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“Don’t you know better than to hide around corners and scare unsuspecting women?” I look up at his grinning face.
“I do. But it doesn’t make it any less fun,” he says. I swat playfully at his shoulder. “So, who’s the handsome guard?” His chin juts out to point behind me.
My limbs freeze. He saw that interaction? I rub at my ear before crossing my arms and ironing out my flustered face. “You know who he is. Don’t tease me.”
“Parker Aldren. He’s a nice enough fellow, from what I know of him. Do you talk often?”
I’m trying to read him, to see if there’s any jealousy there. But I find none. He is genuinely curious about my relationship with that guard. Seeing me talking to another man hasn’t fazed him in the slightest.
I should care that he doesn’t seem to care. My betrothed joking with me about the dashing guard. But I can’t seem to find even a flicker of dismay in the act.
“No, we don’t talk often. In fact, you eavesdropped on our very first conversation.” Roan only raises an eyebrow as I accuse him. He reminds me so much of Evander sometimes, both to his detriment and favor.
“Let me walk you,” he says, holding out an arm. My stomach feels heavy as I take it, and side-by-side we walk down the hall.
Roan drops me at my room. Once he’s disappeared down the corridor, I escape and run for the ballrooms. Truthfully, I just need space today. Space to feel, to think, to prepare. So much will happen in this coming year. I will finally reach eighteen and be crowned Queen of the Realm—to take my place among the other three monarchs of the Four Kingdoms of our continent of Haythen.
My head swims as I think of all that will need to be done. Of all that has been left alone. Of all that has broken these last seven years. I don’t blame my parents and the grief that took them away from me and from Felshan. Some days even taking their desire to just live. But I do know the steep path ahead of me. One that, at only seventeen, feels like something only magic and dreams could begin to mend.
I arrive at the Isolde ballroom door, peering in as the heavy weight on my shoulders lifts almost immediately. The floor and walls are white like the rest of the palace, but it’s one of the only rooms not decorated in the traditional red and gold. Six floor to ceiling glass windows wrap around the south of the room, each one flanked by deep violet drapes. Purple was my great-grandmother’s favorite color, and our family has always kept this room in her tradition.
Tulips of all colors and peonies in every shade of white and pink are bunched on every table and corner. Yellows, reds, purples, and pinks mix effortlessly with the violet accents of the room, threading together the makings of the beautiful life of my grandmother, reminding me of sunset and the night sky. If only I could stay here all afternoon, and spend this miserable day wrapped in the comfort of a grandmother I never knew.
I allow myself a moment for each of my senses to come alive. The intense hue of each flower. The scent of a warm spring day. The delicacy of every petal’s softness between my fingers. The taste of sunshine raining through the windows. The quiet calmness of evening as it approaches.Just one more minute. Another minute of basking in the life this room possesses.
“Your Highness!” squeaks a small woman standing in the doorway, her arms once full of flowers that are now strewn across the floor. “I’m so sorry. You startled me.”
“Don’t be sorry, Marta. Here, let me help you.” I drop to help her pick up more tulips from the floor. “I should be getting ready for tonight anyway.”
“I thought you were in the Tea Room with your mother and Lady Margaret. Isn’t there some high-to-do ambassador of Fort Kotar in residence?”
“Yes. Although I wonder if the higher elevation and subsequent lack of oxygen robbed her daughters of a personality.”
Marta’s eyes go wide, blinking a few times before her mouth breaks into a smile, a few giggles escaping her. The sound briefly dispels my worry, it’s tinkling melody like a rush of fresh air after I’ve been stuffed inside all day. She curtsies to me as I start to exit the room, dread for the next few hours filling me from top to bottom.
“Well, I must go start preparing for tonight,” I tell her. Our small bubble of bliss pops at the statement. Marta’s brows fold together, her eyes drooping at the edges.
“I will ring down for the cook to bring you a plate of freshly baked bread and a drizzle of honey to eat while you dress.”
My chest warms. All the staff know of my infatuation with bread and honey. If it weren’t for the growing ache in my gut, my mouth would already be watering with anticipation.
“Thank you, Marta,” I reach to give her a hug, her body rigid and tense, still not used to the outward display of affection by a princess. But I’ve almost worn her down with my unorthodox approach to the servants. She softens into the embrace, even patting my back a few times before unwinding herself from my arms and smoothing out her rumpled skirt.
I leave Marta and the respite of the ballroom. The fatigue that prompted my early departure from afternoon tea has waned now that I’ve had a few minutes away from Lady Davenport’s useless chatter. Perhaps I’ll go to the kitchens myself, saving a trip from one of the servants and taking my mind away from the day.
I make my way down the stairs, shoes clicking on the white tiled floor with each step down before they turn into the muted stomp of wood underneath. The white abruptly switches to the browns that mark the definitive line of the staff’s section of the palace.
The smell of cooking meat and bread fills the air as I reach the bottom of the staircase and turn the corner into the kitchen. It’s a flurry of activity as they frantically put together tonight’s event.
Shouting fills the space.
“I need eight eggs, Aretha!”
“Don’t let that burn!”
“Coming in behind you!”
I dodge a couple elbows vigorously kneading their soon-to-be bread concoctions, moving back and forth as I walk around the massive center counter. Five women call the kitchen their home throughout the day, not to mention the countless scullery maids, butlers, and maids coming to fetch their query at their host’s whims. Today they are one mind, working together to get everything completed.
