by S. K Munt
I suffered Elbert tooting his own horn and mine so loudly all the way back to the common that he drowned out the marching band in front of us and gave me a headache, but luckily for both of us, he kept his hands to himself and his comments above my golden belt. Still, by the time we were back within Eden’s gates again, I truly felt as though he’d stuffed my brain with his grand plans and cotton bolls, but I was satisfied to see Atticus throw an arm around Kohl and whisper something quietly into his ear when they disembarked their own carriage back on Eden’s common. Kohl looked surprised by whatever Atticus had said, but he nodded eagerly and grinned at the man’s retreating figure as the duchess pulled him toward the monarchic platform in the centre of the crowd. Both sights made my heart swell, and when Atticus turned back and gave me a little bow- proving that he’d been very aware that I had witnessed the exchange- I knew that riding with Elbert had been worth the ear bashing.
Finally, I was getting somewhere!
Once Elbert had helped me out of the carriage, I saw that Karol was already on the gazebo, conferring quietly with his father, and that Kohén was gazing after me from the only row of VIP seats on a small platform, some fifty feet back from the stage. I waved to him, and he waved back, and then I felt a strange little tug inside my chest to be so separated from him, but I turned away, reminding myself that in a few month’s time, it might be a permanent solution to what ailed us, and that I had to get used to being separated from him, without having to argue first to justify it.
Close friends, then distant friends…. then who knows?
The space between the platform and the gazebo was chock-full of people on picnic blankets chatting excitedly about the feast to come (the scent of pork roasting on open rotisseries was both mouth-watering and hard to ignore) and though I was glad that only the royals were to be cordoned off this time, I was at a loss as to where to sit, for there were thousands of people present, and after years of being segregated from crowds and given no choice as to where to go or who to sit beside, I felt overwhelmed by the array of options suddenly available to me. On reflex, my eyes lifted to scan the perimeter fence but there was no-one there- not a single person peeking in from the Wildwoods, and I wagered that that had something to do with the guards lined up along the fence at intervals with rifles.
Your father is not here- no one here will try to hurt you today. Just sit already, or make an excuse to go to the bathroom until one of the other girls sits first!
But then I saw Maryah waving me over from the edge of the crowd right near the front, and I shrugged and beckoned to the other girls over my shoulder, who were just standing there beside the carriage they had travelled back in, looking awkward and blushing like mad as people turned their heads to gawk at them in their pretty dresses- as they had been gawking at me since I’d arrived. I pointed to Maryah and looking relieved, they scampered toward me, with only Emmerly remembering herself enough to come slowly with her hips swinging just as Resonah, Adeline and co were doing as they crossed to the assemblage from their carriage.
I smiled as I walked to Maryah my way, admitting to myself that the more experienced Companions looked nothing but dignified, and nothing like whores. In fact, when done right and in a small group, they looked exactly like Artisans imitating beauty for some enchanting performance. Inspired by their grace, I sat at the front of the blanket the ‘right’ way with my knees folded beneath me and to the side, and cupped my palms while sitting tall, and then completed the ‘perfect’ picture of elegance and manners- by punching my fist into my palm in a silent threat when Karol stepped behind the podium and looked my way.
‘Is that a speech I see in your palm, your highness?’ I asked him silently, and blushing, he stuffed it into his pants in response, making me giggle. I then lifted my hand again and jerked my finger to the right, reminding him about the whole ‘roaming’ idea and though he rolled his eyes, he inched out from behind the podium as his father patted his shoulder and walked away. Satisfied by the sight of a cordless microphone in his right hand, I cupped my palms again and smiled approvingly, though I wasn’t much comforted that he’d follow or even recall any of my advice when his time to speak came, because he was still gripping the podium with the fingertips of his left hand, and his knuckles were white.
Please be good enough to knock Ora’s sandals off!
‘I don’t believe it!’ Emmerly whispered softly. ‘The grand Karol Barachiel seems to have lost his face this morning, and has borrowed a tragedy mask instead!’ The other girls giggled, but I heard Adeline speak next:
‘He is absolutely terrified, ladies so please do not laugh and look his way at the same time,’ Adeline’s voice was soft, but firm. ‘Or I fear that he will faint from fright.’
