevitable that the soon-to-be Queen would be investigated thoroughly, which meant this connection would have come up sooner or later.

“Have you ever dated?” Daniel asked his bodyguard.

Anriq shook his head.

“Why not?”

A pause, then a reply. “Count Esselburn took me in and raised me after the death of my parents. It is no surprise that an indebted person should be insensible to the Lady’s impulsive heart.” The reply was matter of fact; stoic, almost.

“So, it’s not because you don’t like her, then,” smiled the King. Daniel was not someone who talked openly and freely to his subordinates. He only spoke informally with his friends and brothers, on the rare occasions he felt like opening his heart to someone. He hadn’t always been like that, but he seemed to have hardened by a habit after a struggle for the throne, expressing a tendency to not show weakness or vulnerability to anyone.  Also, the “King” honorific gave more choking pressure to anyone he talked to. Daniel laughed without waiting for Anriq to answer, as he was now struggling to hide his feelings.

“It was a long time ago,” Anriq said, regaining his composure, “Nothing came of it as the affection was one-sided.”

“The mind is bound to change depending on the situation.”

Daniel spoke flippantly, as if the history of his bride-to-be and his bodyguard were not a big deal, and Kayden stood there watching the scene unfold without giving too much away. Anriq hesitated before speaking again.

“I haven’t seen her since I entered the palace. After the Lady entered the Bureau of Investigation, I never saw her anymore. Perhaps her feelings for me have disappeared.”

“How do you know about her feelings?” Daniel queried.

Anriq looked down. They shared a moment of silence, before Daniel pulled his eyes away from him and turned to the report again.

“There is no real problem here, so don’t worry.”

Neither Kayden nor Anriq answered that.

“However, this issue,” Daniel said, pointing at a line in the report, “is quite unique. Abused by the Countess? Is it true?”

“It wasn’t abuse in a physical sense,” Anriq replied with hesitation, “It is more suitable to say it was a mental abuse. There was… gossip, that the Lady might not be the real Daughter of Count Esselburn. Everyone in their estate was aware of that.”

Daniel’s expression hardened slightly.

“It was a distressing environment for her, growing up. All the members of Esselburn estate are blonde, but she was the only one who had black hair.”

If Anriq’s words were true, then the steps Iveca had taken in the time since were understandable. The Bureau of Investigation provided separate accommodation. If he had grown up in such a situation, he would have wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible too.

“At the age of seventeen, she was the youngest to enter the Royal College Magic; she graduated at eighteen, then she joined the Bureau of Investigation. After that, she transferred to the Judicial Affair Bureau. That was three weeks ago.”

Daniel swept his chin with his fingers. His eyes narrowed.

“Kayden.”

“Yes, my King?”

“You’re not going to tell me what she did in the Bureau of Investigation, are you?”

“I am not.”

“Does she remember anything at all?”

“If you leave the Bureau of Investigation, you are given a choice; be monitored for life or have your memory erased. She chose the latter. It’s an ancient magic that Queen Evena left in the Bureau, and it would normally last a lifetime. But now the power of the spell is slowly weakening, her memory will likely return. Though it will take some time.”

Kayden paused, remained silent, and slowly added his conclusion.

“Anyway, it’s true that, for now at least, her memories from before she was eighteen have been erased.”

Kayden breathed a sigh. It was clear the King was planning on finding as much wiggle-room as possible to intervene in the Bureau. The secrets handed down to the Bureau of Investigation from Queen Evena were not a matter for Daniel to know. The Bureau sometimes moved without the King’s permission, if it was necessary to make their own judgement for the good of the Kingdom. Kayden liked Daniel; would even go as far as to say he was loyal to him on most matters. But he would never talk about Iveca’s days as investigator.

“I see” came Daniel’s reply.

Kayden knew that wasn’t the last he’d hear of the question. But as he braced himself for more, the King interrupted his train of thought.

“The woman that I personally asked you for a favor, did you find her whereabouts?” said Daniel.

“We’re still looking for her,” said Kayden. His face tightened. He worried where this line of questioning was going.

“It’s strange that you still haven’t been able to find her.”

Kayden swallowed, hoping the expression on his face wasn’t too telling.

“If everything goes according to plan, you will soon have a Queen. She hasn’t raised any opinions or had any particular discord with the suggestion, so why don’t you just focus on that?” said Kayden.

“Ah,” Daniel shrugged. “There will only be the Queen. It caused quite an uproar during my predecessors’ era, and it’s easy to imagine the same thing happening in my generation. “

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“Then why are you looking for her?” questioned Kayden.

“Because it’s weird that you can’t find her” came the curt reply.

Kayden did not answer. Daniel looked at the report as if he didn’t want to hear his answer regardless. He stayed silent as he recalled his meeting with Iveca. The poor thing had looked like a frightened mouse all the way through their conversation. Though, Daniel mused, the topic would have been more than enough to stir that reaction in her. Daniel was lost in thoughts as he recalled Iveca’s anxious purple eyes. Her uptight expression, a creeping voice, shrinking shoulder, eyes full of alertness, trembling lips…

“If I may…” came Kayden’s voice, “I don’t think she’s a woman worthy of Your Majesty’s liking.”

The words buzzed around Daniel’s ears as he planned his next move.