((A direct result of An Unsavory Plot.))
June 1st, 1615
The migration of the Pomeran court, from the king's summer estate in Dareth Fall back to Berengaria for the summer session, was a cumbersome affair. It took days for the goods and chattels to be transported, not to mention the High King and Queen themselves and those guests who had been invited to spend a month with them in relative privacy. As the court settled back into its accustomed routine in the capital, however, life seemed to take on a more interesting feeling. A note was passed to Stephan under cover of the more hectic preparations for the new session's beginning - Maksim needs to talk to you. Invite him to dinner. F.
No sooner had they returned to court that it seemed the political intrigues that had turned quiet during the colder months made themselves known once again, and the note passed on to him by his youngest brother was proof of that. Inviting Maksim to dinner had turned out to be as simple as sending him a message. It was a well known fact that Stephan was fond of his brothers, and there was nothing suspicious in inviting one or the other to dine with him and Marianne.
Which was precisely why the invitation had to come from Stephan, and not from Maksim. Everyone watched the dances at court, even moreso around the Crown Prince since it had become obvious that his little wife was carrying heavy with her first child. The physicians maintained that she would not go into her confinement for at least another month, and yet Marianne seemed very round for someone still so far from the moment of birth. Still, the prospect of a new arrival into their family was all the pretext either of Stephan's brothers needed to spend time with him and his wife, and it provided a cover for Maksim to make himself known at court once again. In Stephan's private chambers, there were no unfriendly ears to hear them - it was a peculiarity of Pomeran politics that privacy was inviolate. All the same, however, Maksim did not even touch on his real reason for being there until the plates had long been cleared away.
He lounged comfortably in one of his brother's chairs, one hand on Marianne's belly to feel the babe inside moving as he grinned. "He's going to be huge, I can tell," he teased the prospective parents, toasting his brother with his wine glass.
A lesser man might have become jealous of the intimate way Maksim was touching his wife's belly, but Stephan was secure enough in his marriage to know that his brother meant no offense and was only being his ridiculously affectionate self. It didn't help that he'd had enough wine to cloud his senses. "Let us hope for a boy, then," Stephan remarked, as a girl should, by rights, be small and delicate.
Marianne glanced between them, and rolled her eyes. "I am touched, gentlemen, that you will happily wish on me an enormous child to birth," she told them in a drawling tone of voice, more amused by the brothers than anything. She had begun to settle into the Pomeran way of life, comfortable to tease and be teased within the family she had taken for her own. One hand, however, poured water into Stephan's wine - she'd noticed the wild look around Maksim's eyes, and thought that sobriety might serve her husband better than merry good humor. "Would you like me to retire, Maks?" she asked her brother-in-law gently.
Maksim's smile faded to a concerned frown as he drew his hand back, glancing to his elder brother. "I think what I have to say will directly concern you, little sister," he said solemnly, "but Stephan should make the decision there."
Stephan was smart enough to know this meeting wasn't merely about having dinner with family. There was something preying on Maksim's mind, and from the look on his brother's face and the tone of his voice, he could tell it was something serious. "It if concerns Mari, then, by all means, she should be here to hear it," he told his brother, noticing that the wine had been watered down, but making no comment on it. If this was so important, then Maksim, too, needed to be sober enough to tell his news.
Now that the talk had turned, Maksim set his cup aside, casting one glance about the room to be sure no doors stood open or windows cracked. "Your life is in danger, Stephan," he told his brother bluntly. "There is a cabal, here at court, among our father's most trusted advisors. They plan to replace you with a young man who is your mirror image, and have him publicly assassinated. The money and the plan itself originate in Coimbra."
Stephan's first reaction was a simple arch of his brows. The fact that his life was in danger came as no great surprise. As Crown Prince of Pomerania, there was a target on his back, and he knew it, but was careful to take all necessary precautions to keep himself and his wife safe from danger, at least as much as was humanly possible. But to learn he not only had enemies here in his father's court, but a plot to replace him, came as something of a shock. "Surely, your sources must be mistaken, brother. Father would know if there were a traitor among his own men, would he not?" Stephan asked, hoping this was some sort of sick prank, instead of the truth.
