🗝

C H A P T E R   S E V E N T E E N

"I believe that in life, you have to give things your best shot, do your best. You have to focus on what needs to be done, do the right thing, not the popular thing."

- David Cameron

Stepping out of the cottage felt like stepping back into the frosty reality from a warm and comfortable daydream. Officer Richett held my coat as I lifted my skirt, walking across the sandy beach.

"Your first Interview is here in EastFox Village, actually." Officer Richett walked along with two other guards. "Your next one is at the castle, a press broadcast."

"Two?" I stopped in my tracks. "Henri said I just had one! And that I'd get the afternoon free!"

"Don't shoot the messenger." He grumbled. "You think I want to be in this filthy Amber village longer than I have to?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Your Queen was raised up by these filthy Ambers, so you better get used to driving me around here more often to meet my mother."

Officer Richett didn't reply, rethinking about what he just said. The daggers in my eyes almost made him feel the pain. "Of course." he mumbled, abashed.

The people of Eastfox village didn't bother with formalities anymore. I heard a couple scoffs and sneers, the only things following me seemed to be scowling faces. I looked up at the sky, it was lunch time. The clouds were still in their place.

"Your Majesty!" a short and stout man came running up to me, his hand watch chain jiggling on his coat pocket. "This way, this way please. Would you like some tea? Buns, maybe?" His moustache seemed to be the only thing talking. A bushy menace covering his entire mouth, not groomed properly. He must have not had enough to pay for the grooming or the tools, though he looked quite wealthy.

"Oh it's alright, I just had tea a while ago." I replied hiding away from the irritated glances of the EastFox village civilians. "Shall we go in?"

"Of course, of course! I apologise, your time is much more valuable than any of ours combined!" He went on. "Our crew is in our studio, right this way!" He pointed at a shabby old shop at the corner of the street with no name board or windows.

"No." Officer Richetts booming voice thundered. "Her Majesty shall not be taken to an old, half-shattered building! Is this how you treat your Queen?"

The stout man shook. ":Oh, of course not! Never! But this is our studio, we have no other place, but I can assure you-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Officer Rishett replied back. "For all we know, you may as well have killers in there!"

"I-" The man stuttered. "But- the interview!"

"It's alright." I intervened. "We can have the interview out on the beach, no one can hear nor see from there, tell your crew to set up whatever they need over to the new venue."

"Thank you! Thank you!" The man was almost jumping with joy. "Oh, how pleasant our Queen is!" he bounded away to his studio.

I just wished that everyone here in EastFox village thought the same.

●・○・●・○・●

"Alright!" a man yelled as he brought in the last of the chairs, a few shorthands were there waiting, along with a printing press. "We will begin in three... two..."

I already knew how this worked, teh shorthands would write everything down as fast as they could and the printing press would rewrite it to perfection and then print it for the public.

The beach was deserted, the sky was slowly turning into the evening hues, the clouds were still wide awake and in their positions. Officer Richett had asked the coachmen to ride us to the nearest Ivory town to have lunch at, by the time we returned back. The stout man, whose name was Don, had already gathered his crew.

Another shorthand was also seated amongst the rest, though away in a corner, ready to write the entire interview down for the press reports.

"Your Grace!" Don came in dressed in his best suit. "Thank you very much for taking the time to have this interview! I am certain the Residents of Eastfox village will be pleased to hear that their Queen has come for a special interview for them!"

I put on a mask, my own mask of happiness. "Of course, and I too am very delighted to be having the interview as well." Ivory guards surrounded the scene with patrolling officers around the perimeter of the beach.

"Let's not keep you waiting then." He sat on a chair, and I sat on the other kept beside it. "Less than a week ago, you had been crowned Queen of Mithalore, not to mention almost a month earlier than expected."

I nodded my head agreeing. "Matters had to be dealt with immediately, time and tide waits for no one."

"Truer words have never been spoken." He bobbed his head as well. "But tell me this, Your Majesty, can you interpret the meaning behind the sudden rebellion attack up at the northern castles? People and staff being killed while the entire kingdom rejoicing as the crown landed on your head."

My smile stretched, and so did my mask.

What a horrible question to start this interview. "The rebel attacks have been going on for more than a year." I stated. "Attacks like these are bound to be more often than not, they were feeling unjust. For whatever suffering that influenced them to attack us, they couldn't bear when everyone was rejoicing, thus the attack on the coronation day. They were simply looking for ways to bring their plight to focus."