‘We can’t have that,’ Lette agreed. ‘This speech is bound to drone on forever as it is, so heaven help us if he takes a nap in the middle of it as well!’
There were a few more snickers following that, but not as loudly. ‘Why is he so nervous?’ Resonah asked, her more mature voice distinct against the other youthful ones. ‘Speaking with flair is what he does.’
‘He’s not afraid of the talking part,’ Adeline said back. ‘He’s afraid that what he wants to say will go over better with his father if mumbled.’
Curious, I turned around. ‘He’s not planning on declaring us a republic and then demanding our vote, is he?’ I teased. ‘As lofty an idea as it is, I’m pro-monarchy again now that he’s showing so much interest in Ora Camden.’ The words were out of my mouth before I could think them through, and though Adeline’s eyes brightened with a brief flash of hurt and jealousy, she swallowed and shook her head.
Oh I’m such a fool! How would I feel if Kohén were the one courting somebody this week?
‘No. He is afraid that his birthday wish will upset his family,’ she cringed and I felt it inside my chest, remembering his threat to me. That had been a joke, right? He wasn’t about to punish me publicly for humiliating him in the harem by making me join his?! Suddenly, the cool air felt frosted.
No! No he SAID that he’d never collar you! Relax, he wouldn’t dare!
‘And not just his father, either,’ Caprice agreed.
‘Oh my gosh, what is he going to wish for?’ Emmerly asked, but Adeline shrugged.
‘I have theories but really, no idea- and no one is supposed to know until it is declared. Obviously, the king and duchess have preparing themselves to be caught off-guard, as every royal parent has been before... and that’s part of the whole process, you know? They have to trust that they’ve raised him right and then demonstrate that trust by giving him absolute power for his thirtieth, and then he has to declare it to the public and give them the power to grant it or not, by booing if it is a preposterous suggestion, or applauding if they have his support. So he wouldn’t ask to become a republic Lark, because he knows that he would be booed off the stage for betraying Miguel Barachiel’s memory without any warning.’
‘Does he think he will be booed?’ I asked, praying she’d say something to make the sick feeling in my gut go away.
Adeline shook her head. ‘He knows that he won’t be, or is at least ninety-nine percent certain that he will be commended for it. And that’s the source of his dilemma- what he wants will be granted and he thinks his family will despise him for it.’ She bit her lip. ‘And his parents trust him so much that they are just working themselves up for a bigger letdown. I mean, Elijah is certain that he knows what Karol’s going to say and according to Karol, he’s not even close to guessing correctly. So now, Karol can barely sleep at night for the stress of dropping this particular bombshell on his father, who is sleeping easily with confidence in his son.’ She tossed her flaming curls over her shoulder and her eyes roamed back to the stage, bright with anxiety. ‘So regardless of how well the speech goes, he knows that there’s no way that he’s going to get his father’s approval along with the applause, and that hurts him.’
I let out a little breath. I was off his hook! Be
cause there was no way he could hope to wish for his brother’s whore, and earn himself a round of applause for it! In fact, he’d become a laughingstock.
‘Wow,’ Elfin whispered, including Caprice in on her look. ‘And you have no idea what he wants?’
‘None. But whatever it is… when he’s not dreading it, he’s excited beyond measure,’ Caprice chuckled. ‘It’s quite the crisis of conscience for him, and I suspect that it may be his first ever.’
‘Poor baby…’ Lette drawled, and a few of us laughed. After all, we’d been dealing with emotional crises since the year we’d turned thirteen! How nice it would have been, to wait until reaching the age of thirty to fear suffering a consequence of our own creation!
‘But why is he worried about that today?’ Resonah asked. ‘His wish can’t be granted until Sunday after the ball, when he actually turns thirty.’
