Lily of the valley

38

And so seven letters were sent. North to the mountains and to the wilds, south to the roaring seas and the fair elven isles. West to the vast meadows. East to the warring dwarves and the spider Queen. Each letter had been sealed with the image of a white peace lily, Agathe had designed it for the princess. It was to be the symbol of a new era. They were working on having the design sewn into the skirts of a gown, Katherine knew it was all too much but the Queen of sunlight loved theatrics. Katherine did not want to become a martyr of peace, she just wanted to get the job done.

On beating wings the letters were carried, a pure white dove landed upon Queen Isolde's balcony where she sat smoking and basking in the morning sun. The bird purred at her and hopped to her side so that she could untie the string that attached the scroll to the dove's leg. With a parting chirrup the bird was gone. Isolde did not recognise the seal and unfurled the letter with stoic curiosity. She raised an eyebrow at seeing 'Katherine of Maequil' scrawled at the bottom.

There was an introduction lauding the value of peace and harmony which Isolde scoffed at, then a brief history of the council of Kings. The old halls were being rebuilt, there would be a throne for every monarch, including her. The letter was in invitation, a meeting would be held in a fortnight. She would be surrounded by her enemies, it could be a trap. In fact she was certain it was a trap. However the thought of engaging Katherine in a battle of wits was tantalising, not to mention the fort was on her land. An army could get to her in minutes if need be. Isolde rang a bell to summon Cynthia, her trusty advisor. Cynthia appeared within seconds and skimmed through the letter.

"We have to go." Cynthia decreed, her back to the sun.

"What if it's a trap?"

"All your enemies in one place, it will be a trap. But not for you." Isolde smirked at the thought, an ambush would be too easy. It would be delightful to stand and watch the carnage, to finally be free of those who stood in her way. In one well placed swoop she could become mistress of all Fayrith.

"See that it is done." Isolde commanded. Cynthia bowed.

"Leave the preparations to me your majesty." Isolde dismissed Cynthia so that she could make her arrangements. The Queen stared out at the horizon, there she could see plumes of smoke and the fires of war. Her push for dwarven land had been met with a fierce wall of warriors, she had needed a new plan anyway.

A messenger bird descended upon Prime Minister Raphael of the fair isles, he was surrounded by his council of scholars when the dove landed upon his shoulder. The council  had been discussing a newly discovered medicine, a type of underground crystal. It was said to entirely eliminate pain, the elves had been testing it on birthing mothers and had found startling results. The conversation quickly turned to its implications as a weapon, an army that feels no pain would surely be formidable. To be able to fight to the moment of death.

"Do any of you recognise this seal?" His trusted circle of academics all shook their heads. They were all dressed in light blue silk robes, their hair was long and silken. Each of them was an expert in a different subject. Art, medicine, history, politics, physics, the occult. Raphael skimmed Katherine's curled letters, the dryadic prophecy that for many centuries had caused the elves great confusion was written at the top. For the elves she had signed the letter, the flower of the mountain.

"Have you heard the title, flower of the mountain, before?" The Prime Minister enquired of the room. An elderly, wisened elf responded. The minister of history. 

"Aye sir, that is the name given to the mountain King's eldest daughter."

"She has invited us to the council of Kings, it seems the humans wish to reforge peace at long last." His words elicited a murmur from the scholars. Peace on the continent would increase their ability to research and explore that fascinating world. Raphael passed the scroll to the master of history to read. "She has cited the elm prophecy."

"The violence of dawn, the sun and the shield, from snow rises the flower of spring." The master of history recited the words to the gaggle of academics. There was further murmuring.

"Could it be about her?" Raphael asked, knowing in his heart that it had to be.

"How else would she know the words. Let us go meet this flower of the mountain, and offer to her our wisdom." The King nodded and accepted Katherine's invitation with gladness.

A dove reached the mountain palace and found the tired old King sat under a cherry tree beside a fresh spring. It was the garden that Katherine had once loved so much. Summer had come and made the mountain beautiful, flowers and greenery sprouted everywhere. Deer and great brown bears roamed the grasslands along jagged edges of rock. The King of the mountain's eyes filled with hot tears as he recognised Katherine's handwriting, that letter was more intimate than all the others. Katherine wrote of how much she missed him and her mother, she had felt so lost without them. Soft pink petals fell onto the paper as he read. Katherine told him every detail of her journey and her marriage, she explained to him what needed to be done and requested his aid. The King knew most of the details from Thea's letter already, but it was good to have the next instruction. Katherine had included a strand of her pure white hair as a gift for her mother.

All the letters reached their marks and all of the invited monarchs decided that they would attend the princess's council, for a myriad of reasons. Most wished to organise power grabs and argue with their enemies, but some, enough, shared Katherine's vision for peace.