Cambrian
patreon
Breaking Providence Ch. 60 (Original)
🕑 Added 2023-03-11 00:00:03 +0000 UTCA/N: Elsenthia's gambit continues. But will it pay off as she wants it to?
-x-X-x-
“It is time to come home, Lisanna Layla Leliana.”
The bright light filling the meeting room is nearly blinding in its intensity. And yet, somehow, despite said light being centered upon Lisanna and her chair, Elsenthia is able to make out her mother’s panicked features all the same.
“P-Please… my daughter… Serafina… h-help me! Don’t let them t-take me! Don’t let them do this!”
Elsenthia tenses, half-expecting the Holy Pope to step in… or at least, try to. She’s ready for it if Serafina does anything. It’s all part of the plan. Which is why it’s a little disconcerting when Serafina stays right where she is, not moving a muscle as she watches the proceedings in silence.
All the while, Lisanna is the exact opposite of silent. Her mother is growing more and more frantic by the moment, which is in turn making Elsenthia’s throat close up and her eyes burn with unshed tears. It wasn’t like she wanted this to happen. It wasn’t like she wanted this to be how it all ended. But… in the end, her mother had left her no choice.
So long as Lisanna remained Queen of the Holy Empire, their people would not recall her. So long as Elsenthia remained Princess, she could remain on the mortal plane in order to continue raising her daughter. And so… her mother was incentivized to keep Elsenthia as Princess indefinitely. Truth be told, it had taken a long time for Elsenthia to realize as much. It had taken far too long for her to come to understand that in order to grow and begin truly living her life, she had to remove her mother from the picture.
Understanding that fact did not make this any easier, however.
“Do not fight it, my daughter. It is past time for you to return to us. Your place is among your people, Lisanna Layla Leliana.”
As her grandfather’s ancient, wizened, and altogether arrogant voice echoes through the room, Elsenthia can only grimace and watch. It’s too late for her to actually stop this anyways. As soon as she contacted the Higher Place and told her mother’s people the truth, it had been too late. From that moment on, it only became a matter of time before Lisanna was recalled.
That didn’t make this any easier, and as Lisanna looks stricken and teary eyed at her, Elsenthia opens her mouth to say sorry… but her mother beats her to it.
“You don’t… y-you don’t understand, Elsenthia! It’s so BORING up there! There’s nothing to do! It’s unending tedium!”
Wait, what?
“At least here, people die! And because they die, they also live! Up there, they merely exist! They survive but do not thrive! Please, I can’t go back! I don’t want to! It’s so DULL!”
Elsenthia stares blankly at her mother, as if just seeing Lisanna for the first time in her entire life. The Queenly visage, the knowledgeable attitude… it’s all stripped away in the face of the High Elf suddenly throwing a temper tantrum over… over being BORED of all things. That was why her mother had done everything in her power to hold Elsenthia back? That was why she’d let YEARS pass after Elsenthia’s Awakening, avoiding her coronation while letting things get worse and worse with the Nobility?!
… She should have been Queen years ago. She should have taken up her father’s crown ages back. In an instant, all of Elsenthia’s guilt and pity disappears. She sits there stone-faced as Lisanna is finally recalled, unable to hold her father at bay or resist the teleportation spell a moment longer. As her mother disappears from the mortal plane and returns to the Higher Plane where she’s always belonged, Elsenthia lets out an explosive breath of relief, as if a massive weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
Despite there still being torches lining the walls of the room, it nevertheless suddenly feels quite dark in the wake of the bright light’s absence. It takes Elsenthia a few moments to blink the spots out of her eyes, but when she can properly see again… her mother’s seat is still gone. The wineglass that Lisanna had been holding appears to have gone with her. She-
Elsenthia jolts, as the sound of clapping suddenly cuts through her inner thoughts. It starts slow at first, as she turns her gaze towards the other woman in the room. Serafina sits where she sat before, having not moved a muscle in defense of her friend. The Holy Pope even has a wide smile on her face as she brings her hands together time and time again.
“Well done, Elsenthia. Well played. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you. Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought the High Elves would have even listened to you, given your status.”
Elsenthia hesitates for a moment. This… conversation wasn’t part of the plan. But then again, Serafina hadn’t acted as expected. She’d made no move to stop Lisanna from being recalled, and so she had not had to be stopped just yet in turn. Was Serafina not powerful enough to contend with her mother’s people on the Higher Plane? Or did she simply not care?