"And what plight may this be? Killing people, your people, for what?"

My eyes narrowed, he was playing a game. He had the control, while I had the power.

"Their plight is exactly what we're working on figuring out. While they continue to rampage for justice, we are trying to solve what caused them this injustice, whether in terms of security, finance or stability in general. We want to assure Mithalore that we are currently undergoing methods to ease the rebels and hopefully end the conflict."

"Hm. Interesting." Don looked at the shorthands, whereas I looked at the Scowling Officer Richett and an arriving Henri jumping out of a carriage. "A very assuring statement indeed! Now to our next pressing question; King Alexandro IV. His death was definitely sudden and unprepared for, not to mention the fact that he had a daughter all this while! Now tell me, why is it that the council decided it was best to keep this large secret away from the kingdom for this long."

I looked directly at the shorthands, making myself very clear as I spoke. "The kingdom was in chaos before King Alexandro died, with the end to the northern wars with the Kingdom of Ketra, it was indeed a time to celebrate were it not that our king had died in battle. As you can see, the news of the King's death after winning years of war would have definitely been unsettling to the people of Mithalore, celebrating when we have lost, so we had chosen to keep his death out of the spotlight until someone would be able to fill in."

"Which was you." Don scratched his moustache. "First the King's death, then his long-lost daughter, how many more things are the Council hiding?"

"Everything they do is for the best interests of the Kingdom." I snapped venomously, I knew a big part of what the council didn't know, it wasn't them who was hiding information, it was me.

Donn gave a stammering laugh. "Of course! Well that's the end of this Interview, continue watching EastFox press and Reports for more!"

Immediately the shorthands stopped scribbling into their notepads and the entire crew was taking the chairs away, with the tiny Don trying to escape between them.

"What was that?" I roared, pushing my chair back and marching to Don. "This was an Interview not a confrontation!"

"Your Majesty!" He raised his hands, "I was only asking what the people wanted to know!" Officer Richett came forward with another Spira officer, grabbing the man by the arms, and so did Henri.

"What you did." Henri paused to point at the crew. "Was Prying for information from your superiors, which is against the law!"

The colour drained from Don's face. He was a Con-Man, a different face in real life and a different face on press.

"P-Please!" He begged. "I was just doing my job! Providing for my readers!"

"Your studio is suspended, there will be no 'EastFox Press and Reports' from now one!" Henri grabbed their ID's and pointed at Don. "You will be spending the next year in the Factories for Confronting your Queen."

The crown weighed heavily on my head.

The look on Don's face made me remember mine, when I was simply selling dresses and got the worst news of my life. Everything was taken away that moment, and now, everything of Don's was being taken away too. His studio, his job, his life.

But I didn't want to save him, he may be the first ever Amber I'd get the chance to save and follow my cause, but no matter how hard I tried. I didn't want to. I watched as they burnt the Id's, I watched as they tore down their equipment. But I didn't say anything.

He brought this upon himself. I thought.

It was hypocritical but it was all I could do. Ambers were meant to be honest, we had everything of ours already taken away by the Ivories, Don risked everything he had for this little stunt.

I walked away with my two coachmen to my carriage, Henri following close behind. "When Don requested an Interview for EastFox Village, I thought it would be splendid for the southern villages to know more about their Queen, but all along he was just a Con-artist, he was using you! Such a horrid little man."

He wanted to know more, more than he was supposed to, more than he was allowed to, and now he's got a years worth of terror to suffer. What about me?

"Henri." I murmured, my voice filled with dread and tiredness. "Make his tenure for just six months, he doesn't deserve it." I climbed the carriage, regret swallowing me as I watched the faint image of East Fox village as we left.

"If it's what the Queen wishes."

●・○・●・○・●

When we arrived at the castles, I was completely drained. My whole afternoon went to waste with the silly interview and now, I'm due to ball-dancing classes.

"Tomorrow is your Coronation day." Henri reminded, as he held up my drooping figure. "All the Visiting Royals have finished the party planning already, they wanted to make this party especially just for you."

"I know." I yawned. "And I will be forever in their debt."

"Hm." Henri scratched his chin. "Maybe tomorrow at the ball you can discuss the security systems of Savaria and Mithalore, hopefully she'll send us some help or, if that doesn't work out, she'll give us some information on how we can improve ours."

