“Courting the other ladies and wished that I had not walked in to see it?” His face reddened with embarrassment and he turned his head away. I looked over his shoulder to find two heads outside the doorway– one with red hair.
I raised my voice a little. “You need not confide in me. I am not your friend remember? I am just the Duchess of the Solstice Palace and you are its prince. Please, choose whomever you like to spend your time with. There is no need for us to get each other’s approval.” I curtsied and left, having felt a bittersweet pride as I spoke those words.
****
I spent my supper with three personal maids. Though late, they had arrived on Prince Gareth’s behalf upon naming me Duchess. Despite my title, they spoke informally with me and often cursed or spoke ill of others in my presence, but I did not care. They respected me as an equal and that was all I could ask for.
“Have you heard,” Yana, the eldest of my maids said as we finished up our meal, “of the King’s proposal?” We shook our heads. She grinned and brushed a lock of her wild brown curls away from her face.
“Do tell!” Ayah, the youngest of the three, said eagerly, her bright blue eyes trained on Yana. Ayah was also wearing an embroidered kerchief over her hair, which she said was a custom from her hometown.
“His Majesty plans to abdicate and have Prince Gareth’s coronation by mid-autumn,” she whispered.
I gasped alongside the others. Summer was almost upon us. Why would the King have the coronation so soon?
“For what purpose does King Randin want the Prince’s coronation to be so early?” I asked.
Yana looked at me, and then motioned everyone to come closer. We all leaned forward.
“They say His Majesty has had a vision of his death. And now he wants everything secure for his kingdom and son.”
“Vision?” I inquired.
“A dream of some sorts,” Yana answered with a shrug. A dream of his death? My blood ran cold at the thought. Was it possible the Shadow Reaper was influencing the King? But for what purpose?
“How do we know that what you tell is true?” Blaire, my third maid, asked. She leaned back, raising her eyebrow. Of the three, she seemed to be the most rational, having never exaggerated her tales or relate a story where she was head-over-heels about some nobleman as Yana and Ayah liked to.
Yana squared her shoulders. “My mother knows the King’s adviser.” Blaire nodded at this, satisfied with her source.
After the small chat, I began making my way up to the Grand Library. As I did so, I could hear light footsteps echoing behind me. I turned to see that the three maids had been following me through the halls.
“Is there a reason you follow me about? I wish to be alone,” I said. The girls looked at one another and then back to me.
“As your maids, we are to stay at your side at all times,” Yana said, a hint of righteousness in her voice for correcting me.
“Oh.” I held back a sigh. I had thought maids were simply there to be called upon when needed, not present at all times. “Well then, how about the stables? A short ride in the early hours of the evening would be fun.” I tried to smile, but the girls fidgeted and did not look at me, uncomfortable.
“We are ladies’ maids. We know nothing of horses or how to ride them,” Blaire said at last. I smiled hearing her. This, I could help fix.
“Allow me to teach you then!” I grabbed her hand and led her towards the stables. Yana and Ayah followed after.
Once the four of us changed into riding gear, mounted our horses, our laughter filled the air. The stableman did not seem at all amused, as he had trouble keeping Yana, Blaire, and Ayah in their saddles and not on the ground. But once they were accustomed to the basics, the four of us raced each other in circles in the pastures outside the stable.
Blaire had even let her dark hair loose from its braids, encouraging Yana to do the same. I smiled at their playful attitude but did not do the same as Ayah had not either.
A couple of Palace Guards off-duty heard our laughter and decided to join in. They reached over their own horses in an attempt grab at our reins. We shrieked and kicked our horses into a gallop with them right behind us.
It was a unique feeling to be with them all; I had never known what it was like to have others to laugh and have fun with. I was used to being the one laughed at and made fun of. And whenever the Guards or my maids spoke of all the things one could do with magic, my inability to use it was not anything they attacked or ridiculed either, as it was what made us all similar.
When the sun’s bright light was barely visible in the sky through the afternoon clouds, and the air cooled for the coming night, we dismounted our exhausted steeds.