Lips thinning out, the Crown Princess chooses to be slightly magnanimous, shrugging her shoulders.
“They were grateful to hear from me, actually. The sense of time and scale up on the Higher Plane is apparently quite terrible. My mother’s people truly believe that I wasn’t of age just yet, and that she had to stay down here and continue being Queen for just a little bit longer.”
Glancing at the empty chair, Elsenthia hums to herself for a moment.
“Not only have they lost the ability to understand how time down here on the mortal plane works, but it also takes pure High Elves hundreds of years to mature in the first place, apparently. Once I… corrected the record, they were more than happy to take my mother back.”
Serafina nods, before raising her wine glass in a salute and taking a long drink from it. Once she’s done, she smacks her lips… and laughs.
“Leaving you free and able to finally ascend to your father’s throne in your mother’s absence.”
Hesitating again ever so briefly, Elsenthia nods. It wasn’t like she’d wanted to do it. Sacrificing her mother in order to become Queen. She’d never wanted this. But… it had become a necessity. Because at the end of the day, her mother was part of the problem. And until Lisanna was gone, Elsenthia couldn’t begin fixing things.
Not that Serafina has any intentions of letting her do that, of course. Chuckling to herself, the red head suddenly becomes… somewhat sinister as she leans forward.
“I acknowledge your gambit, Princess. Most impressive. Quite… clever. However, I wonder if you truly thought this through. Do you really think the path to the Crown is as secure as you think it is now that Lisanna is out of the way?”
Elsenthia’s lips thin out at that, and she stays quiet as Serafina takes another drink of wine.
“This is your problem, Princess. You’re so… entitled. It’s not entirely your fault, of course. Your mother is at least partially to blame. Perhaps I am as well. You’re convinced that the only acceptable choice for ruler of the Holy Empire… is you.”
Serafina scoffs at this, shaking her head.
“I’m not quite sure I agree if I’m being honest. And that’s a problem for you, don’t you think? After all, there’s only one person who can coronate you in the whole of the Holy Empire. Me.”
She’s right, of course. The Holy Pope is the one who performs the coronation. Dating back centuries, this has always been the case. It’s not a tradition that goes all the way back to the founding of the Holy Empire of course. The Church is not quite over a thousand years old like the Empire is, but it’s getting close. And for centuries now, hundreds upon hundreds of years, the Holy Pope has been the one who has placed the crown upon the King’s brow.
For a Royal to try and rule the Holy Empire without the Holy Pope’s blessing? Why… it’s unheard of. And for Elsenthia especially…
“You, more than anyone, will require my blessing Elsenthia. Even with all of those dead nobles and clergymen who were plotting against us, there are still plenty who aren’t quite sure whether your birth was a mistake or not. The first half-elf daughter to a King of the Holy Empire in the entire span of our history.”
Shrugging, Serafina’s smirk grows.
“If you’d been born a boy, perhaps you wouldn’t need me. But if I do not give you my blessing, if I decide not to coronate you… no one will follow you. You will be Queen of Nothing.”
The Holy Pope’s eyes glitter here with malicious glee as she runs a finger along the rim of her wine glass.
“Will you beg, I wonder? Will you get down on your hands and knees and beseech me to allow you your crown and throne?”
Elsenthia remains quiet. She stays seated. After a few moments of silence, of her just staring, Serafina’s smile becomes wooden before dropping altogether. She lets out a laugh that sounds fake to Elsenthia’s ears.
“No, of course not. As I said… you are much too entitled. Perhaps you think I need you as much as you need me, hm? Perhaps you think I should want you to be my figurehead, that without you, there’s no one better. But then… you’re not thinking very hard on this if that is the case.”
Setting her wine glass down on the table, Serafina finally stands. Elsenthia tenses, but the older woman makes no move to attack her. In fact, her Holiness even clasps her hands behind her back as she begins to pace back and forth. Her eyes remain affixed on Elsenthia though, like a predator staring at a particularly juicy piece of meat.
“With the Church and the Nobility cleaned up, I could take the reins myself you know. No one would dare question it. I could declare the Holy Empire a proper theocracy once and for all. No more Kings, no more Queens. The end of the Pact with the High Elves… but then, you already represent the end of that Pact, don’t you? They won’t be sending a Queen down for you, that’s for sure. So why not? Why shouldn’t I rule the Holy Empire myself? I’ve already been doing so behind the scenes for the past ten years. Why shouldn’t I do so in name as well?”
