Page 48

ARENN

three months later…

“A nd so the princess, fair and helpless, was snatched away from our most handsome prince by a hideous water troll and his dragon!” the goblin narrator announced. The chair he was stood on creaked beneath the weight of his tiny green body as he waved his arms dramatically.

A second goblin, smothered in mud and seaweed, scurried past the bed I was lounging on and skidded to a halt in front of another goblin performer. “This wedding is over! I’m here to steal the girl!” he snarled.

“Oh, help me! Help me!” the other goblin wailed. Her yellow string wig flopped around her as she ducked below a handmade dragon puppet.

“No one can stop me,” the second goblin cackled. “And because of my wicked spells, not even your heroic prince can save you! Even though Prince Arenn is the most strong, most handsome, most—” A blob of frosted sweet cream splattered against his face.

Syrup dripped onto the floor, and the three goblins exchanged nervous glances until the one standing on the chair stammered a quiet, “Um, sire? It is a little distracting to perform when you keep throwing—”

“I didn’t tell you to stop.” I scowled. Adjusting against my pillows, I scooped up another spoonful of frosted cream and thrust it into my mouth. “Carry on with the show.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” The little beast cleared his throat. But before they could continue, a sharp knock echoed through the bedchamber.

“Go away.” I spoke without flinching. I didn’t want visitors. Not unless that visitor was a certain human girl returning to beg for my forgiveness. I wouldn’t take her back. But watching her beg would certainly be more entertaining than this poorly-written play.

When another even louder knock sounded, I threw my spoon down and growled out a furious, “If you do not leave me alone right this second, I will grow enough thorns to carve your heart from—”

Of course Elara marched into the room anyway.

“My bards!” she shrieked, ignoring my audible hiss of disapproval. Picking up her lilac skirts, my sister kicked through piles of dirty clothes and plates to reach the goblins. “I knew they’d been stolen. Oh, Peter, what has he done to you?” Scooping up the seaweed-covered goblin, she wiped the frosted cream from his face. “You poor, poor thing.”

“I’m quite alright, Miss Elara.” He blushed while I rolled onto my side with a scoff. “We were just rehearsing! Prince Arenn has been gracious enough to task the three of us with writing and performing a play. We’re to give your kingdom the real story for how his queen was stolen from him.”

“His queen?” Elara repeated as I bristled at her tone. “Arenn, it’s been a whole season, you cannot still be obsessing—”

“I am not obsessing.”

Lowering the goblin, she glanced around the room pointedly. “You won’t eat with us. You’re avoiding your duties. You hide in this bedchamber all day, even though it’s in dire need of a clean.” Her nose scrunched as she lifted a worn cherry-coloured gown from the floor.

“Don’t touch that,” I growled.

“She’s not coming back,” Elara huffed out a laugh. “May as well burn all her clothes and turn this room into a theatre if you love my bards so much.”

The thought made my chest ache, and I scowled. I didn’t want to feel this way. I didn’t want to spend each night curled up in the bed she’d slept in, inhaling deep into the pillows and dreading the morning I’d wake up to find her room no longer smelling faintly of herbs.

I didn’t even like the smell.

Just missed it being around me.

“Mother and Father want to speak to you in the parlour room.” Elara’s voice tore me from my memories.

“Tell them to come to me,” I growled into a pillow.

“I’m not your messenger,” she huffed. “And besides,” a smirk pulled at her cheeks, “I think you’ll want to hear this sooner rather than later…”

Her tone forced my head up. “What are you scheming?”

“Come to the parlour room and you’ll see,” she giggled, drifting towards the door. “But maybe take a bath first. And brush your hair,” she teased. “Just because you’re still mad about that human, doesn’t mean you need to look it.”

The door clicked shut before I could wipe the smirk off her face with another flying scoop of frosted cream.

An hour later I found Elara perched beside her twin sister on a velvet chaise lounge in the grand parlour room. A huge willow-root fireplace spilled warm light onto the plush carpets and coffee tables, while the crackling of the fire was drowned out by the sounds of my sisters’ bickering.

“You’ve had that book a week now. It’s my turn!” Elara whined.

“But the prince has just ordered for her to be a maid in his castle!” Elsie thrust her nose deeper into the book’s pages. “I can’t stop now.”

Rolling my eyes, I opened my mouth to complain that Mother and Father were nowhere to be seen, when my gaze froze on something. Above the fireplace, surrounded by a huge quartz picture frame, hung a portrait of a certain blonde human girl and me, locked in each other’s arms.

My heart ached as I studied the painting. We’d never posed for it, but still the artist had captured her likeness perfectly. The soft curves of her hips. The innocent deer-like stare in her eyes. But of course, even in the painting her gaze was not fixed upon me; instead, it searched somewhere else in the distance.

