The Poisoned Throne

Chapter 13

Aurora

When Raynor decided to recreate the House Lamarck, William Palmer’s visit to Tibera suddenly became about the family, not Aurora. The focus was shifted to the remaining Lamarcks, which meant that Evelyn’s dreadful sons were coming to Lionhall.

Anthony was no more than nine years old, but he believed himself to stronger and better than anyone - and his younger brother, Christian, was no better. Together, they were even worse. They were both so loud and annoying, and they kept stealing her stuff.

All in all, this was not what she wanted. This was supposed to be about her. This was supposed to be about her happiness. This was not supposed to be about Raynor or Elizabeth or anyone else.

At least, her future husband would not be there until… well, far in the future.

As soon as she was done with the courtesies of welcoming her Anthony and Christian to Lionhall, she retreated her rooms, where she changed into her dancing clothes. Her insides were a whirlwind of emotion, and she needed to find her balance, her peace. There was nothing better remedy for that than to dance until she was covered in sweat, her heart was racing and her limbs were burning with exhaustion.

She attended the festivities that night, even though she, on that night, would have preferred to stay in her own chambers, alone with some poetry or her handmaiden.

Instead, she had to sit here and attend to any lord or lady who came her way, no matter if she liked them or not. All she had to keep her company were her little games. She would count how many cups of wine Raynor had or how many times Christian burped, convinced that it was the finest form of humor in existence. However, those games quickly lost her interest. She could not control them or their outcome.

That was when her other game came in handy; sometimes, she would try to see how little she could eat while still training hard. She would keep track of how her body reacted, how her training improved or impaired and how her mood was affected.

It was a fun game - it was a game of control, just like dancing.

The next day, William arrived. She woke early in the morning, unable to sleep any longer. By the time Raynor had woken, she had already washed and dressed. Her dress was sleeveless and white with a tight bodice, but its skirts were loose and flowing. Little pearl threads created barely visible flowery patterns on her chest. She had the front of her hair pulled back, but otherwise left it free.

She could barely keep from running the way to the throne room. The doors took an eternity to open, and she did not wait for her name to be announced before rushing up the aisle to Raynor’s thrones.

“Is he here?” she asked, beaming.

Raynor smiled. “He is waiting for you in the Stone Garden.”

She felt joy tear through her. It made the world glow in a strange way, and she felt that every second she spent not walking towards the Stone Garden was wasted. She curtsied and thanked Raynor, before hurrying away, out of the courtroom to the balcony overlooking the ocean, where the plants grew from chalices of stone.

Before stepping out onto the balcony, she hid behind a pillar and glanced out. William was there. He was younger than she had expected, and tall. His face was strange, but handsome, and he had sea green eyes that contrasted his black hair.

She straightened herself up, brushed her hands over her skirts, before flowing out of the door.

He immediately stood up and bowed. “My lady,” he said. His pronunciation revealed a good education - not that she was surprised.