"But then, We'll be using the Amber soldiers."

Henri gave a disappointed sigh. "We will if we have to, for now go to your ball dancing classes with the rest of the royals, after that you have another interview and a letter to reply to."

"A letter?" I perked up, remembering Bree''s letter this morning. "From who?"

"Patrik of course, you're no longer allowed to send any more letters through the public post office, only your Private Post office."

"But then, how will I read what people send me?" I bit my lip, Bree couldn't use my private Post office to send letters, nor could I trust this Ivory system.

"You will be able to receive them, just not reply to them."

I nodded my head and headed up to my chamber, to get out of my sweaty clothes and into a new set. On my way I bumped into Kaylee, who was carrying a load of dresses.

"Your Majesty!" she hurriedly picked up the clothes that had fallen off. "I am so sorry, I didn't see you-"

"It's alright." I strained a chuckle, her apologies reminded me of Don's. "I was actually looking for you, I need a dress to wear for my classes." The castles had not exactly felt homey as of yet, but nothing was ever permanent. I just had to adapt to the sudden changes, like how I've been doing all along.

"Of course!" She quickly dumped the clothes in a basket nearby. "That young Prince was by your Chamber today, asking for you."

"Young Prince?"

"The French one." she clarified. "The one with glasses and a French accent."

"Oh, Pierre." I mumbled, he must have come asking about the box. "I'll talk to him after, thank you."

"Right this way." She ushered me into my chamber, "I had pre-prepared the dresses before your arrival here, as soon as we heard about the rebel attack and re-location."

I blushed. "You really didn't have to." I remembered how mother used to be doing these things when she was working as a seamstress under the King, always sewing dresses for whenever the king needed them before he could ask for it.

Kaylee silently put on the dress single handedly, all my other maids were busy with the ball tomorrow, except June, who was almost always in my chamber, dusting or cleaning.

I looked at myself in the mirror, in my lace dress and heels. I stood out, but what stood out more was the jewels from the crown on my head.

●・○・●・○・●

"I'm here." I announced, as I ran to the ballroom. My instructor, Sir Hemlet, was already positioning the other Royals. "I'm sorry I'm late, I had an interview."

"Quite alright." Sir Hemlet muttered, adjusting Walter's pose by tapping his long stick on the arch of his back, much to Walter's irritation. "You may stand in the middle, Your Highness."

I quietly followed as sir Hemlet had instructed. All the first-borns, and Ginger, were already here, except for Lanying. A few other young dukes and barons. "Now, we shall start with the Hammerlock Position and slowly transition into the Promenade position." He clapped his hands. "Find a partner everyone!"

At once everyone rushed about. A few Dukes came forward towards me. "Be my partner?" One smirked arrogantly.

"Don't be silly Kesh. She would love to be mine." another cocky smile.

I took a step back, just to bump into another narcissistic voice. "I think she'd rather dance with someone who has status."

I ducked under and out of the three competing dukes and barons only to bump into a fourth person. "Pierre?"

"Be my dance partner?" he mumbled, his face pink, but his eyes begging. I looked further behind him to see a group of girls, duchesses, giggling and fanning themselves, which to my surprise, annoyed me very much.

"Of Course." I gave him a wink, noticing the girl's flirtatious giggles turn to scorns.

He let out a silent sigh as he held my hand towards the middle of the ballroom. "Those ladies wouldn't be able to control their hands even if they tried." He muttered. "They were all over me, I tell you, just blatantly rubbing over my shoulders and neck, not that I don't have a nice neck."

I grimly stared back at the duchesses, the disturbing image of their hands imprinted in my head. "It doesn't matter." I said, more to myself than him. "Do you know how to do a hemlock position by any chance?"

Sir Hamlet paired the isolated members who didn't have partners, Walter with Ginger, and Lucas with a baroness.

He clapped his hands. "Now, the Hemlock position. One partner turns back, the other front, join opposite hands and hold!"

Immediately I did what Sir Hemlet had instructed. I turned back, while Pierre remained front. I took out my right hand to reach for Pierres left, while Pierre grabbed my left hand behind my back and held on to it. His warm hands grasping onto my cold ones.

I turned front, ignoring the warmth of his skin and the goosebumps on mine. His hands were huge, engulfing my tiny ones.

Lucas, coincidentally, was turning my way too. "Looking beautiful, as always." he smiled.

