The Rebel Prince (The Season Series #3)

Chapter 2

The crew shouted to one another as they tugged the dock lines taut, the ship lurching into its berth as the gangway slammed down onto the pier. Overhead, gulls cried while dockworkers bustled about their business below, sparing little attention for our newly arrived vessel. I remained at the bow, casting eyes over the port around us. There was little fanfare for our royal arrival, save for the banners lining the street that wound up the hill towards the walls of Relizia's fortress. A small contingent of finely dressed nobles awaited us on the pier, but the commoners paid us little heed, going about their daily tasks with barely a glance our way.

When the ship had tied down and Dulciana finally decided to grace us with her presence, a small crowd of commoners began to gather, curious. The nobles cheered and applauded as she sashayed down the gangplank, that snide, regal smile on her face. Her ladies-in-waiting trailed behind her, each of them clearly relieved to have returned home.

As I followed them onto Ardalonian soil, I noted the small force of armed guards standing between the commoners and the gathered nobles. The nobles, dressed in multi-coloured silks and dripping with jewels, were fawning over Dulciana, all bows and curtseys as they kissed her rings.

I'd expected the courtiers to greet her warmly, which was why I kept my eye on the commoners. Their reaction would be infinitely more telling than those of the fawning nobles.

The common folk nearest us on the docks began whispering among themselves, the looks directed our way more hostile than reverent. As I scanned the crowd, I noted several well-muscled men, attired as commoners but standing with the stiff-backs and alert posture of soldiers. They were watching the men and women staring at the princess, motionless as the crowd milled around them.

The uniformed guards snapped to attention when one of the bedecked courtiers, still lowered in his bow as he smiled up at Dulciana gestured for her to precede him. She swept up her skirts and the guards pressed through the crowd to clear her a path. The commoners didn't part willingly, glares and curses exchanged as the guards shoved them out of the way.

I wondered why no one had considered politely asking them to move when the first rotten fish flew.

The slimy, decayed glob landed in front of Dulciana, who yanked her expensive skirts out of the way before they grazed the filthy fish.

"La reina malvada ha regresado!"

The evil queen has returned.

The cry rose from a lone voice in the crowd and its effect on the guards was instantaneous. One of the uniformed men kicked the rotten fish away, his sword ringing free of its sheath as the others raised their shields, crashing through the crowd. Dulciana broke into as near a sprint as her regal dress would allow, the nobles on her heels, following her to the carriages awaiting us on the cobbled street. Commoners were shoved from the pier, some of them splashing into the water while others were trampled. The plainly-clothed guards had drawn weapons as well, clubbing anyone within reach, even if they were retreating.

"Come along, your Highness!" a chubby, rosy-cheeked man said, not a trace of an Ardalonian accent in his voice. He seized my hand, dragging me behind the fleeing courtiers. Dulciana had already slammed her carriage door, the horses lurching into motion as commoners flooded towards it, banging on the sides as the horses trampled anyone in their path. The mob paid little attention to the rest of us, trailing her carriage until it outran them.

The chubby man pulled me in to another carriage, this one crammed full of sobbing noble women and twitchy, frightened noble men. I wedged myself into a seat beside the chubby man, watching the guards beat the crowd through the curtained carriage windows. Beyond them, more commoners hung out the windows of the colourful buildings with their seashell roofs, shouting and gesturing rude things to the guards below. More rotten fish flew, the stench flooding my nostrils despite the cloying perfumes of the nobles around me.