A Bard's Tale, 5th Bar, Royal Duties - A FFXI Love StoryFollow

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The fifth piece of this story...already had started on the sixth.

Comments, suggestions, etc are always welcome!

My first work, if you want to read it: Aish*teru (I Love You)

*****
1st Movement

1st Bar, A Prologue

2nd Bar, Beautiful Music

3rd Bar, Dinner Conversation

4th Bar, Bedtime Fantasies

*****

Begin 5th Bar, Royal Duties

"This serf wishes to address you directly, m'lady."

I looked down from my throne at one of my personal guard from the Royal Knights, kneeling at my feet. His gloved hand rested upon one knee as he showed proper protocol, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit unsettled at myself for it.

"What is his issue?" I asked, my gaze breaking away from him to look against the distant tapestries on the wall opposite, detailing out various San d' Orian conquests and victories in the northern part of the continent in dyed wool.

"He wishes to address the recent stirrings of unhappiness among the townspeople of the kingdom. He also comes bearing a gift from the elders of his family."

The white plume of his armored helmet shifted slightly with his words, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit of the same awe in his authoritative voice as I did when I was a small girl, watching them march in lock-step parade every year for the 'games' emphasizing the ruling family's dynasty in the Kingdom.

I lifted a heavy arm laden down with elemental stone rings and oriculum bracelets, letting my index finger ever so slightly bend towards the door.

"Please, show him in then."

I hate doing this...there is only very little that I can ever do for the people without upsettling the nobles and the military...

I wish my husband wouldn't shunt his official duties to hold audience with the townspeople upon me, claiming that it was better than he remain but a mythical figure to his subjects.

What an over-inflated ego.

The knight stood back up, and strolled away with that ever so familiar clanging of his armor pieces against each other in a strong, reassuring manner before leaving the room.

I closed my eyes some, letting my eyelid muscles twitch intermittently for a few moments.

That stuff I took last night...so good, yet...

I let my eyes slip back open as I heard the knight come back in, with what I could tell was a poorly clad elderly Elvaan male in his wake. He shuffled in slowly, one foot almost dragging behind the other in a heavy limp, his face pockmarked with blotchy scars from some illness or another, no doubt caught from the deep stink of chocobo manure that immediately flooded and overpowered everything else in the room. His whitened hair and beard was filthy as well, and I could not imagine it to be anymore disconcerted if he had tried himself.

The pair drew themselves up closer to my throne, the knight placing himself between and slightly to the side of me, his sword at the ready in the (very) unlikely case that this person would decide to try to attack me. As soon as the Elvaan serf was at a reasonable distance, he slowly lowered himself down to his knees as best as he could.

"A g-g-g-gift for our q-q-queen..." the man stumbled out after a moment, reaching into his green rags to pull out a small wooden box, without ever looking up towards me. "I-i-it's from all of us, r-r-r-representing our l-l-loyalty to y-y-you..."

I couldn't help but feel a sharp tone of sympathy for him as he placed it before him on the ground, his hands just as torn apart and sore as his face.

"What is your name?" I asked, letting my regal tone of voice to take over.

"I-I-I am Offelac of K-K-Knightwell..."

"Very well then, Offlec of Knightwell, what brings you before your queen today?"

"M-m-my queen...the p-p-people of K-k-knightwell and the s-s-ur-r-rrounding areas beyond the c-c-castle walls are suf-suf-uffering...we do not pro-pro-produce enough f-f-food to f-f-feed ourselves a-a-and to be ab-ab-able to su-su-supply the c-c-castle w-w-with. We t-t-toil hard and l-l-long, having ou-ou-our chocobos p-p-plow, our w-w-women p-p-plant, and our men h-h-harvest, only to h-h-have to su-su-surrender enough th-th-that we ca-ca-cannot s-s-sustain o-o-ourselves. The fr-fr-frost this y-y-year has been ex-ex-exceptionally h-h-harsh as w-w-well..."

He paused for a moment, and then spoke hesitantly once more after licking his failing chapped lips and tightly ******** his eyes closed.

"Au nom de la deesse de l aube sa majestee et son royaume nous nous delivrons a sa mercie, pour la justice et demandons un priere pour le soulagement..."

His lungs sounded like they were about to shrivel up and die, no doubt because he had been rehearsing that ancient prayer for relief for days or even weeks now. It was an old tradition to speak those words after addressing the royals for a resolution of a commoner's problem, to show that one's place was that of submission before the Goddess, the king and queen, and the Kingdom.

Some said it faster than others, some pronounced it better than others, but ultimately, everyone had to say it. It was an old tradition, but a tradition nevertheless...

No matter how silly it may be at times to force people to memorize it before approaching.

Once he finished, I let the room fall silent for a few moments, before speaking myself.

"Your Queen hears your concerns, and she will speak to His Majesty about your concerns about the area of Knightwell."

He nodded his aged head slowly at my words, relief no doubt filling his mind and heart at my words. I felt bad as I watched him, knowing that there was nothing that the regent would do to help these people, and that I was simply bound from acting alone.

More than a little ironic that as a queen of the Kingdom, I have very little power over it.

"You may rise and leave my presence now." I commanded, not letting the neutrality of my voice drop despite my mental unhappiness.

He got up, his bones audibly creaking as he did so, and he slowly shuffled outwards under the guard of his escorting knight. I watched his back as he left, waiting for my knight to return and hand me the gift that had sat just moments before in front of the Elvaan male.

"Open it for me." I said, watching as the guardian obediently lifted up the small wooden latch and lifted up the lid.

My eyes went wide for a moment, instantly then slipping back into a blank state as I gazed upon the gift that was presented to me.

It was a pair of matching rings, one crafted in the shape of a moon, the deep-blue sapphire gem cut in the shape of a crescent moon, while the other was in the shape of a five-pointed star, created out of what I instantly recognized as angelstone. The bands were what I recognized as having come from a volcano of the far southern islands, called adaman.

As the light from the skylights above and the stained windows from the sides caught the rings and made them dazzle and sparkle, I couldn't help but feel slightly unworthy to be given them. These were no doubt the true treasures of the people of Knightwell, and for them to be willing to give them up...

I will speak to -Him- at once about these people, and see if he will allow them some relief.

~fin 5th Bar, Royal Duties