Short Stories by Mace Styx:

"The hour was so late (or early, depending on how you looked at it) that she barely saw anyone as she padded silently from the castle, through the winding cobbled streets. The letter she had was burning in her hand and she still had the blade she had used to slit the King’s throat. If a member of the city watch found her, she was worse than dead.

Still, she felt oddly calm. If you had told Caliga a few years ago when she was still full of childish hopes and dreams about becoming a solider for the crown that she was going to kill the very man she had sworn to serve. She would have been torn between horror or laughing in the accuser’s face. But contrary to what her actions might have stated, she was not a traitor to her country.

Everyone knew Prince Rhylan was the true heir to the throne. Rumours had dogged Prince Damaran since his conception that he was not the King’s true son. The Queen was rumored to have many lovers, several of whom were broken-hearted that she had been forced to marry King Ledakein. Evidently, she had gotten over her initial distaste of her husband to bear him a second heir, but those whispers would never quite go away.

When the Myrenese were attacked by the country’s forces, Prince Rhylan was the one who went to smooth it over. He went by himself, despite the great personal dangers, arguing that as the second son his death would still be a worthy price to pay if it meant pacifying the greatest threat to the country. Prince Damaran, meanwhile, ignored his father’s actions, too busy spoiling his new wife, who was vocal and obvious about her disdain for the country she had married into. Naturally, it had not endeared the public to her, nor did the Prince’s refusal to see that his bride’s hatred was growing day by day and that the public returned that hate. The alliance hoped to be gained from the marriage had never quite panned out in the way they had hoped, so it was now an albatross around their necks.

No. The only man who could fix this, who would marry someone who would usher in an age of peace and prosperity and do his best to heal old wounds inflicted by past wars and old grudges, was Prince Rhylan. Caliga was loyal to her people and the crown - just not the current person wearing it."