A Royal Ruse

Chapter 18

Sea Legs 

"You have to go to sleep, Your Highness," Sahali sighed, watching the princess pore over the pages splattered out in front of her.

Zita looked at Sahali with desperation. "I don't see how I can." Zita clutched a tuft of her hair. "How am I expected to remember all of this?"

Sahali offered Zita a sympathetic look as the young princess deflated over the thick pile of papers gathered on her bed. Zita had spent the past two days resting after all the excitement of the Royal Procession. That afternoon she had returned from a stroll with Oziakel to find a dossier with a note attached to it sitting on her bedside table.

Read this in preparation for an official lunch with the Haddonite Naval Fleet tomorrow.

Anxiety immediately knotted in her belly. She grabbed the file and had been feverishly reading until all the letters started swimming on the page. The stack that greeted her that afternoon contained everything she would ever need to know about Sandor. The queen had mentioned before that Zita would have to see to official matters if they were going to properly upkeep their elaborate disguise, but she found the thickness of the files overwhelming. Page after page revealed the splendor of the kingdom that had been thrust upon her against her will.

Sandor's fortunes laid beneath it's surface. It was a land rich with volcanic-related mineral deposits. The ample presence of gold and iron ore had given the kingdom all the raw materials they needed to forge state-of-the-art weaponry and to supply kingdoms far and wide with beautiful jewelry and ornaments. Their resources, combined with their exceptionally well-armed and well-trained military force, would make them a formidable enemy and a coveted ally. This is where Zita's visit came into play. Haddon was looking to 'broker a union' between the two kingdoms and 'inviting their princess to stay as their royal guest' was the first step in their plan.

Reading through the pages of the dossier, Zita had to admit that Haddon and Sandor were a match made in heaven. Haddon was the agricultural and scientific hub of Palendula. It was famous for farming, fishing, and forward-thinking. Haddon was a smaller kingdom in comparison to its Palendulic counterparts and although Haddon had a solid navy and military force, they had been forced to turn to innovative thinking to compensate for their lack of manpower. Sandor lacked land for agricultural purposes, forcing them to rely on neighboring kingdoms for much of their food. Haddon's technological know-how working together with Sandor's armed forces would make them a political powerhouse.

"You have an early day tomorrow, Your Highness. And we both know how you are in the mornings. Let's not make matters worse by not getting a good night's sleep." Sahali walked over to extinguish the last of the candles, making it impossible for Zita's frenzied research to continue.

Zita looked at her maidservant with a racked smile. She gathered up all her papers and placed them on her bedside table. She was not sure what tomorrow entailed but she felt ill-prepared and ill at ease.

As the carriage neared the naval base, Zita could see the hulking vessels hugging the Haddonite coastline. Large structures made of wood and brass stood at attention along the rugged gulf like battle-ready soldiers planted in the deep cerulean of Haddon's seaー which Zita learned the previous night was called Roya. Zita had been silently stewing in her nerves for the entirety of the hour-long trip, no doubt making her a less-than-desirable carriage companion. Not that her carriage companion was incredibly chatty himself.

As Zita made her way out of the palace doors that morning, she was greeted by the sight of Prince Adair rooted next to the royal carriage. Next to him, an entourage of guards fanned out and stood to attention as soon as the princess descended the palace's alabaster steps. The prince bowed his stiff greeting and explained that he was to be her royal companion as his parents were otherwise engaged and that he often saw to official matters in their absence. Zita simply nodded, wrangling her mouth into a polite smile. She was less than thrilled to be accompanied by the prince but was determined to be as pleasant as possible given that the last time they spent the day together, an easily avoidable disaster had ensued. She would not allow her feelings to get the better of her today. No matter what transpired, she had resolved that a pleasant, upward curve would seal her lips.