Tracked: A Valkyrie Saga Book 2

Chapter 11 - Political Waters

I had given up all notions of ever really playing a major role in this family or our Kingdom a long time ago. As the youngest son of seven with two sisters, not even my all-powerful mother could arrange a deal to marry me off to one of the elusive princesses of the world. And honestly, I was okay with that. I loved it here in New York City and really didn't want to have to move to go live in a country I didn't know. Plus, being the youngest meant that there were a whole lot fewer expectations of me and I was granted more freedom to do what I wanted to do, instead of what duty demanded of me.

That didn't mean that I didn't yearn for the touch of a female Valkyrie, and unlike the vast majority of our kind I had grown up with a loving mother and playful sisters. I mourned that my children would never know that kind of love and always carried around a gaping hole that I can only assume is where a female would fit into my life. Don't get me wrong, I was beyond happy for my two brothers that are blessed with having wives, but when my mother told me of an unattached female who was recently discovered in the West, I knew that I had to meet this Delia Ray Olsen.

--Ethan Deveroe, Prince of the Americas Northeast Kingdom

The next morning I was enjoying my second cup of coffee made from my own coffee maker after taking a ridiculously long shower when there was a knock at the front door. I checked the peephole and saw that both Mathis and Sean were standing on the porch and I opened the door to let them in. After getting them each a cup of coffee we settled into the dining room and they explained how this whole homeschooling thing was going to work.

First I was going to work with Elijah and or Mathis in the morning learning about Valkyrie history, government, and politics that they deemed most important for me to know. Then I would have a couple of training sessions in the afternoon that would rotate with all of my Gifts. Because of Elijah's extensive library and the Oakland's Clan training areas, all of this would occur at the Oakland Clan House.

However, today would be different. Today, I was to get a crash course on everything I needed to know for the dinner with the royals tonight. And the kicker was, while tonight was supposed to just be a small dinner so that the Collins' Royal Line could get to know me and formally apologize for the whole Kaiden trying to stab me thing, Friday was the start of Regina's Matching. Apparently, I was required to attend the entire week-long event.

Sean and Mathis spent the first couple hours of the morning telling me of dozens of different ways that I could offend the royals, while also reminding me that I held a unique level of power and autonomy because I had five Gifts and wasn't aligned with any royal family. This meant that if I got into trouble I wouldn't have the resources backing me up to stand up to the Collinses, but they also were going to go out of their way to win me over and would let a lot of what I did or said slide. The entire lecture seemed very hypocritical and made my head hurt. In the end, I understood that the bottom line was to try to be on my best behavior and act politically, but not to let anyone walk over me.

When I asked about the Matching, they told me that all important Valkyries within the Americas West Kingdom would be there plus almost most royal families around the world would send a small contingent of age appropriate princes or powerful people of authority. These kinds of events weren't just to celebrate the young female coming of age and forging an alliance between two kingdoms but were also used as political summits. Lots of different important conversations and deals would take place over the week-long event. Friday night was the kickoff ball for Regina's Matching. I had to learn how to ballroom dance before then and I also needed to be fitted for a ball gown.

I balked at the idea of a real-life ball and told them that I wasn't Cinderella and they were most certainly not my fairy godmother. But then Mathis gave me another lecture about keeping an open mind and how these events were an important part of Valkyrie tradition that I should be proud to be included in. I caved pretty quickly under the pressure of his possible disappointment.