the haunted kingdom by Charles E.J. Moulton (snow like ashes txt) 📕

whipped again.” Eric said, grabbing her by the cheeks and kissing her mouth. “Honey. He is destroying us. I would rather take a chance.”
Rebecca nodded. They embraced, Becky laying her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were transparently melancholy, one tear lingering in one of them, waiting to drop across her left cheek onto her nose. He thought about Adnicul and the fact that his name strangely resembled another name he knew. His heart was beating slower now, but still that question in his mind lingered and would not go away. The question was like a small dog unable to speak, it urged his master to look the other way where another man was watching them from afar.
Something told him that Adnicul was another man entirely.
His girlfriend shed a tear. It dropped down her face and hit his black shoulder pads.
“Shh. Shh. There, there, now. It’ll be alright.” But was he telling the truth? Would it be alright?
He saw a couple running in forest screaming, yet again he had that waking nightmare of being stuck in a cave with someone’s face stuck an inch from his nostrils. His knee hurt. He was scared. Eric knew that Adnicul kept attacking Prosperania and felt sorry for the innocent victims.

Sunday, April 12th, 1422 A.D.

A large building that looked like Roman Forums positioned in the centre of Clurafar was the location of the parliamentary centre. The roof was simple light white lead glass, a slightly rounded and raised cupola that magnified any light that existed outside. In any other part of the palace torches had to be used in the corridors to find the way. The Main Hall was in itself a cupola located in the middle at the very top as an independent entity, with windows and openings all around it. Outside every window there were three torches inside a convex glass that seemed to throw in light into the Hall in addition to the daylight, which gave the Senate a slightly flickering character. Today the Main Hall was full to the brim with approximately 600 people sitting in three large amphitheatrical half circles around a large podium. Alexander had chosen a Sunday for the merger, since it was the Lord’s day and fitting for success of the grandest of schemes: peace.
Some had travelled for months to be here to witness the signing of the alliance. In the balcony raising above and in back of the people King Alexander and Queen Sieglinde sat with Steven, Patrick and Patricia to their right, Eleonora and Maria to their left. Patrick wore a look of patient dignity and watched all the gossiping couples and dignitaries from eleven nations waiting for their search for equality within the Empire. Patricia touched up a curl or two in her hair, all too relieved that the weight had been taken off her young shoulders. Although she loved Morgana, she would’ve hated her for the burden of reading.
Maria, the oldest of the daughters held a very discreet conversation with Eleonora, pointing at various people in the audience that they knew. Steven held a conversation with Sieglinde as Patrick tried to avoid saying much to his father, who was throwing comments at him.
"Smile a little more!" and "Look at Steven, he does not look bored!"
Mustafus was the only king who had known that he could not be here already in September of 1421, since a dignitary from Mongolia had arranged for a state visit after Alexander's recent one, where a trade agreement of Prosperanian Silver would be signed for Shanghai Silk, Tsih-Chuan Tea and Burmese Canon powder. It was the most lucrative trade route that Alliland had ever been involved in, so The Minister of Defense, Mario Callini, a very odd Neapolinian with an incredibly high and soft-spoken voice in the body of a wrestler represented Alliland. Morgana always said it seemed like the man was miming with his walrus bearded mouth to the sound of another man. She said his muscles excited her. But the man was extremely bright and had sent more than one foe to the gallows. There was the Hispanic King, Mormidar the Clear and his wife Queen Silvia, sitting in the first row. Then the Vindobon Queen with Thurina IV sat next to him. A large lady dressed in fabulous local cotton with a large ostrich feather fan covering her large heaving trademark cleavage, whom she would only reveal in private to the privileged, a very pregnant bosom who had become somewhat of a myth that everyone wanted to see and no one dared to admit wanting to witness.
There was the Daneland Minister of Commerce, Ulfaas Nordhjiil, who sat and read a document about the protocol given to him by Alexander. He looked bored, but knew that Alexander and Belinda valued his importance. The Olandus Prince Fredruck the Glad had his Princess Estefania with him and they seemed to be glancing at all the details in here, never having been in this Hall previous to this occasion. The Brittanic Counsellor Martin Darbersham wore his very typical 'summer wig' that went down his hips along with his knee length coat in indigo blue that contrasted his brown eyes. He had come alone without his wife, but with four ladies in waiting, who were all his personal mistresses. The wife was in labour, expecting their fourth son, at least they hoped for a boy.
Neapolonia was represented by its the old King and Queen, Luigi the III and Escamilla the IV, who equally split the responsibilities of reign and therefore had a three-person staff with each of them. Morawar's Queen Regina wore a smile that just seemed to be transparent and some of the young men in the audience just couldn't stop looking at her. She had red hair and blue eyes and was so sexually entrancing that most boys in the hall would have a dream or two about her that night. The woman was a hard lady that left no chance for negotiation.
