UNMARKED

24: A New Chapter

Nothing came of the threat made at the parade, and if anything, it made tensions run even higher. No apprehended culprit meant that someone was still out there, perhaps waiting to pounce again. The longer the wait, the more Blayre felt that everyone would have their guard down.

She longed to enjoy the festivities leading up to Briannon's coronation and the ball that would follow, but the morning of the coronation had her sweaty and trembling with unease. She and the rest of the Seekers had been ordered not to clothe themselves in their dress uniforms in the hopes that they could blend into the crowd. "There are plenty of bloody guards all over the city. We need you to be less conspicuous."

She had no objections to that, she thought as she smoothed the fabric of the flowing sleeveless tunic and loose fitting trousers that Alessa had selected for her on a trip to the middle district where the shops were plentiful with imported goods. While not as much variety as Port Roubeles, there was still a lot to choose from. The clothing reflected the Blumore colors with a stone gray base made of mage-woven material more breathable than silk, and chiffon overlay.

Blayre secured the banded collar - the only part of the garment that she worried would make her warmer than she'd like. Embroidered mountain wildflowers in hues of indigo and periwinkle wound up the bodice - the vines and blooms becoming more concentrated on her upper torso and neck, and fading out nearer to her hips.

The best part of the ensemble, she thought, stroking the fabric fondly, was the attachable skirt that she would add for the coronation ball that would take place the following evening,

Leave it to clothing to calm her down.

She strode out of the room, footsteps light in her slippered feet, though she suspected she would miss her sturdy boots by the end of the afternoon, and hoped that the day's events wouldn't require any running.

Her palms became damp with moisture once more. Twelve hells. Worrying about the day would not help in any situation.

Ainslee was exiting her own room, and as Blayre approached her door, the redhead looked Blayre up and down, "Very nice. I'm glad you finally gave in to the full Alessa shopping experience." She smirked.

Blayre flashed a smile, "Me too, actually."

Ainslee herself was resplendent in a lavender button down tunic and ivory britches. She touched an earbob that hung from one of her earlobes. "Think Seaver will like these?" she asked.

Blayre snorted as they rounded a corner in the hallway and descended a staircase, "You'll be lucky if he notices at all."

The Sun was certainly smiling down on this occasion. Its rays of warmth lighted on Blayre's upturned face as they walked toward the central temple courtyard where the coronation would take place in just a few short hours.

The circular courtyard of the Palace temple was like the core of the sun, and on this coronation day especially when everyone wanted their chance to see the crowning of their queen.

The temple was a ring around the courtyard that climbed every floor of the palace up to the rooftop, with balconies that overlooked the courtyard and the circular stone on which Briannon would be crowned. Dragonstone, they said it was. Black with iridescent specks of orange and green, blue and red, purple and yellow, created from the fiery breath of an ancient dragon.

Blayre peered down from her second story perch. This was dangerous. Anyone could harm the Queen Ascended - or Rory for that matter - from these vantage points. And it seemed, if it was this theorized rebel order of unmarked mages, that they wanted both of them out of the way. For what reason? To take power themselves? To be rid of their ruling monarch?