I gave him a shy smile, Pierres warm fingers distracting me from my thoughts. "Merci."

"Wonderful, Wonderful!" Sir Hemlet clapped his hands again. "This will be your opening position! From here you both will turn to face each other, with your hands still connected, your back arms will go around the opposite waist and your front one will stretch out, still being held together!"

I didn't understand how we were supposed to keep our hands together while transitioning, but Pierre did. "Turn to face me." he demanded, his warm hands pulling me towards his hard chest, my face buried in the scent of his suit. "Right hand out, and left hand around my waist."

"You have a large waist." I mumbled, ignoring the goosebumps on Pierres arm around my waist, and mine around his.

"You have tiny arms." He retorted, pulling me closer. Sir Hemlet was busy showing the other royals how to transition. "I came by to visit you, but you were still at your mother's."

"I know." I murmured, adjusting my cramped arm. "What was it about?"

"Eddelynne." his voice was barely a whisper as he leaned forward to reach my ear. "I needed to see the code, I think I found something on there, but your chambermaid wouldn't leave the room."

I was right, he was there for the box. But a part of me was disappointed that it wasnt me he wanted to see.

"It's in my closet." I whispered back. "I've been staring at it all night, there isn't anything except a few engraved designs and that barely visible inscription." Sir Hemlet began to play the music, as everyone began dancing.

"That's it!" His whisper grew louder. "The inscription is what we're searching for, not what it means. I need to see the Box, Vaclare, we have to sneak out after our first dance practice." Our bodies were moving with the rhythm in sync. Our steps were precise.

"How many dances are there, exactly?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Twenty two, but we'll only be able to dance to just three or four of them." His eyes roamed across my face until they settled just below my nose, on my lips. "You'll be too busy anyway for a dance, it's only them who really need it."

"Busy doing what?" I whispered without thinking, my eyes were latched on his lips now.

His tongue slipped out, wettening his dry lips as his eyes now wandered into my own. "Whatever you want." instinctively, our heads were leaning towards each other. The noises of Sir Hemlet's instructions and the music being played were simply faint background noises. Right then, it was just me and Pierre, Pierre and me.

"NOW SWITCH!"

My elbow was pulled back while Pierre was whisked away into another direction. My entire body crashed into the person pulling me, the person with the same scent as Pierre. "You're supposed to be paying attention." Lucas sniggered. "Not canoodling my brother.'' Now we were both dancing, following the positions Sir Hemlet gave. The music and the noise was as loud as it was before.

"I wasn't canoodling your brother!" I whispered furiously, my face hot and red. "We were dancing!"

"Doesn't seem like it." he gestured his head towards Pierre, who was now dancing with another girl, which made me want to gag, but his eyes were hard and glued onto Lucas' arm around my waist, but Lucas' eyes were just as hard as he glared back. "He looks Jealous."

"Pfft." I shook my head giving a high pitched laugh, "Him? Jealous? Of what exactly?"

"Oh trust me." His eyes bore into mine. "There is a lot to be jealous about when it comes to you." When he said that sentence his arm around me tightened, and I was met with the reality and heatness of our closeness. Our bodies were almost pressed together, the contact made me blush even harder.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I whispered, feeling the same effect Pierre had on me before. I wasn't thinking straight, his eyes still bore into mine. His hardened gaze of Pierre softened into a gaze meant only for me.

"I think you do."

Suddenly the music was turned off as Lucas abruptly put some distance between us and gave me a lazy smile.

"Very well done!" Sir Hemlet clapped his hands. Everyone was tired, their chests rising up and down, their breaths ragged, but mine was for a completely different reason. Two completely different reasons.

"Your break for twenty minutes, we will start again at five." The second Sir Hemlet finished his sentence, everyone in the room spread out in different directions. I found myself walking towards the door, the ball room was suddenly suffocating.

"Where are you going?" Lucas followed me out, his bowtie in his hands. "Let me walk you."

"To my chamber." I muttered dazily. "Pierre wanted to see something."

"Yes, and your presence won't be needed." Pierres came walking out grandly, he placed an arm on my shoulder, his cold eyes on Lucas. "I can take her to her chamber safely."

Lucas, already used to his brother's antics, simply rolled his eyes. "If you can walk her to her chamber safely then I'm sure it's no problem if I tag along."

A dark flash covered Pierres eyes. "Well then, call Ginger and Walter, we're going to her chamber to discuss the box."

