"When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live.
It's not so bad, it's not so bad.
How do you know that you're right?
I feel my vision slipping in and out of focus.
I'm pushing on for that horizon,
I'm pushing on,
Now I got the blowing wind against my face.
So I ran with the devil,
Left a trail of excuses.
Like a stone on the water,
The elements decide my fate,
Watch it go...
How do you know that you're right,
If you're not nervous anymore?
It's not so bad, it's not so bad..."
- Bling (Confessions of a King); The Killers.
The lakes in the Lunar Realm are both a blessing and a curse. They bring the much-needed water source, and a source of income for the ones who live nearby. Those who hold the lake, hold great riches. But, disease is rife in the areas surrounding it. Many families die out quickly. This is especially true in Lacus Mortis. Aptly named 'the lake of death'. While it is only the fifth largest of the lakes, it is the second largest with drinkable water. So people brave the diseased area, in order to profit.
Troya's family is relatively recent, compared to the other royals. Still, there is hope for her. Though the only child of now-dead parents, she has trained herself to be strong. The only flaw in this is that she has been forced to watch the burial of her mate and child.
She plays careful attention to her appearance, making herself out to be stupid in public. This is so as to appear as less of a threat to Tsao, which whom she has a begrudging alliance. Behind the scenes, she maintains careful control of her territory, reinforcing the military, and keeping the economy strong, to keep unemployment and poverty low. She cares deeply for her people, but keeps herself at a distance, due to the low survival rates. It's hard to get close to anyone, knowing they could die any day.
Troya's distaste for Tsao is obvious to her close friends, but for her people, she has been forced to ally herself with him, providing his territory with water, in return for limited medical supplies. Unfortunately, her facade has led her to do things she would rather not, including laying with the evil man, and bearing his bastard children. A true mother, she loves them despite their sire, and will do anything within her power to keep them happy and healthy.
On the same Tsao impregnated Troya, he revealed that there was someone in their midst that was working for the Resistance. Troya denied it, of course, as she knew nothing of it. But in truth, Fallon had been aiding them in secret. The other council members determined it was him, and Iha contacted Tsao, sending Fallon off into the murderous fiend's waiting hands. When Troya learned of this, she was devestated. Her closest friend, to be tortured, and probably killed...
But Tsao had other plans for Fallon. A short time after Fallon was taken, Tsao returned with the man. Fallon was in bad shape, he had been beating, and his prosthetic arm had been taken from him. But Tsao offered to return him, if Troya would agree to be his mate.
She had no choice. Even if Fallon was not offered, he would punish her for refusing. She agreed.
It wouldn't be long before Tsao killed her to gain complete control of her lands.
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