Chapter 11
S pencer left first, to make his way to the dining room before I arrived. I had to assure him I would be ok making my way there alone before he would go. I took my time checking my appearance once more before leaving, to ensure that no one saw us leaving the same room.
By the time I made it to the dining room, the hall was packed beyond capacity.
I made my way to the raised platform containing the dais, as people shuffled to make room for me to walk through.
At the dais, I joined Father, noting Ivy and Amyra standing nearby.
The event coordinators had lined up all the suitors in front.
As I stepped up on the platform, the room quieted, and all bowed to show respect.
I signaled to rise before beginning the announcement.
“Gentlemen, thank you for joining me here today. I appreciate the efforts each of you have made to travel to Elthas, and enjoyed the company each of you provided last night. The evening was most enjoyable, and I treasure the moments we shared. While I know many expect to learn who the King will be, I must inform everyone that we will not have that announcement today.”
I paused, allowing the crowd a moment to process, and waited for the chatter to subside before I spoke again.
“Instead, I have narrowed my choice to three suitors. If they would honor me, I invite you to stay here in Elthas to allow me to get to know each of you. During this period, we will have a series of trials to help determine suitability. By the winter solstice, I will announce the one I will marry. Before I reveal the names, I must ask, is this something that the gentlemen will do?”
I looked down the line of suitors, paying close attention to Egan, Spencer, and Frederick, and all nodded or offered an affirmative answer, with various levels of confidence on their faces. I offered a warm smile, silently accepting each response.
“Thank you, gentlemen. I invite the following suitors to join us for this competition: Prince Egan, Prince Frederick, and Prince Spencer.”
I paused with each name, making eye contact with each man. They offered a small bow to accompany their grins of success. After announcing their names, I allowed a few moments of chatter before raising my hand. The crowd quieted down once more.
“For the rest of you, I enjoyed our time together last night, however brief it may have been. I invite you to stay for as long as you wish. You are always welcome in my court. I look forward to future meetings with you and your kingdoms as we strengthen our relationships in other ways.”
With this last statement, I sat down in my chair at the table on this platform.
I wanted to allow time for some of these men to visit before I returned to my room.
Ivy and Amyra sat with me, and we each received a plate of food.
We made small talk, aware that many could hear us, and that others might interrupt us at any time.
After I had eaten quite a bit of my meal, some of the rejected suitors visited briefly to pay respects and inform me of their intent to leave in the next few days.
I confirmed to others that there would be planned entertainment while waiting for the competition to start, in response to their questions.
My event planners would work quite a bit the rest of this summer and fall to keep up with these plans.
Eventually, all three of the chosen princes approached at once. I wasn't sure if they had been talking prior to approaching, but I found the choice for all three to approach at the same time curious.
Frederick spoke first. “Princess Lyla, we are truly honored to have the privilege of participating in this, uh, event. But we were hoping to learn more about what the plan is, so that we may prepare. Could you elaborate on what this will be?”
A reasonable question, which unfortunately not much I could answer.
I nodded, “Yes, gentlemen. Thank you for accepting this invitation. I hope primarily to spend these next few months getting to know you on a more personal level. This morning, my council didn’t approve my idea until I added the element of a competition to make it more appealing.
This afternoon, I plan to meet with our event planners to complete the details.
I would love for all of you to join me for dinner this evening, and I can explain more about the trials.
I also want to make sure your accommodations are comfortable, so once we understand who is leaving this week, we will extend you offers to move into some of the larger chambers as well.
If you are comfortable with your current situation, please don’t feel you must change rooms.”
I noted Spencer’s nod specifically. He was not in his usual room, which lead to part of the confusion this morning. I would make sure he gets into the chambers he normally used. I wondered why he hadn’t gotten that room to begin with.
“I will host dinner in my private dining hall this evening. Someone will assist you to the hall. I expect I will host us in there many evenings, at least to start, if that’s ok with all of you. It allows us for more privacy in conversation than this room could offer us.”
They glanced around, noting the amount of people still in this great room.
“Thank you, Princess Lyla. Your generosity knows no bounds.” Egan is certainly more polished now.
I wonder if drinking accented some of his bumbling and nervousness.
“I must wonder, though, are we going to have opportunities for more intimate conversations and outings as well? Chaperoned, of course, but time spent without these other, likely fine, gentlemen?”
“Yes, of course, Prince Egan. I’d like to arrange for plans for each of us to get to know one another on many levels. I look forward to it, even.”
Egan and Frederick nodded, satisfied with the conversation.
Spencer still hadn’t spoken, but it seemed like they were ready to leave.
I left a few heartbeats to allow him to talk, but he seemed distracted, or perhaps he simply didn’t have any other concerns, at least at this moment.
I spoke before the silence drags too long.
“Again, gentlemen, I appreciate you accommodating me through these unusual circumstances, but I think the reward of getting to know each other at a more personal level will pay off. If you excuse me, I do have to prepare for my afternoon meetings.”
