your highness, but is this yours?” asked a young gentleman behind Lilliana.
Lilliana turned around to find a handsome young man about a year or two older than she holding the twirly bird. He had dark hair and deep eyes and bowed at the waist offering her the small wooden toy.
“Prince Josiah, at your service,” said the young man.
“Thank you Josiah. It was very kind of you to bring this to me.”
“I thought perhaps you had spent enough time with Sir Rhodious today,” he said with a smile, “and who, may I ask, is this lovely lady at your side?”
Thud’s skin turned brighter than her hair. “Allow me to introduce you to my cousin Th- I mean Princess Wilhelmina.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance Princess Wilhelmina,” said Josiah as he bowed and held out his hand for hers.
Thud released her strong hold on Lilliana’s arm and gingerly gave it to the prince as though afraid it might explode before it touched him. He took her hand and gently bowed over it and touched it to his lips looking up at her as he did. Thud’s eyes were bright and she was speechless. She subconsciously fanned her face with her other hand. Lilliana stepped back a little to give her cousin some room to breathe.
“Perhaps you can join me on a garden tour before the afternoon rest?” the prince asked, politely directing his question to both girls.
“I need to attend to my other guests good sir,” said Lilliana with a nod of her head. She could hardly wait to speak with her cousin tonight.
“And you, Princess Wilhelmina?”
“Yes, thank you,” whispered Thud. She curtsied to Lilliana and Josiah bowed as they left together for the royal garden tour. Lilliana looked after them with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. She was happy that her cousin could spend some time with a handsome visiting prince, but sad that Thud wasn’t there with her.
Lilliana looked around the ballroom and noticed that it was empty of many of the guests. Several had gone to the gardens as her cousin did and many others had been shown to their rooms either at the castle or in neighboring manors. Her mother had designed the day to have the Gifting in the morning and the Onsa in the evening with a dance. The royal hint was that all the guests should be well rested for the later events.
Up on the dais her mother and father were preparing to leave the room and were saying their farewells to relatives. Lilliana watched the king pull Thud’s father aside to talk privately. Whatever they said was very short and Lilliana saw her father look right at her when he was finished. She smiled and waved, and he smiled back, but his teeth were clenched. What was that about?
Father and Mother had turned to leave and Lilliana was at the other side of the ballroom. She decided to go through the gardens by the stables to get to her father’s rooms, and avoid some of the people. She held her head up and walked with purpose outside. She had long ago learned that if you looked like you were intent on something, fewer people interrupted you.
Sunshine and flowers drifted through the air to greet her. Lilliana loved the smells and sounds of the royal gardens. She walked quickly down the side path towards the stables to her father’s door. Spectrum was grazing in the pasture close to the castle. All the other horses were across the field in the sun by the mountains. Spectrum trotted casually over to the fence when he saw her looking at him. His muscles gleamed in the sun and she admired the many colors that played across his coat. The rainbows deepened when he passed through the dappled shade of the trees and he tossed his head lightly. Spectrum came to a stop in front of Lilliana and slowly bent his head down to the fence with his forehead towards her. She stroked his head and he closed his eyes for a moment.
“You caused quite a stir in the gardens today horse.”
Spectrum lifted his head and looked her in the eye.
“Not that Sir Rhodious is a good friend, but he is a knight of my father’s.”
Spectrum shook his head and neighed loudly.
“All right, I don’t like him either. I hope you’ll like me a little better though.”
The horse stomped his feet and turned his side to the fence. He turned his face towards her and motioned towards his back.
“You want me to get on?” How she would love to ride this almost-wild horse.
He neighed and nodded his head. Lilliana was amused at this odd creature. He had been horrid to a knight and seemed to be having a conversation with her. Where had her father kept him until now?
Her father. She needed to go talk to him.
“I’ll ride you later, I promise.” Lilliana looked around the garden, and seeing nobody nearby, she lifted her skirts and rushed to the castle. She slowed down as she approached the guard and walked as quickly as she could to her father’s study. She heard footsteps ahead on the stone floor and stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts before she turned the last corner.
