Magic and Gold

17: Lilies

I stood in front of my gold gilded full length mirror. It was good as new now. Most of the palace had been repaired. Other than the empty silence and hollowness in the hallways, everyone could pretend nothing had ever happened. The Royal Assignment could be dismissed like my family had never even mattered. I was not so easily expunged. I leaned forward and applied my red lipstick. I pressed my lips together to spread the color before leaning back.

Looking in the mirror, I was the image of perfection. My white dress had been made to my exact specifications. I had designed it myself, every aspect from the plunging silk front to the long bell sleeves and the train that followed me. The long train had been embroidered with red gemstones, creating an ombré look up the skirt to match my lipstick.

Someone entered the room with my tiara on a felt pillow. I had made Lilianna my maid of honor to keep the memory of Tristain alive at my wedding. She was forced to go along, but I could see her anger. I was taking this away from her. Her greatest wish was to become queen and it had been taken from her by me. She was a liability, and I planned to put her back in her place as soon as I did not need her as a bridesmaid.

She was pretty in her dark green dress. I needed her in the wedding as a status symbol, a reminder of my brother, and because I lacked female friends since the Magia was gone. Lilianna was the opposite of my old acquaintances: she was classically beautiful, sophisticated, and incredibly wealthy. She had a flower crown nestled around her bun, and from the way her smile did not seem the smallest bit real, I could tell she wished it was a real crown.

I took the tiara and placed it on my head. It was attached to a veil bedazzled with rubies in a more subtle way, so that it flashed red when it hit the sunlight. Looking at the mirror, I felt like a real queen. I felt powerful. "Leave now," I told Lilianna.

She nodded. "I think it's almost my cue, so you should be out shortly." She left, grabbing her bouquet of white lilies. Lilies had been my mother's favorite, and so today they were all over the castle gardens. I finally stood up, glancing once more in the mirror. This day would be perfect.

I walked out into the hall. I had chosen an outdoor wedding at a planning session that felt so long ago. I waited in the hallway. This wedding had been planned by the old me, but I had grown up since then. I was new, and I was in control now.

A woman approached me from down the hall. Penelope looked like clean with her hair smoothed down and clipped back, but she also looked like she had not slept in a week. With all the demands of wedding planning, she probably had not. "My Queen. Just the woman I've been searching for."

"What? There had better not be any complications," I said, tapping my heel on the floor.

"No, no. I just need to talk to you. I know it's late for a talk like this, but are you sure you want to go through with this? You're the queen, you don't have to."

"This is for my country, Penelope. I do what's best for them."

She hesitated before speaking quickly. "This won't bring your family back."

"I know that," I snapped. How dare she talk like that to her superior? She had no right to question my judgement, but I had also questioned my own choices at some points in this process. I had decided not to question myself, and to go through with this. It was the only way to regain the spirits of the country while making sure I was not alone in a castle, accompanied only by memories.