I stood to leave, and Ivy and Amyra rose as well. The three princes stood up and bowed. Spencer finally spoke up. “Princess Lyla, the honor is all ours, I assure you. Would you like an escort of three back to your chambers?”
I briefly imagined the spectacle that would be the six of us walking to my room, and the sordid rumors that could start. I smiled at the silliness of the thoughts as I gently shook my head no.
“Thank you for the offer, but I believe we will be capable of finding our way safely. I look forward to seeing you this evening.”
I hoped all three understood I meant all of them, but my eyes stayed on Spencer only as I spoke. I partly wanted to arrange more private time with him, though the idea equally horrified and thrilled me.
Ivy, Amyra, and I made it back to my chambers, and as soon as the door closed, I could almost hear all of us shedding our proverbial masks. Before I even realized what I was doing, I reached for Amyra’s hand, and I held it like it was the only thing keeping me alive. In a way, that was true.
Ivy, as always, was the first to speak. “The Councilors and the King and even Ethan made it in with plenty of time. So why were you late?”
I smiled a bit. Ivy had such a knack for knowing where the juicy story is.
“I worried I was too close to losing my composure after the meeting with the Council, so I had ducked into a room to gather myself. I thought it was empty but…”
I trailed off. I needed to figure out how much of this I wanted to share with them, and especially with Amyra. It’s one thing to know that this relationship must happen. It’s another to know it was already happening.
“But what? Who was in the room with you? Oh goodness, what happened? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine! Nothing untoward happened… much, anyway. It turned out to be Spencer’s room. Someone must have given him a small leftover room upon his arrival, not his regular one. I need to find out who’s in his normal room and get that changed. It won’t do for the long term for him.”
“Excuse me, you were alone in a room with Spencer and you’re just going on about how you’re going to switch rooms for him?” Ivy’s golden eyes sparkled with excitement.
I felt Amyra’s hand squeeze mine. I glanced at her and noticed she’s using the hand language we used to use all the time to talk in public spaces.
She was telling me it’s ok to share it all.
I offered a little smile of gratitude to her as I tell them about the kiss.
I told them all about how it started because I was so upset at how this entire process could force an end to what Amyra and I have, especially if whoever I ended up choosing finds out and felt jealous.
How I just wanted a moment alone to work through those emotions threatening to overtake my poise before I had to perform for that crowd.
Then I found out it was Spencer’s room, and he was there, and how I wanted to tell him about all these fears but couldn’t trust him.
In the moments of deciding whether I could trust him, we instead kissed.
I could tell that Ivy wanted to push more details on that kiss, but held back for Amyra’s sake.
Amyra clenched my hand, letting me know she understood.
She would be ok. I hated that I had to put her through this.
“There’s one more detail. Just before the kiss, he promised me he would put my happiness as his focus, as my husband. That he wants me to feel free if we were to be married.” I look at Amyra and really see her.
“I think I genuinely believe him. I think he would protect us. I know you two don’t know him like I do. But I don’t want to confide in him until I know you are comfortable, too.”
I stopped here. I wasn’t sure what I’m looking for, what Amyra needed to do or say to allow it. Or what allowing it even meant.
Amyra placed her other hand on mine, raising my hand to her face.
She planted a gentle kiss on my knuckles while staring at me.
Her pale blue eyes showed all the love we’ve built.
I saw hope, and I knew that hope. I also hoped for a future where we could be ourselves.
Maybe not fully in public, but at least we can have our moments, and she didn’t have to worry about being sent away permanently.
Finally, she spoke. “He is Ethan’s friend, right?
Is Ethan able to speak to his trustworthiness, too? Could he help you decide?”
Amyra raised an interesting question. I hadn’t considered talking to Ethan about this.
He didn’t know about us outright, but he had hinted at his suspicions in the past. Neither of us had been brave enough to speak about it.
Perhaps it was time to find the courage.
“I can invite him to my chambers this evening, after dinner. We could ask him tonight.”
Amyra smiled. “I suspect he will tell us what you already know. I think that if you were to choose a husband based on how he would allow you to live happily and freely, to love freely, Spencer would be the only choice.”
Ivy squealed. “Did we just decide on the future king?” She jumps up and dances a little around the room. Amyra and I laugh at her excitement.
“I wouldn’t say that yet, Ivy! I must consider the impact the other two men might have on our kingdom. Both in making the choice to have them, and in making the choice to shun them. I couldn’t make an informed choice until I know what they may do with that decision.”
Ivy giggled.
“Lyla, we know you’ll choose Spencer. It’s ok, we can pretend like you will deliberate hard to balance this out. Maybe we can enjoy a bit of sport.” Ivy shared with an eyebrow wiggle.
Amyra squeezed my hand, showing me her silent love and support again. I returned the gesture, locking eyes with her for a moment.
“Speaking of sport, I must get to my meeting with the event planners. We need to come up with a competition now, and I have no idea where to start.” I stood up, smoothing my dress out. “I will see you two at dinner. Hopefully, I’ll have a plan for the competition.”