The Flower Crown Princess

Part 13

I'm embarrassed at how much I've slept in the past twenty- four hours. And then there's the fact that everybody is hovering over me like a mother bear- "Are you hurt, my lady? Where were you, my lady? Can I do anything, my lady?" and it never seems to stop. I want to tell them that I'm fine, that no harm's been done to me, and I have, but it feels like a lie. I'm not fine. I walked more on that day than I think I've ever walked in my life- that's why I'm so tired all the time, that's why my legs ache, and that walk has told me things that I'd never wanted to accept. My home is under attack, my family is under attack, and they are asking me if I'm alright?

But I can't let down this façade of unharmed princess. What the hills need is a beacon to follow- not a confused king, a badly wounded queen, and a traumatized little princess. So, to save my image and protect the hope of my people, I pretend that I don't know anything about rebel plots, that I know little of the attack. Of course, if things are as I've seen them to be, the people wouldn't give a copper penny either way.

The mob did little damage. Yes, they killed the four or five guards at the front, and left a pretty decent amount of chaos in their wake, but nobody else was killed, though Maridi came very, very close. The knife grazed her shoulder, almost at her collarbone, and though she's alive, the newly crowned queen has been in a fitful sleep for the three days since.

I walk through the stone corridors, thinking of the passages that run through the thick walls. Is anybody in them now? Do any of the many portraits or tapestries conceal an entrance? Which of the torches is not all it seems to be? I would look around more fully, but there are guards stationed every twenty feet. Finen has gone slightly mad with the shock of being so directly targeted, and he has been making plans for every method the rebels might try next. He's called me to his study, on the opposite side of the castle from my chambers, and I'm just glad that my legs aren't quite so sore anymore. 

When I reach the carved oaken doors of his study, I raise my hand to knock, but pause. The whole face of the door is covered with carved vines and the crest of our people- a shield, with our economic symbols of sheep and grains, and a great jeweled crown. Carved words, in a language ancient and dead, loop around the crest in ornate lettering three centuries old. Where am I supposed to knock, without hurting my knuckles? Finally I choose the flattest part of the door- the crown- and knock a few times softly. Almost immediately the door opes to reveal my brother, with his jaw shadowed by dark stubble and his face darkened by bags under his eyes. 

"Finen, you look awful," I say softly, with as much sympathy as I can muster. It's not hard to do- he is my brother, and we were friends when we were younger.

"I know," he says simply. He gestures to a padded chair that sits in front of the fireplace. I sit, feeling the small fire lend its warmth to the small, cold room. 

Finen closes the door, bolts it, sits at his desk. "Nivh, I need you to tell me a story."

"Pardon?" I don't think I heard him right- a man of twenty- three years, years older than myself, and he asks for a story, like a child at his mother's knee.

"A story, Nivh, please. Tell me how the kingdoms came to be, and please don't question me. Enough people already are." He puts his elbows on the desk and lays his face in his hands, and I see a broken man, who's crushed by his responsibilities, and who wants a bit of comfort in troubled times.

I know the tale well. It is the true story of our land; all the children of every kingdom are well learned in its tale.

"Once, there were terrible, bloody wars," I begin, trying to remember a story I haven't thought of in a few months. "Kings fought over borders and their empires, until they came up with a solution. The seven most powerful kings met to try to end the bloodshed and defilement of the land, and they decided that the only way to keep things fair was to take the areas and divide them by the topography. One king chose to rule the hills, one the mountains, another the rivers, the lakes, the deserts, the plains. One king was violently against the new divisions, and he and his family was given the seas, and now centuries later, we have not gone to war since that conference." 

"Keep going. I know that's not the end." His head hasn't moved from his hands.

"That's all I can remember. Is that not the end of the legend?" 

"Of course it is. I'm sorry."

I stand and walk to my brother. "Why did you call me here? Did you just want  me to tell you a story that you couldn't remember?"

"I was thinking," he states, lifting his head but keeping his eyes down. "If the lands were divided solely on what they held, then the rivers are only a small kingdom, and the lakes, too."

He pauses, but I don't want to interrupt his thoughts, so I stay silent.

"We're such a large kingdom, Nivh, and if the unrest in Amrach at all reflects the rest of the hills, we have a very large problem. Do the small kingdoms have this problem?"

"Is this all that you wanted to say? You are king, and I'm just the little princess who's leaving in a little while anyways."

"You're not just a little princess, though, not anymore. You're sister to the king now, and that means that you'll be a part of court. You need to appoint- or rather, suggest- your staff. That's why I called for you."

"And what does 'my staff' entail?" Nobody told me that I would be selection my servants, I just assumed that it was done for me. Nor did anybody tell me that I would rise slightly in matters of politics. Especially when I'm fifteen.

"A chamber maid, your ladies' maids, a personal coachman, and a keeper of the wardrobe are the ones you get to pick, but you don't have to choose all of them today. The noble ladies who have applied for position as lady's maid are listed here-" he hands me a short list of noble women "- and you have to pick three of them. You can pick from any of the servant girls in the castle to be your chamber maid, and the same for the keeper of the wardrobe. Combine the two if you would like. It would save us money. There's two coachman's apprentices that are nearly complete with their training, or you can choose from the more experienced."

It's very clear to me that Finen has other things that he wants to deal with, rather than worry about his little sister's personal staff, so I choose quickly. "I have a few servant girls in mind for my chamber maid and wardrobe, but I'll get their names to you after I confirm them. I only know them by their faces, you see." He nods and I continue, trying to let him go back to his work as soon as I possibly can. "I'm afraid that I'll need someone else to choose my coachman, as I confess I do not know any of them well enough to choose them." Scanning the list of ladies, I make my choices quickly. "Our cousin, Duchess Faelan of Noimead, for my first lady's maid, and Lady Jennis of Larch Island for the second." I scan the list once more for the third name while my brother writes my choices down. "Baroness Lisbet of Welser for the third." Faelan and Lisbet are from other cities in the hills, while Jennis is from the lakes. I've met them all only once or twice, but they are all around my age.

Finen takes the list back. "Thank you," he says, rolling it up and putting it on one of many shelves full of the scrolls. "You can go now, Nivh, and make sure to send in Count Cerdic. I need to speak with him as well. Find the names of the servant girls by sundown, please."

I go out the door with a deep curtsy- he is still the king, after all, no matter how much higher I have risen today.

"You can go in, sir," I tell the count. He is a gray- haired and stone- faced man, Finen's next in command of the army. 

I remember one servant's name: the golden- haired girl Taii, but I cannot do the same for the other girl. She's a year older than myself, with doe- like brown eyes and curly black hair peeping out from her scarf. I find her with the laundresses.

She says that her name is Rhodri, and so when I return to Finen I put Taii as my chambermaid and Rhodri in charge of the wardrobe. I trust Finen to pick a good coachman. 

The next week, I receive word that all three of my newly appointed ladies are on their way to Amrach. Taii and Rhodri do their work wonderfully. I'm certain I have picked a decent staff for such a hurried decision! 

The only problem with my staff is that Finen has just  instituted Kell as my coachman.

A quick note on this chapter: Most of the names introduced in this chapter are real names that I've found on my family tree. No matter how weird they seem, they're real, and I didn't make them up like I did with a lot of other names in here! :-)

Things are starting to get a bit heated here in the story, and they're only gonna get more so!

~Megan