"I'm older than you." Lucas buttered irritatedly, but nevertheless, went to call Ginger and Walter.

●・○・●・○・●

"How come I wasn't invited?" Lanying kept whining as we walked to my chamber, after overhearing that Ginger and Walter were called to discuss the box and not her, she put on a fit. "I'm a part of this too, you know? In fact, I even have the power to go right over to my mother and tell her about-"

"You took an oath." Ginger stopped to put her hands on her hips, glaring at the little girl. "You're hardly twelve.. Remember what Willow said? If the rebels know that we know, it's an unofficial death sentence."

Walter simply muttered profanities under his breath. "I still don't believe any of this. I agree that the preciseness of it all is eerie, but it could also be, I don't know, coincidental?"

Pierre rubbed his forehead in agitation, and turned to face the group behind us. "We're all doing this for Willow. She's 18 for god's sake, no parents, no guidance, and she has to rule an entire kingdom single handedly!" He announced. "The rebels already killed twenty percent of her staff and somehow she's linked in all of this. We're doing her a favour, after all, among us, she has the most experience as an actual Queen, if we need anything after we're crowned she would be the first person we'd go to. Now stop all this bantering and try to be a little more accommodating."

I was touched by Pierre's speech, I never thought of it that way. In fact, the whole reason I thought they were in this was because they wanted answers as much as I did. But it was more than that. We had a bond, we were connected by chaos and disaster, and the best part is, we all are working to end it.

I blushed intensely, thinking about the moment I shared with Pierre in the ballroom, and the same feeling with Lucas. But my gaze wasn't on Pierre for that speech, it was on Lucas who was agreeing with everything Pierre said.

He took a step forward. "It's true. I know that when I'm crowned King, Willow would always be the first person I'd walk to if I had any problems."

I could feel the heat on my cheeks travel further down to my neck. Lucas being crowned King was a sensitive topic for Pierre, but when I turned my gaze to hum, to see how he was holding up, it wasn't Lucas he was glaring at, it was me.

"Let's get to Willow's chamber." Suddenly, the way he spoke felt like he regretted the speech.

●・○・●・○・●

June was already in my chamber, or maybe she never left it. When we arrived June was busy fluffing the pillows and making my bed. "Your Majesty." she curtsied when I entered.

"June!" I smiled walking up to her. "Would you mind if I could have a minute with my friends?" I gestured to the group behind me. "I wanted to discuss my coronation party plans!"

My lying skills have significantly improved since I've become an Ivory. I always thought that Amber were the bigger liars, being forced to lie in order to live, but no, it was the Ivories. Their entire life was a lie, their mask was a lie.

"Of course!" She giggled. "I'll come back in an hour to bring your dress arrangements for the ball." When we lost the sound of her fading footsteps, Walter bolted the door and Ginger closed the blinds.

"Now, what next?" Lanying took a seat on my bed.

"The box." Pierre replied curtly, his voice cold. He looked at me, waiting.

"Uh-yes." I scrambled in my closet as I searched under the pile of clothes and shoes, I noticed the corners slightly poking out beneath my nightgowns and made a grab for it. "I haven't taken it out since Walter kept it there." I explained, but Pierre barely batted an eyelash at me. It was like how he was when we first met all over again, curt, cold and in his own bubble.

Lucas went by his side as both the twins began inspecting the box. I followed along too, and so did Ginger.

"Persistent Vigilance amongst the Unknown" Lucas read out loud. "It sounds and looks the same as before."

"Hm." Pierre hummed as he inspected it, running his fingers over the engraving. After a few seconds his eyes began to light up, and his signature smirk was marked onto his face. "Look at this!" He called.

Soon everyone was crowding against him. I looked out of the window, momentarily, to see a short white flashe through the blinds. I didn't think much of it as Pierre began explaining, the coldness in his voice turning to excitement.

"Look at the engraving." He kept the box down for everyone to see and even placed the magnifying glass on top of it.

'Persistent vigilance amongst the unknown'

"Okay?" Ginger looked up at Pierre, his six foot height bothering her as well. Really, why do men have to be so tall and we women have to look so tiny and fragile? "All I see is a message."

"Trace your hand over it." Pierre instructor, his eyes gleaming as he watched Ginger's fingers brush over the engraving.

"Still nothing." she frowned.

