Chapter 24 King Eustis at Death’s Door #2
“Everyone is here, but they do not know what ‘here’ is, my brother,” said Yvlle. “For today’s trial, you are meant to be invisible.”
The dining hall of Rathe Castle was not merely the most beautiful room, but also the most important.
It was a place of shape-shifting and whispering, a place where deals were struck and power switched hands.
The doors to the dining hall opened only on special occasions.
Otherwise, it was kept locked shut, for of all the rooms in Rathe Castle, it was the one that was most suggestible, and such raw power was not to be dealt with lightly.
When he was a child, Queen Yzara would allow Arris to remain in the dining hall only if he promised to be very quiet.
The dining hall could only listen to one person at a time, and it did not listen for long.
A single sentence misconstrued might be the difference between diplomacy and disaster.
Before dinners with dignitaries or members of the Isle’s aristocracy, Queen Yzara would utter aloud her needs and wishes with the utmost precision.
“The ambassadors who shall visit are renowned to be a cold folk and I wish them to warm to us, but such warmth must be a conflagration too … for they should remember who possesses the real power to scorch,” she would tell the stones.
Instantly a hearth would spring up in the middle of the room while the dining table broke apart, arranging itself into a circle around the flames that were both lovely and leering.
On another occasion, Yzara might say: “The duke’s late wife was quite dear to him and her favorite flowers were black daffodils …
the duke is more likely to be in a calm mood if he is reminded of her.
Let such a memory be a mere whisper, however, for we would not have our guest too lost in thought. ”
Again, the dining hall would comply. Arris remembered how the grain of the table’s wood softened until it resembled the sparkling striations of a black daffodil’s petals.
The glass cups took on a blousy shape, like an overturned flower.
The room was redolent of rainwater upon roses and the sweetness of laundered sheets and baked bread.
Arris remembered how the visiting duke had entered Rathe Castle, his shoulders up to his ears, his brow thunderous.
And Arris remembered how he had left, his eyes shining and smile soft.
When Arris entered the dining hall, magic suffused the air.
It crackled with raw potential. It seemed as if the very stones trembled in anticipation, ready to become whatever was demanded of them.
That the room was now open to the suggestion of anyone aside from Queen Yzara was unheard-of.
But then again, so was competing for the hand in marriage of the Isle’s heir.
Inside, the dining hall was dark. The walls themselves appeared shadowed and dimensionless, not yet sure whether to expand into a massive chamber or constrict into a cozy alcove.
A slight wrinkle to the air was the only sign Arris had that he and his sister were standing behind a pane of some kind.
This was a relief, considering how close the contestants were.
They were lined up not more than ten feet from where he stood, each one of them wearing a plain black dress.
Arris tried to step forward and see where Demelza had gone, but he only succeeded in running into the enchanted pane.
“Ow!” he said.
Zoraya, who stood closest to him, turned and looked suspiciously in his direction before shaking her head.
The dining hall was entirely bare except for the table, where a feast sprawled across the surface.
There were several carafes of wine—some dark as blood, others pale and silver—and tureens of fragrant soup.
Roasted vegetables glazed in honey and studded with berries winked like gemstones.
Golden bowls of spiced plums, roasted nuts and stewed cherries and immense platters of sliced bread spread thickly with butter gleamed.
A haunch of boar and venison flanked opposite sides of the table, the meat already carved and glistening in invitation.
Arris’s mouth watered. There had been no time to eat.
Queen Yzara appeared to step out of the shadows, and Arris heard the girls’ collective drawn breath once she appeared. Like the room itself, Yzara was dressed in shadows. In place of her crown, she wore a diadem of onyx braided with silver.
“As queen of this realm, you shall be expected not merely to entertain the appetites of your guests but also to envision the needs of our kingdom,” said Yzara.
“In this, you will find that the dining hall of Rathe Castle is a willing conspirator … but only if you understand how to discern what the situation truly demands. For this trial, you will be asked to make a single addition to this room. Only one.”
Yzara paused and Arris studied the faces of the prospective brides.
“To that end, I ask you to envision that you are hosting visiting dignitaries from a city whose occupants are famed for their appetite. Imagine they are homesick and that they have been traveling for many days to be in your company,” said Queen Yzara.
