Gate of Memoirs/Grandt

A familiar face in new and trying times.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Snowy Winds"	Music: "Snowy Winds"
 	
*—Courtyard, seven years ago.
 	
*Miriam: Evgenia. Where have you been?
 	
*Evie: U-um!
*Evie: I'm sorry, Mama—Mother.
 	
*Miriam: Don't go running off like that. It's unbecoming of a princess.
*Miriam: If you're quite done gamboling around, we should resume your training.
*Miriam: Collect your books and come to the study.
 	
*Evie: Yes...
*"I don't remember when Mother became so...stern."
*"Was it because Father got sick? Was it my fault?"
*"When did Mother stop calling me Evie?"
*"I miss Mama..."
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Source Hall"	Music: "Source Hall"
 	
*Few of the attackers, if any, survived their short-lived assault on the Elysian princess's entourage.
 	
*Evie surveyed the damage with narrowed eyes, magic still dancing on the tips of her fingers.
 	
*At her side, Vera carefully picked her way around the bodies to retrieve her throwing daggers.
*These assaults were almost expected; for almost ten years now, clashes with the Lightseeker rebels have grown in number and severity.
*At first, they were merely content to protest and rally, but as Miriam's radical reforms went on, the resistance grew stronger.
*Their actions were emboldened by the recent rumors of Gortius' failing health, 
*so it seemed only a matter of time before they went straight to the castle.
 	
*Evie: ...Vera.
 	
*Vera: My lady.
 	
*Evie: Take a memento from the leader. We'll need it.
 	
*Vera: As you wish, my lady.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Land of Giants"	Music: "Land of Giants"
 	
—The Royal Court
*The door to the court creaks open, and the royal guards on either side salute as Evie enters with Vera trailing behind.
 	
*Seated on the throne is none other than the Queen Regent herself.
*Thirteen years have yet to weather her steel or temper her fire, though there is now an almost palpable darkness in her eyes.
 	
*Miriam: Evgenia. Welcome back.
 	
*Evie takes a deep bow, and as she rises, Miriam dismisses the guards with a sweep of her hand.
 	
*Evie: I've brought good news.
*Evie: The Republic is surprisingly receptive to our proposals, and they've accepted the terms of the pact.
*Evie: The full agreement is laid out here. Everything is in order.
 	
*Miriam: Any other complications besides?
 	
*Evie: Only this.
 	
*Miriam eyes the small box in Evie's hand, and a smirk crosses her face as the cover slides off.
 	
*Miriam: Efficient work. Well done, daughter.
*Miriam: I wondered why these troublemakers persist. Perhaps now they won't.
 	
*Miriam beckons her daughter closer, and traces a finger across Evie's cheek.
*Miriam: I am pleased that you are beginning to see things my way.
*Miriam: You were always more like your father in matters of the heart.
*Miriam: But bear this in mind, my daughter.
*Miriam: This world is built on rivers of blood and deceit; mercy is a welcome reprieve only doled out by those who can afford it.
 	
*Evie: ...Yes, Mother.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Evie: Father?
 	
*Gortius: Yes, Princess?
 	
*Evie: Was it wrong? To want to believe in kindness and compassion?
 	
*Gortius: I do not regret it.
 	
*Evie: Even though you suffered your whole life for it?
 	
*Gortius: Evie. Listen to your heart. That's all I ask.
*Gortius: I trust you'll make the right choice.
 	
*Evie: Even Mother?
 	
*Gortius: Even her.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Land of Giants"	Music: "Land of Giants"
 	
*—A few weeks later.
*That strange dream was Gortius' last message to his daughter.
*His final days were spent in somnolence, and his consciousness ebbed away each day, until the king failed to awaken one morning.
*The court was filled with overwhelming silence as its members bowed their heads in respect for the last son of House Valen.
 	
*Miriam led the somber address, her face a perfect mask of sorrow, but the look in her eyes was of hard resolve.
 	
*Amid the dark atmosphere, Evgenia was announced as the next rightful heir to the throne following Miriam's decision to step down as regent.
 	
*Elysia mourned their king for the next few days, but there was no doubt that simmering tensions, once held at bay by their beloved king, 
*found no further resistance following his rather sudden death and the inflammatory announcement.
*All that remained upon the throne was what the rebels believed a tainted monarch unfit to rule—
 	
*Yet, Miriam did not so much as flinch, even as the Lightseekers—emboldened by the recent events—burst into her court.
 	
*Grandt: Expecting us, were you?
 	
*Miriam: Was it not merely a matter of time?
*Miriam: Evgenia is the rightful heir of Elysia, as the only daughter of King Gortius.
*Miriam: There is no reason to challenge her lineage, as far as her legitimacy is concerned...
*Miriam: Or am I, too, not the King's rightful Queen?
*Miriam: Are you so far gone as to sully the memory of our beloved king by insulting his one and only daughter?
Music: "Dragon's Roar" 	Music: "Dragon's Roar"
 	
*Grandt: That's ENOUGH!
*Grandt: We didn't come here to listen to your excuses. We are here to steer Elysia back on the path of the Light.
*Grandt: You know what you did.
*Grandt: Murderer. Traitor!
 	
*Miriam rises slowly from her throne, and in a deliberate movement, draws her rapier.
*Black energy ripples across its surface as the queen descends the dais, a smirk creeping onto her face.
 	
*Miriam: Come, then.
*Miriam: My blade thirsts.