"Let me try." I brushed my fingers along the engraving, while brushing through it some letters felt more deeply engraved than others. Pierced further down into the box you could almost place your entire fingernail in. "Some letters are engraved deeper than the others." I deduced.

Pierres cocky smirk now engulfed his entire face. "Exactly. Look, the letters R , N , C , O , W are much bolder than the others."

Walter snatched the box and began tracing over it again, he looked impressed. "Wow. How did you find this out?"

"Midnight thoughts, I suppose. I was thinking about it and realised that the person who engraved this phrase must have used a knife to cut through the wood, and from what I remember when Willow had shown the box, the complicated designs were scratchily etched on it."

"Which meant that the knife must have been incredibly sharp in order to engrave such elaborate designs." Lucas continued, following Pierres line of thought. "And could be further dug in."

Pierre nodded, his eyes dulling. "A lot of tradesmen use this tactic to sell illegal weapons across seas, they make a deep engraving on a couple of letters to form the actual addresses."

Lanying then snatched the box from Walter to inspect it herself. "Does this mean that Eddelynne Cassida was a tradesman? Or a tradeswoman?"

"Maybe she was, or maybe she was just posing as one. Assassins can disguise themselves as anything, Maybe Eddelynne posed as the ex-queen's lady in waiting or maid and then killed her."

"But." I began. "If she was a hired assassin, then... who hired her?"

I was met with silence for an answer. "Was it the rebels?" I thought out loud. "Or some inter-kingdom enemy?"

"I don't know." Ginger answered for all of us. "Let's solve one mystery at a time, yes?"

A chorus of agreements followed.

I looked down at the bold engravings, and then up to Pierre. "An anagram then?" I asked.

"Of course." he almost scoffed, as if it wasn't obvious enough. "R , N , C , O , W "

"Crown." Lucas replied instantly. "The letters, unscrambled, spell CROWN" It was then I noticed how similar both the twins really were. Pierre was smart and logical, coming up with questions and theories, while Lucas was deductive, having answers for all of Pierre's questions. They were like two puzzle pieces perfectly fit together.

But why didn't they?

Before I could react, two large hands shadowed over me reaching for my crown. "Walter!" I snapped when I felt its heavy weight lift off my head. "Careful! It's delicate!"

"Like I've never held a crown before." He rolled his eyes. "Relax, would you? I've held my father's crown many times, and it's a lot heavier than yours."

"I have a small head." I said tediously, realising it wasn't my best retort. But with its heavy weight off my head, it seemed as if all my problems had temporarily disappeared.

After all, it was the crown that brought these present problems to my lap.

"You have a small brain too." he countered back, handing the crown to Lucas. "If it spells Crown, does that mean there's another engraving on the crown?"

"Of course not." I scorned. "I spent every night looking at the crown and all the misery it has caused me, I would know if something were to be engraved on it."

"Misery?" Pierre mocked. "I didn't realise hanging out with us caused you that much pain." the harshness in his eyes was now replaced with a twinkle of humour. He must have been glad he was able to solve something, I wonder how much he tossed and turned all night thinking about it, like I had.

From how much I know him, not having answers ticks him off as much as it ticks me.

"Just get on with it." I gestured to Lucas. "Any engravings?"

Lucas didn't reply, his black locks fell on his forehead as his eyes travelled around the gold crown, adorned with jewels and gemstones. In the light he almost looked angelic.

"Have you heard from your friend yet?" Ginger asked, the feeling of her hand on my shoulder brought me out of that moment of dazed. When I glimpsed at Pierre it seems that he didn't miss that moment either.

"Yes." I confirmed. "Bree sent me a letter this morning, she sounded worried. She wrote that she got some bad news that needed to be told directly."

"What kind of bad news?"

"Too bad to even specify." I sighed, sitting down on my bed, my head resting on my palms. "Tomorrow is the Coronation ball, which means she could come then. Right now, all it feels like is that everything I'm going to ever receive is bad news." My eyes involuntarily flashed towards the crown sitting in Lucas' hands. The three boys were inspecting it heavily.

Lanying sat down beside me. "My mother used to say that the more bad news you receive, the more hope for better news to come. At least now you know that somewhere you'll receive better news than right now."

I chuckled slightly, caressing her hair. "Your mother is very wise."

"Of course she is." Lanying beamed. "She's Queen. And so are you."