She raised an eyebrow. “Tell me. What is missing?”
Everything, thought Arris. There were no lights. No chairs. No music. Clearly that was the point. It was a test to see what his future queen would consider most vital. But it was not a fair test. Whoever went last would have the hardest task.
“You shall be called in an order reflective of your current standing in this competition,” said Queen Yzara.
“Oh no,” said Arris.
Beside him, Yvlle’s mouth pinched in a grim line.
“Edmea, please start us off,” said Yzara.
Edmea stepped forward, smug. Her pink hair was pulled back with a black ribbon. She also appeared to have made some effort with the loose, dark gown. A bejeweled clip that Arris had earlier seen in her hair now pinched the fabric to accentuate her waist. She looked, as always, glorious.
Edmea was quiet for a moment as she surveyed the space. And then she dipped her head.
“Majesty, I would add chairs, but beautiful chairs that are imbued with the power to move about the table, so that every dignitary may spend time at the right-hand side of the king and queen.”
It was a clever answer and the dining hall responded appropriately.
Out of the stone, several chairs surfaced.
They were made of finely carved wood and began to drift lazily about the circle.
They were certainly beautiful … but they did not look comfortable.
The carved wood resembled a rose beset with thorns and there was no cushion on the narrow seat.
“How would you improve this, Talvi?” asked the queen.
Talvi stepped forward. “They are homesick, so I would add a fragrance that brings them instant comfort, that they might be relieved of their weariness but not forget the reason why they traveled so far.”
Yvlle frowned. “That is a dangerous little ice doll, Brother. Be wary of her.”
Arris noted that his sister did not take her eyes off Talvi. Ever.
After Talvi, the contestants began to add and embellish in quick succession.
Cordelia, a blue-skinned maiden from the Famishing, was the first to earn a smile from Queen Yzara after pointing out that they did not know the environment of the dignitaries, and thus the room should adjust to what they breathed.
Zoraya added bubbles of light and quiet, for those who found themselves overwhelmed by the evening’s festivities.
After Ursula—who added enchanted plates to warm the food so that the guests would not feel rushed through their meal—and Heka—who adorned the space with music that adjusted to their moods—only Orinthia and Demelza remained.
“Well?” asked Queen Yzara.
Orinthia looked frantic. Her eyes leapt from the lights to the stones. She stammered:
“Perhaps flowers native to their realm?” she said. “For beauty?”
Arris saw that his mother fought back a yawn at the suggestion.
Orinthia looked shamefaced as she sank back into line.
Finally, Arris could see Demelza fully. More and more, her red hair was on display, though there were still patches of mud and twigs concealing it.
Arris remembered her wide-eyed panic from the first trial, and thought she would look just as mortified …
But she did not.
“And you?” asked Yzara.
Clearly, his mother considered this nothing more than a formality. He could see her tapping her toes against the stone, glancing toward the exit. Perhaps she could see Arris and Yvlle through the enchanted pane, for he swore his mother caught his eye just then, as if warning him to stay put.
“This isn’t fair,” said Arris.
“No,” said his sister. “It is not.”
“What do we do?” asked Arris.
But his sister was watching Demelza. Alone of the contestants, Demelza did not speak immediately. She looked unhurried as she stepped forward and walked in a slow circle about the table. She paused, staring at the food.
“Today, child,” said Yzara, annoyed.
What Demelza did next was nothing short of ridiculous.
She reached forward and stuck her finger in the main stew.
On the sidelines, Edmea gave a horrified gasp.
Demelza looked up and smiled at her. Then she gave the stew a good swirl before tasting it.
Immediately, her face scrunched into a grimace.
A second later, she broke off a piece of the venison.
After a single nibble, she frowned again.
Then she went for the boar. She had hardly put it in her mouth before she spat it out on the table.
“You … you ate the food,” said Queen Yzara.
“As I imagine a guest would,” said Demelza, facing his mother.
Yzara was stone-faced. “And?”
Demelza wiped her mouth and then curtsied. “Your Majesty, there is only one thing this meal is lacking in entirety: salt.”
Yzara stared at Demelza. Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. Her head tilted ever so slowly, as if she were seeing Demelza clearly for the first time. She smiled. And then, Queen Yzara began to laugh.