The Kingdom of Dawn

Chapter 12: Your Highness

Dedicated to my good friend MoonreRavenhowl. Thank you for all your excitement and energy about my writing. I love it whenever you freak out excitedly whenever I tell you that a new chapter is up. You are a great friend to me, a sister in heart if not in blood, and I am very thankful for that. You are a very good writer as well, and I know that whenever you publish a book on here it will be awesome. Your writing is as good as your artwork, and I don't say that lightly. You are a really awesome friend, and I hope that we will remain friends for a long time.

As they soared into the air, Estrella strapped the Sunblade around her waist and reread Tarvill's note.

My dearest Estrella, it read, if you are reading this, then great harm has befallen me, and we will likely never see each other again. Lord Reuben wishes to get rid of you. Do not trust him. No doubt the harm that has befallen me was Reuben's fault, for he wants to get rid of me to get at you. You are the true heir of Dawn, and the only thing that stands between Lord Reuben and full control of Dawn. If Lord Marten still lives, bring the Sunblade and the note to him, for he will be of great assistance to you. Trust him as you would trust me. Tarvill.

Estrella was still wiping tears away from her eyes as they landed in the courtyard of Lord Marten's Manor. As the head representative of the house of the Moon, Marten held a lot of power in the court. The door wardens took one look at the Sunblade around Estrella's waist, and then motioned for her to draw it. As soon as she did so, they bowed low to the ground, opening the doors, and politely asked for Estrella to wait in the great Hall to be announced.

The hall was was clad in black and silver, and was decorated with paintings of the phases of the Moon. The walls were lined with shelves of scrolls, and a mosaic in the floor depicted the Moon Staff being given to King Aron, the first king of Dawn.

Lord Marten arrived bearing the exact same staff in his hands, and he offered it to Estrella with a low bow. "Your majesty, I am honored to have you in my humble home."

As Estrella took the polished ebony staff and ran her fingers over the silver Moon inlays, she suddenly realized what this meant, and what Tarvill had done when he told Zephyr to give her the Sunblade. These objects represented authority over the houses, so when they were given to her, it was the houses agreeing to follow her.

"Lord Marten, I am honored to to be here, and I thank you and your house for recognizing my authority." Tears began flowing from Estrella's eyes at the thought that she would never get to say such words to Tarvill, and she let them fall.

"Is something the matter your highness?" Lord Marten was obviously concerned about Estrella's tears.

"Not anything you can help with Lord Marten. I am greaving Tarvill's death. But we still have other things to do. We must free General Blackthorn from the prison before Lord Reuben executes him and begin building a case against Lord Reuben. We also must determine my eligibility to rule, and prepare to quell any rebellion that starts from Lord Reuben losing power. Where should we start?"

"We do have a lot to do said Lord Marten." He turned to a servant. Tell the dragon outside that we will need there help to assault the dungeons tonight." Turning to another servant, he commanded, "Call the house together for a trial first time tomorrow" He also ordered another servant to escort her royal majesty to the rooms which had been prepared for her. "Everything will be dealt with your majesty. I promise"

Estrella's room was the largest guest chamber in the house. The walls were again decorated with black and silver, and a window opened to the east. "I will draw you a bath my liege, and be back to help you get ready for dinner."

"Thank you. Please tell Lord Marten that I appreciate his hospitality, and will repay it one day." Estrella was not used to being treated like a queen, but she appreciated the warm bath. It was so relieving to just soak in the warm water and let her muscles relax. After that she was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of exhaustion, so she collapsed on the soft bed and slept until Martha, her maid, came to wake her for dinner.

"We don't have any dresses to fit you right now, but at least you're clothes are clean now. Tomorrow the tailor will be coming to fit you for a dress, you'll need something to wear at the trial and corination soon after."

"Thank you for your troubles Lord Marten" Estrella was doing her best to seem grateful for all that her host was doing for her.

"The honor is mine your majesty. It may cheer you up to know that even as we speak, my men and the dragons are marching on the castle in order to rescue General Blackthorn and sieze Lord Reuben. Lord Reuben will stand trial tomorrow, and General Blackthorn will bear witness. Then you will be crowned queen tomorrow if the council will verify your eligibility to rule. I suggest getting a good night's sleep"

"Have you heard any word from the house of the sun about who is going to replace Tarvill?"

"No. But Lord Simon seems to be the obvious choice. He is well revered and educated in the ways of war. He will support you if he replaces Tarvill."

"Thank you. I need to retire to bed soon, but I will remain to see if the attack was successful." Estrella's heart secretly leapt with joy. She was only thirteen, but she was to become queen tomorrow! "I shall endeavor to do my best to lead my people. I hope that the council will approve me tomorrow. However, if the trial tomorrow should succeed, we shall have to banish everyone who helped him. That will make things quite difficult at first, since there will be many empty seats in the council and many empty spots in the court. I certainly hope that Lord Simon replaces Tarvill on the council, but if he doesn't, I certainly hope that whomever replaces him will help us.

"The house of the sun will have no choice but to replace him with someone helpful to our cause if we succeed. I'm sure however that Edmund will be attacking us as soon as he can whatever we do. He seems to have an insatiable desire for the throne of Dawn, and we must keep him from it. That is our primary job, and it seems to be certain that Lord Reuben is attempting to foil us in our task. If he is, this is high treason, and he can be not only banished but executed, if you so wish. But I have heard signs in the council that they might be quite hesitant to confirm you as Queen. If they don't confirm you however, I don't know what we'll do. Reuben is not fit to rule no matter what the people think, and if we can prove this and you aren't confirmed, there will be no one left to rule."

"The ways of court sound so complicated. I don't know how I'll ever learn everything. But I'll need to if I am to rule. I'll be glad for good advisers, because otherwise I will make a mistake. I surely hope that Tiberius can hold Edmund off until someone proper is in the throne. Don't you agree?"

"I certainly do. Court is very complicated. I hope you learn it's ways quickly, because a queen who new nothing of her court would be a nightmare." Just then, a messenger entered the dining hall.

"Your Lordship, the soldiers have returned. They have General Blackthorn and Lord Reuben with them. Lord Reuben is badly wounded, General Blackthorn wants an explanation immediatly, and the council also wishes to know what you are doing. They are drawing up charges of treason against you as we speak. Also the House of the Sun is refusing to replace Tarvill until someone is on the throne. Shall I show them in?"

"Yes show them in. Send Lord Reuben to the prison and send a doctor to care for him. Take General Blackthorn to a guest chamber and guard it carefully. Please escort the Lady Estrella to her Chambers. She will need sleep for tomorrow's ceremonies. If her wings are bothering her, send a doctor up. Provide Lord Reuben with bread and water. Provide General Blackthorn with whatever he wishes to eat."

The servants scattered to follow Lord Marten's orders. A few minutes later, the entire royal council was assembled in the great Hall. "My friends, I'm sure you are are wondering why I have arrested Lord Reuben. I have evidence that he ordered the burning of the fortress of Dusk for the purpose of arresting the princess Estrella, in order to falsify charges of treason and execute her as a traitor. I have reason to believe that once he has done this, he will turn our kingdom over to the hand of Emperor Edmund, whom he calls his father. I believe that this is reason enough to charge Lord Reuben of the House of the Sun with high treason, and bring him before the council for a trial in front of the people. If he is found guilty, he should be sentenced to death. I further propose that after this takes place, the Princess Estrella should be crowned queen of Dawn."