We arrived at the throne room doors, and I mentally started to prepare for meeting King Chadwick, the 126th. I had no idea what to expect from him, nor what his impressions would be of me. The double doors to the throne room were crafted and carved of gold, with twin bearded men facing each other on each door. There was no color to most of the motif other than the gold the doors were constructed of. The only color was found in the jewels embedded in the doors, which decorated the crowns upon each man’s head. They were each holding a sword, extending it towards one another. The tips of the swords met at their points when the doors were closed.

We stepped forward, and Duncan put a hand up to halt my advance.

“No women in the King’s court, milady.”

I gave him a bewildered look and then glanced over at Chad.

Duncan continued, “It is the will and law of King Chadwick. Only the queen may enter beyond these doors, and only at the king’s behest.”

Chad grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him into the throne room.

“Father can take his protests of her presence up with me.”

I heard Duncan mutter to himself as we parted ways, “You’ve got stones, lad. If you only knew the trouble you were already in…”

We moved with purpose down the plush, red carpet that lay from the doorway all the way to the steps of the dais the throne was seated upon. It was one of the first colors I had seen in the castle that wasn’t white or gold. Chad led, half dragging me next to him. Dorian and Ash were a step behind us both.

Ahead of us, a large man sat on a white marble throne. I was surprised that the throne did not have the appearance of being anything more than a large chair. Indeed, the man appeared more impressive than the throne itself, but maybe that was the point. The only other person in attendance was a bald man on the steps of the dais, wearing a basic simple robe.

We stopped about a dozen paces short of the steps of the dais itself before the three boys kneeled. I followed suit, as I was sure that was to be expected of me. If my female presence was to be considered a slight, I wanted to make sure I drew as little attention to myself as possible. My purple braids and hair draped around my body and immediately swung into my view as I looked at the carpet, a not-so-subtle reminder of how unlikely being overlooked would be.

Blend in. Yeah, right.

“Rise,” came a voice. The boys rose, and I moved to join them, but Chad waved a hand at me, indicating I should stay put. I debated ignoring him, but the nagging feeling that decision would be more trouble than it was worth won out, and I stayed looking at the floor, forced to listen.

“Your arrival is much later than anticipated,” the King said.

“I know, Father. I was summoned to another objective while on my way to Blackwall with your royal guard. An objective of great importance!”

“More important than your order from your King?” the King asked incredulously.

“Indeed!” Chad replied, and I saw his hand gesture to me. “I have brought the object which distracted me from your purpose.”

Object?

I scrunched up my nose at this and grimaced. He had called me worse before, but that had been much earlier in our friendship. I had been hoping we were past that.

I then noticed he had still been waving at me, indicating I should now stand.

Crap. This still didn’t feel like a good idea…

I slowly stood and waited until the last possible moment to raise my head and gaze upon the King.

He was sitting on his throne, feet spread apart and planted on the floor. Both arms rested on the throne, and he gripped the ends of the rests with large hands, covered in rings. He wore an elegant waist coat on top of his long-sleeved tunic. The waist coat had the family crest on both breasts, rather than just the left as Chad and Max had. The Chaddington wardrobe trend of almost exclusively white, with trimmings and edgings of gold, continued.

His face was in a stern scowl. His blonde hair that the he shared with his sons was faded with his age, but he still had a full head of swept back hair, held in place by his crown. The crown looked identical to the ones portrayed on the doors, complete with the various colored gemstones in the rising rounded tips of it. He had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache that wrapped around his face and joined with his hair. It, too, was the faded blonde, and thankfully helped to mute his expression at our little group. His blue eyes, the same powerful and piercing ones I observed in Chad upon our first meeting, were fixed on me and I felt as if they bore into my very soul.

The voice spoke again, but now that I wasn’t staring at the floor, I realized it was coming from the bald man, now standing on the first step of the dais, and not King Chadwick himself. Now that we were closer, I was able to observe that he was a plain looking fellow, with unassuming features. He was acting as the voice of the king for this meeting. That I had mistaken his voice for the king himself while I was still kneeling was a testament to how experienced he was. It was difficult to not gaze at him when he spoke, and instead continue to give the king your full attention.

“I did not acknowledge her presence for her to stand!” he shouted. He spoke as if he were the king’s very voice. How he knew exactly what the king would have said in that moment must have taken years of practice and reading his facial expressions and body language.

Chad didn’t miss a beat and continued to address his father.

“But Father, this is the woman who emerged from the falling star! The same falling star brought to us by the Goddess. The very same star that the soothsayers predicted would be my future!”

The Voice scoffed at this.

“Soothsayers. Those witches are worth naught but entertainment and parlor tricks. I still regret humoring your mother and allowing you that visit on your sixteenth.” The Voice paused as the king closed his eyes, in an exhausted expression meant to mirror the dialogue.

“You have dwelled much too long on this supposed destiny of yours and it has distracted you from greater tasks, namely my own!”

“But Father, even if she is not to be my future, surely her arrival still heralds something of importance!?”

King Chadwick slapped his large, powerful right hand on the arm rest as he leaned forward, and the Voice thundered, “I will decide what is important! Blackwall is important!” Chad flinched at this.