She was spouting madness. But still Elsenthia does not speak. She only watches and wonders… how did she not realize how frayed the Holy Pope had become? When had it started? When had Serafina’s sanity begun to unravel? Was it more recent, after the banquet? Or was it further back then that? Had the kernel of madness always been there in Serafina’s mind?
As if recognizing how she sounds, how she looks, Serafina… chuckles and pulls back. She reins in her manic expression, physically leaning back even as her smile becomes more… doting in a way. Not doting towards Elsenthia though, of course.
“Ah, but I have no desire to rule this Empire, Elsenthia. I may not be as old and decrepit as some of the men that I’ve had killed in these past few months, but I’m not inclined to become some sort of Holy Empress. Luckily for me, I will not be forced to do so.”
She’s clearly building up to it. Trying to egg Elsenthia on. Trying to provoke her into engaging. When it becomes clear that the Princess isn’t going to do so, Serafina grins a wicked grin.
“I speak of Marcus, of course. The Destined Hero will be our Empire’s next King. Truth be told, it should probably have been that way ages ago. The Royal Family has long held power within the Holy Empire. And why? Because they were here first? Your ancestors found a device and activated it a thousand years ago, so they and the High Elves should be allowed to rule over the rest of us in perpetuity? No… I think not.”
Here, Serafina shakes her head in wry amusement.
“The Destined Hero is the one who keeps this entire Empire afloat. Marcus… Marcus will be the one to set us back on the right track. Once he’s been found, once I’ve helped him kill the Dark Lord, the prosperity and providence stolen from us all those years ago will be returned. And it will be Marcus who reaps the true benefits of that as he sits upon the throne and rules this Empire.”
Smiling somewhat coyly, the Holy Pope lets out a laugh.
“I must admit, until quite recently, I wanted you and he to rule together. As King and Queen. Only now do I realize… you’re not right for him, Elsenthia. You’re not right for the throne. Perhaps… perhaps if he wishes it, you may be one of his concubines. You might even get the chance to pop out a child or two for him. But I will never crown you Queen, Elsenthia. I see now that you are not worthy of it.”
Glancing at the wine glass, Serafina smirks.
“If you truly wanted this little gambit of yours to succeed, you should have poisoned my wine, darling. You had to have known I wouldn’t just let you get away with banishing your mother without consequences.”
Finally, Elsenthia speaks. Her tone is quiet and light.
“If I had poisoned the wine, you might have suspected something was amiss, your Holiness.”
Serafina’s eyes dart to Lisanna’s empty chair and the Holy Pope lets out a somewhat undignified, unladylike snort of derision at that.
“… Yes. You certainly managed to pull the wool over my eyes in that regard, I cannot deny it. And yet… how is that working out for you, hm?”
The question is rhetorical, something Serafina proves when she doesn’t wait for Elsenthia to reply. Instead, the Holy Pope snaps her fingers and her Shadow steps forward, the Pope’s most trusted agent having been waiting in the wings all this time.
“Take the Princess back to the Cathedral Dungeons. She clearly cannot be trusted to be left to her own devices.”
Smiling a venomous smile in Elsenthia’s direction, Serafina’s eyes flash.
“Not to worry, Elsenthia. You won’t need to worry your pretty little head about leading a thing anymore. Once Marcus has returned, once I’ve guided him down the path of victory… then HE will decide what to do with you. Do not fret. As your Aunt, I shall do my best to put in a good word regarding your pedigree and good breeding. Even if you are an abomination that should have been impossible… you are still the blood of Kings.”
-x-X-x-
A/N: Serafina has always been a bit of an opportunist~
Meanwhile, Lisanna's true motivation is uncovered as she's taken from this world. She was afraid... of boredom.
As always, hope people enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think!
Comments
Kaijucifer
Issue is, I'm not thinking of events in this story as if they could relate to life. It's purely narrative standpoint. As a fellow writer I noticed a missing piece and pointed it out. I tend not to overthink things that aren't written in a way denoting subtlety or foreshadowing. In this case, I didn't see any breadcrumb trail leading down this particular path. As I've stated earlier - I saw ruthless devotion to Marcus and those she value. No more, no less. The story is PWP. Albeit an interesting plot. Therefore, you cannot normally read too much into any sexual encounters - because using logic defies porn logic. You roll with it. Especially when it's in the character's nature to jump on a chance(Serafina taking what she wanted from Caleb from Marcus), et cetera. I didn't find it out of place at all, because, unlike many others, Cambrian actually knows how to do pacing and knows when to incorporate porn and it NOT be jarring.
