Chapter 6 #2
Instantly, the comfort of his mind wrapped around mine, muffling the noise. “Easy there, Lexie. You’ve got this. Purple channel, remember? Bring it up and cast a shield over your mind. Make it strong enough that no one can get through that shield.”
I did as he told me, concentrating and breathing deep. On the edges of my consciousness, I heard the brothers talking.
“I don’t like how they’re looking at her,” Griff growled, downing Finn’s coffee as he slid off his stool to take up a defensive position at my side, physically blocking the courtiers who tried to invade my space.
“And how is that?” Finn asked.
“Like she’s fresh meat. You going to deal with this?” Griff asked. “Or you want me to step in?”
“Oh you, certainly. It’ll be more entertaining if you do it. Besides, you stand a better chance of getting the pampered lapdogs to listen to you.”
I set the shield in place and the clamor in my head subsided, thank Erde.
Finn’s presence was missing too; I had shoved him out along with everyone else.
Now that I could think again, I could turn my attention to the crowd of people who hadn’t noticed the distress their princess was in.
They didn’t look like pampered lapdogs to me.
They were like birds of prey, pouncing on the weak.
“Give her some room,” Griff demanded, his imposing presence causing several of them to take a step back, bumping into the poor kitchen staff, who’d frozen with the influx of visitors.
The kind-looking cook’s eyes darted between me and the rest of the crowd, understanding dawning on her face that she had grossly mistaken who I was.
She slowly got over her shock, ushering the rest of the staff back to work.
They did their best, while shooting each other looks as the hordes of courtiers continually stepped into their way.
This was ridiculous.
And apparently Griff thought so too. “Do none of you people have anything better to do with your time? Crowding around the princess, infringing on the kitchen workers who are trying to keep you fed? Come back when you’ve learned some manners.”
Before Griff could do anything more, a guard pushed through the crowd, dressed in what I assumed was his daily uniform of a navy-blue utilitarian shirt with a vest, his tight pants tucked into boots.
They were similar to the clothes Griff wore, although the guard looked like his clothes had been issued to him, while Griff’s were tailored to his warrior frame.
“Your highness,” the guard said, bowing deeply, “the regent has requested your presence in his study.”
The blood drained from my face. Something told me my grandfather’s mood wouldn’t have brightened with the sun.
And the guard called him the regent—he had been running the kingdom the whole time, presumably since my parents had died.
If Nana had been queen, then he had once been king—why wasn’t he the king now?
“That was less entertaining than I hoped,” Finn whispered to his brother.
The threat of the regent had quieted the crowd, and the courtiers began filing out of the kitchen, some of them beginning to pause to say something else to me, but they quickly changed their minds when they saw Griff’s expression.
Almost as quickly as they had entered, they were gone.
The difference in noise level was startling.
While a kitchen was never silent, compared to the cacophony of before, it was just a whisper.
The kitchen staff paused, as though they had no clue what they had just witnessed or what to do next. My heart sank as I realized I’d never again experience the cheerful busyness of this kitchen. My anonymity was at an end.
“I apologize.” My voice shook as it clattered through the still room. “For interrupting your morning.”
I followed the guard out into the hallway, Griff striding along behind, when a blonde, impeccably dressed woman jumped into his path, halting him. The guard continued to move at a brisk pace, and I had to lengthen my stride to keep up.
He led me to what had to be Zachariah’s suite of rooms. We entered a small foyer, opening up into a broader room, with several closed doors lining the walls.
Every piece of furniture, every knickknack, every painting, was perfectly arranged and specifically chosen to portray an imposing and royal presence.
This main room must have been where people waited for the regent to deign to receive them.
Going through another door, we entered a formal study.
The walls were lined with a warm wood, a few windows letting in natural light.
A massive map of the kingdom took up one wall, bookshelves flanking it.
I wanted to examine it further, see what all was in this new realm, but I was distracted by the sight of my grandfather sitting behind a massive but remarkably clean, sturdy desk.
With a jerk of his head, he dismissed the guard. I turned to thank him, but he had already disappeared. Zachariah stared down his nose at me as I sank into a chair in front of him. I felt like I was a small child again, in an uncertain world.
