The Many Crowns of Saniya

The letter

This chapter is in the POV of: Saniya

As I stepped out of the battle simulator I was greeted by Manish. He's been my personal guard since he completed his training and was certified to be a guard a year ago. Since then he hasn't really left my side. He acts more as a companion or personal trainer lately since I haven't been able to leave the academy very much.

As we walked down the corridor towards the dorms he hands me an letter addressed to me from the queen.

"What's this?"

"You know as much as I do. If I had tried to open it I'd be committing treason you know"

He was always a little on the snarky side. He attended the academy as well and was three years ahead of me. I've seen just how powerful and strong he can be. He's perfectly capable of being a great guard, I suppose he still views me as a child he's taken under his wing rather than a royal he's assigned to. 

As we neared my dorm he slowed his pace. His job was to stand guard outside, never enter.

"I'm curious, is it something I'm allowed to know?" He asks in a tone I feel particularly comforted by.

"I trust you" I replied.

I glanced around to see if anyone was in the hall. Convinced we were alone I opened the letter and began to read.

"Dear princess Saniya,

You are cordially invited to this years spring formal. I believe this would be a great opportunity to make your debut into society. As I'm sure you know nobles from all over the country will be there. This would be a great opportunity to arrange a match for you."

My heart sunk.

"The theme is Blissful Blossoming. Perfectly suited for your debut. I look forward to hearing from you then.

~ Your Queen, Yin."

Manish looked surprised.
"I didn't realize she had the power to set up your engagement. You're a foreign princess"

"I suppose she does. I'm under her care as long as I'm in the academy and my parents had given her the power to make decisions about me since I would eventually become a reflection on her country..I'm just so confused. If I set up a match now what will become of my education? Will I still be able to get certified to be a spy? Will all of this have been for nothing?!"

"You're spiraling" Manish said, rolling his eyes.

"The queen receives weekly reports about your education and training. She's know you're incredibly talented and would make a great asset on her spy force. She's not going to want to lose that. Now go inside and start figuring out what you're going to wear. The formal is next week and I can count on my one hand the amount of times I've seen you in a dress this year"

He really doesn't see me as a princess and his commander.

As a walk into my dorm and start heading for my closet I started thinking about this last yeah and if his comment about me barely wearing dresses had any truth to it. While he gets under my skin sometimes I admit sometimes it's nice being around someone who isn't afraid to talk to me like a normal person. Malai of course also does, but lately as she's been taking more courses on addressing royalty for guard certification I can't help but feel she's a little less direct with me. Perhaps I should get her opinion on what to wear to the formal.

Just as I was thinking to go find her I hear knocking on my door

"Manish who is it?" I yell.

"Malai is here to see you princess!"

I open the door and see Malai standing behind Manish with a subtle grin.

"Your highness, may I be allowed in?"

I do my best to hide the temptation to roll my eyes.

"Malai you're my best friend there really is no need for formalities. Come in"

As Manish shuts the door Malai noticed the letter laying on the dresser and my open closet. Following her gaze I started to walk back over to my closet.

"The queen has invited me to her spring formal. She thinks now is a good time to make my formal debut into society."

"That's a huge step for you! Congratulations"

"Thank you Malai but I haven't been to one of these formals. I'm not sure what to wear."

I wanted so badly to tell her of my concerns about my career, but I figured Manish is probably right and I'm worrying over nothing. There's no guarantee I'd find a match anyway.

Malai and I spent the next hour digging through my closet before we found a ball gown I had nearly forgotten about. I'm not sure how well it fit the theme but it sure was beautiful. A black corset top with off the shoulder lace sleeves along with a floor length black and purple ombré skirt. The skirt was adorned with strings of pearls my mother had sent me as gift. The lace sleeves looked like they were vines wrapping around my shoulder. If you were to look down on me, the pearls almost created an outline of lily. Of course we lived in what used to be the shadow kingdom, so hopefully wearing black to a formal wouldn't be an issue.

I still had to accessorize the dress, but by now Malai and I were ready to get some lunch. I'm sure Manish would be hungry too.