Descendants of the Kings (Book 2)

Ch 4: Welcome back

POV change! Heads up to avoid confusion

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Minna had only seen the Royal Palace of Rhothomir once, when she was a little girl.

It was in an oil painting her aunt Cecile had, showing the enormous castle. She could still remember it because her brother, Brandon, had said that it had too many gardens and not enough hunting grounds. But Mair, on the other hand, had gone quiet. She'd stared at the painting with big, wondrous eyes and whispered that she loved it. Mair never said she liked anything, let alone loved, so Minna had been curious.

"Can anyone live there?" she'd asked, tugging on her aunt's skirts. "Like Mairy? Could she live there?"

"Be quiet, Minna," Mair sentenced, giving her a stern glower, as if she'd been offended by Minna asking.

Brandon had thought it was hilarious, uproariously laughing until Mair was scarlet red and fuming. "Of course not, you ninny. That's where the King lives," Brandon had mocked. "Why would Mairy live there? She's no royal lady."

"Children, settle down," their aunt had admonished. "Yes, Brandon, that's where the King lives. But," she'd added, a conspiratorial grin on her lips. "Every King needs a Queen." And with that, she winked at both young girls.

Mair had gone blank for a moment, ignoring Brandon's teasing guffaws and japes that no King would ever consider her. Then, she'd done something she never did. She smiled. A strange, determined sort of twitch. For the rest of their stay at their aunt's house, she'd spent her time staring at that painting.

Minna had never forgotten that expression. She'd been young then, but she'd later come to know that what Mair wanted, Mair always got. So it didn't come as that much of a surprise when she received a letter from her estranged sister, asking, no, demanding Minna come to visit. Mair was betrothed to King Ironspear, and she was soon to become Queen.

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The Royal Palace looked just like that oil painting, maybe even more intimidating. Even back then, Minna had thought it was pretty, but too imposing. Rather than a castle, the Royal Estate was a place so gargantuan, that it had to be travelled by carriage. A small city, dripping in luxury, all for the King.

The Queen's Hall, a detached castle away from the main estate, was no exception. Everything in it screamed wealth. Especially the sitting room Minna had been led to. With its colossal pink-wallpapered walls, crystal chandeliers and golden furnishings, Minna felt like a fish out of water.

Despite having grown up as a noblewoman, the daughter of an Earl, she had rarely left the estate. She'd been a bit of an odd girl, never quite good at following etiquette, so her father had thought it best if she stayed behind when visitors came or when the family went out. In turn, Minna had grown up isolated and lonely, with only a few staff members to befriend. It was perhaps this that led her to the forest, where she'd met Seren. The beginning of everything.

Faerie, her home with Callan. Her fairytale house with her fairytale King, with its gloomy towers and spires, thick forests and raging sea. She thought of the squishy armchairs and mismatched pillows. The colourful knit quilt on their bed. The flower gardens she tended and the wild grass they had picnics on. The magical statues Callan hated but still kept because she loved them. It might have been a grand castle, but it was also a home. Her place in the world, with her friends and family, where she had the best of her memories.

A wave of homesickness hit her, and she squirmed in her seat. Minna's spine ached from sitting ramrod straight, pretending she had proper posture. The seat was so stiff and luxurious, she couldn't have slouched even if she'd wanted to.