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By the time the last guest had left, my feet ached in my heeled shoes. Cyrus stood at the base of the stairs in the main lobby of the castle, his hands in the pockets of his trousers as we said goodnight to the staff. He turned on his heel, catching my eye just as he took the first step up. He paused, a small smile on his face. His hair had become disheveled over the course of the evening, and his eyes were glassy with the amount of wine he had drank.
My arm was linked through Gracie’s again, but she slipped away when we approached Cyrus. I bid her goodnight, watching her disappear down the hallway to the East Wing of the castle, where Cyrus had made sure she had a full suite to herself. Cyrus held out his hand for me to take, his balance slightly off. I laughed lightly, the wine warming my own blood as I slid my hand into his and let him lead me up the stairs towards our bed chambers.
While we were not yet married, we were not allowed to share a bed. Cyrus had split his chambers in half the week I had arrived, meaning we had both had to sleep in spare bedrooms, however now our rooms were conjoined, only separated by a single door in the living rooms. His staff had managed to turn my half of the chambers into a sanctuary of white and gold, of satin and plush velvet.
Cyrus let my hand drop when we reached the door to mychambers, a slight sway in his step as he moved close enough to place a kiss onto the top of my head. It was fleeting, as it always was, but it sent my stomach into an unwelcome flurry of butterflies.
I stood outside of my door and watched him until he had closed his owndoor behind him.
2
Kira
The castle greenhouses had quickly become my sanctuary.
Three stories tall and full of thriving greenery, they were easy to get lost in; with tall, domed glass ceilings that allowed the sun to keep the space warm and clammy, and small creatures like snails and butterflies living in most of the plants. Out of the windows on the left of the greenhouse was a set of concrete stairs flanked by extravagant topiaries, leading down to a lake housing swans and an obscene number of fish. The right side looked over the gardens and into the ballroom, the doors thrown open near constantly due to the heat.
Gracie and I had spent an alarming amount of time here since we had arrived — to the point we had our own little flower patch on the second floor.
My hands ran along the metal railing of the staircase as I made my way up there. Sweat had clung to the back of my neck since I woke up this morning, and neither the floating fabric of my dress nor the tight bun Gracie had put my hair into seemed to be helping it dissipate. Ferns curled over my head and part ways over the brick walkway, and I ducked out of the way quickly to avoid hitting my head on a heavy branch that hung a little too low.
I could hear Gracie already, her chipper tone carrying around the space as she chatted with the florist in charge of designing the floral displays for Cyrus and I’s wedding.
Every time the wedding entered my mind, my stomach turned sickeningly. I knew it was a necessity, and I knew it was the only way to get to my end goal, but Lides, did it make me feel like I was going to leave my breakfast all over the greenhouse floors.
Straightening my shoulders, I rolled my neck and let myself slip into my most used facade as of late; I am your Queen.
Rounding the corner, I clasped my hands in front of myself and cleared my throat, making both Gracie and the florist, a Fae woman named Kyanne, look up from where they were chatting. Both women greeted me with asmile and a curtsy, and I waved my hand at them. Everyone in the castle already knew how uncomfortable I was with bowing.
“Your Majesty,” Kyanne’s voice was like silk, smooth and flowing, “You are right on time. Miss Gracie and I were just discussing colour schemes.”
I nodded, falling into step beside Kyanne as she started to move across to the next row of flowers. Large bushes of roses so dark they looked almost black lined one side of the concrete path, and contrasting white ones lined the other. Kyanne picked a few roses from each bush, arranging them in her hands as she walked, humming to herself.
I could feel Gracie behind me, her presence an ever-welcome comfort. I looked over my shoulder and caught her eye, her grin making me smile in return. The dark circles that had plagued the space beneath her eyes had begun to disappear, and her cheeks had begun to fill out again, the gauntness they had gained from lack of sleep when we first arrived a mere memory.
Kyanne pulled me out of my thoughts with a quick clearing of her throat, her face a polite smile when I turned back to face her, my cheeks heating. She held out the quick bouquet she had arranged while we walked; my eyes going wide at the extravagant arrangement of black and white roses, flowing ivy, and sharp, purple buds.
“This is beautiful, Kyanne,” I breathed, twisting the bouquet in my hands, and admiring it from all angles. “Would we be able to do this for all the decors? Or is this just for me?”
“We can take elements of it and add them throughout the interior decorations, yes,” Kyanne smiled, clapping her hands together and turning us around, towards the staircase that led towards the third floor. “Cyrus has, however, requested some gold.”
“Of course, he has,” I laughed lightly, my stomach twisting at the mention of his name, “I didn’t know you could get golden flowers.”
Kyanne and Gracie both laughed as we ascended the stairs, just as the overpowering smell of paint hit us. My eyes went wide, and I coughed into the crook of my elbow, careful not to jab myself with the thorns of the roses I was holding.
“Unfortunately for us, you cannot.” Kyanne’s tone made me look at her side-long, her face stern suddenly, as if she was remembering the conversations she had with Cyrus about this exact subject. “And, even more unfortunately for these men, he insisted.”
I looked towards the back of the top floor, my laugh of disbelief sounding more like an exhale of air as I watched the three men splattered head to toe in gold as they delicately covered roses in a thick, gold paint.
Shaking my head, I barely withheld the urge to roll my eyes as Kyanne turned us again, ushering us back down the stairs as quickly as she could, stating that the fumes were not good for us.
Out of the many things Cyrus and I had disagreed over about the wedding, the size of it was the main one. Where I wanted it smaller, a less… extravagant affair, he wanted the biggest celebration the Kingdom of Fire had ever seen. We had agreed, eventually, to keep the ceremony and exchanging of vows small, just us, an officiant, and a few of our closest people. The after party, however, had grown arms and legs and ran away with itself.
Last, I had heard, Cyrus had been searching for a handful of mermaids who would be willing to jump from the lake at well planned intervals, mainly to shock the people who had never gone outside the city walls.
The morning turned to early afternoon and after, what felt like, a million more decisions on floral arrangements, Kyanne left Gracie and I beside the lake, her scent of jasmine and pine lingering long after she had left us. We had been tasked with deciding which topiaries I wanted dug up from their place here and moved to the entrance of the castle for the welcoming of guests. Gracie’s eyes had nearly popped out of her head at the notion of uprooting plants, but Kyanne had assured her that they would be enchanted so they did not lose any of their greenery or flowers. She still seemed unsure, but now she made her way through the rows and rows of intricately shaped bushes, her mouth pursed as she considered all options.