●・○・●・○・●

Soon our break was over and we had to go back to the Ballroom to resume our class. Lanying promised to look after the box in my chamber and wait to decide on my coronation party dress with June when she arrives. The boys didn't find anything on the crown, just as I had known.

Presently, the crown was fixed back on my head, but it felt much heavier than before.

"Your Majesty. Just in time!" Sir Hemlet grinned and ushered us back to our places, but we were all assigned different partners. I was with a duke, the same one who first came up to ask me to dance.

"I'd like to take a moment to say how dashing you look, Your Majesty." He shone his pearly white teeth at me, slightly flexing his biceps as he held out an arm. But I was far from impressed.

"We shall start with our opening positions and now transition into the final stage..." Sir Hemlet began, demonstrating the positions, but all I could think about were the conflicting emotions in my head and my heart.

The deep engravings on the box spelt crown, but... there wasn't anything written on my crown. Of course there wouldn't be. I thought to myself. She was an assassin, she wouldn't repeat the same form of code everywhere.

Even if she wasn't really an assassin, and was instead a milkmaid, as my maids say she was, it wouldn't add up, and so far... the story of her as an assassin made much more sense.

Maybe she posed as a milkmaid, here. Maybe she carefully hid herself under a fake mask just to kill the Ex-Queen, my birth-mother.

The funny thing was, during this entire course. The Ex-Queen felt like anything but my real mother.

She felt like she was a horror story, a story best left untold.

The duke's arm wrapped around my waist, bringing me back into the unravelling present. His cocky smirk seemed plastered on his face. "I especially love this position." He murmured seductively, eyes how Sir Hemlet was demonstrating. From the looks of it, we were supposed to hug and then the male partner must pull the female partner down for a dip.

"Never in a million years." I glared at him, and peeled his arms off my body, but before I could take a step away, Henri burst through the doors.

"The Foreign Royals request Her Majesty's presence." He announced, slightly out of breath. The drawing room was far from the ballroom. "May I take Queen Willow for a while, just to confirm her coronation party tomorrow."

The saddest part of this all was that no Duke or Duchess had even stepped forward to congratulate as many had done on my coronation day. Not that I was complaining, this was the third national mourning day. Though I'm certain none of them care, I will force myself to presume this was the reason.

With my hand behind my back I walked towards the doors where Henri stood waiting. "Thank you." I breathed out in a whisper, once the doors were closed and the music was nothing but a faint tune. "It was very suffocating, though there were windows."

Henri merely chuckled as he held out an arm, which I held on to. Maids and servants alike were ruching about with boxes and decorations. "The party is ready, it's in the fourth and grandest ballroom. Now all we need is a formal invitation, made by you, to the kingdom."

"There aren't many Ivories here." I replied, dodging the boxes that seemed to be overcrowding me.

"Your interview." Henri reminded me. "You'll be broadcasted, Patrik has a letter too. I suggest you read and reply to it first." Henri took out a crumpled letter from the pocket of his suit. "Apologies for its unkemptness, I had forgotten to give it to you earlier."

I hummed in response as I tore off the seal and then the envelope.

Your Majesty,

Our deepest gratitude for being able to follow with the sudden changes of the Rebel attack, rest assured, Officer Richett has strategized a method that we can use to keep the rebels away for at least a couple weeks until we can find a solution.

Your coronation ball tomorrow will be tightly secured by the soldiers sent by the Queen of Savaria, generously for this occasion.

The following week you will have to strictly abide by the schedule with Henri, a lot of those things must be done with utmost precision, as the Council has already their hands full with the attacks and fastening King Alexandro's foreign affairs before it turns to another decade-long war.

Lord Greggory, from a close House of King Alexandro's ancestors, would be attending your coronation tomorrow, and as a pre-warning, he will be asking a wagon-load of questions on your past and future as Queen.

The entire event will run smoothly, but do expect the unexpected. Lords and ladies, Dukes and Duchess', Barons and Baronesses who know King Alexandro better than you do will be coming to pry information and I suggest you keep whatever information you know about the Rebel attacks, and any other pivotal agreements, to yourself. You took an oath as Queen to serve your kingdom, and you shall not break that oath.

Take care.

Patrick Lowe.

Head of Mithalore Royal Council.

I crumpled the paper and handed it back to Henri. Of course. He didn't write me a letter to check up with how his queen was doing, he wrote a letter with more demands and threats with who I am and what I ought to be doing.

What rubbish.