The King leaned back, and the Voice continued, “There are reports of the return of vampires in the Black Hills. Thralls have been seen. There is an evil miasma in the air. People and patrols have started to go missing in the north.”

The King’s face grew pensive. “As you well know, this was a threat to Mankind long thought extinguished. Vampires and their ilk have not been since in Eitania since Chadwick the 118th sat on the throne. If they have truly returned, we must discover at what length and make all efforts to neutralize it. We recently staved off the elves’ efforts to invade our lands, and we do not have the resources to fight another war!”

The King raised his jeweled right fist, clenching it tightly, “And you were supposed to meet up with the Zannister’s at Blackwall and retrieve this vital reconnaissance! Instead, you snuck off from Duncan and to what end?” The King stabbed a finger at me before slapping the throne again, “to bed some buxom wench?? And after, since you thought with the head between your legs rather than atop your shoulders, you attempt to excuse this by bringing me a tall tale of this woman being some star of prophecy?” He rubbed a hand across his temple.

“At least now you are finally a man, Obarith be praised.”

…..Did I just hear that right?

I looked over at Chad, who was turning crimson and looking at the floor. I pursed my lips together tightly to keep a laugh from escaping. Who cares that the king had insinuated that we had slept together?

Chad was a virgin!

The King released his head and held a tired expression on his face as the Voice asked, “Do you truly believe this country sow is your ludicrously prophesied destiny?”

Chad straightened with more resolve than I had seen him display since we entered the throne room.

“I do.”

The King sighed again and waved absentmindedly, “Very well. You will be wed on the ‘morrow. I wish you many fat, happy babies.”

At this, I gasped and started to step forward.

The King noticed and rose from the throne, causing the Voice to cower and prostrate himself on the floor. Chad also stepped back defensively.

For the first time, King Chadwick spoke, and with a booming voice that filled the large space.

“A woman dares approach me?” His eyes held their piercing gaze, his face appalled and furious that I had made a move to step closer to the dais.

I didn’t care. He had insulted me for the last time.

I finished the step I had started making when he had stood, and took three more, putting me now about half a dozen feet away from the dais. I wanted more, but I figured this was close enough to get my point across.

“I have a name!” I shouted.

“You incorrectly assume that I care,” King Chad scoffed. His volume lowered to a more normal register but was still powerful enough to reverberate through my body as his words pushed through me.

“It’s Amelia! And I am not Prince Chad’s betrothed, nor do I have any intentions to be!”

Again, he stabbed a finger at me, “I also have a name, which you have yet to use! You shall address me and my son properly or learn the lessons that come to those who do not!”

He was so fierce and unyielding. He wouldn’t back down, and I hadn’t intimated him in the slightest. Maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew…

I scowled at him but didn’t press my luck and say anything further.

“Your expression should quickly change to one of reverence, Amelia, else my son shall need to find a new muse.”

Chad had finally gathered himself enough to step past and in front of me, attempting to shield me from his father’s wrath. However, I noticed he still held his gaze to the floor.

“Please, your Highness, I beg of you. Do not hold her mannerisms against her. As one not of this world, she is still learning our proper ways and customs. Her only experience dealing with someone of a station as comparably great as your own is through me.”

He moved a hand to his chest in apology. “I admittedly have been lax in teaching her proper etiquette and protocol for addressing one such as myself.” He glanced over his shoulder at me.

“A mistake that I will work harder to rectify.”

“See that you do, my son.”

The King sat on the throne once more. Chad finally lifted his head to meet his father’s eyes. They had become emotionless, as if he tired of this interaction and wished us gone.

“If you do not wish to wed this woman, then please refrain from continuing to bed her. Your firstborn shall not be a bastard, as you were not.”

He bowed again, “Yes, Father.”

“And no more of this nonsense that she is a fallen star. That prophecy is nothing but lies spread by the children of the Goddess.”

I felt Ash stiffen as the king leaned back in his throne again.

The Voice finally stood in response and addressed us as the king’s will once more.

“You have new orders, or shall I say, existing orders that you have not yet fulfilled. You will go to Blackwall and ascertain the truth of the Vampire threat. Neutralize it if possible and report back your findings or failures.”

The Voice pointed at Dorian, “It is good you brought the son of Ptarkin with you. He is to accompany you on this mission, as will the sons of Zannister and Alustan.

Kit and Julius.

“This is a mission of crucial importance to the kingdom, and all the Houses wish to have firsthand accounts of the status of the Black Hills.”

The King raised his hand and waved us away, “Now, be gone!”

“What of Amelia?” Chad asked.

The Voice continued to speak for the king, “I care not. As long as you do not bed her, do with her what you will. If you change your mind on your betrothal, then get it over with quickly so she is no longer a distraction.”

Chad grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly to warn me against making any rash decisions.

“Thank you, your Grace.”

At that, the boys spun away, and Chad half dragged me with him, as he had on our entrance. We cleared the throne room, and the guards stationed at it shut the doors behind us.

Dorian exhaled sharply.

“Well, that went about as poorly as it could have possibly gone!”