Elesia woke to sunshine filling her bedroom and a soft breeze whipping the curtain sheers around the window. The scent of rain kissed grass filled her bedroom. She slowly rubbed her eyes and blinked the world into focus noticing that the chair was still jammed under the doorknob. Who opened the windows ? She wondered. Her inquiry was answered when the hidden door that led to the servants corridors open and Miss Margaret (better known as Maggie) walked in with a breakfast tray in hand and placed it on the bench at the foot of her bed.
Elesia fell back into her covers while the tantalizing smell of porridge with honey and brown sugar tickled her nostrils. Her stomach rumbled in response, begging to be fed.
"That was quite the spectacle in the advisors hall."
Elesia let out a grunt that was punctuated with her yanking the covers over her head.
"Oh that's all I get is it ?" Maggie queried, yanking the covers back.
"Now get up before your breakfast gets cold."
This time Elesia sat up and made her way to the end of the bed, eyeing her childhood governess warily awaiting the lecture she was sure she'd be receiving.
"Tell me what happened" she commanded softly as she sat down next to Elesia.
"You know what happened."
"No" she said with a small chuckle, "I know what the guards said when they came back down stairs, out of breathe and with red noses from running into your door."
A smile tugged at the corners of Elesia's mouth. That was quite the funny mental picture and quite possibly the only good thing to come from yesterday.
She took a big breathe, "they were being horrible, they called me mute, and ugly, and said I was a burden and I hardly had a chance to speak."
"I'm surprised they let you speak at all."
"Well it wasn't the counselors, it was actually someone I didn't recognize"
"Really? A stranger? They weren't introduced ?"
"No, but it was the strangest thing, he defended me. In the midst of all of their judgments, he defended me." The next part came as a whisper, " and I didn't even catch his name."
Maggie must have no heard the last bit as she beckoned her with a wave from across the room.
"Come sit, we need to get you dressed, your father has called you to his study."
Elesia made her way to her vanity and sat and allowed Maggie to play with and style her hair. She allowed herself to drift into a relaxed state to help combat the bundle of nerves that were sure to plague her meeting with her father.
"And there, all done." Maggie had finished all too quickly and left two braids coiled into a bun at the nape of her neck and small tendrils framed her face in her wake. The chestnut braids were secured with a walnut comb, intricately carved with images of flowers. It had been her mother's and one of the few possessions Elesia had of hers. Maggie had put her in a deep Green Day dress with three-quarters sleeves and matching slippers. She stood staring at her vanity mirror, studying her reflection, as the only mother figure she had ever known came and rested her hands on her shoulders. Elesia brought her eyes to meet the blue eyes that stared back at her reflection. "Do you know what he wants to discuss?"
"I'd imagine he wants to discuss your actions from the counsel meeting."
Elesia dropped her head, and released a long breathe. Turning to face her companion she managed a weak smile, "say a prayer for me would you?"
Dropping a kiss to Elesia's forehead, the older woman said "Grace be with you my dear."
Elesia made her way over to the door and removed the chair from its post under the handle. She braced her shoulders as the door echoed a click, shutting behind her as she made her way to her fathers study.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elesia made her way from her bedroom, which resided on the fourth floor down to her fathers study which was located on the second. When she arrived there were two guards guarding the darkly stained oak door that stood looming over her. It wasn't often that she was summoned to her father study. Come to think of it, it was only when she was in trouble. They typically met in the library, since it was one of the few places she felt she had a father and not just a king. She raised a fist to knock on the door and softly tapped. The door soon swung open to reveal a stoic faced king Dominic. He gestured for his only child to enter and shut the door behind her.
The king began to speak, "Elesia..."
"I'm sorry." The king looked taken aback, stunned at the words that had just come out of his daughters mouth. "I'm sorry that I ran out of the court room, it was disrespectful to you and rude to our guests. Can you forgive me?"
Dominic looked at his child, her head hung, eyes refusing to meet his, "of course I forgive you, but it can't happen again."
"I know."
"I didn't want to do that to you you know. I remember just how horrible those counselors can be."
Her eyes lifted to meet his, "then why make me?"
"Because it is out of my hands"
Elesia's head cocked to the side and her brown eyes filled with inquisition. "What do you mean it's out of your hands? I don't see how why the providential counselors should have any say in who is and isn't a suitor for me, they should be worried about their own princesses." She now stood with her arms crossed, staring into her fathers eyes.
"It's not that simple, your future was decided for you before you were even born."
Contemplating her fathers cryptic response, Elesia ventured, "What do you mean?"
"It's time you knew about the treaty. Let's take a walk to the library shall we?" He said as extended his arm. Elesia accepted it and they made their way to the castle library in silence. Once there, the king rang for a servant to come build a fire and they were left in peace, each claiming a plush chair fixated in front of the crackling flames.
"As you know, our kingdom is comprised of four providences: Lucein Altis, Dimidium Toitos, Imprudentia Mendacium, and Axiom Veroncia. The four providences were created by my grandfather to divide the work of the kingdom between his four children and eventually their four eldest. While the rulers of each Providence didn't always see eye to eye they maintained a mutual respect for one another and kept peaceful relations. That was my fathers generation, when your grandfather passed, the three remaining providential rulers chose to step down and pass on the mantle to the next generation, hoping to create a seamless transition. The eldest children of the providential rulers took to the throne."
