It has been four days since my fight with Luna, and less than a day since a messenger delivered her wedding invitation. Council wasted no time spreading thehappynews. Greedy bastards. I wonder what they’ll be getting out of this beloved union.
The solicitation came in thick, expensive parchment. The type one only splurges on for the most important things. It was bound by a lace ribbon and held a single azalea—not because they are Luna’s favorite flower, because they aren’t—because they are Haymel’s kingdom flower, and how dare they not represent the Queen in a practice she hasn’t officially put into law.
The invitation read:
To the Tyddel Residence,
Galen, Adreena, and Ariah Tyddel, you are cordially invited to the union ceremony of Morren Beetlerum and Lunessa Trivy. The ceremony shall be held at theBeetlerum Estate on the eleventh day of Hellera at seven o’clock. It will be an evening of pure joy.
In celebration,
The Council of Foxhead
It was short and straight to the point. A waste of paper, in my opinion.
Today marks the tenth of Hellera, and in only a day my best friend will be married off to a man she doesn’t know. A man who was meant for me. I hate that she’s in this position, but is it bad to be glad it’s not me?
Ella, my black-and-orange striped, chubby cat, nibbles at the silk wrap around my head, the way she does every morning, and I know it’s officially time to get up.
The sun is slowly waking; a few rays of light break through my window, but the corner of my room furthest away still remains in the shadows. I’m surprised after last night’s rain to even see the sun coming up.
Pulling myself out of bed, my nightgown drags across the floor until I reach the fireplace, where I take a bellow to the dying fire, breathing new life into it. The flames illuminate the remaining dark corners and spread a needed heat throughout the room.
Mornings are usually easy, but the past few days have been difficult. Last night, I stayed up far too late sketching and stressing.
Not ready to get dressed for the day, I sit at my desk and play with yesterday’s drawings. My newest piece is a midnight-blue gown, tight in the bust and around the hips, resembling that of a mermaid, with a long train running down the back. Crystal-like beads are sewn all over. The hardest part is the embroidereddesign I want on the torso. Everything I’ve tried seems overdone and not worthy of the piece.
A knock at the door sends Ella jumping into my lap. A second later my mother stands in the doorway.
She has on a moss-green dress that compliments her complexion. Her braids are tied up and she has placed golden clasps within her tresses. She looks like a walking embodiment of a divinity.
“Your father left for the Simol’s early this morning. Their baby is having a hard time.” She traces a finger over my design. “Beautiful as always.”
“Thank you.” I place Ella on the ground. “I should get ready for work. Mrs. Kimpol should be back today.”
My mother holds out a letter for me before I can get up. “Came for you this morning.”
She squeezes my shoulder at my heavy breath. It’s a letter from Mrs. Kimpol telling me she and her husband have traveled to another city and she will send word when she returns. No wonder she gave me so much money.
“You can come with me to see Jaleese and Peace. She has a physician coming in to make sure Peace is nice and healthy. She trusts your father, but our new mother wants to be certain.” She lifts my head up to her. “You can’t hide in this room, Ariah.”
“I’m not hiding.” Only sulking, but she doesn’t need to know that. “I’ll go see them tomorrow. I think I might take a walk.”
“Good. Maybe you can stop and see Luna while you’re out?”
“I don’t think she wants to see me.”
She takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “Luna made her choice. She may have had to make it because you turned them down, but still, she had a choice. Just like you had one. I don’t think one is right over the other, but you must each deal with your decisions. It’s called life. Throwing away a lifelong friendship isn’t worth it.”
Maybe she’s right, but it means one of us has to admit we were wrong. Both of us are far too stubborn for that. Maybe I can bend this one time.
“Why Foxhead?” I ask, and see the confusion on my mother’s face. “The amount of villages in Haymel and you had to choose this one.”
She releases a pathetic laugh, and I watch her eyes drift to the window and become distant. “Your father and I weren’t given much of a choice. Plus, Foxhead isn’t the only village with these practices. Even the Queen arranges marriages that benefit the crown. Us common folk are no different.”
My parents rarely talk about life before they moved to Foxhead. I know that they used to live within the city limits of the castle. My father ran an apothecary shop with an elderly gentleman and says my mother used to come in everyday and pretend she was buying something for her family.
She claims she was truly buying something for a sick family member, but I once got her to confess that my father was the primary reason for her visits. She said he had the greenest eyes she had ever seen and with one look, knew he was the kindest soul in the entire world. She couldn’t rationalize it, but she knew right away that their fates would forever be intertwined.
