The Crown of Spheres

߷ C H A P T E R - T W O ߷

☁︎︎ C H A P T E R   T W O ☁︎︎

꧁꧂

The eve of the Great Welcome had descended upon the palace the minute I woke that night.

The sky was beautifully clear, with bright stars incased within a blanket of darkness that sparkled as if they, themselves, had taken to the streets to wave festive lanterns and welcome in suitors from across the three kingdoms.

Now that the festivities had begun, I was bound to my wing of the palace. No one was to see me until the banquet later at evening where I would meet my suitors, shake their hands and speak to them for a little bit to gather as much information as quickly as I could. This was only the beginning, since the end, when I was to make my decision on who was to be my husband, was to happen at the ball to celebrate my birtheve in a nights time.

To say it was rushed would be an understatement, and a part of me wondered if it was because they didn't want to give us the time to really think about it and, Luna forbid, find a way to back out.

However, in between then and now I would take my first bath in the Lunar pools, which were deep inside the caves at the base of Mount Luminaris, our Goddess's place of rest, and present myself before Her for enlightenment.

I was excited and nervous, as the whole process took a couple of hours and I was to be bare from head to toe in front of the Monks who protected and cared for those pools. Although I questioned the necessity of that part, I was looking forward to it. Apparently it was different for every member of the Arunian Monarchy... and I was curious to see what my experience would be like.

What would she say?

Would I see her at all?

I watched the parade begin from the tower above my bed chamber, using my spyglass to peer out the window looking down over the courtyard. My maids and Privi watched with me, but were now lounging on floor cushions and eating chocolate covered strawberries, listening to the music the live band played to entertain the locals, Nobels and court members that had gathered in the courtyard to watch from make-shift stands.

Everywhere you looked our family royal crest flag fluttered in the night breeze, the material flickering much like the flames in the lit beacons, used to illuminate the palace as it sat pretty on top of the flattest, highest part of a slope up Altaluna Mountain, with Mayar at its base.

We'd watched four suitors arrive before the one I had been dreading did, sipping champagne and munching on sweet snacks to pass the time. I spied on the locals in the crowds to gage their reactions as they lined the sloping road up to the palace, the cold rim of the spyglass pressed against my eye socket for a while.

So far, there had been three from the Eyrthan Kingdom, two Nobel's sons and their reigning Prince, Greo, the youngest of four and the only son from what I had remembered from his letters.

I assumed this had been the price for surrendering during that final battle, as two of them I had not seen or heard from before. They didn't smile or wave to the crowd as they arrived to the energetic music, and simply dismounted their horses, greeted my parents at the steps to the grand entrance hall and disappeared from view.

Eyrthans were a stunning race, with piercing, nearly glowing eyes that reminded me a lot of birds of prey, regardless of what colour irises they were born with. Their ears were pointed, much like mine, but they were smaller, wider, and didn't move. Above their eyebrows, two small horns protruded. No more than an inch or so in length, but still visible enough to immediately tell where they were from. It was said they were born with them as tribute to their God Usho, who was rumoured to roam the rolling hills of Eyrthan in the form of a Giant Deer with glowing eyes.