A Collection of Short Stories

The Revelry 2

I watch from my daises as my subjects dance, celebrating my brother. Today's his coronation. I should be happy for him.

But I'm absolutely miserable.

I was born first. I have every right to the throne. But since I'm a woman, that right was taken from me. My brother, however much of an imbecile he may be, is now the ruler.

King Edmund of Maylon.

Despicable.

My eyes drift across the room, locking onto a pair of grey ones that I've seen so many times before. Fear runs down my spine as I watch the new King of Virac, Ryle, make his way through the crowd. I make myself keep still as he approaches.

Virac is a violent and greedy empire. They've been trying to take Maylon and it's surrounding countries for as long as I can remember. Because of this, my mother and father had the fiercest warriors train me to fight. Which is why I'm holding my ground as Ryle gets closer and closer. When he gets too close my guards stop him.

"Let His Majesty through," I say as I stand up.

"Your Highness, I'm not sure-"

"Let him through," I interrupt, my irritation entering my voice.

They step to the side and Ryle walks up.

"I'm sorry for your loss, King Ryle."

He clasps his hands behind his back, "Thank you, Princess Wren, but my father got what was coming to him."

"Mmm," I hum. I can't outright agree with him but lying to him doesn't seem right either.

He stares at me with those grey eyes that I should've recognized the second he walked into that revelry.

"I have a question," He says, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

I fight to keep my anger down. What game is he playing?

"I can't promise an answer."

He lets out a chuckle before stepping closer, "How badly do you want to kill you brother?"

I step back, appalled, "Excuse me?"

"Well, I've been watching you, Your Highness," He says, making his voice quieter, "You're very good at putting on a polite smile but every now and then... It slips."

I take a deep breath, "You are making a very serious accusation, Your Majesty, and I don't appreciate it. I love my brother, he's been working towards this his whole life."

He tilts his head a little, "So you're overjoyed on this occasion?"

"Of course I am," I snip, lying through my teeth.

He grins, looking like he accomplished something.

"What?"

"You know," He starts, stepping closer so that his face is incredibly close to mine, my guards turning to face us. He lowers his voice so only I can hear him, "You never lied to me that night."

My heart begins to race, "What're you talking about? What night?"

"You just evaded my questions," He continues, ignoring me, "So I didn't know what it looked like when you lied, until now."

I let out a breath to keep the anger out of my voice, "Your Majesty," He tilts head more, acting like he truly cares about what I'm going to say, "I don't have any clue what you're referring to."

"Mhm," He says, mocking me at this point.

"And I'm going to ask you to leave. You have insulted me and my family and I don't take kindly to that."