Accurate, I supposed.

“Darling!” Mother’s hands curled around my arms, pulling me back into a tight hug. I coughed at the force of it.

“Dear son.” My father crept up beside her as the guards pulled the doors shut behind them. “We’re so glad you could meet with us.”

“I haven’t seen you in days!” Mother panicked. “Your bedchamber is always empty. Where’ve you been hiding?”

“Naria’s room,” Elara spoke for me. I shuddered at the sound of that name.

Mother winced. “Oh dear…”

“I do not wish to speak of human girls,” I cut her off before she could go any further.

Shaking her head, she placed a hand on my shoulder. “That’s good,” she said weakly. “Because your father and I wish to discuss something important with you, but,” she glanced at Father, “maybe he is not ready?”

“What is it?” I pressed, my brow lowering.

Father gestured towards the burgundy chairs surrounding the fireplace. “Let’s all sit down first.”

Elara and Elsie let out a knowing giggle as the three of us joined them around the fire. I shot them a glare, but annoyingly for once their lips were sealed.

“My dear boy,” Father started once he’d taken his seat across from me in a tall armchair. “As you know your mother and I have held the throne for quite some time now, but as the years pass we are growing tired while you are of course growing more eligible.”

I met his gaze as my heart thundered. It cannot be…

Sighing, he continued, “And we think it may be time for us to consider passing down the crown to you while we are still young enough to enjoy our lives.”

I almost choked. “You are abdicating the throne?”

“Retiring, dear.” Mother grinned at my reaction. “But there is a condition…”

My smile fell. “What condition?”

She glanced at Father who sighed again before adding, “You must find a wife.”

“A wife ?” It was as if the roaring fire had been doused in ice. All the warmth left the room as my heart ached again. “I almost had one. But she is gone now,” I forced out. “Is that not enough?”

Mother gave me a sad smile. “We just want you to be happy, dear. A happy king makes a prosperous kingdom, and we fear that in your current state, you would not be able to live up to your full potential.”

“I do not need a wife!” Snarling, I pushed up from my chair to loom over them all. “I am perfectly capable of leading a kingdom without some woman clinging onto my arm!”

“I told you he wasn’t ready,” Mother hissed into Father’s ear. “It’s too soon.”

“No.” Father rose up from his seat much more calmly to meet my furious gaze. “We have given you our condition. If you wish to claim the throne from us, you will have to marry.”

“I will not love her.” My fists clenched. I cannot . Not again.

“Feelings will grow with time,” he reasoned. “All we ask is to see you wed before you ascend to the throne. Our terms are simple.”

“It’s for the best, dear,” Mother added, reaching forward to take my hand. “We’ll always want the best for you.”

I glared at the pair of them, a new fire blazing in my chest. I didn’t want a wife. Not while she was still out there, somewhere. But if it meant claiming the crown…

“Fine,” I chewed out as Elsie and Elara let out excited squeals. “Organise another Luminessia ball. I will choose a maiden and then never speak to her again.”

“Arenn…” Mother sighed.

“ It’s for the best .” I scowled at her.

Ignoring us both, Father clasped his hands together. “Excellent!” he beamed. “We’ll have every eligible lady attend. There’s bound to be a girl who’ll catch your attention.”

I scoffed, but before I could argue with him, a loud explosion made us all gasp. Above the fireplace, the huge portrait had burst into flames, casting the whole room in an ominous orange glow.

“Elsie!” Mother chided.

“What? It needed to be done,” she cackled while her twin grinned wildly. “Can’t have his new wife getting jealous.” I swallowed down the urge to sob as a flame tore between the human girl and me, its smoke curling up to the ceiling.

To satisfy their terms, I’d find a new wife. I’d choose the foulest, most unlovable creature if that’s what it took. But as the dark smoke explored the ceiling, I found my thoughts wandering to a different kind of smoke – the vibrant red ribbon I’d followed at my engagement ball…

“I’ll be visiting Dalking while you plan my second Luminessia.” The words tumbled out of me before I could stop them.

“Dalking?” Elara blurted. “Why?”

“Maybe he’s meeting a pretty human girl there?” Elsie teased.

“I’m not,” I grumbled, shaking my head. I wasn’t going just because of the smoke ribbon. If I were to be King soon, I should travel the realm and meet with the other rulers. It was the most sensible thing to do.

This had nothing to do with love. Nothing to do with that smoke ribbon and the dense woods it’d led me to.

Even if maybe, an awful, traitorous part of me wanted to see what lay at the end of that winding forest path.