The Woes of Royalty

The Woes of Royalty

Clashes of metal sent sparks flying through the air, strikes moving and glancing off one another before either opponent had time to breathe. A dangerous arc of metal swiped through the air, and it took everything Pandoria had to dip under it and push herself backward, taking a breath.

In front of her, her father stood. Damocles IV was taller than her by half a foot, and with decades of experience under his belt. Whereas she was sweating up a storm, doing what she could to keep her breathing under control, her father wasn’t winded in the slightest.

“You’re keeping your pace a bit better.” He called to her, pulling his trident back and getting into a one-handed stance. “But your stamina needs work. Again.”

Pandoria sighed, though she followed suit and lowered herself into a two-handed stance. The air was static for but a moment before Damocles jumped into the battle, testing his daughter’s skills with simple stabs from his trident. 

Those were blocked easily enough, though the wide-sweeping strike that followed after almost broke through her guard. Her balance was thrown off and Damocles capitalized, putting on pressure with more and more strikes that she was just barely able to block. The hooked edge of his trident clipped around her ankle and before she could react, he pulled her off her feet and her back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

“Your speed could do with some work, too, Pandoria.” The humor in his voice wasn’t lost on her. With a sigh, followed up with a grunt of effort, Pandoria stood up again.

“Let’s go again, Father.” She asked. His raised eyebrow made her bristle with rage. “Please! I can go again, I’ll do better!”

Damocles sighed, stabbing his trident into the ground and approaching his daughter. Begrudgingly, she did the same as he dropped his hands on her shoulder.

“Pandoria, you’re pushing yourself too hard. You have more than enough time to improve, so why are you trying to force it now?” Looking up at her father had proven too difficult, so Pandoria looked down at the ground between her feet instead. When no answer was given, Damocles sighed and stepped back. Pandoria expected him to return, pick up his trident, and continue the training exercise. So imagine her surprise when, instead, he gripped her own, Almarantis, and pulled it free from the dirt. 

“Pandoria. When your mother and I gave you this, we did it because we knew you would be ready for that responsibility.” He looked away from her, up and through the dome over their heads. “The sunlight does not reach very far down here, as you know. But when you were born, your mother swore the sunlight shined on you like none other. She felt it was your destiny.”

He turned around to face her, not surprised to see that she failed to meet his eyes. He held the trident up, watching as the minute rays of light glanced over its blades before sighing.

“You have heart, my child. So much of it. But the expectations you put on yourself are much too heavy for a girl your age to bear.” Pandoria grimaced.

“I’m to be Queen someday, father.” She whispered and Damocles turned to face her again. “I have to make sure I’m ready to rule when it comes to it, but we never know when that’ll happen-!”

“Pandoria, you’re thirteen! I have been King for the last thirty years and I am nowhere near my peak just yet! Honestly, child, it’s like you expect me to be assassinated or to lose the next Nalu Tautoga that comes up!”

Hurt ran across Pandoria’s face as she shook her head vivaciously.

“Father, no, that’s not what I mean! I-I don’t expect you to die, I-I just...” She made movements with her hands, unable to find her words. “R-Ruling is a difficult matter! I-I just...”

As she floundered for words, tears brimming in her eyes, Damocles let out a hearty sigh as she stuck Almarantis into the ground again and approached his daughter, who didn’t hesitate to throw her arms around him and begin crying into his chest. Damocles brought a hand up to run through her hair as he hugged her back.

“I-I’m sorry, father, I-I just...!” Pandoria wailed, though Damocles simply shushed her quietly.

“You have nothing to apologize for, darling. You’re simply worried for your old man’s life, hm?” She nodded furiously against his chest, dragging some semblance of a sad chuckle out of him. “Yes, your mother has done the same on numerous occasions. Don’t tell her I told you, or she’d have my hide.”

Even through her tears, Pandoria managed to at least laugh at that. Damocles smiled and eased both of them to the ground, taking a seat with his daughter still pressed to his chest.

“Truth is, Pandoria, that that worry will never go away. You’re right, ruling is a difficult matter. No matter how good you do, you will have enemies for some reason or another.” He shook his head as if shooing the thought away. “However, I can promise you that when you become Queen, whether it be in the near or the distant future, that you will do amazing. You have your grandfather’s heart and your mother’s intellect.”

The girl sniffled, pulling herself from her father’s embrace simply to stare at him. Her eyes were tinged with red from the tears, though there was a small, hopeful, smile on her face.

“And from you, father?” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Damocles seemed to think on this for a moment before he shrugged and opened his mouth to speak before-

“I would say from your father, you get his bravery.” A voice called from the side, causing both Pandoria and Damocles to turn toward the newcomer. Standing in the doorway to the training hall was none other than the Queen, Astora, and to her side, the other children of royalty.

Caspian, 12 years old, was the second oldest and bore a spitting resemblance to his father. Dario was 9, who seemed a mix of their mother and father with his father’s vibrant blue skin and his mother’s stark white hair. Young Feferi was only 6, though she clearly took after her older sister, as the two could have been mistaken for twins were she older.

“Though some people,” Astora continued as she walked over to the two and knelt next to them. “Would call that stupidity. You two are as stalwart as nature itself. You truly are your father’s daughter, Pandoria.” 

That statement seemed to usher more tears from her, though Pandoria tried, and failed, to wipe them away as soon as they came forth. Then, she chuckled.

“I-I have...been a fool, I suppose. I-I’m still a child,” She finally managed to sit up, putting a hand on both her father and her mother’s shoulders. “B-But I still want to be a good Queen, whenever that day may come.”

Astora smiled and gestured the rest of the kids over, who all took their own sweet time to approach. Young Feferi made herself comfortable in her older sister’s lap, whilst Dario sat by his mother and Caspian stood at his father’s side. 

“Yes, whenever that day may come indeed. Until then, Pandoria,” Damocles smiled, a hand on her head. “You have your family to attend to you and look out for you. What else is family for?”