"My sources are not mistaken, because I am my sources this time," Maksim admitted reluctantly. He was expecting his brother to throw a punch when he gave up this next piece of information. "They plan to kill Felipe as well, to leave our father with no choice of heir but me. And in gratitude for their help in attaining that status, I am to appoint all of them into my privy chamber and my private council. They've already approached me, Stephan. The idiots actually think that I'm disloyal to my own family, just because I frequent bawdy houses and taverns."
To his credit, Stephan did not throw a punch, but waited until his brother had finished his story, his expression darkening as the story unfolded. His hands curled into fists, brows furrowing in anger - not at this brother who had brought the plot to him, but at the plotters themselves. "And what of Marianne?" he asked, wondering if they planned on killing her, too, or using her and their child in some other way.
Maksim winced as he offered this piece of information. "They are hoping that the sight of your doppelganger's death will cause her to miscarry," he admitted, glancing worriedly at the young woman in question. "Or, if she does not ....that I will kill any male child born from her womb at the moment he draws breath."
Marianne gasped, her face pale as she shrank back in her seat, her hands curling protectively to the child in her belly. "You wouldn't!"
"No, of course he wouldn't," Stephan assured her, eyes narrowed at his brother before turning to his wife and gentling his expression. He reached over to lay a protective hand atop hers, silently promising no harm would come to her or their child. It was logical to assume that if Maksim truly wanted this plot to succeed, he would have kept it to himself, but despite Maksim's indiscretions, Stephan had no doubt where his true loyalties laid. "Does Father know?" he asked, leaning closer to Marianne, as if his presence alone could protect her and their child from harm.
"I would never bring harm to you or your child," Maksim promised them, watching as Marianne drew closer to her husband, clearly frightened by what she was hearing but determined to sit and listen. He returned his gaze to Stephan at his brother's query. "No, Father doesn't know," he said calmly. "Nor will he, until we have a plan in place to catch all of those involved. He would move too soon, Stephan, you know that. They are not yet all in the capital, and I do not yet have custody of a certain someone who will need protecting when it all comes to a head."
June 1st, 1615
The migration of the Pomeran court, from the king's summer estate in Dareth Fall back to Berengaria for the summer session, was a cumbersome affair. It took days for the goods and chattels to be transported, not to mention the High King and Queen themselves and those guests who had been invited to spend a month with them in relative privacy. As the court settled back into its accustomed routine in the capital, however, life seemed to take on a more interesting feeling. A note was passed to Stephan under cover of the more hectic preparations for the new session's beginning - Maksim needs to talk to you. Invite him to dinner. F.
No sooner had they returned to court that it seemed the political intrigues that had turned quiet during the colder months made themselves known once again, and the note passed on to him by his youngest brother was proof of that. Inviting Maksim to dinner had turned out to be as simple as sending him a message. It was a well known fact that Stephan was fond of his brothers, and there was nothing suspicious in inviting one or the other to dine with him and Marianne.
Which was precisely why the invitation had to come from Stephan, and not from Maksim. Everyone watched the dances at court, even moreso around the Crown Prince since it had become obvious that his little wife was carrying heavy with her first child. The physicians maintained that she would not go into her confinement for at least another month, and yet Marianne seemed very round for someone still so far from the moment of birth. Still, the prospect of a new arrival into their family was all the pretext either of Stephan's brothers needed to spend time with him and his wife, and it provided a cover for Maksim to make himself known at court once again. In Stephan's private chambers, there were no unfriendly ears to hear them - it was a peculiarity of Pomeran politics that privacy was inviolate. All the same, however, Maksim did not even touch on his real reason for being there until the plates had long been cleared away.
He lounged comfortably in one of his brother's chairs, one hand on Marianne's belly to feel the babe inside moving as he grinned. "He's going to be huge, I can tell," he teased the prospective parents, toasting his brother with his wine glass.
A lesser man might have become jealous of the intimate way Maksim was touching his wife's belly, but Stephan was secure enough in his marriage to know that his brother meant no offense and was only being his ridiculously affectionate self. It didn't help that he'd had enough wine to cloud his senses. "Let us hope for a boy, then," Stephan remarked, as a girl should, by rights, be small and delicate.
