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:  C H A P T E R  O N E  :

            "Father, please let me stay behind. I promise to be good!" I begged, but it was no use. Nothing would convince my father to allow me to skip out on this journey over seas. He knew all too well about my rather unfortunate seasickness that never failed to crawl up on me whenever we took to sea and visited the vast island off the coast of Damunt.

            "Stand up straight and keep your feet together," he chided. His hand, all worn with age and yet warm to the touch, came to rest on my shoulder. I hadn't realized how cold I was until I was already shivering.

            A buffet of wind carried my hair back, and caused me to squint my eyes to see the ocean ahead. It smelled of seaweed and salt, and touched my skin with an icy dampness that compared to nothing before. From my home on the hill, I could see the city and the ocean, but I rarely ever surged so close to the shore before. The rocky face terrified me, ever since Theo fell and broke his arm.

            Speaking of Theo, he was standing on my other side with the arm of a girl clinging to the crook of his elbow. Ella was a high standing woman, both in status and structure. Her long legs were tucked beneath the folds of a casual gown for the trip over seas. Around her neck, there was a dazzling gem ring strung through a cord.

            I was happy for my brother. Theo loved Ella, and as far as I knew she loved him just as well, but that did not hinder my annoyance at her clinginess that he seemed to adore. It bothered me that she had become so dependent on him, though I never knew if she was this way prior to being arranged with my brother. She showed up at one of the Coming of Age balls hosted at the Damunt court and Theo was under her spell, and they've been the same ever since.

            He caught my eye while I was studying the two of them, and he offered a brilliant smile in return. His dimples spotted the corners of his mouth where the freckles spread over his cheeks and nose. Whenever he smiled, his eyes squinted, and it was one of the attributes we both shared. We went squint-eyed when we smiled, but lately I hadn't been squinting much.

            Mainly because of this trip, and mainly because I had only just turned seventeen.

         Theo was seventeen when he met Ella, and now he's nineteen and married, and heir to Father's throne and all he owned. No matter what I did, Father would insist on taking me to balls for the newly-aged princes, and I knew all too well that eventually, I would not just be visiting, I would be there to meet a husband rather than just an average prince.

            Unfortunately one of the princes of Valens was due to turn seventeen, just a mere month after I did. Every now and then I would find it in me to feel guilty for those princes--they were expected to find a suitable wife within the span of a week, all while I simply had to wait until Father decided for me.

            Or I found a man that was even slightly becoming, but that wouldn't happen with this prince.

            Eli of Valens was turning seventeen, and I recalled meeting him on more than one occasion. He attended my Coming of Age celebration, and the two of us danced, we talked, and I did not like him much. My sights had been on a young Sir Ambrose of the kingdom next door.

            I fidgeted with my necklace's medallion as I followed behind Father up the wooden walkway bridging the gap between the dock and the ship. Thinking about Ambrose made the cross easier, but I could still see the waves lapping against the thick wooden posts holding the dock up. His eyes, so amber; his shoulders, so broad; his hands, so warm, I mused fretfully, trying my hardest to keep my eyes straight ahead. With a deep breath, we arrived in the dark cabin beneath the deck.

            "Take me to my room," Father instructed of one of the sailors, who bowed and agreed with a polite, "Yes, your Highness."

            I squinted in the dark and found a servant preparing to walk me and my suitcase to my room, when suddenly I was called to attention by the woman elbowing her way through our guards. She was panting and looked exhausted, but still carried a suitcase under each arm.

            "Goodness sakes, I thought I was going to be late," Claudia exclaimed. I could not stop the smile that spread across my face at the sight of her. Claudia was one of my handmaidens that had taken to watching over me since I was young. I had no doubt she would arrive on time, considering she would not miss a celebration like this for the world. In some ways, she had taken over the job of being my mother, and raised me to be at least faintly civilized.

            The sailor boy blinked in surprise, and said in a quieter voice, "Shall I take you two to yer rooms?"

