There was moments she’d wake up in pain to find Alexander looming over her, and she’d smile at him before drowning back to the sea of darkness. The light brought nothing but pain, and for once, she embraced the darkness. Many were times she wished she’d stay in the darkness forever but whenever she came to, the pain would be unbearable. Sometimes she’d find Alexander in the room holding her hand or a maid washing her.

When she finally woke up, the cruel sun was high in the sky. The curtains had been drawn to let in light, but the cruel sun had sent her sweaty all over her body. She moved, her lips dry and cracked, her limbs now less painful. The poison had worked wonders in her body, but she didn’t regret it.

On the rocking chair to her left, he sat there, face facing the ceiling with eyes tightly closed. She wondered for how long he had sat there. At least he was shielded from the cruel sun. Her feet dangled from the bed and when she stepped on the floor, a spasm of pain coursed through her whole body. She had to remind herself she knew how to walk.

One step, and the pain was unbearable. She collapsed on the floor and she didn’t know how he had woken up. All she saw was his worried face as he carried her back to the bed.

"Let me call the physician," he said, his voice hurried and briesk. She just smiled at him. He drew the curtains back and stormed out to later come back with a stout man who had whiskers for a beard. He carried a bag with him that he placed on the nightstand and took some tools Isadora had seen used by other physicians.

He first examined her eyes, then her tongue, and then her heartbeat. He turned to Alexander all smiles.

"They are safe!"

’They?’ Isadora frowned. She wanted to talk but her throat felt dry. And as if Alexander had read her mind, he poured her a glass of water and helped her sit up. She gulped the contents noisily but she didn’t care she was acting unladylike. She never acted a lady in the first place.

Her face demanded answers now! Alexander gave the physician a nod and with a bow, the man left. He held her hand in his, his eyes looking watery for the first time! He was smiling yet sad at the same time, and it confused her.

"When you kissed me and became unconscious, the physician found out you were pregnant while treating you," he was all smiles, but Isadora was shocked. She had risked their child! What if something bad had happened? Would Alexander have forgiven her?

"I’m sorry." She cried, little streams that dampened her face. "I should not have done something foolish as to put our child at risk."

"You did nothing wrong my love." He caressed her cheeks, wiping her tears with his thumb. "All that matters is that we’re safe, and so is the child."

"You’re going to be a father," she smiled at him, and in his vulnerable state, he cried. She had to admit he looked beautiful while crying and she couldn’t help but kiss him.

Two days passed and Isadora was well. The throne hall was filled to the brim, and all perpetrators of the war paraded before the new emperor and empress. Today, all the great houses sworn to Arcadia were going to swear obeisance to the new emperor, and fates determined.

Alexander and Isadora were seated on the throne, now two seats to accommodate the empress. Isadora was the perfect definition of a queen. She wore a light blue dress that matched her eyes and a golden tiara. Alexander had his hair perfectly combed and wore royal robes with a golden color. The sigil of a dragon dancing in flames was embedded in his attire, a new symbol for the new kingdom. Flowers surrounded the frame of the sigil to include Arcadia’s culture.

The double doors swung open and queen Felista was brought before them. Contrary to the last time Isadora had seen her, her hair was messy and she had lost some weight. Though her beauty was unmistakable, she looked nowhere close to a queen of Arcadia. She watched at Roselyn in the gallery but there was no emotion on the daughter’s face.

"You’re accused of conspiring against His and Her Majesties back, hiring knives to slaughter them in your own kingdom, and disobeying a direct order from your daughter, the queen. Treason and cold murder are not only vile accusations but crimes punishable by death." The herald read, and the hall fell silent.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Alexander asked.

"What do I have to say Your Majesty? I don’t deny any of the crimes, and why should I? Let the Lords and ladies sworn to my house witness the cruelty of the new emperor’s justice." She said, her voice loud.

"My husband helped this man to win the civil war of Arcadia, but what did he do in return. They murdered my husband, and as if that was not enough, rode all the way here to create disorder in my house, and demanded that we join his ambitious empire. Tell me Lords and Ladies, even if you swear fealty to him, will he be a good king?"

"What you’re trying to do is treason my queen," the herald pointed. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I’ve committed treason once, a second time won’t hurt." She looked acidly at Alexander. "My fate rests in the hands of the emperor after all." It was more of a mockery than a compliment.

"I hereby call Her Highness, Queen Roselyn to testify."

"Testify?" Felista asked. Her own daughter was to testify against her!? She looked up at the gallery and met the cold eyes of Roselyn. Not a hint of emotion or empathy was in those orbs, and she feared her fate would be worse than she’d imagined.

All eyes were on Roselyn as she descended from the gallery and stood before the emperor and empress. She slightly bowed before taking her place in the witness’s dias.

"My mother has done vile things Your Majesties," she began, her voice soft but firm. "By her order, men royal to you were butchered, including the Sir Brandon the gallant and..." She sniffed, a tear escaping her left eye. She was quick to brush it away.

"And Lord Newton, the king consort. I swear to the crown that I had nothing to do with the deaths of them, and how could I? Sir Brandon was like a brother to me, and Lord Newton... he was my world."

She took a quick glance at her mother and back to Alex and Isa. "I know the crimes my mother has committed are only punishable by death, and I do not wish to propose for mercy." That shocked Felista. "All I do ask from the crown is to give her a quick death Your Majesties, by beheading if I may propose."

Alexander rose. "As a token of gratitude from the crown, you shall remain the queen of Arcadia. You shall hold all the titles and lands your father left you but you and your sworn houses will pay obeisance to the crown."

"And as of your mother, her sentence shall be death by beheading as you wish. Take her to the dungeons."

The guards led Felista out. And there, all the houses, Lords and Ladies sworn to the royal family of Arcadian swore obeisance to the new emperor and empress, and so Roselyn was crowned the first queen of Arcadia, and such was required to get married within a year’s time to produce heirs to the throne.

And in that hall, the era of Alexander and Isadora started.