“Will you allow us to treat you ladies to a meal at the Heavenly Inn tonight?” Kaeric, the ginger-headed guard asked.
Yana, Blaire, and Ayah looked at me, seeking my consent. I nodded.
He smiled. “Well then, we will meet you lovely four outside when you are ready.” The Palace Guards bowed in my direction and left.
Once out of sight, Yana, Blaire, and Ayah turned to one another and squealed. I grinned at their happiness for their instant attraction to the Guards. Heading inside, we began discussing what clothes to wear and the girls worried how personal we had to act with the Guards without catching too much attention. It made me feel normal for once; I was doing things expected of my age and our worries were ordinary, too, all without a single mention of Selenah.
As the four of us made our way towards the Palace gates, I hung back. I had realized it was best to tell Selenah where I would be going before she really sent a search party after me– but locating her was not an easy task.
“Mistress, are you not coming?” Yana asked.
Blaire and Ayah looked at each other with a worried expression. The three waited patiently, watching as I ran up and down halls in search of my sister. They had also changed out of usual garb for something a little fancier: linen gowns and layered petticoats embroidered with fine thread and lace. I felt ashamed that I delayed their anticipated night of merriment.
“Go on ahead,” I told my maids. “I will meet you at the gates. There is something I must do first.”
They nodded and walked over to where the four Palace Guards were waiting for us, a carriage hitched to six beautiful steeds ready to go.
Where is Selenah?
It was then I saw Owen walk towards the Palace Guards and my maids. He addressed Blaire first and the two began a conversation. I ran back to them. Perhaps he would be useful after all.
“Oh, here is Mistress Melanie now,” I heard Blaire say, lightly curtsying at my arrival. Owen turned to me.
“Is there a problem here, Archduke?” I asked. My formal reference made him frown.
“Her Ladyship said–”
“If you have noticed, I do not exactly do as ‘Her Ladyship’ says,” I interrupted, crossing my arms over my chest. “I will be leaving with my maids now. Would you be so considerate of what I want and let her know?”
“Mel– Duchess Melanie, it is near dark out. It is not safe,” he replied, his voice lowering just a bit. I stared at him, half irritated by his efforts to stop me from leaving, but also touched that his care could be honest.
“That is what we are here for, Your Highness,” Kaeric said, indicating himself and his three companions. Owen blinked and nodded stiffly.
“Good night to you all then. Return safely.” The palace Guards bowed to him and the girls curtsied as he turned to leave. Owen glanced at me before he walked away.
For a moment we all stood silent. Everyone was looking my way. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Shall we go?” I asked.
They nodded and we all filed into the carriages. Ayah and I sat beside each other with Yana and Blaire sitting opposite of us. Kaeric and the other men took their positions on their mounts and we set off. I had an urge to pull back the curtains and look at the sky to see if the eagle that had followed Prince Gareth would do the same for u
s. But I stopped myself, feeling that my paranoia would ruin the outing.
The Heavenly Inn was a spectacular sight. Never had I seen an inn so lavish. There was a large hearth with chairs arched around it that were cushioned with red velvet.
A chandelier hung from the high ceiling, and the rooms were as if they had been pulled out from the Solstice Palace itself.
The inns I had grown up by were old, and the wood would be peeling and rotting from the dampness in the air or from spilt drinks. Despite my asking of it, Selenah never used her magic to fix these places, saying it was the innkeeper’s duty to maintain their own establishment.
After a light meal, we all sat and talked well into the evening. I was afraid of who would pay for the meal, as I was nothing but a Duchess in name, but no one came to collect the tab.
Kaeric left the table to dance when the singer and lute player arrived. Seeing him walking over to the two, several others at the inn joined in. Kaeric’s friends all asked my maids to partner up with them. They looked at me and I, feeling happiness bubble inside me at their asking, nodded in approval.