            "Yes please, that would be lovely," Claudia blurted out for me, still out of breath. I laughed and nudged her ahead of me. I followed at a slower pace, taking in the walk all the way down the narrow corridor. I followed after them, and took up one of the suitcases the boy was holding when we reached the staircase at the end.

            "Ya don't have to do that, ma'am-"

            "I insist," I reassured him, and after a short falter we were back on track. Claudia gave me a disapproving look, but I brushed it off and skipped ahead to catch up with the boy.

            We approached a staircase that took us to another floor, and down the hall to an equally narrow doorway. A lamp was lit inside, providing a dim glow throughout the small cabin. I observed it from the outskirts, and slowly took my place inside. I could walk one step in each direction and barely skim the wall or the bed.

            "'Sorry 'bout the close quarters, ma'am," the boy said, setting down my suitcase just inside the door and stepping back. He bumped into the frame of the door, and I resisted the urge to giggle as he recovered. In the dim light I saw his ears grow red.

            "It is... humble. Thank you for your help," I told him. Even if he tried not to show it, I could still see the light glow in his eyes from my appreciation.

            "Are there no other rooms larger than this? The princess needs-"

            "Nothing more than this," I interrupted Claudia, this time glaring at her as she had done to me earlier. She gave me a challenging stare, and after a few seconds I returned my attention to the lad, but it was as soon as I had done this that he disappeared into the hallway. I rushed to the door and looked after him, and I only caught the tail end of his feet racing back up the stairs.

            I settled back into my room, closing the door on Claudia when she insisted we fight the young boy for a larger sleeping quarter. After a while I heard her footsteps pad down the hallway to her room.

            The lamp light caught on the worn scratches on the wood of the door, and how dusty the floor was despite having been washed down the day before. I started wondering how Theo and Ella were able to walk through these hallways, because the ceilings were severely low, but I was able to travel through them without much of a problem. Then again, I only came up to Theo's shoulder in height.

            I sat down on my bed and scooted back so I touched the wall. With my suitcase set up on my bed, I popped open the straps and pulled out my bookwork and settled in for the nine hour voyage to Valens.

>-->>  <<--<

            The sailor boy came to fetch me in the morn when the sunlight was just catching on the dust particles in the air. I bolted up at the sound of a knock on the door, and hastily realized I had fallen fast asleep slouched up against the wall, with a book and papers spread out on my lap, a quill in my hand.

            I smudged my hand over my eye and stretched out before getting up to answer the door upon its second knock. I pulled it open, listening to the creak resonating through the hall. The boy stood on the other side, blinking his wide blue eyes up to me.

            "I- uh, we're almost to land, ma'am."

            Still exhausted, I nodded and pulled the door open all the way so he could take my unopened suitcase up to the top deck. He waited for me in the hallway, but the abrupt entrance of Claudia from down the hall interrupted us. She was fussing about not having enough time to prepare me for landing, but I groaned in annoyance and insisted we would have time at the palace. She still tugged me back into the room and shooed the boy away with my bags.

            "Claudia-"

            "Shush up and sit down while I comb your hair," she insisted. Whining in frustration, I plopped back down on the bed and let her detangle the knots in my brunette curls, and later touch up my makeup and straighten out my dress.

            While I gathered my work together, and returned my quill to the wooden box kit, Claudia waited in the hallway. Together, the two of us climbed the stairs and arrived on deck.

            I was shocked to find the sun so bright and gleaming on the horizon. Last I had seen it, it had been on the opposite side of us, and now we watched it paint beautiful red colors over the clouds. At first I was blinded--the lamp light had strained my eyes, and now they were wide open and stunned by the scene. I carried myself over to the railing, ignoring the jolt in my stomach when I caught sight of the water so far down below.

            The window buffeted my hair to the side, casting the brunette curls over to the side as I looked ahead in the direction we surged towards. On the edge of the horizon, we were on the brink of discovering land once again.

