Chapter Text
The Kingdom of Fontaine had always been a small, isolated island nation. Caught between two warring empires, time was growing precarious for the line of the dragon that had remained on the throne since the time of Remaria. Egeria was once called the last great dragon before her untimely death at the hands of an assassin. Her mate, Elynas, had succumbed to the birthing bed, dying a rather painful death a few days after the birth of Egeria’s youngest daughter Furina. Perhaps if Egeria had still been alive, Elynas would’ve fought harder to stay alive but in the end, he was too weak from loss and mate sickness to fight harder for the three children he and Egeria had left behind. The line of the dragon would live on however at the hands of their eldest daughter, Folcalors.
Folcalors was only sixteen and recently presented as an alpha upon learning of her mother’s death and her father’s fall in battle. Almost simultaneously the news had reached the young girl, forcing her to accept her Father’s crown. The high council was anxious upon her ascension. Folcalors, like her father, had a rather strategic mind and was more than willing to get in the mud to accomplish her goals. She was her father’s daughter; and her deviousness knew no bounds when it came to protecting her own goals. She was beautiful, strong, cold, and calculated despite her rather delicate appearance. Her eyes were sharp and cold, her words cutting and designed to shear to the bone of whoever she was facing. She was every bit the dragon heir her father was compared to, but where Egergia had a softness to her, there was none in the frigid Folcalors.
Unlike Folcalors, Neuvillette was viewed as the kinder of the two. He was quiet, reserved, and kind despite his own sharp mind. Bearing more of a resemblance to their mother, not only in physical appearance but as an omega as well, Neuvillette was regarded as cold but far less devious than his older sister. Perhaps it helped that Folcalors had dropped Furina on him at the tender age of 8. When the court was allowed to observe the young dragon prince and his charge, it was obvious to anyone that looked at the tenderness Neuvillette displayed for his little sister. They were more like mother and child then they were brother and sister. Neuvillette was as brilliant as his older sister, his mind sharp and clear just like hers. His judgment was infallible when anyone bothered to seek out his opinion (which wasn’t often). Furina listened to every word he said like gospel when she was very small but even when she’d grown into a child and even a pre-teen, she’d still sought out her brother’s advice and counsel as often as possible.
The situation Fontaine had found itself in though was far too precarious for the Dragon’s Heir. Folcalors knew she had to make a move quickly. Khaenri’ah was poised to strike at any moment, its war with the Snezhnaya Empire was drawing closer to the small water Kingdom’s borders by the day. The Knave, a Harbinger and General in the Snezhnayian special forces, had come to broker a peace with the Fontainian Kingdom. In exchange, they asked for access to Romartime Harbor as it was a strategic location they could launch attacks against the Khaenriah Empire from. The war had been raging since before Folcalors had taken the throne. With the fall of Mondstadt to Snezhnaya, Fontaine’s position was far too precarious for her liking. She’d heard the young Prince Diluc had been forced to flee after the fall of his Father, King Crepus. There were no signs of him, though she suspected he had fled to Khaenri’ah and his closest childhood friend, Prince Kaeya for refuge.
The problem with the Knave’s offer was that she would be choosing a side just like Mondstadt. Mondstadt had allied itself with Khaenri’ah and had paid the price by the fall of its royal house. Even the Knights of Favonius hadn’t stood a chance against Snezhnaya’s superior forces. Though she doubted Khaenri’ah would win the war, there was still a chance, and she would not have Fontaine pay the price of her mistake. It was best for the Kingdom to remain neutral and seek out another powerful ally.
Political marriages were often brokered by those of every royal house of Teyvat. Even her own Mother had been a pawn in the machinations of the Kingdoms. Each royal house sat on a wheel, spinning around to which was on top only to be toppled by another. The cycle continued on and on indefinitely which brought Folcalors, the Queen of Fontaine and the Last Dragon’s Heir to her dilemma. She could agree to the Knave’s offer, broker a marriage between the Knave and her younger brother or sister. Furina had just had her first heat from what she’d been told, she was of age and Neuvillette had been ready for marriage for a few years now. She was loath to hand either over to the Knave but the Harbinger was the next in line to assume the throne of Snezhnaya and should she fall in battle, Folcalors would be able to recall her sibling back to Fontaine with the excuse of the marriage being dead.