Marianne glanced between them, and rolled her eyes. "I am touched, gentlemen, that you will happily wish on me an enormous child to birth," she told them in a drawling tone of voice, more amused by the brothers than anything. She had begun to settle into the Pomeran way of life, comfortable to tease and be teased within the family she had taken for her own. One hand, however, poured water into Stephan's wine - she'd noticed the wild look around Maksim's eyes, and thought that sobriety might serve her husband better than merry good humor. "Would you like me to retire, Maks?" she asked her brother-in-law gently.
Maksim's smile faded to a concerned frown as he drew his hand back, glancing to his elder brother. "I think what I have to say will directly concern you, little sister," he said solemnly, "but Stephan should make the decision there."
Stephan was smart enough to know this meeting wasn't merely about having dinner with family. There was something preying on Maksim's mind, and from the look on his brother's face and the tone of his voice, he could tell it was something serious. "It if concerns Mari, then, by all means, she should be here to hear it," he told his brother, noticing that the wine had been watered down, but making no comment on it. If this was so important, then Maksim, too, needed to be sober enough to tell his news.
Now that the talk had turned, Maksim set his cup aside, casting one glance about the room to be sure no doors stood open or windows cracked. "Your life is in danger, Stephan," he told his brother bluntly. "There is a cabal, here at court, among our father's most trusted advisors. They plan to replace you with a young man who is your mirror image, and have him publicly assassinated. The money and the plan itself originate in Coimbra."
Stephan's first reaction was a simple arch of his brows. The fact that his life was in danger came as no great surprise. As Crown Prince of Pomerania, there was a target on his back, and he knew it, but was careful to take all necessary precautions to keep himself and his wife safe from danger, at least as much as was humanly possible. But to learn he not only had enemies here in his father's court, but a plot to replace him, came as something of a shock. "Surely, your sources must be mistaken, brother. Father would know if there were a traitor among his own men, would he not?" Stephan asked, hoping this was some sort of sick prank, instead of the truth.
"My sources are not mistaken, because I am my sources this time," Maksim admitted reluctantly. He was expecting his brother to throw a punch when he gave up this next piece of information. "They plan to kill Felipe as well, to leave our father with no choice of heir but me. And in gratitude for their help in attaining that status, I am to appoint all of them into my privy chamber and my private council. They've already approached me, Stephan. The idiots actually think that I'm disloyal to my own family, just because I frequent bawdy houses and taverns."
To his credit, Stephan did not throw a punch, but waited until his brother had finished his story, his expression darkening as the story unfolded. His hands curled into fists, brows furrowing in anger - not at this brother who had brought the plot to him, but at the plotters themselves. "And what of Marianne?" he asked, wondering if they planned on killing her, too, or using her and their child in some other way.
Maksim winced as he offered this piece of information. "They are hoping that the sight of your doppelganger's death will cause her to miscarry," he admitted, glancing worriedly at the young woman in question. "Or, if she does not ....that I will kill any male child born from her womb at the moment he draws breath."
Marianne gasped, her face pale as she shrank back in her seat, her hands curling protectively to the child in her belly. "You wouldn't!"
"No, of course he wouldn't," Stephan assured her, eyes narrowed at his brother before turning to his wife and gentling his expression. He reached over to lay a protective hand atop hers, silently promising no harm would come to her or their child. It was logical to assume that if Maksim truly wanted this plot to succeed, he would have kept it to himself, but despite Maksim's indiscretions, Stephan had no doubt where his true loyalties laid. "Does Father know?" he asked, leaning closer to Marianne, as if his presence alone could protect her and their child from harm.
"I would never bring harm to you or your child," Maksim promised them, watching as Marianne drew closer to her husband, clearly frightened by what she was hearing but determined to sit and listen. He returned his gaze to Stephan at his brother's query. "No, Father doesn't know," he said calmly. "Nor will he, until we have a plan in place to catch all of those involved. He would move too soon, Stephan, you know that. They are not yet all in the capital, and I do not yet have custody of a certain someone who will need protecting when it all comes to a head."