Tears of Queens

16 - Tala

"What the hell is she talking about? Prepare for the coronation? We literally just got here!" I yelled as I slammed my bedroom door, throwing myself onto my bed.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean right now, she's probably just saying we should, like, get ready to get ready," Wyatt offered from his perch on the couch. I lifted my head to give him the most disapproving look I could muster. "Sorry, sorry!" he lifted his hands in surrender and shrunk into the back of the couch. I fished my phone out of my pocket and stared at the black screen.

"I wanna go back home. Not forever, obviously, I really like it here, but just for like, a few days. To say goodbye, you know?" I said longingly, unlocking my phone and finding the most recent video of Wyatt's and my duo. I felt the boys come and lay next to me, watching the video with me.

"Tala, you in here?" I heard Leila's voice from the other side of the door. I groaned and sat up, pausing the video.

"Yeah, come in," I called out. The door slowly creaked open and Leila stepped inside, clipboard in hand. "What is it now?" I asked, not wanting to deal with anything else today.

"I'm here to start preparations," she gave me a small smile as I glared at her. She was unfazed as she strutted over to us and sat down on the bench at the foot of my bed. "Where's that crown that was in here the other day?"

"I dunno, I think I put it in the closet or something," I shrugged.

"Leo, could you fetch that for me, please?" She turned to face me as Leo got up and went into the closet. "So, about the coronation," she began listing off stuff about the ceremony, stuff I didn't care about in the absolute slightest, like decorations and color coordination, as Leo returned with the gold box containing the tiara. She took the box from him and opened it, removing the crown from its cushion and handing it to me. "Put it on, I want to see."

I hesitantly placed the crown on my head, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. My hair was still blonde.

"I see," she nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard. I peeked over the top of it and saw that she wasn't writing in English, she wrote in the same script I'd been seeing all over the palace.

"What language is that?" I asked, the strange-looking writing piquing my interest.

"Well, in English it'd be called Samaran," she said, "But it's like Farsi, it has a different name when you're speaking it."

"Oh, cool! What is it?"

"It's called Yepesh. You're gonna need to learn it soon,"

"Do we have to learn it too?" Leo chimed in.

"Yes, you all do. It's crucial that the people running the country know the native language." she said pointedly, giving Leo an unamused look and turning back to me.

"Why are we here anyway? Like, why do I have to do this?" I asked, flopping onto my back, head hitting the pillow.

"You were chosen. All three of you." she said, standing up and setting her clipboard down on the bench. "Every time a monarch dies or steps down, the Ashen Spirits search every known realm for the next one. That's how they found you." She paced back and forth in the sitting area.

"The what?" I chuckled.

"The Ashen Spirits. You know, that big, black, hooded thing that brought you guys here,"

"I thought that thing was trying to kill us!" Wyatt exclaimed, sitting up on my bed.

"That's a common misconception. They're really harmless, they only look scary,"

"Wait, then why did it bring all of us instead of just Tala? I mean, it's not like we're the ones running the whole place." Leo cocked his head to the side in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Good question. That's because..." her words trailed off, "I actually don't know. Leo I get, we've needed a new Head of Guard for a while, but... wait... I think the Spirits want to replace me," she stood abruptly, marching to the door. "I'll be back later!" was all we heard as she slammed the door behind her. I shared a look with the boys and we all burst out laughing.

"I wonder why," Leo chuckled, standing up and pacing around the room.

"Where the hell did she go?" I wondered, sitting up.

"To talk to the Ashen Spirits, of course!" Wyatt mocked Leila's British accent, standing up and engaging Leo in a badly-executed waltz. "She's off to see the Spirits, the wonderful Spirits of Oz!" he sang as he and Leo twirled around the room, laughing.