‘I know, but many of the dignitaries are leaving first thing Sunday morning, and whatever Karol wants to say- he wants them to hear it now and have the next four days to converse with him about it.’ She sighed. ‘So he’s sweating EXTRA bullets because his father isn’t going to be expecting any sort of upset this week at all, let alone today!’
We all turned back to the stage to study Karol and when he saw us and our own masks of blatant curiosity, he cringed and looked away, making Elfin and Rosina giggle. Karol was clearly petrified- more than he’d let on the night before- and though it was rare for me to empathise with him for any reason, I couldn’t help but send positive thoughts his way. His eyes were so green that their colour was startlingly obvious, despite the fact that he was twenty-feet away from me, and his forehead looked damp from sweat.
It was a shame too, because the rest of him looked utterly divine! He’d worn black leather pants as Kohén had, and they were tucked into black polished knee-high boots. A bright green ruffled shirt clung to his sharp shape and gave his eyes that extra glow, and to finish painting the perfect medieval picture of the ultimate dashing prince, there was that damned golden cloak fastened around his perfect throat. How admired he’d be, if he didn’t keep almost dropping the microphone or tripping over his shuffling feet!
‘I’ll bet he’s going to wish for a telecommunication industry to be established,’ Rosina said in her more mature but still melodic voice. Her talent was singing, while accompanying herself on a harp. ‘He wants that White Collar caste in place, and soon, and his father doesn’t support him in that yet, nor does his mother. So if he announces it before they can talk him out of it, he’ll be in for a ten-year scolding.’
‘Why?’
‘They-’ The microphone screeched, cutting Rosina off, and we all winced and curled into ourselves before shooting dirty looks towards the stage. A lot of people laughed- the children in front especially and Karol’s face went red.
‘Uh… sorry…’ he mumbled to the now silent and expectant crowd, stepping behind the podium and making me huff with annoyance. Then, he began to unfold his paper awkwardly with one shaking hand, while attempting to get the microphone in front of his face with the other shaking hand, and he looked so flustered and comical that more than a few people sniggered.
‘He looks like someone trying to eat an ice cream cone while freezing cold already in a blizzard,’ Emmerly whispered and Lette giggled. I couldn’t help but laugh too, and Karol’s face went redder as though he recognised the sound of my derision, which he probably did. He smoothed the paper out with the microphone hand and then said into it after a clearing of his throat:
‘Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honour and… erm, pride that I…’
‘Pride? Where?’ Elfin simpered.
‘Girls!’ Maryah hissed. ‘Enough! It is your job to support him.’
‘Actually, it’s my job to support Kohén,’ Lette pointed out and then smacked Adeline on the shoulder. ‘Go- now. Do something supportive.’
‘Yeah, one of you can fit behind that podium and support him in the way that counts with these guys until he calms down, right?’ Elfin asked, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to hold in a guffaw.
‘Actually, no I can’t,’ Adeline said quietly without a trace of humour in her voice. ‘He hasn’t come to me for weeks to do anything but pace a scorch mark into my carpet.’
‘He hasn’t come to either of us,’ Caprice agreed and then added: ‘Not since Larkin called him a rapist, anyway.’
Silence fell behind me, and I stiffened. I felt them staring at my back, and I transferred that intensity toward the stage, amazed to realise why Karol was coming apart- he’d stopped allowing his Companions to hold him together, and it was apparently all my fault!
No! Not your fault, your influence! And if he’s going to win Ora’s heart, he needs to get rid of them all together! Don’t feel guilty Larkin, raise your head high!
As though he were well aware of every word that was being said between us, Karol raised a glowing green hand to his face and smoothed his hair back, and when I saw the tremble in it, then heard it in his voice as he waffled on, I knew that something had to be done. I’d made him a promise- and now, I was going to keep it and damn my freedom.
‘We, uh… are a peaceful nation and, erm…. sacrifices are made…’ he mumbled on, and I shook off my fear and acted, cupping my hands around my mouth and bellowing:
‘BORING!’
