From the Ashes [Guilded Kingdoms: Book 1][Book sample; rest in KU]

Chapter 5

Lael was sitting on her bed with a basket full of newly collected flowers, her old ones having dried up many weeks ago, humming to herself as she twirled the stem of a single eldyn blossom – a beautiful, flame red flower that formed clusters of star-shaped blossoms; they could always be found in late spring when the summer heat was approaching. Like with every flower Lael picked, the eldyn blossom was not just pretty to behold but could be dried and used to make inks and paint. The irony of which was not lost on Lael. Only found in Rynn, legend had it that the first eldyn blossom bloomed when a drop of red paint from an elven brush fell among the seeds of the snowflower, a pure white flower with the same star-shaped blossoms and one of the first flowers of spring. The eldyn blossom became the national flower of Rynn and even included on the king's seal.

"What have you been up to?"

Lael froze at the interruption of a silken voice that dripped of suspicion mixed with scolding. Lifting her eyes, she saw her eldest stepsister, Jacinda, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Good morning, Jacinda," Lael said, greeting her more warmly then her tension filled body felt, "how are the wedding preparations going?"

Jacinda's critical gaze gave way to one of overwhelming frazzlement. It was so drastic a transformation that Lael almost regretted broaching the subject.

"Exhaustingly! Lady Phaelin persists in creating lists of dressmakers, bakers, florists, musicians, and the like that she deems 'suitable' for her son's wedding with complete disregard to what Erick and I have already discussed and agreed upon!" she wailed, throwing her hands up in the air. "She is so utterly impossible to reason with that, if it weren't for the scandal it would create, I'd be half tempted to suggest an elopement to get away from her interference."

Lael spared her a wan smile before collecting a few more eldyn blossoms from her basket and binding their stems with a bit of string. "Have you talked with Erick about any of this?"

Jacinda let out a sigh of defeat and began to fiddle with one of her long, dark curls that hung below her shoulders.

"No," she admitted. Continuing to twist the curl around her finger, releasing it only to start again. "He's under enough pressure from his father that I didn't want to bother him with this. I also didn't want to give him the impression that I don't get along with his family, which isn't true. On a whole, I quite like them, and, while I'm sure Lady Phaelin is well-meaning, she is rather overbearing with her recommendations, leaving me to feel as if I have very little say in my wedding."

"Talk to him, Jacinda. If he loves you, I'm sure he'd prefer you talk with him about all this instead of working yourself into a tizzy and making yourself sick over it," Lael said, setting down her little flower bundle to start a new one.

"You're right," Jacinda said with a sigh and, for a moment, Lael thought she was off the hook as her stepsister started to turn away.

Then, pausing, Jacinda turned back to address Lael once more. "Don't think I don't know what you just did," she replied, her voice full of knowing.

"And what is that?"

She quirked an eyebrow at her. "Changing the subject so that I would forget that you never answered my question."

Lael looked away and continued to busy herself with her flowers. Now broken up into small bouquets, she wandered about her room and began decorating with them.

"Why are you so certain that I've been up to something?" she asked with her back turned so Jacinda couldn't read the truth in her eyes.

Her stepsister laughed at the question.