Work Text:
In a fair world, his children would be allowed to marry for love as he had. But in a fair world, his parents would not have died so early, and his wife wouldn’t have been forced into exile following her mother’s suicide. In the world that was, his and Thayet’s children were desperately needed to cement alliances at home and abroad.
This also ignores that despite love bringing about his marriage, his wife was a princess already, despite her exiled status and their marriage being a state affair.
Roald, as the oldest and as serious as the grave from birth, was resigned to his future wife being a marriage of state, securing a new alliance with a foreign kingdom. It was luck, he supposed, that even after the fate of his first betrothed, Princess Chisakami, he was able to find love with Shinkokami. Despite the rough start and the fears of his friends about “the politest marriage ever,” the pair was able to seek comfort in one another when the burden of the crown grew too heavy.
Kalasin was, unfortunately, her mother’s daughter and possessed the spirit of her grandmother, who had committed suicide over the injustices done against her people by her own husband. From the moment he took advantage of Thayet’s absence to convince her against page training, he could see the shadows in both women’s eyes. Kalasin, who was a K’miri beauty and invested in her mother and godsmother’s culture, who spoke K’miri and by all her culture was her mother’s heir, could not be allowed to train publicly with weapons. The offer that she could instead choose her royal husband, to whom she would be sent away like an exile, was not a kindness but a polite cage. That, rather than harnessing her Conté Gift or her intelligence, she was allowed only private tuition on lady’s arts and fief management, with minor secretive weapons practice, was a disgrace to her inheritance.
Liam, as a second son, was less aware of his duty than Roald, who bore it heavily but gracefully. He had not realized that a foreign royal bride was planned for him as well, with the particulars to be sorted alongside a treaty with one of their neighbors, Galla, Maren, the Copper Isles, or even Scanra, if hostilities decreased. He was only lucky in that his marriage could not take him from his homeland, as tragedy could easily make him into the king.
Jasson was aptly named for his conquering great-grandfather. He was shrewd, rude, and frequently demanding. Jasson would never be a diplomat like his brothers; he was just as likely to talk back as defer to a superior. The only superior he obeyed easily was a superior officer. So when told that he, too, must either submit to an arranged marriage or find a suitable match within Tortall himself, someone who would bind a political or social opposite to the Conté family, he set to it with the graciousness of an ass. The end result was a closer tie through marriage to one of the Bazhir tribes, still displeased by the Northern King’s rule and role as the Voice. Together with taking on Zahir Ibn Alhaz as the king’s squire and later champion, the relationship between the Bazhir and the Northerners was improved by the time of Roald’s coronation.
Lianne knew her fate from her sister’s. She was happy to attend the convent in the City of Gods, being most like her namesake and grandmother. She was prepared to face life away from her homeland upon marriage, but she is her father’s daughter, and knowledge of necessity did not stop her heart. Falling for Alan of Pirate’s Swoop was an exercise in heartbreak. There was no need for closer ties with the houses of Pirate’s Swoop, Olau, or Trebond. But growing up as occasional playmates, letter writers, and confidants, let the pair fall in love. But the first duty of a princess is to her realm and not her heart. Only Roald and Shinko’s timely intervention allowed Lianne to be spared such heartbreak.
Vania was the baby. Similar to Kalasin, she embraced her mother’s culture and was always pestering Buri and Onua, and Kuri for more stories and more practices that could tie her to her people. It was no surprise that Vania loved the Queen’s Riders, she loved the pony rides she could wheedle as a small child, and she loved the irreverent companionship that they always were happy to provide her as she grew. As the youngest of six, the burden of duty was lesser upon her; therefore, she was granted more leniency in her education. Vania was allowed to remain in Corus, to continue working with the Riders, and when Vania declared that she loved another woman, a quiet word from Thayet was all that was necessary for him to check the law books and quietly let go of the negotiations with Tyra.
Life was not fair, not in this realm, and Jon could only hope that he had done his best with his children. With his last wishes, he hoped they would not resent him for his choices when they met again in the Peaceful Realms many years from now.