The Jewel of the Five Kingdoms

Anastasia Lucendent Adela

  The next morning while my maids were desperately taming my wild bed head curls and braiding flowers into it, a messenger appeared meekly in the doorway. He made his presence known by knocking politely on the doorframe, entering my bedchambers with hesitation before I give him a kind smile to let him know he's welcome.

  He wore a standard royal messengers uniform, silver armor and a matching helmet that resembled the royal armies uniforms but was considerably lighter and most likely twice as comfortable. The only thing out of the ordinary was the lack of the Five Kingdom symbol on his chest as the guards in my palace do.

  Instead, the symbol of the First Clan was on the large banner hanging from his neck, pressed cleanly against the polished silver armor. The familiar symbol showed two golden shovels crossing each other in a grand X. Every Clan has a certain form of duty to contribute to the Five Kingdoms, and the First Clan's was mining.

The messenger cleared his throat and held a trumpet to his lips. The strangled sound of an off tune version of the kingdom's anthem blared from the instrument, and I winced at the ugly version of my beautiful national anthem.

  "I bring the lovely princess of the Five Kingdoms a message from the prince of the First Clan," he declared in a voice that sounded very similar to his trumpet. Approaching my bed formally, the messenger bowed so low his nose almost touched the floor.

  When he rose, he handed a roll of parchment to Margaret. Placed with precise intent was a beautiful edelweiss.

How did he know my mother and I favored the small white flower?

  The guard bowed again and left the room with a sharp turn of his heel.

I plucked the flower from the rolled up note, studying its fuzzy petals and stroking them gently. I have always loved the flower for its uniqueness. I had nearly forgotten about the letter when Margaret gasps and holds it out to me. I catch a glimpse of the royal seal belonging to the First Clan before Paisley plucks it from her hands to look down at it. Sarah drops my braids so she can peer over Paisley's shoulder, and I scoot around to face the three women.

  "The prince of the First Clan sent you a letter!" Sarah exclaimed with a bounce of excitement.

  I turned the little white edelweiss in my fingers and gingerly held it up to my nose. I was pleased to discover it still had the outdoor smell that freshly picked flowers do.

I thought of the pale prince laying in his bed and writing me this note, something about the image made me feel flattered.

He had taken the time to write to me? Why should I care?

  Margret carefully takes the edelweiss from my fingers and tucked it into my braid behind my ear. Holding up the handheld mirror for me to get a glance, I nod happily in pleasure at the intricate braid that was speckled with flowers and the way the edelweiss stood out behind my ear.

  Paisley hands me the scroll, and I realize they haven't read it yet. The three women stared at me eagerly, and I swallowed dryly. They were waiting for me to read it. I stared at the rolled up scroll, not sure if I wanted to discover what the prince had written to me or not.

"Well," Margret says eventually. "Don't just stare at it! Go ahead and open it!" She sounded a lot more excited about the whole prince thing than I did, but with all three of my dear ladies maids watching me with anticipation I can't help but reluctantly smile for them and and unroll the parchment.

  Dearest Princess Ana,

  I would like to inform you that I have been healing and resting as you insisted. I would like to apologize for the mistake of calling you Grace in my feverish state.