Cassius sat very still and straight in his seat, off to one side of the throne room. He was a rather skinny young man, with blonde hair so pale it was nearly white. His skin was also pale, which only made his freckles stand out in an obvious smattering across his nose.
His two older brothers stood around his father, King Damion Hammond the Second. It was the perfect picture of peace and harmony. Sunlight streamed down on the group from the large stained glass windows, sending fractured colors bouncing about the cavernous room. Thick green carpet lead up to the two golden thrones set in front of a large knotted oak tree which grew right up out of the ground.
In that moment, Cassius’ oldest brother, Aldric, was tossing his head back and laughing at something his father said. His next oldest brother, Lycus, was smiling in a more reserved manner. Sitting on the smaller of the two thrones, his mother observed with a warm and content look on her face.
Cassius swallowed hard. He hated to interrupt this lovely moment, but he needed to bring it up. It would be now or never again.
Steeling his nerves, he stood up and crossed the large room, his feet padding silently on the carpeted floor.
“Whats wrong Cassius?” Asked his mother, leaning forwards in her throne, always the first to notice everything.
Cassius slowed to a stop between her and his father and brothers. Then he turned and squared his shoulders to face his father directly.
”Could you… may I…” Cassius stumbled over his words.
“Take your time,” said Aldric with a kind smile.
Despite Aldric’s good intentions, his tone grated on Cassius’ nerves. Getting pitied by his most perfect and talented older brother was humiliating.
”F-father…” The old stutter was back in full force, and it only got worse in the most important occasions. “C-could we…p-put off the m-marriage? P-p-please?”
King Damion smiled down at his most disappointing of sons, the one that all the court officials whispered in secret about. His eyes held nothing but deep love.
“I cannot, my child.” He stepped forward and rested a heavy hand on Cassius’ shoulder. “We are bound by ancient tradition. If we were to break tradition, chaos, or even war could break out. The other four kingdoms would take offense if you delayed choosing a bride, the same way your elder brothers have.”
“Wh-why must it b-be s-sixteen?” Cassius asked.
The dreaded answer came from Lycus this time, ever the realist. “It is the way it always has been. We cannot forsake tradition. It is what binds our countries together with a treaty.”
Cassius knew all of this, of course. But he asked anyway, if perhaps the answer could be changed.
Aldric grinned and slapped Cassius on the back. “You get to choose a wife! It should be a joyous occasion! Perhaps you may find a girl half has beautiful as my Mari!”
His wife Mari was as sunny and boisterous as him. They matched well, though Cassius was sure he could not stand a wife that intensely happy and friendly.
”You may find a wife who is as smart as Celene,” said Lycus quietly adjusting his round glasses.
His wife was just as studious and factual as him. They spent hours everyday taking long walks and discussing philosophy and history. Cassius was sure he could never deal with a wife who needed to be in conversation that much. After all, he stuttered on every other word.
Still, his mind was calmed a bit by his brothers. He could choose someone who suited him, just as they had. But who on earth suited him? And wouldn’t it be awkward and strange and utterly painful to try and get to know and live with someone you barely knew? To make her a part of your family? And wouldn’t she be sad, so far away from her homeland?
He fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves and stared down at the floor.
“Stand up straight, son,” King Damion said in that same tone he used to address a crowd.
Cassius snapped to attention immediately, his limbs rearranging themselves on instinct.
“I know that you have not the speaking abilities to lead like Aldric, nor the knowledge to conduct important affairs like Lycus. But you are a Hammond, descended in a very long line from Hammond the Conqueror. You have the blood of all five Kingdoms in your veins from hundreds of years of this same tradition being carried out. It has brought great peace to the people. Accept your duty with pride.”
Cassius nodded, the thin band of gold he wore as a crown suddenly feeling very heavy indeed.
With that, the conversation was dropped. In the week leading up to the selection ceremony, the whole palace was in an uproar. A whole wing of it was scrubbed spotless for all of the chosen girls to occupy. Extra cooks and servants were brought in to accommodate so many guests at once. Teachers were brought in to be able to train the girls in court etiquette.
It felt like so much trouble to go through for him, the castaway son. The one who was always nervous and sickly, and never contributed to the great Hammond name.
The week flew by and soon carriages were rolling in one by one in a long parade, surrounded by townsfolk who waved and cheered to the potential princesses. Cassius stood at the top of the great flight of steps that lead up to the castle doors, flanked by his brothers and their wives.
”How wonderful!” Mari stroked her small son’s head as he clung to her leg, watching the fanfare. “I remember arriving here like it was yesterday!”
”D-do you miss your h-homeland?” Cassius asked suddenly.
”Well…yes, sometimes,” Mari paused and smiled, looking from her little boy to her husband Aldric. “But everything I love so dearly is here. Why would I leave?”
The words sunk deep in Cassius’ heart and ruminated there. Perhaps that was his problem. Perhaps he could not imagine someone loving him as deeply as Mari loved Aldric.
He watched, half with interest and half with trepidation as the twenty some carriages lined up in orderly fashion. A great horn was blown and silence descended on the crowd.
Then the court messenger raised his arm in a sweeping motion. “Behold, the noblewomen of the four kingdoms!”
He then announced each one in a ringing voice as they stepped from their carriages. Names and birthplaces swirled around in Cassius’ head as he watched the event take place. He was somewhere else entirely in his mind, removed and distant from the moment. He tried to feign interest in the girls as each stepped neatly out of her carriage, but he was already forgetting each one’s names.
Beside him, he heard Lycus’ pen dutifully scratching away, keeping track of each girl, her name, her birthplace and who her father was. He relaxed a little, knowing that Lycus would have it all memorized by the end of the day.