She studied the large tapestry map hung on the white marble wall of her office. The tapestry showed the entirety of Teyvat and its Kingdom. She could marry her brother to King Deshret though after the fall of his beloved, she doubted the desert King would agree to such a match. Rukkhadevata had recently had a child; Nahida, far too young to marry her brother or sister to; she discarded Sumeru. Neither Neuvillette nor Furina would be happy at Deshret’s side and Rukkhadevata was a weak ruler at best; most people were aware that the true ruling force in Sumeru was the Akademiya. The Akademiya was made up of scholars from several noble houses that had formed a collective for bargaining purposes back when Deshret fully backed Rukkhadevata. With the assassination of Deshret’s beloved, he’d fallen into madness and Rukkahadevata had lost her strongest ally. It hadn’t taken long for the Akademiya to begin to assume power and now though Rukkhadevata was Queen, she was merely a figurehead and her young daughter would be a puppet to the whims of the Akademiya. No, Sumeru wasn’t an option.
She’d been willing to consider King Zhongli of Liyue but his ties with the youngest of the Tsaritsa’s sons, Tartaglia, discounted him from her thoughts as well. Zhongli was a strong, fair King; level-headed and refined. She’d found the King to be elegant and a wonderful conversationalist. A warrior poet with a mind for history, mathematics, and warfare. She had immediately thought a marriage between her brother and the King would work out beautifully as they would enjoy debating philosophy and politics with each other. She was certain their sharp minds would create a wonderful sparring ground for the two to grow into a truly lovely couple but alas that had been dashed when she’d heard rumors of Zhongli’s entanglement with Tartaglia. Supposedly, it had begun when the young Tartaglia was visiting Liyue under the pretense of a royal tour. She wasn’t certain when the two began to sleep together only that the rumors weren’t just rumors and the two indulged in each other’s company whenever possible. She wouldn’t have her younger brother take second place to another. Nor would she have a child of their union put in a war for their Father’s affections. A marriage between Liyue and Fontaine was therefore unavailable.
Mondstadt had potential before its fall. The young prince Diluc was said to be feisty and beautiful. She might’ve been persuaded to marry the young prince herself. They would’ve made a rather stunning couple from what she could remember of the young Prince. They would never love each other, Diluc was too forward in his mannerisms. He didn’t have a head for politics, preferring sword fighting or so she’d heard. Though he did have quite a talent at numbers and understood how to amass wealth. He would’ve been at the very least a wonderful ally. The fact that his secondary sex was an omega had discounted her from marrying either Furina or Neuvillette to him due to their incompatible secondary sexes. No child could come from a union of omega and omega. Only an alpha would be able to sire a child with an omega and though she was loath to become a Father herself, she knew eventually she would have to for the good of Fontaine.
That left Natlan, which she immediately discounted. Natlan had been wartorn long before it had become the fighting grounds for two empires. The current status of Queen Murata was unknown. No one had heard from the Natlan Queen or her court for years even prior to Natlan becoming a battlefield. No one could remember the specifics of the infighting though she’d heard of tribes leaving Natlan and settling in other lands in the time of her grandfather. Natlan wasn’t even able to muster up its own defense of its people, let alone the defense of Fontaine. Marrying her brother or sister to Murata wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone but Murata.
That left her only option and the one she had been trying to avoid the most. Meropide had once been a duchy under Fontainian rule, and it had long been her Great Great Grandfather’s dream to bring Meropide back under Fontainian rule. The legends of the silent Kingdom echoed through the history of Fontaine. The Duke of Meropide, a formidable wall of a man had challenged the Dragon King in open combat after a horrible drought and plague had struck the Kingdom of Fontaine. The legend spoke of the plague killing thousands and how the noble houses had begged for the Dragon King’s aid which he had refused. Confined to his castle, the great King believed he would be able to ride out the plague and the drought, consolidating his power into one place with those that he considered the most valuable. When the Duke challenged the Dragon King for the freedom of Meropide, no one believed the duke would win but he had won. He had forced the great Dragon King to yield, completely unheard of as the Dragon King had never lost a battle in all his years on the throne. The duke had fought for his freedom and those of Meropide and had won but at what cost?
