Silver & Gold

Chapter 2

"How dare you act disrespectful t—" the woman starts to say.

"She is fine, Elara. I've heard many things about the Amicitian royal family," the king smiles, "and one of them is that they no longer carry on the tradition of bowing or curtsying to other royalty. Am I correct?"

Lasswell steps up beside me. "Indeed. You are correct, your majesty. Their servants and guards are the only ones who do so." He bows to the king.

"Now that all of that is settled, shall we carry out introductions?"

"You're quite right," Lasswell turns to me, "I present to you, the royal family of Norta, my beloved princess. This is Princess Alexandria Lunafreya Iris Amicitia of the kingdom of Amicitia." He bows slightly.

I smile at the Nortan royal family.

The king smiles. "What a lovely name princess."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Now, I would like you to meet my family," the king turns to the woman, "This is my wife, Elara of House Merandus."

The woman forces a smile. "It's an honor to meet you, Princess Alexandria." She seems to despise me already.

I nod out of acknowledgement.

The king turns to the taller prince. "This is my beloved son and Norta's crown prince, Tiberias Calore VII; his mother sadly passed away when he was only one year of age." The king frowns.

I turn to meet Tiberias' amber gaze. "I am dreadfully sorry. I could never imagine such a thing happening to me. I hope that my visit can ease the grief you must still feel."

Tiberias smiles kindly. "Thank you for your concern, Princess. I, too, hope your visit can assuage my grief." He bows slightly.

I smile. "There's no need for formalities between us. Just call me Alexandria." I turn back to the king.

He puts a hand on the shorter prince's shoulder. "This is my younger son, Maven Calore."

I look into the prince's icy gaze. "It's an honor to meet you. I hope we can spend some time together as well." I will win over both princes if I have to. I'm a princess. I deserve a prince, not some random person because he's rich. I turn back to the king. "During the carriage ride here, I couldn't help but notice how dreary and awful some of the neighborhoods are. Is everything alright?"

The king nods. "Everything is quite alright. There are just some poor neighborhoods where people struggle, but we do our best to ensure they have a way to earn the money they need."

"I see. May we further discuss why I'm here? Just you, Lasswell, and myself?" I ask.

Queen Elara is the first to speak, "Why just the three of you? I am Norta's queen. Shouldn't I be involved in this discussion?"

Lasswell takes a step forward. "Your majesty, my princess finds this to be quite a personal matter, as it deals with marriage." He steps back beside me.

Elara scrutinizes me and Lasswell. "I see that in Amicitia the guards are equal with royalty. Is that quite common?"

I hear the arrogance in her voice. I smile kindly. "Queen Elara, you are quite right in your observation. Lasswell is like a brother to me and I wish him be treated as such. I also believe that his brother, Fluss, will be arriving here tomorrow."

Lasswell nods. "Indeed. To identify him, look for a man only slightly younger than myself who is dressed in the same uniform as mine. His hair color will be different— the color of dark plum." He bows and turns to the king.

King Tiberias sighs. "Very well. We may discuss the matter of your marriage alone. Come." He turns and walks down a hallway.

Lasswell and I follow him while the princes and Elara go the opposite way.

Tiberias VI takes us to a study. He sits at a long table and gestures for us to join him. "I had a feeling you wanted to speak with me first thing."

I nod. "It's about suitors."

Lasswell lays the files for Samson Merandus and Ptolemus Samos on the table. "These men are indeed great suitors for our princess, but there is one problem."

The king looks to me with a raised eyebrow.

"They aren't princes. I also want to bring it to your attention that I will not marry anyone unless there is love between us. Do you understand?" I lock eyes with the king, never breaking contact.

It's not in an Amicitian to give up so easily.

The king finally looks down at the files. "I understand. Perhaps we can compromise."

I look to Lasswell.

"Your majesty, how do you suggest we compromise? This is about the marriage of my beloved princess and I cannot have anything unjust take place." He seems to radiate a faint light. Lasswell is definitely beginning to lose his patience.

The Nortan king seems to be oblivious to what's happening. He looks at me sternly. "Princess Alexandria, I propose a simple compromise. Give Ptolemus and Samson a chance and get to know them. I will also allow you to give my sons a chance as well. I will hold off on Queenstrial until you have made your decision. This is the only compromise I'm willing to make."

I think on it for a moment. "I will have four men chasing my heart and only one will win. Hmm. I truly believe this will be entertaining. Very well, I agree to these terms— under one condition."

"And what is that, Princess?"

"I must be allowed to train amongst your Silvers and to participate in any event. With each event I will choose one of the four to accompany me in order to give each a chance." I smirk. I will not have my conditions ignored. I will be heard and there's nothing Norta or its king can do about it.

Lasswell eyes the king. "What do you say to that?"

The king agrees to my terms— whether it's due to Lasswell's stare or mine I know not. "We will be holding an event this evening to welcome you. I shall tell Samson that he will be accompanying you."

I smile. "Very well. Arrange them to accompany me in this order: Samson, Ptolemus, Maven, and lastly, Tiberias VII." I stand without another word and hurry out of the study. I must find this Samson and introduce myself.

"My princess, I have studied the king's schedule. Samson should be in the council room right this moment, awaiting the king's arrival to make a deal with the Merandus family." Lasswell takes the lead. He takes me through the hallways. Lasswell stops at a large ornate door. He steps aside.

I step up and delicately push the doors open. I step inside and find a man sitting at the large table.

He steps up and scrutinizes me.

Good. Get a good look at something that isn't— and never will be yours.

The man has ash blond hair and icy eyes. He's dressed in a navy blue suit, in a similar fashion to the princes, with silver trim. The man looks handsome enough.

I put on the most innocent face I can. "Oh dear. I must be in the wrong room. I'm so sorry. Pardon me." I turn around like I'm going to leave.

A pale hand gently takes my wrist.

I turn and meet the man's gaze. "Oh, am I to be punished?"

The man shakes his head. "I have never seen beauty such as yours. You must be Princess Alexandria of Amicitia. I am Samson Merandus."