Page 62 of The Warlord's Princess
“My mother’s longing for your territory extends back many decades, and when you, the Scion of the Upper Reach, failed to seed my womb, it was determined that you needed to be removed, which is why you were sent into battle.
“But you survived. Even when you were sent into perilous territories you had little hope of conquering, serving under warlords known to strike nonsensically, giving themselves over to fate so that other armies might succeed.
“Even my mother was impressed when you were dubbed Warlord, not that it altered her intentions for you.
“Every moment you were away in battle brought me pain, because I knew what was planned for you, and there was nothing I could do.
“Unfortunately, my mother has finally lost her patience. She came to me two nights ago, telling me to spill your blood in a most dishonorable way, which to a man would be an egregious slight. But women care little for honor.
“But I am not without power, and I was able to strike a deal with a warden. Instead of seeing to your death, I am sending you away to a place my mother’s power and influence cannot reach. A place that no one would ever think to look for you.
“No one knows of my plan, not even my mother, for I am a clever negotiator and I paid a dear price to the warden, for you are worth it.
“Cryon-2-7-9’s chances of success are far greater than the other planets we have seeded, and with its success will comethe first settlers from Tempest, which will include me, as Cryon-2-7-9’s Queen.
“This message is meant to be viewed when the terraforming of the seed planet is all but inevitable, and if you are viewing it, it means that someday soon we will be together again.
“Rejoice, my dearest Ramsey. Everything I have done is so that we will be together again, for you have always been mine, and I will never let you go.”
The screen freezes, and I am left in a state of such shock, that I can hardly control my spiraling thoughts.
It was all inner Tempest politics.
I never lacked honor. My exile was a political move, as I had not died in battle, and my once-beloved could not see to my assassination.
The restoration of my honor should bring me joy, yet I feel hollow. Incomplete.
As a man of Tempest, war is in my blood, yet I never realized how much the territories of Tempest warred against each other.
Admittedly, I was taught very little about the inner politics of Tempest. The Tempest queens each have their own small armies to be used at their discretion, but I knew not what they were used for, as I was meant to breed, not to lead.
What is perhaps most confusing is that Princess Kasmina’s mother, Queen of the Lowlands, would want to conquer the Upper Reach after allying with my mother.
It is thinking of Amber that helps me see the situation more clearly. Amber, who will lie for power. Amber, who does little, yet expects much.
Asha and Amber are the two sides of Tempest, representing the inner and outer politics. One duty-bound; the other power hungry. One maintaining honor in their own graceful, quiet way; the other, willing to sacrifice it to get ahead.
Who are you to say what honor should be to a woman?
Men commit to war and breeding, their worth and honor dependent upon the territories they claim and if their pods successfully mate.
Women have different roles in society, and their honor cannot be defined by one such as myself.
I look at the screen again, where Princess Kasmina’s face is frozen.
Could she truly have been saving me from the schemes of her mother? I was given over to the Lowlands as a means to prevent war between our territories, yet they still schemed and could possibly now hold the Upper Reach.
Not that I have any strong feelings regarding the territory. I hardly remember my mother, as I was but an asset to her. A means to negotiate.
Without a daughter, she had no one to inherit her territory upon her death, and sought to extend her legacy by providing my seed to another more fertile line whose offspring could one day hold the seat.
Now, if Princess Kasmina speaks true, they have warred, and whatever child the princess was pregnant with now stands to inherit what once belonged to my line.
I turn off the monitor, but stay seated, unable to move even if I wanted to.
To send me here was a cruel thing, yet it was not without reason.
Still, I cannot stop the heat of my blood from rising when I think of all I have endured, because not only had I been shamed, but the very act of exiling me stole my honor.