Cqys
Yes. They could have. Life isn't so straight and easy that situations lead to one obvious conclusion. Just because you're being led two ways or more doesn't mean the breadcrumbs aren't there. For me the porn bit was a gigantic red flag. Mostly in these types of stories, and this one in particular, the sex is a side show to something else. It was so out of place even as I read it. The rest of the story was way more coherent than just a typical porn story. Just my opinion anyway.
Kaijucifer
I heavily disagree - from my point of view the decline is incremental at worst. If there were breadcrumbs, they could easily lead to a different conclusion as I've stated.
Cqys
I don't find it that ridiculous at all. She's been shown as being steadily more unhinged in regards to Marcus in particular as time had gone on. This was pretty much expected honestly. It is absolutely not a surprise.
SpectralTime
Could still go either way…
Kaijucifer
That might have helped, the way I saw it is when Marcus is concerned, she will stop at nothing to do what he wishes for and protect him. But she would know his allies are cherished by him, especially given her relationship with Elsenthia. I feel like despite her lack of knowledge about Marcus being a Halfabof (yeah, I made that up on the spot lol), she would be wise enough to not tempt fate and risk losing him by trying to push her weight around concerning those he's spent any amount of positive time with knowing how he was raised with virtually nobody who cared about him. The story could have benefited a ton from more buildup for this revelation. My impression was Serafina is ruthless - but loyal and loving to those she cares about, not just Marcus. I did not, however, get the impression that she thought it was "Her and Marcus vs the World", she didn't seem mad with power, but she also didn't shy away from using it either. Serafina was one of my favorite characters because of how she actually reminded me of a mama bear - or uh, step mama bear in this case. The immediate sexual contact thing didn't raise any red flags to me because 1. Porn story and 2. She been waiting for this for a very long time because of Caleb, and 3, porn logic. Basically, I get she's opportunistic and possibly letting the power get to her head, but I didn't expect her "mask off" to be "getting cucked by the dark lord and losing my unrequited love has completely and utterly destroyed my sanity, and i now am Yandere, Marcus-chan notice me. I'm doing all this for you, Marcus-chan." I more or less expected her to be more stoic or something, just, not crazy. I thought the Shadow would end up being the main antagonistic force, manipulating everyone. It would be a more natural conclusion, given how much good serafina has contributed. Even her making mistakes (writ of authority) just serves to show she's human and still prone to messing up, but still tries to do the right thing like any other "face" character would. I don't know, I just really didn't foresee this direction being taken. It felt to me like Serafina would be the "motherly love" Marcus would be getting while also tragically having to lose her position of power when it comes time to dismantle the establishment. But it wouldn't have had effected her much, because her real goal has always been to be with Marcus, possibly even as his main girl. I mean even she has to know that he's never gonna be a one woman guy, and that should he become king, he wouldn't even consider having a queen because then he'd have to choose who and that wouldn't be fair. I don't feel like canon serafina would have put so little thought into this considering how much time she probably spends dwelling on her potential future with Marcus lol
Phraxius
She could've tried to go with the Byzantine solution - you know, Co-Queen or something. Albeit for different reasons.
Cambrian
Hm, I definitely tried to foreshadow this heel turn over the course of the story, especially since I had the whole plot written down before the first chapter was even typed up. If I'm reading your post correctly, its not the fact that Serafina needs to be taken down that you have a problem with, but more her suddenly so antagonistic towards Elsenthia. This is definitely supposed to be Serafina's mask off chapter. By going behind her back and sending Lisanna back to the Higher Plane, Elsenthia has set herself against Serafina (something that Elsenthia knew she was doing mind you). And yes, Serafina is very much mentally damaged. This is the woman who went down on Marcus on their first meeting, fucked him on their second, and then enacted not one but two purges of two different organizations for him. Maybe in hindsight an additional chapter from Serafina's POV showing her starting to really lose it as her search for Marcus continues to turn up jackshit would have helped sell the concept better? But admittedly there's sort of supposed to be some murkiness over whether Serafina was this damaged from the start or only began fracturing after the banquet and Marcus' departure.
