Chapter One
Princess Ayira
“Please make way! Princess Ayira is arriving!”
The sound of bangles, drums, and trinkets chimed as I properly waited for the door to open for the high hall.
Arched ceilings reached so far up where intricate glass and jewels revealed scattered broken light reflected below.
I was covered completely from head to toe in ivory, gold, and royal blue satin.
The beaded tassels hung down my face from the lace veil, covering most of my features, I watched the guards part ways for me.
My cat, Minka, was a few steps ahead of me.
They bow.
I walk.
They still bow.
I continue to walk.
No words were allowed to be exchanged. They were servants, guards, and whatever else that was considered beneath me but I…sometimes I craved the small social interaction. It was the same routine over and over again. From the courtyard to the king’s palace, back to my room in the Queen’s domain.
“Princess Ayira is arriving! Please make way!”
I could hear the shuffling of feet and guards moving as I stepped into the high halls.
Tall pillars that stretched from the ceiling to the floor, the gold archway ceilings to marble flooring.
Everything is pristine, clean, and rich.
This all belonged to me. I had everything I could ever want and still it all felt meaningless and left me feeling empty.
“The princess is here!”
The whisperings of Sutari were spoken within the walls as I continued to step slowly, one foot in front of the other.
I couldn’t wait to take all of this off.
They might as well put a sheet over my body and call me a ghost. I heard the rumors and gossip that I was hideous.
That I was really a male…the Great Sun couldn’t possibly produce daughters.
Just boys to men. I was a servant pretending to be the king’s daughter which is why I was never married off.
I was burned as a baby in a terrible accident or cursed because my mother is a high priestess. A respected priestess at that.
I’ve heard every whisper in English and Sutari. A female born would be seen as a curse, a disrespect to the male who allowed you to give birth and in return, you give him another womb? Women were not highly favored in the old and new Kingdom of Solhar now known under the current ruler, Khamar.
I was truly the only exception.
The drums and jingles of the jewelry continued to ring out as I walked down to the end of the hall until my doors were opened.
No one was allowed to lift their head until I was behind those bolted double doors.
It was quiet. Full of tension, and I could feel the eyes of the Morai staring at me.
I slowly walked in the center of the court where I could see my father sitting on the throne.
Handsome man, dark skin looked like the true color of black with the brightest smile.
He wore a tailored red robe with gold embroidered depictions of the sun and tails of the flying serpents trailing around it.
His shoes were blue and gold velvet material, and he had rings on each finger as he tilted his head to the side with a smile at me.
The only other woman stood wearing a sleek white dress with naturally long silver braids hanging to her hip as she kept her head bowed.
“Step closer Princess,” Minka whispered to where only I could hear.
I stepped forward, one bare foot in front of the other as I lowered to my knees in a proper bow to my father.
The tension was thick as the court was surrounded by six men circling the room with my three brothers by the king’s side, all staring at me.
I could not speak unless spoken to. I could not show any emotion unless told to.
I am at the mercy of the men here. This is where King Khamar would meet with his council, the Morai and discuss the state of the first kingdom.
“Ayira is of marrying age…The sky Gods have spoken to me about this and say she will become the wife of a great ruler…”
“Great Sun, she is not like the others. The flame comes from the serpents that came before us…She is the true sun as her ancestral right dictates. We shouldn’t take this lightly.”
“Ayira needs to stay here within the Kingdom, and given to someone close where the flame can stay with us…There is no marrying out. Breed her from within.”
“We are already the most powerful kingdom in all the lands, what good does it do if we do not lay in the beds we make and spread our seeds?” Another said.
I remained quiet, keeping my head down as Minka sat by my feet.
“How can we pass her off if no one knows what she looks like?” Another asked. “It’s impossible to see beauty if it's constantly hidden…”
Everyone began talking over one another as I cut my eyes through the beaded tassels to look at the Great Sun… King Khamar. He stared at me, expression emotionless as they continued to speak.