Meropide had been close to being wiped out by the plague and the drought, but the duke had used what little resources he had to feed and heal his people to the best of his abilities. The duke’s loyalty to his people had paid off. Meropide had thrived under the duke; the tribes in the hills surrounding Meropide had come together under him and named him the Warden of the North. He was steadfast, strong, and capable. Intelligent and able to read any man that stood before him, he was the ultimate force behind Meropide thriving while Fontaine had languished under the Dragon King. With the help of Sumeru and the Desert King of old, the Plague had been beaten back and the drought had come to an end, but it had crippled Fontaine for many years even after the death of the Dragon King. Meropide, meanwhile, had become even more formidable. The line of succession was strong and though Meropide had never declared itself a Kingdom nor the Duke a King, the Duke was effectively King of the North. The tribes would listen to no one but him. The people of Meropide showed him the utmost loyalty and the duchy continued to thrive long after the duke’s death. With each new heir, taking on the title of Duke of Meropide, after their ancestor, the silent Kingdom to the North continued to grow stronger. She had written letters to the current Duke of Meropide, Wriothesley, when she first came to power. It was best to know if he would be an ally or an enemy though she knew he could be both in the same lifetime.
The duke’s letter, while short, had been pleasant to read. He was a skilled conversationalist, saying nothing while appearing to say quite a lot. She rather liked his veiled way of speaking and had modeled her own correspondence with other Kingdoms after it. Though she’d never met the man in person, she had sent letters and even gifts over the years for important holidays as well as the duke’s birthday. He had sent back pleasantries and thanks and had done the same for her over the years as well. Her favorite gift from the duke had been a beautiful pelt from a frostarm lawachurl that the duke stated he had hunted and skinned himself. The pelt was beautifully preserved, not a mark on it. The duke for all of his veiled remarks was a skilled hunter and she respected him a great deal despite having never seen his face. The pelt had laid across the foot of her bed for as long as she’d had it. It was one of her most favorite gifts she’d ever received truthfully. Had the Duke not been a strong alpha like herself, she may have considered a marriage between the two of them though their same secondary sexes guaranteed they’d never be able to provide heirs for either Meropide or Fontaine.
But perhaps the duke would consider someone else from the line of the Dragon of Fontaine. Perhaps a beautiful, soft-spoken boy or a fiery, dramatic girl; the letter remained unsealed on her immaculate linden wood desk. It was ready to be filled in should either her brother or sister prove agreeable. It was the best way to secure the Kingdom of Fontaine against the warring titans at her doors. She tapped her quill against the ink well, prepared to sign her name to the letter before a knock drew her attention.
“Enter,” She called, setting the quill back into the inkwell. She folded the letter so that it wasn’t easily viewable and folded her hands as her younger brother stepped into the room. Unlike herself and their little sister, who had inherited their father’s eyes, their brother looked so much like their mother. He had his lavender eyes, his full lashes, even the shape of his eyes was the same as their mother’s. The blue in his full silver hair was also the exact same as their mother. Folcalors had never been particularly close to Elynas but she had loved their mother just as fiercely as she’d loved their father. Egeria had been particularly taken with her omega mate’s looks; she remembered how they’d danced around each other like graceful swans. It was a pity Furina had never met either and sadly she doubted Neuvillette remembered their father as well as she. Egeria had been away battling the Snezhnayian threat when Neuvillette was born. She’d returned briefly a few years after his birth but hadn’t stayed long. She had been in and out so often that she had been amazed to learn Elynas had gotten pregnant for a third time.
“Little brother,” She offered him a small half smile, her eyes drifting over his form. “You look more and more like Mother every day.” She complimented, noting that Neuvillette pulled up short at the mention of their mother. She tilted her head, noting that he refused to look her in the eye. She’d once told him to avoid eye contact should it give him away. Though he had a wonderful poker face, his eyes always gave away his thoughts and feelings on any given subject. He’d learned to avoid eye contact to avoid being read. As an omega, it was a behavior that made him appear more submissive and therefore more appealing to the Alphas in any room he entered. He was far from meek though he played the part well.
“Thank you, your Majesty.” He offered stiffly as she motioned to the linden wood wingback chair in front of her desk. He sank gracefully into the blue velvet cushions, crossing his legs and setting his clasped hands in his lap, the picture of omegan perfection. “I apologize for taking so long.” He offered. “Our little sister wished for my help on a project her tutor assigned her.”
“I understand; I shan’t keep you from her. I know she depends on you more than anyone else.”
Neuvillette merely dipped his head at her words, his lips twitching ever so slightly.
“Does she still call you Maman? Or has that stopped now that she’s older?”