Kaijucifer
Don't like how Serafina changed into some ridiculously cliche trope of a character all of a sudden. The way you wrote her in the beginning had her seem sad at worst, at losing Caleb. This - does NOT FIT her given character, even if her powerful position had corrupted her, this is still too far from how she should truly be. This is just a bit too unbelievable. It's like something out of a bad light novel twist tbh. Like, how suddenly Eri Nakamura becomes a yandere in Arifureta. I could have let it slide if there was some buildup to Serafina's cheese sliding off of her cracker, but this is like a sudden 180 out of nowhere type thing. Didn't think I'd ever have anything this critical to say, I'm not exactly shocked at the revelation that she's insane, it just doesn't add up. She sees Marcus as her second chance, yes, but given what's been established so far - I really can't get behind this sudden shift. It honestly feels like it's as if she's a clone with someone else's character spliced into it. Unless you're building up to an actual antagonist possessing people and changing how the MCs view them, I can't really get behind this direction. I knew Liliana had to go from the beginning, I knew she was holding Elsenthia back for her own selfish reasons even back then. But Serafina has only ever cared about Marcus and the Destined Hero because of Caleb. Putting on a lucid facade while hiding her true insanity just doesn't...work in my opinion. All that said, this chapter was disappointing because of that. I thought Serafina would definitely be put in her place at some point, but NOT because she's suddenly become an antagonistic force for zero reason. Just thought it would be a subtle changing of the guard, so to speak, because the era of the church would be coming to a close.
Razgriz0x
Not gonna lie, was kind of looking forward to some Royal Oyakodan. Oh well. So the big question now is, will Marcus have to kill Serafina?
Cambrian
Heh, if it helps, Serafina gets what she considers a good end by the endof this book xD
SpectralTime
...It's... I share her daughter's disappointment. And not just because it seems as if that whole business with her literally being in bed with Serafina is just kind of a throwaway thing now. Guess that's that for her... Also, yeah, Serafina definitely sounds pretty nuts. And even we, who've been in her head, aren't completely sure at what point she went off the deep end. I guess she's the de facto final villain of the story, even if it seems like the actual villain is society. I still want her to end up okay in the end, but it looks increasingly unlikely to be the case. Guess so long as that Shadow woman who's at least partially (and potentially heavily) responsible for everything that happened on Serafina's end doesn't get *everything* they want it'll be easier to stomach.
DJ Johnson
Another great chapter man this last arc is looking to be super great. Did not see the queen being queen cuz she's bored or yandere sera.
Lord of Debauchery
Damn~!
Sootythunder
I mean would Elsenthia coronation been like a flare being launched to the other high elves that they would notice in their higher plane? She could have just explained it to her daughter coronated her and then spend a century or 2 living it up
Cambrian
glad you enjoyed it!
Cambrian
yus
Cambrian
Yus, Lisanna is pitiable. But to the extent that she nearly let the Holy Empire fall into a civil war because she refused to do her proper due diligence and get Elsenthia coronated years ago? Yeah, Elsenthia wasn't amused to find that out lol
Cambrian
She's always been this broken, she's just managed to hide it /nodnod
Cambrian
Mayhaps :P
Cambrian
fufufu yus and yus
Cambrian
Yus she is. As for punishment, we'll see~
RanmaChaos
Thnks for the chapter!
SpiritCrystal
I thought the bitchiest in the room left. I stand corrected.
Sootythunder
Meaning no desire for food, sex, and other forms of self indulgence
Sootythunder
Honestly I can kind of get it. Heaven always sounded unabashedly BOOOOORING, if you read the Bible it actually mentions how when you get there your earthly desires are burned out of you.
Sootythunder
If she really is that broken I can’t wait for her to find out Marcus is BOTH the dark lord and destined hero
Muesli
After this chapter, I'm asking myself the same thing Elsenthia does: Since when did Serafina become that batshit crazy? Like, I know she somehow thinks, she's doing this all for Marcus, but she should know he won't stand for that, right? Makes me wonder, if there's something more going on in the background that we don't know of, maybe Shadow is up to something and influencing her somehow to make her more deranged in her desires? Or is she just that broken still from how the situation with Marcus' dad turned out and just managed to hide it so far? Anyway, great chapter, looking forward to seeing how the whole situation continues to turn out!
Tyler smalley
The fact that elsenthia didn’t say anything after makes me think she has a bigger plan. Serafina always thinks she is the smartest in the room after all
TheSinful
In my culture, Serafina is what's known as "yandere as fuck" So I was vaguely right. It's less that she's a nothing and more that she has nothing.... to do
Smile Dip
Serafina is clearly overly used to getting everything she wants, having even the Queen and Divine Hero getting her off. A fitting punishment might be eternal edging; the promise of the release she craves always there, yet fulfillment forever out of reach.