“Don’t know why ye should think she’d be safe,” Nana’s voice said from the hallway.
“It is a matter of her destiny. This is her path,” said a man’s voice. That was Aaron, the prophet.
The door clicked.
“Thank you both for coming. We need to settle this matter before we continue with the … ceremony,” said the king.
The door clicked again and Lilliana couldn’t hear any more voices. What was happening? Who was ‘she’? Lilliana decided to find out. She straightened her gown and tiptoed back a few paces. Then she went to the center of the hallway and strode with purpose around the corner.
There were two guards, one on either side of her father’s door. “Yes, Your Highness?” inquired the one closest to her.
“I would like to see my father now,” Lilliana declared.
The guards looked at each other. Normally they were trained to look straight ahead and to give away no emotion, but now they shifted their feet nervously.
“I’m afraid you can’t see him now,” said the other guard.
“I am the Princess of Atlantis and heir to the throne. I can see him whenever I choose to do so,” said Lilliana a little louder.
“I am so sorry Your Highness, but he gave us the orders himself,” said the first guard.
She wasn’t allowed in? This reminded her of the previous days when Aaron had private meetings, but this time there were several people in the king’s rooms. She had always been allowed in meetings; she had heard of Dictys’s adventures at sea, and had even sat in on meetings with Petras and heard about all the rumors of enemy spies. She didn’t want to bother him, but she wanted to know what was going on. If this was about her, then she needed to know. Lilliana tried to make herself as tall and important as possible.
“I must see my father now, and I will not leave until you allow me in.” The guards looked at Lilliana but did not move. “If you do not allow me to speak with my father, then I shall see to it that you are both promoted… to cleaning out the horse stables!” She was raising her voice now.
The door opened a little and Nana’s face appeared. Lilliana looked past her shoulder and could see several people in her father’s study. “What is it ye want, My Lady?” asked Nana.
“I want to speak with Father for a moment.”
“Now, don’t go getting ahead of yeself Princess. You just need to lie down and rest and I’ll bring some afternoon chocolate to yer room. It’ll be a grand evening at the ball. Ye’ll see.”
Lilliana stood on her toes and looked in. Nana closed the door a little. Were they planning some sort of surprise for her?
“Who’s there?” said a voice from the room.
“Who do ye think?” replied Nana.
The king’s head appeared at the door and Nana stepped aside. Lilliana could see now that all of the head officials including Petras, Dictys, her uncle, King Rufus, and Aaron were standing together by the unlit fireplace.
“Lilliana my dear I do not have time to speak with you now. I have an important meeting this afternoon, but I will tell you all I c
an later. Trust me?” The guards turned their heads away from the king to make it feel as though she were having a private conversation with her father.
“Father, I…”
“Do you trust me?”
Lilliana looked into her father’s loving eyes. Her heart welled up in her chest and she knew there was no one in this world she could ever trust as much as this man, this king, her father. Whatever his reasons were, she knew she could believe him.
“I trust you.”
“Good. Rest in your room this afternoon and I will come get you before the evening celebrations.”
“Yes sir,” said Lilliana with a curtsy. Nana winked at her behind her father’s back and both of them turned to go back into his study. The door closed gently and Lilliana sighed. The guards on both sides of the door were doing their duty, standing at attention and looking at the air right in front of their faces.
Lilliana walked towards her room and heard the familiar sound of Sir Rhodious and his companions ahead in the hallway.
“None could compare to me at those events. I always win the joust!” came the knight’s booming voice.
If there was one person she did not want to face, it had to be him. Lilliana turned to go back outside to the pasture; perhaps her horse was better company than people today.
Everyone in the castle had been granted the afternoon off to rest, and as Lilliana crept towards the gardens she realized that the hallways were empty. Her light footfalls had a hollow sound, and Lilliana felt peaceful. Castle guests
The Prophecy of Atlantis Page 5