The King's Queen

Chapter 8

Prinarch Cole DeLorentes
Age: 75

Prin Odette DeLorentes
Age: 74

*°*

The entire palace was abuzz with preparations for the arrival of the Prinarch and Prin. Reporters would no doubt be stationed outside the gates of the palace in order to catch even the smallest glimpse of the previous rulers of Crysauralia. Such a visit was rare and was welcomed with excitement from the palace staff, who chatted amongst themselves in animated whispers whenever they thought no-one was watching.

I was excited too, since it would be my first time meeting Emperor Caden's parents. I'd seen them in textbooks and occasionally on TV but never in real life-they were extremely private after all. I smoothed my dress and risked one last glance in the mirror before heading downstairs. Prin Odette was a fan of dark colors and usually dressed in solemn hues. It was rumored that ever since her younger son had passed away she had been engrossed in a perpetual state of mourning. That was why I decided to wear a navy skirt suit to pay my respects to that. My hair was styled in a braided ponytail and accessorized with a zircon hair clip that the empress had gifted me for my birthday.

The royal family gathered in the foyer of the mansion before we all headed down to the main entrance of the palace to await their arrival. The emperor and Empress spoke in low tones while Brooke fussed with the bow in her hair that refused to stay straight. Ashton took my hand in his and gave it a small squeeze accompanied by a smile, reminding me that I shouldn't be too nervous about meeting his grandparents.

I wondered what they'd be like. Prinarch Cole had been the one to relinquish the law that prevented commoners from marrying members of the direct royal family. He did that so we could honor the betrothal vow and formalize the treaty with the Kingdom of Meryllia. Like Emperor Caden, he supported my betrothal to Ashton. I wasn't sure if he was only interested in our relationship just because of the benefits the empire would gain or if he truly wanted his grandson to be happy. Prin Odette wasn't someone who reveled in public attention. She mostly attended private events and spoke publicly when she saw it fit to. Nevertheless, she was widely respected and acknowledged as a good queen. Would she approve of me?

Prinarch Cole and Prin Odette arrived exactly on time. The main palace staff all lined up along the sides of the central driveway as their car rolled in. Everyone stood at attention with professional smiles, their hair combed to perfection and their uniforms clean and crisply ironed. The shoes they wore were freshly polished and shone brightly as they reflected the light of the just rising sun. Not a person was out of place. All the T's were crossed and all the I's were dotted. Everything was perfect and ready for their arrival. The snow had eased up considerably and only the remnants of a brittle wind hung in the air.

Emperor Caden and Empress Arabella stood at the forefront center of the procession and Brooke stood to the right of her mother. Ashton stood to the left of his father and I stood to the left of him. The only person missing was CaVaughn, but he was still undertaking the long journey to Gregoria. It was a common Crysauralian tradition for the firstborn child to be named with the first letter of their father's name. Prinarch Cole had Emperor Caden who in turn had Prince CaVaughn.

Yesterday, Ashton had commented on how lucky CaVaughn was to not have to spend time with Prinarch Cole. According to him, Prinarch Cole could be much worse than Emperor Caden, which was mind-boggling to me. He was worse than the man who threatened and tortured his own family into obedience? That was kind of hard to beat.

The black Rolls Royce Phantom soon came into view and I smiled triumphantly. Raúl, an avid fan of cars and bikes, had been wrong for once. He'd predicted that they would travel in their Aston Martin V6 while I thought they'd go for the trademark Rolls Royce and we'd made a bet to see who'd be right. Looks like I'd be choosing what we'd watch at our next movie night.