In a land of magic on the brink of war, three stories are fated to meet.
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Lilac is being forced into a marriage she never wanted, for the benefit of her kingdom.
Lily is trapped in a life of servitude and endless poverty after her mother dies...
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I eased Andromeda down into her landing, wary of anyone seeing me.
Lily clung tightly to my waist, but she had done remarkably well for a first-time flyer. In fact, she was a natural.
Fortunately, Alexia had known about the situation and she was keeping Gregory occupied long enough for me to sneak Lily inside.
I jumped off of Andromeda, gave Alexia a small nod, then offered my hand to Lily to help her down.
"There's an empty stall near the end. Go." I hissed to her.
She sprinted straight for the stall, and I didn't dare breathe until she was inside it safely.
"Gregory." I called. Now it was my turn to distract him long enough for Alexia to get Lily up to my room.
He helped me walk Andromeda to cool her off, and I expressed my avid concerns on whether or not to start her on a diet. I wanted to race straight upstairs, but that was too suspicious. I brushed Andromeda down, put her in her stall, and fed her a few apples.
Finally, I was able to hurry up to my chambers, sighing when the doors closed behind me.
"This is all yours?"
I grinned, and watched in amusement at Lily's look of awe. She ran her fingers along the spines of my books, eyes wide.
"Lilac, are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Alexia, as I joined her by the empty fireplace.
I nodded firmly, "Yes, I'm sure."
The ornate grandfather clock chimed the hour, and I was suddenly reminded of my obligation to dinner this evening.
"Oh no!" I murmured, "I forgot about dinner."
Rushing about, I threw off my cloak and tried to make myself look presentable before I rushed out the doors.
"Alexia, make sure Lily eats, but don't let anyone see her. I have to go!" And with that, I hurried for the Great hall.
"Your Highness!" Edmund, the guard standing attention at the doors of the dinning hall, said to me as I halted in front of him. My shirts swirled to a stop around my ankles.
I gave him a rushed smile, "Not too late, am I?"
He opened the doors for me, whispering as I went in, "Just in time, in fact."
At least I was smiling when I entered. The members of our court were already sitting, as were my parents with Claudius, but dinner hadn't been served yet. As I made my way over to my place next to Mother, I heard the titters and snickering coming from behind the gloved hands of my own personal court members.
It was like navigating shark infested waters with my court. One sniff of blood, one sign of weakness, and they were on you in an instant. I had grown used to the rough politics of my court, and the ins and outs of dealing with them.
