Rose's Thorns: The Wolf's Prophecy

18

Josephine's POV

Josephine had been pacing her room since nightfall, so it came as a shock to her when she looked up through her window and saw the pink clouds that indicated sunrise. She had been up all night thinking, as she often was, about what her father had told her about the increased talks of war. She shuddered at the thought, not only for the fear of battle, but the fear of losing her family. Furthermore, she did not know what to do. She hated not knowing what to do. Where to go next. Who to speak to next? How to avoid such a train wreck at all. She was supposed to be a leader, but what good was a leader in a state of war and chaos? What good was a leader if they could not lead a kingdom away from mayhem and death? She had spent years knowing exactly what she needed to accomplish, but nobody had prepared her for this. No workbooks, no teachers, no guides had told her about the difficult decisions she might be faced with. She was grateful, at least, that the burden did not fall entirely on her shoulders. She had had a meeting with her father's advisor, Jake, and asked him what he thought of this, and he had said,

"The best way to approach the unknown is to be completely prepared." What kind of advice was that? How could you prepare for anything when you do not know what you are preparing for? She had gone to her father, who had stated that finding the enemy before they found us would be of more help than waiting for the snake to attack. She wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"We need to find where the threat is coming from, so isolating ourselves won't do us any good." She had told him. He had nodded as he stroked his phoenix's golden head and thought hard.

"We would need a way to access the kingdoms, without making obvious our plans."

That had given her more to go on than anybody else had, with these ideas, she had rushed to her room, not once noticing the wet floor that seemed to lead to her sister's room. She was now staring out the window, admiring the sharp pinks and oranges of the rising sun. She owned a dress that color. The color of the fiery clouds as the sun met them in the sky. A beautiful dress made for dancing the night away. She shook her head as she caught her mind wandering. She needed to rest. The idea of dancing while the stability of Tobias hung in the balance was crazy. She stopped mid-step. Crazy, but then again, most good plans are. She rushed off to tell her father her newly hatched plan.

"Think of this father, what is the one thing that everyone in Tobias would gather for? Everyone's faces would be seen, and everyone's words would be heard." She smiled to herself. She was a genius. Her father looked at her as the sleep drained from his face. He had just woken up, and though she was sorry for interrupting, she felt it was important he knew. Aris yawned and scratched his head, then pulled his robe around him tightly. She knew he was thinking, and he had just woken up, but he was so slow. Then a smile lit up his face and his eyes seemed to grow wider. His sleepiness disappeared and he began to chuckle.

"You've got a queen's head on those shoulders of yours."

So, it was then that it was decided, in the early hours of May 22nd, that the kingdom of Meadow would hold a 7-day event, in honor of the kingdoms of Tobias. Every kingdom in the land would be invited to attend, and living quarters, meals, and entertainment needs would be taken care of. It was also put on the request that attendance was not mandatory, but between Josephine and Aris, the only kingdoms they needed would not pass up a chance to show face.

The invitation read somewhat like this:

Let it be known, that under the rule of King Aris. The Meadow kingdom is announcing a weeklong event, and you are hereby invited to attend. King Aris would like to make known that a maximum of 15 people per kingdom may attend, including but not limited to:

The female and male ruler, the heir, or heiress, additional royal children, the advisor, the advisor's assistant, and the advisor's children.

King Aris and the Crown Josephine of the Meadow Kingdom would also like to let it be known that a limitation of 4 personal servants is allowed by every kingdom present. Living accommodations and any other personal needs will be met thoroughly. The event will be held on July 15th, and we will need your attendance decisions promptly. Please be present at least one day prior to the event. Thank you, and The Meadow hopes to see you soon.

In order to keep their own kingdom happy, however, the king and Josephine knew that the public would need an event to appease any anger or excitement. So, the castle doors would be open beginning June 15th, which happens to be 1 month before the ball. The commoners of the Meadow kingdom would have one month to dine like a royal and roam the halls (not including the restricted sections, of course.) The libraries would be open, the gardens, and the tearooms. It was dubbed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it seemed like nobody could wait the 3 weeks and 3 days for the doors to open.