Jewels of the Crown

♛ 10 ♛

I step up onto the platform, looking to each of the guards there. Maybe these guards will do a better job at seeing that I am in fact female. A couple of them look confused and peer closer at me, but they don't say anything, moving their eyes back to the crowd. I move to the podium, placing my hands either side of the bowl and look down into it.

I didn't know what to expect, but I was surprised by what I found. In the bowl are what looks like hundreds of small stones, all the same colour, shape, and size. Hundreds of small pure white diamond stones twinkle in the sunlight. The sound of a commotion in the crowd has me looking up to see that Faron has broken away from his line.

"She's-" he starts, but the loud voice of the guard next to me has me flinching away from him as well as silencing Faron.

"Go back in your line, and don't do that again, otherwise you will be taken the to the castle," he bellows. Faron looks like he wants to argue it further, but I shake my head at him, pleading for him to stay silent. I'll get this over with, and then leave.

Once Faron has returned to the line, and order has returned, the guard turns to me."Take your gloves off, and stick your hand in there," he tells me. What is going on? I have never, heard of or seen this, in my entire life. I slide both gloves off, placing them beside the bowl, looking down into it cautiously.

"What's going to happen?" I ask timidly. I move my head to look at him and see surprise on his face, but he doesn't say anything other than answering my question.

"Nothing, if you're not chosen."

I flex my hand trying to gain the confidence to go through with it. I plunge my hand into the stones, feeling the coldness against my skin. I don't know how long to keep it there, and wanting to get it over with, I decide to retract it. Nothing's happened.

I lift my hands through the stones, feeling grateful that I can now back to the castle and give Reginald a piece of my mind on the whole situation.

I can just feel the air on my hand when I feel a pressure, like a hand, pulling my hand, stopping it in its motions. I struggle with it, trying to get whoever is holding me there off. I look down at the podium, wondering whether someone is inside it, and is the one holding me. The stones start to warm around my hand, and I soon feel a searing pain on the back of my hand.

"Ow!" I exclaim, finally able to retract my hand. I shake my hand out, and when I look down to it I see five marks, in the shapes of the stones in the bowl, are in a circle on the back of my hand. The guard looks down at my hand. His eyes widen, and he turns to the crowd, telling them that they can all leave. I feel hands fall onto my shoulders, pulling me back away from the podium. I fight against them, my eyes meeting a frantic looking Faron. I watch as the crowd is dispersed, and soon enough I can't see that any more, only the looming gates of the castle.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"You were chosen," one of the guards says simply. Of course! All the times that I didn't want to show myself for the true me as a result of not wanting my mother to know, have now played against me, and I will have to do it anyway. It'll probably be even worse as well. I missed too many opportunities to escape. I could have got out of this before I was chosen. I don't know what lies ahead of me, but I will be sure to face it head-on. I am the princess, and if it's bad I surely can't be expected to go through with it. This is one of the first times that I am pleased to have the privileges that come with the title if it was anything else I wouldn't want to use it as an excuse.

The guards coerce me toward the door at the bottom of the bigger ones. The guard stationed there takes one look at us and pushes it open, keeping an eye on the surroundings. After entering the courtyard beyond the gates, and I hear the door close behind us, I tear my grip from theirs. They try and catch me again, but by using my authoritative voice they stop in their tracks.