Lineage of Zeal, Book One: Rosemary

Chapter Two: Castle Gratia

As the royal carriage carrying a disconcerted Rosemary and His Highness Prince Delouise passed through the wide gate in the curtain wall surrounding the castle's outer courtyard, the guard on duty announced the prince's arrival into a bronze tube set in the stone wall of the outpost. By the time the carriage reached the portcullis to the inner courtyard, where guests of the royal family slept amongst a multitude of pleasant scents emanating from vibrant blooms during the springtime, a runner had already alerted the castle to the approaching prince. The carriage ground to a halt amongst whinnies and squeaking hinges before the great marble steps of the castle's main entrance, and ten servants comprised of five butlers in one row and five maids in line behind them stood ready to greet the prince as he made his appearance.

Before the door had fully swung open, the two butlers on the ends of their line stepped forward in a practiced gait and stood facing one another at the carriage exit, one arm bent at a right angle in front of their chests for the prince to use to steady himself as he exited the vehicle. Prince Delouise made no use of them. The next two butlers hurried forward when the prince motioned for them, and they took from him his cloak and sword. If his beauty was not already enough in his face alone, the royal purple embroidered vest and stiff-collared white shirt he wore beneath the cloak provided strength and structure to his soft features, further enhancing them. The butlers carrying his sword and cloak cleared away, leaving the last butler and the five maids to address the prince. In unison, they bowed and said, "Welcome home, Prince Courtney Delouise deGratia. We are most pleased by your safe return."

"Yes, yes, you always are and forever shall be," said the prince with a dismissive flick of the wrist. "Have I not told you I need only two of you for my cloak and sword? The rest of you are a trifle unnecessary."

The bowed butler and maids stayed still and silent.

"This must be Father's doing. He never hears a word I say, too busy with preparing Philippe's ascension to the throne to hear his other sons' requests. No matter. Renald!"

The aged butler who remained in formation straightened up, but kept his head inclined. "Yes, my Prince."

"See to it that the woman in the carriage is properly outfitted and shown to the dining hall. Call my sisters if you must. And do be quick about it."

Renald bobbed his head further. "Yes, my Prince. But if I may be so bold."

"What is it, Renald? Must you keep me? I have business to attend to." Prince Delouse paused, but the butler remained silent. "Well, out with it!"

"Your escorts, Rosalyn and Henrietta, where might they be? And this woman," Renald motioned toward the carriage, "may I also be so bold as to ask who she might be?"

"My carriage will return to them as soon as you release me of this inquisition, Renald. As for the woman, she is my fiancée. You would be wise to treat her as such." Thus finished with his servants, Courtney ascended the steps to the grand entrance of his home and disappeared from view.

The prince's fiancée. Rosemary dreaded exiting the carriage. There was no doubt that the people in this castle expected her to be of extraordinary beauty, but she was not some picturesque princess. Her hair was not platinum blond and braided down to her waist with daisies framing her brow. She didn't wear only the finest silks from the Nanboshi Empire across the Sea of Gratia to the south, though her pants—her hakama—did come from there. Her wrists and fingers were not adorned with the finest jewels and precious metals from the Tihamal Desert that lay east beyond the Ramaal Ridge, the thin band of mountains that served as Gratia's easternmost border. Her neck was not enhanced by a strand of pearls from the Glass Bay, the body of water to the southwest that was walled in by two long barrier isles. And though she stood as tall as any tree in the Arden, the great forest that covered the heart of Gratia, she had a feeling that would not be to her favor. Yes, Rosemary was absolutely sure; she was truly unfit to be the future wife of Prince Courtney Delouise deGratia. Yet there she was.