            "Ma'am?" the boy questioned, coming to stand beside me. I shook myself back into position, realizing that I must have looked like a complete fool. This boy saw sunrises like this every day.

            "My apologies. Where are we heading?" I asked curiously, turning back around to where the masts towered over my head and brought sails out over the deck in massive blankets of thick, durable cloth. I was amazed by it all, at least until I caught my name on the wind.

            "Maxine! Over here!" It was Theo, waving from up above the captain's cabin. His figure glowed bright orange against the sun's rays, and soon Ella appeared at his side and waved enthusiastically to me. Claudia was already on her way over there, and I could almost hear her mumbling about how filthy the deck was and how it was getting her shoes dirty.

            Excitement rushed over me--I wanted to be up there by Theo and Ella, and feel the breeze on my face, and the sun on my skin.

            Laughing, I raced ahead of the sailor boy and dodged around a stack of crates and barrels along the edge of the railing. Around me men grabbed hold of ropes and shouted chants and calls to one another. It sounded like an orchestra of commotion that I reveled in when visiting the commonplace. So much was going on, and it was exhilarating.

            I pranced up the stairs, carrying my dress skirts up in front of me so my leather cloth boots could mark their path without being hindered. I skipped around Claudia and at the top of the steps, I huffed out a deep breath and pushed my hair back. "I do not understand how anyone expects me to do anything wearing a dress. Honestly!"

            Ella merely giggled into her palm while Theo gave a charming smile. "I could say something, but I would only be rubbing in the fact that I am allowed to wear trousers."

            I laughed out loud and reached over to slap him across the arm just as the sailor boy caught up to me, suitcase in hand. I swung around and took it from him, releasing him from his duties of following me around. At home I was not particularly in favor of being followed around and pampered, and being on a ship made no difference.

            Theo left us to speak with Father, who was standing off to the side nearby a tall, overbearing man. He had his head bowed in respect, and was clutching his cap in his hands in a nervous manner. After hearing Claudia whisper it, I discovered that the man Father and Theo spoke to was the captain of the ship.

            The breeze was lovely, and seemed to dull down as we approached land once more. We all gathered against the railing--Ella, Theo, and I--and watched the dock come into view off the rocky coast. It reminded me of Damunt in more ways than one, but I could see how much taller the shore cliffs were in comparison. There, cut into the wall of it all, was a steep staircase with spaces cut into the ledges of the cliff where the village merged together and clustered at the very top. Villagers and sailors were climbing up and down the stairs that looked to be a thousand steps up. The boats on shore sported blue Valen flags on their topmasts, and I was excited to see chalk art of their blue and white symbol decorating the cliff face.

            It was a relief to be on land again, but I found it difficult to stand at first. Theo caught me from stumbling, but were were both a bit tipsy on our feet. Ella laughed from inside the ship, not having crossed the bridge yet, when Father came out. She silenced herself and donned a guilty grin from beneath her hand.

            The captain helped Father onto the dock, and passed him off to the handymen that accompanied us on the trip. I knew their faces all too well, and felt a wave of relief wash over me just then. Theo and I had encountered our fair share of violent experiences against assassins, and I recalled their bravery and basked in it as we were escorted from the dock and onto dry land.

            We climbed step after step, and around our Damunian guards, the Valens parted and forged a straight path upwards for us. I couldn't help but look out at them as their eyes followed us, curious and excited. The edges of the rock face were decorated with ornate festive gear, and chalk art turned into beautifully color murals in celebration of the days to come.

            Eli was the reason for all of the cheer these villagers had, and for some odd reason I found it peculiar. I never expected Eli to have built such a large following, but then I recalled his charm towards the Damunian women that he probably used to woo his people.

            Vile, I thought to myself, and faced ahead towards the peek of the cliff and the gradual end to our climb. My calves were on fire, but I did not mind.