Hurtian fishing tradition had sent a literal Fisher King to the Alliance. He had been the head of the largest Fishing Corporation in the country before he took over the throne and created a dynasty after the last king died ten years earlier without children. Iwar VII was literally chosen by the people. A black coat studded with golden medals from battle victories contrasted his almost bald haircut, with a black Mohawk middle. Beside him were his three children: Gabriel, Julia and Zorin, his wife Theresa and the Nanny Birgitta, who was from Daneland. None of them smiled at all.
Jamburee had sent its King Urban and the family and they were sitting next to Iwar and all of them were madly laughing, fat and jolly folks all. Urban was the largest and apparently was telling his family a joke that made them all laugh. Iwar glanced angrily at them. Zentar had sent a King that seemed to glow in pure expressions. He and his wife held hands and gave a few easy tips to the aides as to what to aim for in the coming negotiations. No one had been invited from Nocturania. There had been discreet invitations since a year or two, a courier had even travelled to Rigor Mortis to tell Adnicul to come, but a serious decline had been the result. Until a letter came that Zeehka would arrive as a representative and no one knew why since the merger was excluding Nocturania.
This woman had been the last Johnathan's wife before he supposedly died in battle and was replaced by Adnicul. She was now living in Misar Rularia, a castle in the middle of the country that apparently held the largest dungeon in Medatlantia and only given a visit by Adnicul once a year as the royal widow and was therefore chosen to be the one to go. But Nocturania was the reason why this alliance was taking place at all, their attacks along the coast and their persistence in attacks. So the woman, who actually was Moorish, sat alone and said nothing, her glittery black dress shining in its transparency of being there at all. Zeekha hoped that she could have the king pardon her for being there as Nocturanian representative as she at age fourteen once had been in love with him in secret when Sieglinde felt attached to leaving him during the scandal of his infidelity with Grand Duchess Madeleine.
She felt like a scapegoat and wondered why her life had turned out so poorly. Last but not least were Margetania's King and Queen, Sieglinde's sisters and brothers, as well the five representatives that had come to witness this event. They knew that they were the reason why it happened at all. Behind them were the two hundred senators and their wives, children and grandchildren. There were so many glittery costumes and eagerness in this room at that point that the two girls behind the red curtain that separated them from it brought them together. The one hundred guards that stood along the walls seemed to smile as well, right before the women walked in, shaking with nervousness.
Morgana told Belinda. "I am so sorry, Sister heart, if I have offended you."
Belinda looked at her, surprised, wondered if she best be mean or clean and finally smiled and said, "Morgana," she patted her on the arm. "It's all right."
The hug that followed broke the ice. The two strode out, Belinda in a dazzling light blue toga-dress studded with dark blue pearls with a white scarf and glittering red earrings, her dark yellow rose-decorated sander hair spilling across her fertile half visible bosom. Morgana in a light green creation down to the floor just like her sister's with beige flowers with a white rose in her hair and blue earrings. The applause started amongst the senatorial sons way in the back and spread like wildfire through the hall and it would not end. There had been rumours of this appearance since their childhood, rumours about binding Medatlantia together in an alliance. It had been a dream.
Since Sieglinde had wished for them to hold the eventual opening speech at this occasion, even at their puberty gossip had started. Why them? The answer was simple: they were the two most beautiful girls in the Winsletenna Family. Everyone hoped on a continental alliance to end all poverty and agitation that war caused. It took about ten minutes for the applause to calm down.
When it did, Belinda spoke first. "My dear distinguished ladies and gentlemen, lords, ladies, your majesties, noble sirs, dear distinguished senators! This conference here in our beautiful capital constitutes an event anticipated long before we, my sister and I, were born. I remember my father talking of his grandfather hoping to once serve a continent that worked together instead of against one another. Margetania gave us a reason to start such an effort. It is indeed fate that we shall do it here in Clurafar's Grand Senate with its twelve lovely marble archways, where twelve nations together in assembly join forces protecting the litteral mother continent economical extinction.”
Morgana continued, her heaving bosom giving warning of commencing speech. "We have gathered today partially to promote this alliance in progression because of Margetania's dire need of assistance in the last years, much due to raising poverty, bad crop outcome and mostly because of attack by unknown neighbours, but also to try to plead with you to agree with a joint effort to bind our forces. We are all very, very proud to have so many distinguished and wonderful people here today and we are very happy to be here to say this to you today, to welcome you as a family and as neighbours all, wholeheartedly.”
There was ear deafening applause again that seemed not to end and