“Now that you are finally here, let me be the first to welcome you to the castle.” The words came out clipped, as though he was forcing himself through a rehearsed speech he didn’t believe in.
Nothing welcoming about it. “I am the regent, and have been since your father’s death.
Someday, if you’re lucky and the crown chooses you, you will run the kingdom. ”
His words sent a chill running down my spine. I guess I knew that a princess was in line for a throne, but me? Run a kingdom?
“Everything you do, from the moment you stepped through those doors last night, reflects on this kingdom. Your successes are the kingdom’s successes. Your failures are the kingdom’s failures. There is a lot riding on you, young lady.”
He paused and I was silent.
“Did Rose teach you nothing about proper behavior? About responding when you’re being asked a question?”
I blinked at the hostility in his voice. “I didn’t hear a question in your statements.” I found my words with a vengeance. “And proper behavior? Who are you to lecture me on proper behavior? I don’t remember you there helping when I was young.”
“Little I could with Rose taking you beyond the Veil.” His voice cracked slightly on her name, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he sounded bitter.
“You really have no idea what it is you’re destined to do, do you?
” He fixed me with a piercing glare. It was strange being on the other end of that expression.
I crossed my arms. “Then enlighten me.”
“It has been foretold that you are the Orlaith, the golden princess, the one with limitless power, the ability to save us all. You shall restore the Veil, restore the protections around this realm that hide us from the forces of darkness. You are the sole protection we have against the rising tide of darkness seeking to destroy the Veil and take our people for its own. Every day, they get stronger. Every day, more and more people die. Dangers lurk everywhere.”
Oh, was that all? My destiny was just to save the kingdom I hadn’t known existed until yesterday? I’ll get right on it.
“You were supposed to be trained. Supposed to be ready. Now you only have a matter of months, if you’re lucky, to prepare when you should have had years. You must start training, and fast.”
Right, training. Because I had powers. Magic. And I had no idea where to start.
“Lord Finnegan Narvene will be responsible for your training.”
I let out my breath in a thankful exhale.
“Study hard, Granddaughter. I will be expecting reports from Lord Narvene on your progress.”
And with that, he turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.
I guessed I was dismissed.
I eased out of the room and into the hallway, having no idea where I was going. I picked a direction at random as words tumbled through my head.
Princess.
Power.
Crown.
Queen.
The weight of destiny, of prophecy, of duty, pressed down on me. I needed air. I needed space.
I finally found a door that opened to the outside, and hurried through it, taking a deep breath of the crisp autumn air. I had stumbled upon the gardens. Most of the flowers had lost their blooms by now, but some of the trees still had their leaves in reds and golds.
The farther I got from the building, the more I was able to breathe. My feet carried me deeper into the grounds. I spotted a covered passageway, ivy climbing the ancient stones, and something about it beckoned to me.
I ended up in a quiet courtyard, with stone walls lining it.
It was overgrown, some of the weeds stretching higher than my head.
There was a small fountain in the center, and some late-blooming flowers struggling between the weeds.
A wooden structure made its way around the courtyard, in front of the stone walls.
Someone had coaxed roses and ivy to cover the planks.
While most of the flowers were dormant, preparing for winter, a few roses still hung on, bright pops of pink and yellow against the brown and gray.
There was a sense of peace here, a rightness.
I slumped onto a stone bench, decently hidden from view, and allowed myself to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
For the first time since arriving here, I felt a moment of peace. I closed my eyes, letting the quiet surround me and calm the churning thoughts of fate and change.
“I see you found the Rhosyn Garden.”
I should have been startled, but somehow, Griff’s voice felt like a natural part of this sanctuary. Rather than feeling miffed my solitude was at an end, I felt relieved as I opened my eyes to see him leaning against the stone entryway, hands in his pockets.
“It looks like it was magical once,” I said softly.
He made his way over, his footsteps muffled on the cobbled path, and sat next to me. “I understand that the former queen used to love tending to the plants here. It was her sanctuary away from the chaos.”