Over five thousand heads turned to gape at me so fast that I felt a breeze. Karol’s snapped up and went white, and even though Maryah was digging her nails into my wrist in some odd attempt to wrestle me back into a lying position (probably so she could smother me with her skirt), I couldn’t help but grin back at the prince as I shook her free easily. ‘Come on Prince Charming- give it to us the way only a Barachiel can!’
Behind me, Emmerly practically screamed in laughter and a cacophony of sound burst out from around us. I didn’t have to look back to know that the king had probably had a heart attack and that guards were coming after me to arrest me for Nephilim-murder, but then Karol threw back his head and laughed and all eyes switched back to him, silence falling again. Well, aside from the quiet, nervous laughter scattered about anyway.
‘All right! All right!’ Karol held up the speech and the microphone like weapons that he was surrendering and then lowered the mike to look right into the heart of the audience and say: ‘I apologise guys, but that outspoken young lady has threatened to crash tackle me if I give an uninspiring speech and so…’ he put the speech on the podium and stepped out from behind it, ‘I’d better wing this, huh? In fact… this is all wrong, hold on...’ He put the microphone down, tugged at the bow at his collar and shrugged the cape off while grinning out at the crowd, and the women in the audience lost their minds; cheering and hooting and whistling and I am mortified to admit that I was one of the loudest. Smirking, Karol tossed the cape over the podium with flair, and then looked over at me and bowed formally. ‘Better?’
‘Much!’ I said, blushing but feeling pleased when a bunch of people nearby turned to clap me, as the Given girls behind me patted my shoulder.
‘Way to go Lark!’
‘Damn you’ve got balls.’
‘She’s a man, that’s why,’ Kelia sniffed, and someone laughed. ‘Why do you think Kohén leaves her alone?’
I rolled my eyes but then Karol started talking again, and we owed it to him to hear him out if nothing else, so we fell silent too. Casually, he began to walk to the front of the stage and said into the microphone:
‘A diamond is a rare thing to find. They were valued for their rarity in the time before, and as you all know, they are practically priceless now.’ He stuffed one hand into his pocket and smiled gently out at his avid audience. ‘We don’t have many diamonds in this world, but Calliel is a wonderful place to live despite that, because we have peace, harmony, and a place for everyone, and those things were rarer than diamonds in the time before.’ He swallowed. ‘Sometimes, we forget that… we forget the point of what it means to be a human now. We get caught up in r
ivalry, frustration and all of those other unpleasant emotions that stem from living our day to day lives within our harmonious little society, and because we do not know what it is like to actually suffer, we’ve lost some of our perspective.’ He motioned to the cloak. ‘That, for instance, was bloody hot and I’ve been complaining about it all day. But what a thing to complain about! What a trivial matter, to turn into a trial when I have so much to be grateful for…’ he indicated to all of us and I saw more than a few heads dip in guilt. Mine would have been one of them, but I had a feeling that was exactly the reaction that he wanted from me so I refused to give it. He didn’t know anything about trials! I’d take going without food for a month over having Kohén ‘inspect’ me in front of him again!
‘Is being anally penetrated by a prince cause for complaint?’ Caprice whispered from behind us, echoing all of our thoughts. ‘I thought so and have complained often, but if it isn’t, then I’ve been an ungrateful little Companion.’
We all giggled again.
‘But we are a fortunate race...’ Karol went on. ‘And I am the luckiest man alive, to get to stand here today and tell you how proud I am to see so many smiling faces- even though I’ve been shaking like a leaf about having to do so for a week- I thank you for listening to me. Not only for listening to me when I know you’re all dying to get into those pigs-’ he jerked his thumb over his shoulder and everybody laughed again. ‘But for supporting my family for so long. For allowing me to inherit this moment from my father, by putting blind faith in my bloodline and one day, your lives in my hands. It is a huge responsibility, and a daunting one, and though I dream of being a leader to equal my father I must confess that I have had moments of self-doubt.’ He paused and swallowed, and I saw a hint of genuine despair in his eyes. ‘Not just because my little brother’s favourite Companion is obviously a heckler who has taken it upon herself to follow me around, forcing me to question everything that I do-’ he paused again and I giggled self-consciously as everyone turned to smile at me.