Henri said nothing, which I was thankful for. "Henri, Take me to the drawing room. I presume it's where my interview is being held."

●・○・●・○・●

The minute my large heels crackled on the marble floor, all attention was on me. "Your Majesty!" A woman bowed, her whitish-grey hair falling out from her bun. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lady Emmeline, owner of Prestington Brook News, and I have been called for a broadcast of the Queen. It's a pleasure."

I nodded my head. "The pleasure is mine." It was true, I just hoped she wasn't a con man like Don, who I left to punish. I still do not know why I hadn't intervened, or even forgave him. I was here with this crown on my head to save the Ambers, it was why I had even accepted this proposition. Not running away from their protests and sending one off to the Coast right in front of my very own eyes.

But I had a plan. A plan that could hopefully set my path straight again.

"I am very certain we can get this done in a few minutes." She babbled, fixing her dress. "We have our very experienced shorthands and printing press here, everything you say is going to be recorded down immediately. As you speak, your words are going to be inked down on papers, a lot of papers, so we really have no room for mistakes. Once we're done, the pages will be sent to be re-written and then sold out to the kingdom."

I was aware of the process, but it felt comforting to know that Lady Emmeline still took the extra effort to do that.

I sat down on a corner side sofa, with Lady Emmeline near Henri and a few guards and maids. The process did not take overly long as it was with Don's crew. Everything was already set up and ready, at least a hundred chairs filled with shorthands sat there waiting to write everything down as fast as they could.

A few men were holding up placards with what I had to say. Each sentence was written boldly and held up high. I didn't understand why I needed to even speak when they could have simply copied down from the placards.

"It needs to be authentic." Lady Emmeline replied, as if reading my thoughts. "This broadcast is coming from our Queen, and we ensure that it does, we don't cheat our people. Feel free to add your own lines wherever necessary but don't be too spontaneous."

"We begin in three seconds, Your Majesty." A man said. Holding up three fingers, then two, and then one.

"Good Evening." I put on my mask, a happy facade, if I wanted what I had to say to be believable, I had to do it right. "I am Queen Willow, daughter of Alexandro Vaclare IV and ruler of the Ivories and Ambers." I read from the cards, flinching slightly at how obscure this all sounded. They portrayed me as a Saviour to the Ivories and a Shadow to the Ambers.

"With the attack on the Northern castles three days ago, the Kingdom of Mithalore was sent into a nation-wide mourning period. To commemorate with all those families, Amber or Ivories, who have lost their family members or loved ones." The man slid over to a new placard. "I am happy to announce that this period of sorrow is now shifting to a more joyful note."

"Today, I am here to cordially invite all the Houses belonging to the Vaclare ancestors to the long-overdue Coronation ball at the Southern castles." The next placard was shown. "As well as the Dukes, Viscounts and Barons who have a history of serving the Vaclare bloodline. Families of Generals, dead or alive, are also greatly welcomed for their service to the Kingdom."

I paused, and so did the shorthands, as the man grabbed a new set of placards. "The rest of Mothalore is free to use public spaces and buildings for any form of celebration in the dusk hours. Shops, trade places and markets shall remain open throughout. Kingdom offices shall resume their duties until the evening celebrations."

I gazed at the shorthands crowded in the sitting room for a few seconds. This was not a celebration. This was an orderly demand, to keep things running smooth and effectively. "Orphanages and Clinics may allow trips over the streets to keep the spirit of this new era uplifting. No form of celebration can take place in poorer farms and unowned lands." I let out a small breath as the man, again, took out another set of placards. "Soldiers from the coasts shall continue their training and labourers will be allowed to return back home for the day only"

This felt so much like regulations rather than celebrations.

"I would like to thank everyone for their time. I hope to serve as well as my ancestors have and this new generation will be an ode for all those who have passed before me, especially for the unexpected demise of King Alexandro IV."

I took a pause of silence in respect. The next placard shown was the concluding sentence, but I had just another one to come before it. I knew the consequences of what was coming, but it was a consequence I had to pay for what I did wrong. For the protesting villagers of Eastfox village, for Don and for the people who raised me up.

"And as a way to strengthen our inter-Kingdom's ties. Ambers from nearby villages of the southern castles, especially EastFox village and orphaned labourers, are duly invited to celebrate with us, right here in the southern castles!"

What is your favorite aesthetic(s)?

Mine would be Dark/Light Academia, vintage and a bit of Bohemian.