The Heart of a Wielder (Book One of The Wielders Trilogy) ✔️

Chapter Nineteen

Maren was having a very pleasant, very normal day—or at least whatever normal meant when you lived in the palace pretending to be the Crown Prince's mistress. She had a quiet breakfast in her rooms and then took Snowdrop out for a ride. She ate lunch in the fields with her, rolls and cheese for Maren, and apples for them both.  Then, in the afternoon, she spent some time helping in the nursery. She was walking back to her rooms to change for dinner (there had been an incident in the nursery involving paint) and would be having what should be a pleasant and uneventful dinner with the Prince and Alec.

"Best birthday ever," she remarked quietly to herself.

And she meant it. Every year her parents insisted on having a "normal" celebration for her, and she went along with it because she loved them, but would have rather spent the day doing anything else.

It wasn't that she didn't like birthdays, she just didn't like hers. It never felt like something to celebrate.

But in the palace, no one even knew it was her birthday. Not a single person had wished her a happy birthday. There would be no cake, no party, and no birthday celebration whatsoever. It was perfect.

When she arrived at her rooms, she found a note on her door. It was from the Prince.

Lady Maren,

As the weather is fine, Alec and I decided to take dinner on the South Terrace. Please join us at your earliest convenience.

Donovan

Maren changed into a gown for dinner, choosing a dark blue silk gown with a long full skirt and short sleeves. She paused to look in the mirror and tuck a few stray hairs back in place. She touched her grandmother's gold necklace that lay on her chest above the top of her dress, as she often did, and set off for the South Terrace.

The South Terrace overlooked the gardens and was a lovely place to have dinner. You could see most of the gardens and into the surrounding woods, and there was almost always a pleasant breeze. Maren was quite pleased with the turn of events and nodded politely to the servant who opened the large glass door for her.

When she first stepped onto the terrace, she saw no sign of Alec or the Prince or dinner. Then she turned to her right and -

"SURPRISE!"

Maren jumped and had to actively resist firing the Light from her hands.

"Oh!" she exclaimed instead.

At least a quarter of the Court had assembled on the terrace. All the ladies and the young men, and even the King and Queen. Prince Donovan was at the front of the crowd and began walking towards her.

"Happy Birthday!" he said, grinning broadly. He took her hands and kissed her cheek in greeting.

"Thank you!" Maren said as much exuberance as she could muster. "This is...this is..."

"And I'm sure you thought no one knew it was your birthday!" the Prince teased.

"I certainly did!" Maren replied, trying to match his enthusiasm.

Maren looked around. A small band of musicians had begun playing, and servants were walking through the crowd with trays of refreshments and sparkling wine. Fortunately, almost everyone had begun chatting among themselves.

"Come, let's say hello to everyone," Prince Donovan said, offering her his arm.

First, they had to pay their respects to the King and Queen, of course. Maren curtsied to them, but was surprised when the Queen took her hands and kissed her on both cheeks in greeting.