“She is well preserved; it doesn’t matter what she looks like… She holds the first and oldest flame from the sun…”
“And how do we know this is true? Eh? How do we know? Only the royals have seen it and have not made mention of it since–––”
I flicked my fingers, igniting a spark of blue flame that darted towards the ground before pulling it back up to capture in my hand.
Balling my fist together, I slowly relaxed my fingers, letting the heat settle throughout my hand as I caught the smirk from the king.
Everyone in the room became silent and I could see my mother shake her head in annoyance.
“Your highness please,” Minka muttered through her whiskers. She was going to chastise me about my rebellious streak later.
“All six men from each territory have put in for her hand in marriage,” another said. My heart stopped. I looked up, hearing the beads cling together to stare at my father with wide eyes.
No…
“They have all agreed to attend and partake in the ritual if we are hosting the trials here. Everyone wants to be the one to give birth to the next Sun. We will hold an auction for your highness…and decide who she will be with… Great Sun, it will be a blue moon soon…that does not happen regularly. The Gods have told me the time is now… Allow your only daughter to be sent off so we can continue to spread our control. Your bloodline will continue through her. If this was any other woman, she would have been married off, but we cannot and will not take the First Flame lightly…”
I lowered my head as my fist tightened with quiet rage.
“When Ayira was born,” King Khamar started as he gently pulled at the soft curls against his chin. “Her responsibility to this world became greater than my own. She is to bridge the sun and earth together as one. That is the message I was given when she was born.”
No…Please…Baba please…
I gritted my teeth with my fist tightening at my side. I know he had to see my rage and feel me seething underneath these clothes. Only to ignore me the same way they all did when I entered a room.
“Prepare everyone to host our upcoming guests,” King Khamar said, voice deep and commanding with the lightest of accents.
His accent only fades when he travels and spends time outside of the Kingdom.
In the new world I could only hope to see outside of a screen.
I could hear the whispers and excitement amongst the men before deciding to turn around and leave.
“Ayira!?” Khamar called out. I kept walking, grabbing the satin garb to pick up from my feet as I stormed out of the doors with a shove and stalked down the halls. Every servant and guard stumbled as they quickly bowed their heads before falling to their knees which could only mean one thing.
“Stubborn woman!” Khamar shouted with a suck of his teeth. “You are too old to behave this way!”
I turned the corner, passing the courtyard as the long windows showed the sand dunes in the distance, just beyond the kingdom where houses sat stacked on top of each other.
It was night with the crack of the moon off in the distance.
Small lights littered the villages, and homes to illuminate the streets.
I knew there was more to life outside of this place. The countless number of phones that were snuck in the palace, in the kingdom…There was another world of people…that–––
“Ayira!?”
I turned another corner seeing the double doors as I waved for them to be open.
Minka was trying to keep up but was looking back at the king who was undoubtedly following behind me when I felt a tight grip on my arm.
I was suddenly shoved into the corner of the high hallway, and pressed up against the wall as the king barked for the servants to leave.
“Stubborn woman!” He snapped with a grip of my jaw, squeezed it through the fabric. “You are not a little girl anymore! I cannot keep you locked away without people asking questions–––”
“Baba, you are the king!” I cried. “You can do whatever you want! You have always done whatever you wanted! Whatever you please! I see you come and go––”
“I AM THE KING!” He shouted with another shove at me. “I AM THE GREAT SUN KING! I do as I please because I am who I am! YOU!”
His finger jammed into the center of my forehead through the veil covering my face.
“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE! LET ALONE YOUR PURPOSE!”
“So I am to wait for men to gather around the circle and tell me what I am to do with my life and who to be with?!”
“You are my daughter,” he stressed with his eyes darkening by the second. “Your life has been decided the moment you were in your mother’s womb.”
I started to lift the veil when he immediately yanked it down before looking around. It was his rule in the first place to keep me covered as he feared jealous men would kill him in his sleep over my beauty. That’s what he told me anyway. I am starting to think he couldn’t stand the sight of me.
“Ayira…you are just like your mother–––”
“I will not be married off like some property! I will not!”