Suddenly, the court messenger faltered a little in his announcements. The girl he had called had not yet exited her carriage.
“Adira Craven!” He repeated, more forcefully this time, in case she had not heard him, “Daughter of Minister Cornelius Craven of Audun!”
There seemed to be some sort of scuffle happening in the carriage as it rocked back and forth, and some raised voices could be heard. The horses stamped nervously. Then silence fell before the door burst open and a lanky, awkward girl was half pushed, half carried out of the carriage by a tall young man. The girl was vainly scrabbling against him, her fists raining down on the immovable force that he was. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face Cassius and the rest of the royal family.
She blanched and stopped fighting. He then grabbed the back of her head and forced her into an awkward bow, before bowing with her.
Aldric chuckled. “I think that’s a first!”
”I’ve always heard that the people of Audun were a bit freer than the people of Grisaille, but she certainly has spirit!” Mari laughed lightly.
Cassius studied the strange pair, wondering who the man was and why this…Adira was struggling so much. He was struck by how different she was from most of the fashionable ladies he saw in court. Her deep red robes were in disarray from her struggle, as were her long and intricately braided dark curls. Her skin, a honey brown color, showed only at her face and hands, and surprisingly, at her bare feet.
The man standing with her looked very similar to her, with the same dark curls and brown skin, but he was calm and collected. He motioned to a nearby servant and murmured something to him. The servant ran up the long flight of stairs to the court messenger and whispered to him.
The court messenger cleared his throat, glancing nervously at Aldric, then announced, “Marcus Craven, the elder brother of Adira Craven, would like to apologize for his sister’s shameful behavior. She is simply frightened to stand in front of such a large crowd.”
Marcus grabbed the back of Adira’s head again and shoved it even lower, as ripples of laughter spread throughout the whole courtyard.
Even from so many flights of stairs away, Cassius could see her ears , which poked out from between her long locks, turning bright red from embarrassment.
To spare her even more embarrassment, he simply waved at the Court messenger to go on with his announcements. But his eyes kept straying to Adira as she stood miserably beside her brother.
“Quite a character, isn’t she?” Murmured Aldric, poking Cassius in the back.
”Not exactly suited to court life,” Lycus remarked, still scribbling away without missing a beat.
“…I a-am not s-suited to C-Court life a-anyway,” Cassius shrugged, watching as Marcus shoved a pair of sandals into Adira’s hands and gesticulated angrily at her.
A small smile played at his lips. She was amusing. But that was all she could be to him. Once she met him, she would surely be disgusted to be getting the leftover dregs of the royal family. The forgotten third son who was good for nothing.
He squashed down any affection this Adira may have garnered in his heart and turned to dutifully watch the rest of the girls alight from their carriages. He should choose a quiet girl who would care more for the title of princess and act accordingly. He already did not have a very good reputation in the court, being sickly and stuttering. He need not drag his reputation in the mud.
Each girl was then lead in a procession up the stairs to stop and curtsy in front of Cassius before officially entering the castle for the two week long selection process. Each girl was lovely and well mannered in her own way. Cassius tried hard to memorize their faces, but there were so many that they began blending together.
Adira stopped in from of him, with her sandals on this time, and did a strange little curtsey with her hands gripping her skirts a little too tightly. She raised her eyes and brazenly met his gaze.
The breath hitched in Cassius’ throat. She had the most lovely golden eyes, like drops of honey. She blinked at him, studying his face with undisguised curiosity. Cassius steadily met her look with a searching one of his own. Now that she was only a few feet from him, he could see that she had nice features. Full lips and dimples. He was a head taller than her, but she looked very strong and healthy, as if she spent every day outside.
Adira suddenly opened her mouth, as if to speak. Her brother Marcus swiftly slapped a hand over her mouth.
“You must wait to be addressed before you may speak to him!” He hissed to her.
Adira shoved his hand away. “Doesn’t that get a bit lonely?” She hissed back.
Cassius watched this interaction with growing amusement, able to hear every single word. He nodded to Adira. “Y-you w-wished to s-s-speak?”
“Well…” Adira looked back at Marcus who was sending her some very pointed and threatening facial expressions. She turned her back on him, fixating those lovely golden eyes back on Cassius. “I saw a painting of you once. They did not get your nose right.”
Aldric snorted and tried unsuccessfully to pass it off as a cough.
“Oh?” Cassius bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. “W-was there a-anything else t-that the artist got w-w-wrong?”
Adira studied him again. “He painted you with a very frightening expression as well. I was quite sure you would be very mean.”
Marcus choked and tugged at Adira’s arm in warning.
”And n-now?” Cassius gave up on biting his cheek and smiled in spite of himself. “A-am I v-very f-frightening?”
Adira tilted her head and grinned, her dimples shining in full force. “I do not see how the artist could have gotten it so wrong.”
The answer satisfied Cassius. At least she would not be afraid during her stay at the castle. Hopefully she would take it as a good experience before she went back to Audun.
Marcus steered Adira into the castle, bowing to Cassius and his brothers as he went.
“Am I very frightening?” Aldric mimicked under his breath, then grunted as Mari dug her heel into the top of his foot.
The rest of the introductions went by painlessly. Cassius said little, embarrassed by his speech impediment. Still, something stuck with him. Adira had not even blinked at the sound of his stuttering. Not only that, but she treated him like a regular person. As if the title of Third Prince of Brisaille meant nothing at all to her.
As Cassius followed his brothers into the throne room, he craned his neck as they passed the girl’s quarters, but did not get a glimpse of wild curls or honey brown skin.
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