Nearly everyone at the inn participated in the event. All but the two musicians and I had not. Not being much of a dancer myself, I turned my head and looked out the window, watching as the sky darkened into a dusky blue when the first song was sung, then turned into indigo, and finally melted into a hazy purple.
I jerked back when the thought of Selenah came to mind. I realized I had lost myself in the music of the lute player and the enchanting voice of the singer. We must have been gone at least three hours.
I stood up and walked over by the door, put on my cloak, and stood there. For a moment or two, no one noticed, but Blaire sought me with her eyes after seeing I was not sitting at the table. Immediately, she grabbed the others when she noticed that I was by the door. At the sight of their leaving, the Palace Guards followed, along with complaints about the dance’s disruption.
As they all began putting on coats and weapons, I stole a look at the musicians. The two looked young but still old enough to be on their own. The singer wore a flowery dark green dress with a beaded necklace and the lute player wore the same green tunic and darker breeches.
I shuddered at the sight of so much green. They only reminded me of the Shadow Reaper’s eyes.
The trip back was quiet. I looked at my maids. Was I wrong to have ended their outing? Will they stop being so friendly with me after this?
After we all got out of the carriage, Kaeric and his men dismounted to escort us back in. Just as we all stepped foot inside the Palace grounds, Selenah appeared before us.
She scowled at me. “Where were you?”
I could feel the unease sweep through my maids and the Palace Guards. But I knew I had to show them I was not afraid of her, both as her sister and as Duchess.
“Did your pet not tell you?” I replied calmly. She scoffed at my reference to Owen.
“You are not to leave the Palace!” she exclaimed. “Especially at night!”
“I stand before you now, Selenah. Do I look dead to you?” She narrowed her eyes, but I did not care to notice the slight worry creeping into her features. “Well, it is getting late. I must have my maids retire.” I turned to them and bid them goodnight. The Palace Guards quickly escorted them away.
“Mel, you listen to me–”
“Why must I?” I retorted. “Is it because the Prince favors you? Or is it because you are the one savior to this kingdom, and therefore can rule over all?”
Selenah was silent for a moment. I waited for her response.
“I cannot even comprehend why you blatantly continue to act like this!” she cried, flailing her hands in exasperation. “You do not listen to me, you do not listen to Owen, and you have no sense of worry of the Shadow Reaper coming for you again! What has –or is– controlling you?” She said the last bit with hesitation.
“Really, Selenah? After using Owen to watch my every move and after faking gratitude for saving your life, you really see no wrong in trying to shut me up in this stupid place!?” I nearly screamed. My anger was back, and I could not hold it down. “I am stuck here, like a prisoner, being forced to follow the orders of someone I–” My mind was clouded in such resentment that I wanted to strike her when someone gently pulled me away from Selenah.
“Calm down,” I heard someone say behind me.
I growled. I did not want to calm down. I wanted to yell and kick that I should not be the one to be restrained.
I deserved a stake at a regular life.
That was when I saw Connor standing behind Selenah. Her hands were ablaze with an unearthly fire and her face contorted with a rage I never knew she possessed. White sparks were flickering out of the hand that he was using to grasp Selenah’s wrist to hold her back from using the fire.
But despite being the second most powerful magic-wielder in the Kingdom, other than the Shadow Reaper, Connor was struggling to hold her power down with his own. His jaws were clenched, and his face was turning red in exertion. I watched as he lifted his free arm around Selenah and place it below her collar bone.
The fire slowly faded from her hands.
“It is all right, Melanie.” The voice was definitely Owen’s.
I let him pull me away as the tears formed behind my eyes, a mix of both anger and sorrow filling inside me at the whole ordeal.
Selenah glanced my way with eyes still fiery, and I felt a searing pain in my head before I fell unconscious.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SISTER RIVALRY
When I awoke, I saw Tiran sitting at the edge of the bed where I lay, his head in his hands. I stared at him, shocked, as I had not seen him since moving into the Solstice Palace.
“Tiran?” I asked tentatively. He looked up with a start. “Is it really you?” He smiled his fatherly grin that instantly made my heart warm.