"That's when you became king?"
"Yes, For the first few months everything operated as it should have. Harvest were bountiful, the economy was booming due to open trade, and the infrastructure of the providences improved greatly. The kingdom flourished and everyone seemed content and blissful. That was until the providential rulers decided to elect a grand king, the king to rule all of the providences."
Elesia's eyes were fixated on her father, hypnotized by his story. He continued on "you see, Malachi, felt that he should be king, because he was the oldest and thought himself to be the wisest, but the other rulers chose me instead. My cousin felt slighted, and disrespected and he was furious."
Elesia interjected, "That seems like a silly reason to get mad, a true ruler wants what's best for the people even if that's not himself."
"Such wise words my daughter. Nevertheless, he led his people to irritate and attack their allies to the north creating conflicts at the border of Prevaricatia.
I demanded that he stop and he resisted. This escalated things because he thought I had disrespected him publicly. The people of Lucein Altis continued to sew chaos by turning its efforts towards Axiom Veroncia and our sister providences creating strife amongst the family. Small skirmishes happened routinely and they were dealt with as quietly as possible but it wouldn't be long until we couldn't contain the conflict. Cousin Malachi decided that he wouldn't simply antagonize Prevaricatia, he wanted to conquer it and expand his province and was willing to do so by any means necessary.We urged him to reconsider, pleading and begging that he would be endangering all of the provinces. Our pleas were met with indifference. Prevaricatia placed responsibility for Malachis attacks on me since I had been elected grand king. The king of Prevaricatia was not so unreasonable and agreed to provide aid and secure our borders and in exchange for a treaty between them and the remaining provinces. The treaty was made on the promise of a union between a son of Prevaricatia and a daughter of Axiom Veroncia to strengthen the bonds between the two kingdoms."
Elesia sat in silence, staring into the abyss of the fireplace. The flames, dancing , shown in her eyes as she contemplated her future. She thought about the conflict inflicted upon her home and how senseless it all was. She could see how the treaty may have been considered wise, but she resented it. Resented her role in the narrative that was already written. It wasn't fair.
King Dominic watched his child struggle internally. Watching emotions dance across her face. Anger, sadness, bitterness, a brief flash of acceptance then and resentment. Oh how he prayed that those feelings were reserved for anyone but him. The treaty was one the one decision he had come to regret during his reign. He had thought it wise but didn't know how much pain that treaty would cause him years later. He now stood to lose his daughter, his only daughter, to the stupidity of someone he once considered a brother. He was angry, angry at his grandfather for dividing the kingdom, angry at himself for creating the treaty, and angry at Malachi for forcing his hand.
Dominic thought of his sweet daughter. What a wonderful soul she was. She was kind and compassionate and her beautiful soul made her even more striking than her stunning features. She would make a wonderful queen some day. If only she could survive the war heading her way.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a scrape of the chair on the floor as Elesia stood up abruptly.
"May I be excused?" He nodded and she left the library leaving him alone with his thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elesia needed time to herself to collect her thoughts. She abandoned the original course for her bedroom and made her way down the hall, past the multitude of doors leading to additional bedrooms to the main staircase. She thoughtlessly let her feet guide her down the stairs to the grand foyer, through the dining room, and into the kitchen, past the maids and chef beginning to prepare the evening meal. She felt the cool metal of the brass doorknob leaving her fingertips as she released the door and stepped onto the cobblestone path that led her towards the garden. Sweet aromas enveloped her as she followed the path, her hem collecting the raindrops that had fallen that morning. Elesia allowed herself to stop, taking in the sights of the lush green lawn and the new buds beginning to unfurl their petals on the rose bushes. She watched as a layer of fog settled over the rows of flora. The garden seemed to mirror her own clouded thoughts, she marveled. A series of twists and turns later, Elesia found herself facing what was once the palace greenhouse. She had been told it was her mother's favorite place among the grounds. Now, the structure had been turned into a hut of sorts. Riddled with makeshift furniture and out of date furnishings from the palace, it painted a cozy picture nestled in a small grove at the far edge of the garden. Tilting her head toward the sky, Elesia closed her eyes allowing the mist hanging in the air to tingle against her skin. She felt the wind dancing through her chestnut locks, as the insects played their symphony. It was.... serene, perhaps the first moment of true peace she had felt since she had been summoned before the royal advisors two days prior. A twig snapped, whipping her head toward the noise, she came face to face with a pair of startling blue eyes.
"Hello..."
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Hey guys!
I hope you're enjoying the book so far! As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated!💛
I'm excited for the next few chapters as this where the story will start to pick up more and hopefully you'll have slightly longer chapters to look forward to 😉
Classes start back up next week and I'm so excited y'all!
I hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to seeing y'all in the next chapter!
~Madi
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Addendum:
AdventureEveryone has a history, a tale of where they come from. Whether it's folklore told around a campfire or a sea shanty sung into a salty breeze, or an account read from a history book. Everyone wants to know who and what they came from. Most can reco...
