Chapter Ten #2
“I have some news to share with you and wanted to do it in private. I would prefer your father be here, but I suspect this time is as good as any.” The queen paused for a moment to make sure that she had their attention.
Then she turned to her daughter and continued.
“Rianne, your father has received a proposal for your hand in marriage from King Carneath.”
“King Carneath?” Rianne asked.
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. I didn’t think King Carneath had a son.”
“He doesn’t,” Tristan said, frowning. He realized immediately what his sister had yet to understand.
“Then, who am I supposed to mar—” She stopped, finally grasping what her mother was trying to say. “You mean him. The king? Don’t you?”
“I do,” her mother replied.
“But Carneath is almost twice my age! Father would never consider such a proposal.” Rianne was sure of it.
“He is considering it.”
“That simply cannot be true! What does he want with a new wife anyway? His first wife had given him several daughters before she died, right?”
“Three of them,” Tristan answered.
“Precisely!” Rianne cried. “Why would he need to remarry?”
“I suppose he wants a son,” Isabelle said, her voice calm. “Or perhaps he is lonely. It is also possible he wants a mother for his children. Honestly, that is something I cannot answer.”
“Mother to his children? I am only a few years older than those children, myself!”
“I find it hard to believe Father would consider this proposal either,” Tristan said, confused. “What could we possibly gain from the arrangement?”
“I have yet to be informed of the details,” his mother replied, “but I gather it involves acreage of Carneath land to the north, to expand our orchards.”
“Orchards?” Rianne balked. “Is that all my future is worth? A few acres of land to plant more trees? We already have more trees than people in this wretched place!”
“Rianne,” her mother warned. “Your tone is unwelcomed at my table.”
“My tone? What about my happiness? Is that unwelcomed too?”
Unable to control her emotions, Rianne stood and excused herself. She turned away from her mother and walked quickly back into the castle. She made it all the way to her chambers before Tristan caught up with her. He found her curled up on the window seat, crying.
“Go away!” she barked through her tears.
“I know it may not seem like it right now, but everything will be alright.”
“Is that supposed to comfort her?” Xavier said, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
“What am I supposed to say?” Tristan said, standing beside the bedpost. “If Father approves the proposal, there is nothing anyone can do about it.”
Xavier shook his head at his brother and sat beside Rianne, who crawled over to cry on his arm.
“It isn’t fair.” Rianne sniffled. “Tristan is to marry a princess who is young and beautiful. The same age as I am, even. And I have to marry an old man!”
“For all we know, Tristan’s princess may be ugly,” Xavier teased. “With a pig nose and warts all over. Hell, he hasn’t seen her since she was a baby. She could be a real hag of a lady.”
“True.” Rianne sat up, chuckling. Her light brown hair that had been pinned atop her head was now falling down and her porcelain skin was red from crying.
“I probably won’t even get to see her if I’m married before their wedding.
This is ridiculous! There are plenty of eligible women in the realm.
Junacave, Moorine, Veyace. Why doesn’t he marry one of them? Why me?”
“The Princess of Junacave just became the queen, so she is no longer a prospect, I suspect,” Tristan said, considering the question.
“Moorine is on the other side of the Valerian Mountains, so Carneath land would be of no use to them. And the daughters in Veyace are still quite young.” He looked up to see his brother and sister both scowling at him.
“There is always a chance our Father could refuse. Is that better?”
“I appreciate your concern. Really,” Rianne said before they could begin to argue. “But I just want to be alone for a while.”
When the door shut a moment later, Rianne picked up a small blue pillow and threw it across the room.
Throwing something didn’t satisfy her angry mood like she’d hoped it would.
Her entire life could change in an instant if her father approved the proposal.
She’d known this day would eventually come, but she had held out hope that her father would be more considerate of who he selected for her.
She didn’t expect to marry for love. Some kings allowed suitors to visit their daughters, letting them have a choice in who they married, but she knew that King Nolan wasn’t one of those fathers. He was strict about following tradition and since Labara was such an old kingdom, the customs ran deep.
She could try to convince her father to refuse the proposal.
She had been able to work her charm on him in many instances in the past, but those times had been in pursuit of new clothes or baubles.
This wasn’t a new gown or a trinket. He wouldn’t be swayed as easily.
And what if she failed? What if her father had already agreed?
There were only two options for her now. Either she become used to the idea of waking up next to a man whom she could never love or she take her future into her own hands.
Rianne stood up and walked over to her mirror. Her hair was a disaster. She grabbed a comb from her vanity and ran it through her light brown tangles. Then she sat the comb down and picked up a green ribbon, just slightly darker than her gown, and used it to tie her hair behind her.
Feeling presentable, she took a deep breath and walked over to the door. The seamstress would surely be waiting for her by now and she knew that she had to continue her day as if nothing was wrong.
For now.
~*~
Xavier mounted his saddle just as Tristan rode into the courtyard.
“I see we had the same idea,” Tristan said, pulling his horse alongside his brother’s.
“Apparently so.”
Xavier followed Tristan through the gate, and they both turned to take the trail to the meadows. Ever since their youth, it had been their favorite place to ride. They came to a trot and crossed the stone bridge over the creek and into a field sprinkled with wildflowers.
In no time at all, they were galloping across the meadow and over the first hill, then the next.
They rode through a large portion of their kingdom’s land, slowing only to greet some of the residents, as the sun burned overhead and started down the other side of the sky. Then they turned back toward home.
Tristan closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. The warm sunlight on his skin and the slightly cool breeze on his face was glorious. He could smell the leather from the reins in his gloved hands. He didn’t even mind that the wind was muddling up his usually perfectly groomed brown hair.
This was the only time that he really felt free. Free from the constraints of being a prince. Free from the duties and responsibilities that came with it. And free from the constant observing eyes of the public. He could forget about everything and just ride.
He opened his eyes and took in the view.
The trees were sprouting bright green leaves and blossoms. Early spring in Everealm was really a miraculous sight.
He knew that if they had continued east, beyond Labara, they would eventually find the large rolling hills that surrounded Junacave.
Those hills would be covered with sheep or plots of farmland.
If they turned south, they would need to ride for many days to reach the coast of the Sea of Sovereign.
Riding west, they would have to cross the Jade River, which separated east Everealm from the west. Veyace and Zezura were two of the kingdoms on the other side, where grass became sand.
And if they turned north, they would run into Carneath or Cornithia before reaching the Valerian Mountains.
Sometimes it was tempting to simply turn in one direction and keep riding without looking back.
But he knew that running from your problems rarely solved them.
So Tristan would return to the castle and continue to be the perfect son, the perfect prince, and soon—the perfect husband.
Whatever his parents and his kingdom demanded of him.
Tristan looked over when Xavier pulled alongside with a smirk on his face.
Without saying a word, the two of them set off racing across the meadows.
Xavier stayed ahead until they reached the creek, then Tristan pulled past him.
Set for victory, he crossed the bridge and was about to shout in celebration but stopped short.
Smoke was on the horizon. Tristan turned to call out but Xavier had already seen it.
Together, they sped to the north side of the castle, where the dark clouds were billowing into the sky.
The southeast corner of the orchard was on fire.
But as they closed in, they came face-to-face with something they had never seen in their lives.
The fire was blue.