“Yes, Mel. I am here.”
Hearing that, I sprang up to hug him. He laughed as I nearly toppled him over.
“I am so glad to see you!” I told him. His arms embraced me tightly. Just seeing him reminded me of how kind and helpful he had been to me before. I could not have felt any happier being I was with him now.
Before we could part, the door to my chamber clicked opened and Owen stepped in. His jaw slightly dropped at the sight of us. We immediately released each other, feeling abashed for being walked in on.
“I am glad to see you are awake at last,” Owen finally said.
“What? Is it not morning?” I asked, confused as to what he meant.
“Mel,” Tiran said gently. I noticed Owen raise his eyebrows at Tiran’s use of my nickname. “You have not woken up for two days.”
My eyes widened. “What!?”
Tiran smiled a little and patted my back in reassurance. “There is no need to worry; your rest was only from her Ladyship’s magic.”
I frowned, remembering our last encounter. She had rendered me unconscious for simply arguing with her!
“Magic comes with responsibilities that Her Ladyship may not have learned previously,” Tiran said after seeing my reaction. “And this will surely set an example for her to be more cautious of it. We are all just grateful you were not harmed from her outburst,” he added. I smiled at that. “Allow me to send for your maids now,” he said, standing up. I inhaled sharply, frozen with shock, when Tiran placed a hand on my shoulder. He smiled and I quickly smiled back, grateful that my positive feelings for him were being reciprocated. Tiran bowed his head towards Owen and left.
Seeing him close the door, I felt disheartened. I wanted to talk to him about everything since coming here. The skeleton attack, Selenah’s illnesses, my maids– all of it. I knew he would listen to me with an honest and understanding heart.
At the sound of Owen’s slight movement, I was suddenly conscious that I was only in my nightgown. I pulled myself under the covers as Owen leaned against the wall, a puzzled look on his face.
“May I ask how you know of this R
oyal Guard?” he asked with slight hesitation.
I settled down into the fluffed pillows and rolled my eyes. As long as I did not say any details, he would not have much to tell Selenah if she ever requested his services again.
“Tiran,” I began, “is a good friend of mine. We spent a good deal of time together when I was at the King’s Castle.”
“I do not believe duchesses should familiarize themselves with Guards, even Royal Guards.”
I raised an eyebrow at the annoyed tone in his voice.
“Since when did that matter?” I asked. “I have only become a duchess in the past week and I met Tiran before that.”
“He is no exception now that you are this palace’s Duchess. And I speak not only about him, but also of the other Palace Guards you recklessly spent a night with. They were subpar Palace Guards I, as the ruling regent, excused from duty for their inefficiency to escort a caravan of wheat and barley to arrive on time.”
I felt my jaw drop in disbelief at his little tirade. Does he really believe what he is saying? As much as I was appalled by what Owen had said, I brushed it off.
“That does not mean they are incapable of being someone’s friend,” I hissed. Before he could even react, my three maids rushed in. They shooed away Owen, so I could dress, bringing our conversation to an end.
While the three brought out my dress and accessories to match, they told me of what was going on about the Palace while I had been asleep.
“Prince Gareth returned,” Ayah said, “just the other day. You are to have breakfast with him, her Ladyship, and the Archduke.”
“Why has the Prince come?” I asked. “Surely, not for my sake.”
“We are unsure of his true reason, but we believe that he is here to tell her Ladyship about his father’s arrangement for marriage between himself and one of Porticor’s princesses,” Yana replied, grabbing the brush from my hand to do my hair.
My eyes widened at the news. Lady Yael was right!
“He must be heartbroken; do you not think so?” she added. Blaire and Ayah nodded sadly with her.
“Heartbroken?” I repeated, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. “You truly mean…?” They nodded. “He wanted to marry Selenah!” I shouted. I had simply assumed the King wanted Prince Gareth and Selenah to wed in the future but had Prince Gareth actually fallen in love with her?
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