The Queen of the World - Prologue

There weren't always dragons in the valley...

None at all, in fact, unless you counted the ones in the stories Aleksandros of Dorion told his elder daughter would eat her if she didn't go to sleep at night. When that tactic failed in the wake of her childish giggles, the warrior-king resorted to a more practical maxim, suggesting that she at least pretend to be asleep so the rest of their small family was not kept awake.

"Assume a virtue if you have it not..."

Even decades after her father's death, Alexandra could almost hear his words, as clear as though he were standing behind her now. The memory was bittersweet; love for the only parent she had known tainted with grief over loosing him so young. Comfort was found in remembering the tiny nuggets of wisdom he'd shared in quiet evenings over masala and the small brazier that lit his tent during campaigns. "It doesn't matter whether you feel confident, or brave, or wise, my heart. It only matters that those you lead believe it. Gain their belief, and all else will fall into place.”

As a child, with the youthful conviction that there was nothing her father could not do, the advice had seemed incomprehensible to her. Her father had swept across the world, conquering all who challenged him. He’d married a Hattusan Princess, yet managed to keep his homoromantic life partner. He’d raised two daughters, for all that he had known next to nothing about children, much less childrearing.

Alexandra’s father hadn’t been lacking in flaws; a quick temper and tendency to over-react chief among them, but he’d balanced them with virtue. Command, intelligence, kindness, love... he’d had those to spare, too. He respected those who dared to stand up to him, and taken little pleasure in punishing those who plotted against him.

What virtue could King Aleksandros of Dorion, the Conqueror, Lord of the World, need to feign?

Then Alexandra had been months away from her sixteenth birthday, and her father was dead, and everyone was looking at her for leadership.

Even - her mind and heart still stumbled over the name and the images it conjured - even Thalia, who had been a solid, steady presence all of Alexandra’s life, had looked at her with eyes as lost as the new Queen felt.

“Assume a virtue if you have it not...” So Alexandra had raised her chin, braced herself for the weight of the crown, and started giving instructions. Preparations for a royal burial, and her own coronation. Putting a stop the the power-grappling by a council who thought she would be easily manipulated.

Coaching Uncle Kerdos, then her only remaining male relative and therefore her greatest rival, into a formal endorsement of her as Queen. Dodging assassination attempts and setting up a rudimentary information network. A private conference with Roshanna, filled with veiled threats and an offer the Hattusan woman couldn’t refuse. Slowly, the complications of ruling became habit, and habit became routine, and then one morning Alexandra heard people talking about the Peacemaker and how glad they were to live under her rule.

It had taken an embarrassingly long several moments for Alexandra to realise that they were talking about her.

It didn’t matter that the Peace she forged had been more of a desperate scramble to stop everything from falling apart, because no army would follow a sixteen-year-old Daughter of Eirna. It didn’t matter that her youth and gentle exterior were most of the reason that recently conquered enemies and wary nations had been confident as they came to the table, or willing to negotiate alliances at all. It didn’t matter that she was still learning how to think of every possibility, and how to remain a step ahead of those who would see her fall.

It only mattered what her people believed.

Alexandra’s people believed in her. Perhaps they still did, even after the betrayal of a coup to place a puppet on the throne, and the tragedy that followed. She was not without allies, even if most of those allies cared more about the stability of Alexandra's reign compared to her uncles, than they did about which was more legitimate. Perhaps there was still a chance to make things right again.

Alexandra just had to remember to believe in herself.

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