Frost and Petals

My Training Starts Early (Ch. 9)

After Kari showers and changes, we walk hand in hand to the impromptu court meeting. I'm wearing the starlight silver dress his mother had made for me and the matching crown. He's dressed in Kroqalian Military Regalia—silver accents like the pants and jacket in all of the right places. Even the epaulets look really good. He's also wearing a crown that matches mine. We are a force.

As we enter the cafeteria where this meeting is, since the throne room was all but destroyed, that uncomfortable feeling that made me request this room begins to rise. As these things go on, my parents aren't here yet. I wait at the bottom of the dais, off to the left. Kari stays by my side, his hand refusing to drop mine. Everyone is staring at us, but I'm fixed on the door because Clarissa isn't here yet.

As if my thoughts summoned her, she walks into the doorway, and everyone gasps softly, even Kari and I. She has her golden hair pulled into a long braid she wears over her right shoulder. Golden eyes lined with thick black eyeliner. But the dress is what really stills everyone in the room. It's a full ball gown made of the softest shade of pink I've ever seen. Stitched into the outermost layer of the skirts, it is the symbol for the seer. Over and over and over. There will be no denying who she is now.

Instead of taking her usual place, she continues all the way up to the dais. She stops in front of Kari and me. "Your Graces, if you don't mind, I'd like to stand by you this afternoon. I have something of utmost importance to discuss with His Highness King Ruaridh," she explains with a low curtsy.

"Rise and join us." I lift my hand from Kari's and offer it to her. She takes the spot on my other side, and then the room just stares. But none of us are looking back at them.

Before anyone can think of opening their mouth, Hudson walks into the room. He's wearing slacks that are rumpled and a button-up that is buttoned wrong. Once Hudson is next to Clarissa, she quickly fixes his shirt and pulls out a comb for his hair. He tries to swat her off, but one look from me makes him stand still. She combs his askew gray hair into a more acceptable fashion and then tucks the comb away into her dress again.

The quiet din of casual chatter and gossip has just started when Cillian marches into the room, stops in the middle of the central aisle, and announces, "Rise and greet your monarchs."

The whole room nearly jumps to their feet as my parents appear in the doorway. My mother is a picture of grace in her emerald dress. It fits her body similarly to mine. Her blonde hair and blue eyes might give her away as a non-magic user, but they were my favorite things about her. All at once, the whole room lowers itself into curtsies and bows. We all stay that way as they make their way up the aisle and to the dais. Once seated, my father motioned to Hudson and me to join them. We take our places with me beside our father and him beside our mother.

"You may now rise," he addresses the court. Everyone straightens back up and takes their seats. Kari and Clarissa don't budge from the foot of the dais.

"First thing's first, our country was invaded tonight, right into the heart of our Kingdom. Deep enough into this castle, there were bodies near my daughter's room. We will figure out who gave them the information to get that deep inside because the only reasonable explanation is that we have a spy." His voice is tight, and I can hear the rage trying to sneak in.

"Now, onto the next thing. Clarissa, will you please join us on the dais," he says to her. She curtsies briefly and then climbs up the three stairs that span the entire base of the dais. "Your father made a deal. In exchange for his freedom in exile, he told us the truth about you. Indeed, you are a seer. Your parents, in fact, illegally drugged you from the day you were born because the golden hair and eyes made them nervous. When they had you tested at four, the recommended age, they did so at a shady testing facility. They had the records buried pretty deeply, but Cillian dug them up."