The Summer Court

Chapter Three

A voice announced the arrival of the princes, but it fell deaf on the princess's ears as she held her breath. She tuned out the excited chatter and focused on filling her lungs with air so she wouldn't faint. As she stared at the doors, waiting for the name of the prince that would first come out of them she didn't realize she had her skirts clutched tightly in her fists. Trying to calm herself she slowly unfurled her fingers and let out a breath as she smoothed her hands over the delicate embroidered flowers on her silk gown.

"We welcome the prince, Conor of Alvar."

The doors opened. Elsine wanted to shut her eyes tightly, but her curiosity was stronger than her fear. The young man who walked into the Grand Hall stood tall with a lean build and wide shoulders. His raven hair was thick and fell around his kind dark eyes. Her heart settled as her nerves were calmed by his seemingly easy presence. He kneeled in front of the princess; his arm crossed over his chest with the respect of a military man. He looked a year or two her senior, but he wasn't old. Elsine smiled gracefully and bowed her head.

"It is an honor to be in your court, Princess," His deep voice caught her a little off guard. She blinked rapidly when she realized there had been a stretch of silence and quickly spoke up, so she did not offend everyone in the Grand Hall.

"The honor is mine, Conor of Alvar."

He stood and Elsine could have sworn he smiled a little. Not the horrible start the princess had expected, after all. She relaxed her shoulders and let out a little breath as Conor made his way to the table of honor set specifically for the princes. She caught her father's eye before turning back to the doors. She needed to be careful about any lingering gazes or flirting heavily in this game. While the Summer Court was a long-held tradition that was supremely formal, there were times in history when a princess played the game a little too much, and things ended in a war between provinces. And offended valuable vassals. She didn't want that.

The doors began to open again as the announcer called out the name of the next prince.

"Hamish of Aurum."

Her hands gripped the fabric of her dress. She struggled to keep her face straight as the boy walked in rather pompously. While Conor was obviously her senior, Hamish was younger with a boyish face. His cropped red hair was slightly longer on top and the way he held his upturned nose higher in the air made her earlier hope fade a little. But she would try to give him a chance. As he bowed with a flourish of his ruby-colored, velvet cape Elsine smiled as best she could.

About to welcome him to court, she was cut off by the forward way he picked up her hand and placed an awkward, sloppy kiss there. Her skin crawled as she pulled her hand away as politely as possible. "Welcome to court." It was a feeble welcome and she hoped she would not offend him with her words and the tight smile she was trying desperately to soften.

"Thank you, Princess, it is truly an honor to be here." Though his voice was a bit nasally, she nodded with grace─ feeling relieved as he backed up. At least it would be an easy choice there. Though, she did feel bad for making such a quick assumption of Hamish. The guard who had been announcing the arrivals continued as Hamish sat and Elsine felt she could breathe better with him at a distance.

"Ander of Brael."

Seeing Ander come through the doors was the first time Elsine had blushed. Suddenly she felt self-conscious sitting up on the throne. He was not as tall as Conor, but his wide shoulders and broad chest spoke of an able body who probably did as much work as the people his family oversaw. His dark hair was neatly brushed away in a gentle wave from his tanned face, and his honey brown eyes regarded Elsine respectfully as he bowed. She took in his attire, which was humble for a prince, and instantly liked him. Her cheeks became pinker as she smiled, unable to speak as she was caught staring. He stood up as his gaze lingered, which caused Elsine to blush further.

"I look forward to getting to know you, Princess Elsine," He smiled easily, and so did Elsine as she bowed her head, tucking her hair behind her ears. Glancing around the court she realized how many people were watching her and suddenly wished to hide. She had blatantly flirted with Ander in front of the entire court. She cleared her throat, trying to regain some of her composure. She willed her cheeks to cool.

"As do I," She smiled and watched him go. Tearing her gaze away from his strong gait she focused on the doors in anticipation of the last candidate. Her heart sped again, her throat feeling dry from the bouts of nerves that had come in varying degrees by turns.

"Kannon of Ealdun."

The doors opened for the last time, though it felt much slower to Elsine than the first three times. She wasn't prepared for the lightning that stole through her belly when she was met instantly by the strong, steady gaze of the man named Kannon. It was like he had known where her eyes would be the moment, he walked in. Which both excited and unnerved Elsine.

His face was all beautiful sharp angles and lines that were faintly shadowed by stubble. She blinked as he stopped in front of the throne, his wild mess of curls falling and tangling in his eyelashes as he held her gaze. Realizing she had been holding her breath she inhaled and tried to smile, still rattled by the unexpected effect he had had on her.

As he bent to bow, never breaking her gaze, she realized how tall he was though he was not as lean as Conor. She bowed in return but was unable to break the thrilling eye contact. Something inside her felt like she had been cornered by a predator.

"Princess," he said simply and then all the blood rushed to Elsine's face. She was sure she had just made a complete fool of herself with her ogling.

"Kannon. Welcome." The feeble welcome was all she could muster. Turning her chin down so her face was not in his full view she wished there were not so many eyes on her right now. Before he turned for the table, she caught the slight smirk that tilted his lips. She bowed her head further and bit her lip. For the love of Mab. . . somebody hide me!

King Ulrich stood as soon as Kannon had seated himself, glancing at the shy way his daughter was sitting. He tried to refrain from sighing. One of the kitchen staff approached and held up a goblet of wine on a golden platter, bowing his horned head. Taking up the goblet, the King raised it to the men who had traveled far and wide to court Elsine. "May Titiana smile on Summer and its future this day!"

The entire court raised a toast to his words and cheers echoed. Music was struck up and the party began. Elsine looked toward her four suitors who waited for her and took a deep breath. Let the games begin.

Mab - Another name for the Queen of Faery, sometimes referred to as Titiana.