Another sucked in breath, though his face remained impassive. “I’m not bothered by it. You were her mother; far more than I was ever a father to her. And our own mother died giving birth to her. It’s only natural for a child to cling to their closest omega relative after such a thing.” She added, though she knew it made Neuvillette uncomfortable. He had been horribly afraid that she would be upset if she overheard their youngest sister as a toddler call for her Maman while holding out her little hands to him.
“No, she doesn’t. It was something that corrected itself.” He offered and she nodded.
“Of course; how are your own studies?”
“Um…well your Majesty. I have found many of the legal codices from Inazuma to be quite fascinating. I would very much like to suggest that perhaps we should seek an alliance with the Narukami, perhaps a cultural exchange? I believe there is much we could learn from each other.”
She nodded, lifting a hand to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “I would be willing to consider it though Raiden Shogun Ei has closed off the nation to outsiders. Perhaps for the best given the war.”
He nodded, “I hadn’t considered that.”
“The Sakuko degree only recently came into effect. We shall see how long Raiden intends to make it last. Your idea has merit though. I too would like to see an exchange with the Inazuman nation come to fruition.” She paused, “I had once thought to create an alliance amongst our house. Raiden has a son and a daughter, both alphas that I had hoped she would consider marrying into our line but sadly Raiden seems more content to keep her children unwed and the nation's borders closed to outsiders.”
Neuvillette frowned, “I have heard the Shogun’s daughter is a very formidable warrior in her own right.”
“She is and if I had my choice to wed either you or Furina to the Narukami line, she would be my choice. But sadly, that cannot come to pass.”
“Sadly,” he echoed. She noticed the minute tightening of his gloved fingers. He was nervous and if she had to guess, angry about her speaking of either himself or Furina as though they were pieces of a chessboard.
“That brings me to quite the dilemma you see. The Knave has proposed an alliance between the Snezhnayian Empire and Fontaine. She is the heir of her Father, the Tsaritsa. We find ourselves in a rather dangerous predicament.”
“Like Mondstadt?”
“Exactly like that though there was no marriage contract between Prince Kaeya and Prince Diluc.”
“They were allied though.” Neuvillette offered, his mind working quickly with the information he had heard.
“Yes, and Snezhnaya wiped out the royal house of Ragnvindr.” She sat forward, “Which would be a fate we might tempt should Khaenri’ah retaliate or win the war.”
Neuvillette nodded, “So you wouldn’t agree to a marriage contract between the Knave and myself or Furina?”
“No, I would not but it does present a dilemma for me. If I refuse the Knave, I would create an enemy of the Snezhnayian Empire. And if I agree, I would create an enemy of the Khaenri’an Empire. I’m between a rock and a hard place. Two impossible choices to make.”
“What will you do?”
“I will make neither an enemy. Do you know of the Warden of the North, the Duke of Meropide?”
“Yes, but only vaguely. Not much is known about him.”
“We’ve been in contact on and off throughout the years. He’s around my age, though I’ve never seen him. I’ve exchanged letters with him. He’s quite intelligent and his battle prowess is rather renowned. Meropide is flourishing despite the war going on close to its borders. A strong army backs the duke, and his people are as fierce as he is.”
Neuvillette frowned, “The Duke is an alpha.”
“Yes, he is; so I have made the decision to propose an alliance between the Dragon line of Fontaine and the Wolf Line of the Duke of Meropide. A marriage between either you or Furina to the Duke would accomplish much.”
“You wouldn’t be denying the Knave, only putting it on hold to plan another wedding first.”
“Exactly,” Folcalors smiled at her brother. His quick mind was always able to keep up with hers. “It would also keep us neutral longer, buy us time to see who will end up the victor of this war.”
“Who would you propose to marry the duke?”
“I’ll leave that up to you.” Folcalors tilted her head, her heterochromatic eyes studying his form. He was still as a statue, his head still down, but his hands were tight and one of his feet was bouncing ever so slightly. He was upset and trying to control it.
“That’s a very hard decision to make.” He offered softly.
“Furina has had her first heat and you’ve had yours for three moons now. You’re both of a proper mating age.”
“Furina is still young, much too young to be mated all ready.”
“But you aren’t.”
“I…”
“I will let you make the decision, whether it be you or her, but you only have a few days to give me an answer or I will make it for you.”
“This is rather cruel, your Majesty.”
“We’re royals Neuvillette. Our whole lives must be dedicated to those around us. You and I both understand this and Furina will come to understand it too. A few days is all I can give you to make this decision. I know you will make the right one.”