            A pair of warm hands touched my shoulder, and I turned to find Ella behind me. She carried my hair back and fluffed it up, and smudged her finger over a smear in my painted makeup. Before leaving for Valens, the handmaidens spent hours designing my appearance for the week. Claudia was more than prepared for the balls and the dances, the dinners and the parties. I, on the other hand, was getting ready to dread every single second of it.

            Especially since Ambrose was more than likely going to be there with his younger sibling.

            Despite the terror settling in the pit of my stomach, I kept my chin high as we arrived at our coach and climbed in one by one. Claudia took a separate coach along with a handful of the guards. Father's head of royal defense, Myron Conroy, joined us, and explained where we would be staying and the restrictions each of us had. Theo and Ella were taking this trip on a completely different note than I was, and I loathed them for it. They would be spending most of their time out on the town, discovering Valen delicacies and native cultures while I, on the other hand, would be trapped in the palace rubbing elbows with Father's comrades on the Valen court.

            When we arrived at the front gates guarding the outskirts of the palace estate, I caught the first glimpses of the elegantly designed landscape riding along the countryside out to the winding forest path. The morning sunlight drizzled through the leaves, casting long yellow stripes across the gravel. I peered out as far as I could from the window, only to duck back in when our coach crossed paths with blue-coated guards on horseback. They stopped on the shoulder of the gravel, heads bowed towards our coach when we journeyed past.

            At least they were polite.

            "I don't believe there is any way we could arrange a meeting with Lucius, is there?" Father spoke up, drawing my attention back across the space to where he sat along side Conroy. The two men were striking different in comparison of looks, with Father looking so elderly and Conroy so incredibly young and fresh. He was fair-haired and dashing, olive-skinned and tall. Outside of the palace life he had a wife to his right and two daughters on his left.

            He twirled around the chain of a necklace in his hand, one that consisted of his family's crest and also a glass capsule. Father told me it was poison that could be used only when in dire situations.

            "I can see what I can do, sir," Conroy replied. I saw his grey eyes shift towards me, and then back towards Theo and Ella, who were conversing amongst themselves about where they would go first. She giggled and whispered something into my brother's ear, to which he turned red at and nudged her accusingly in the side.

            "Gross," I muttered, looking away before he had the chance to pin me with a withering stare.

            "Maxine," Father warned, and I set my lip in response and kept it that way as we took to the right fork in the road and journeyed towards the visitors section of the palace keep.

            It was less than settling to know that I would mostly be confined to my bedroom quarters. Servants from the Valens palace took our bags, and we were led up to our rooms. We were reserved a section of the wing where four bedrooms intersected at a common place, and Father won the suite. Claudia and I were arranged in one of the connecting rooms.

            Valen crests were everywhere, and the ocean blue scheme started at the floor and went all the way to the ceiling where a crystalline chandelier hung. When one of the servants entered the room to drop off my luggage, I half expected the sailor boy to be standing there. I had grown quite fond of him.

            Theo and Ella were out the door before the clock even struck midday. Claudia was coaching me on Eastvale tongue, which was a lesson I was currently involved in for future reference, when a servant came to inform me that I was being summoned.

            "Who called for her?" Claudia demanded, annoyed to be interrupted teaching. I rolled my eyes and set back to the book. I did not want to be summoned, especially by anyone here. I just wanted to work on perfecting my language studies, and maybe delve into some more Damunt politics.

            "Sir Ambrose, ma'am," the girl said. Claudia's eyes turned to me, and I hoped it was not obvious that I had frozen in my place. "He is waiting out in the common place."

            I rested my quill on the book and pushed back my chair. "I will be right back. I shouldn't be long."

            Claudia was intelligent, and since the last ball I assumed she suspected my interests in Ambrose. They were not as outspoken as Theo's with Ella, but that was one of the major differences between my brother and I. Over the years I had grown a strong game face, but she always knew.

            "Be back soon."

            I nodded in response and straightened my gown before exiting my quarters. The girl stepped aside before scurrying off to the servant's door between my own and Father's. The guards were stationed at the door, but between them, stood Ambrose.