by Shelby Hild
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “He… told me to destroy it.”
She looked down to avoid his gaze.
Prince Aiden’s eyebrows raised, causing wrinkles to appear on his forehead. He looked over at his brother, directing toward him the most intense glare she had ever seen. His mouth opened and closed.
“But you worked hard on that,” he said. Prince Aiden kept looking at his brother. He yelled at Prince Ethan, “Brother!” The anger in his voice vibrated through the air.
“No,” Vivilyn said, setting a hand on his shoulder so they were facing each other. Prince Ethan dropped back out of the tree. “It’s okay. We’ll join you in a moment,” she called to Ethan.
Prince Ethan slowed down but kept walking toward them until Prince Aiden waved for him to turn back around.
“I don’t want you to be mad at him for asking me to destroy my painting. He was looking out for me,” Vivilyn said. “I… I drew the bird.”
“Which bird?”
“The one that dove in the sand.”
“That bird.”
“Darissa saw the painting first. She grew concerned about what the bird was. She didn’t believe me when I said it was just a normal beach bird.” Vivilyn shook her head. “She… she didn’t believe me. And ran to the library to see if… if there was anything about a prophecy.”
Prince Aiden took four deep breaths before he said anything. Each one made Vivilyn’s heart pound a little bit harder.
“And where does my brother come into this story?”
“Oh, well… he wouldn’t let Darissa into the library as dirty as she was and when she told him what she was looking for, he came and found me. He said that if I didn’t want the bird and the eggs hunted down and destroyed, then I needed to destroy the painting. But I don’t understand the connection between a beach bird and magic.”
“I can understand why he asked that,” the prince said, shaking his head. “I just wish I had been able to see it before you did anything to it.”
“I… ” Vivilyn started and then hesitated.
“Lady Vivilyn,” Prince Aiden said, smirking and leaning closer to her. “Are you trying to tell me you disobeyed my brother and then lied to him about it?”
“I didn’t quite destroy it yet,” Vivilyn said. “It is hidden!”
“Can I see it?” He asked in a whisper. He was so close she could feel his breath on her nose and forehead. The warmth of it contrasted with the chill in the air. His breath smelled of green apples and strawberries.
Vivilyn looked up into his eyes. They were so close Vivilyn swore she could see sprinkles of different shades throughout, and even a slight hint of blue.
“Are you guys just gonna leave me hanging in this tree alone?” Prince Ethan yelled down. Prince Aiden and Vivilyn separated rapidly. They started to move closer to the tree.
“If you would like to see it,” Vivilyn whispered as she set her hand against the rough bark of the Grand Tree, “you’re welcome to it whenever.”
Prince Aiden smiled.
“How about tonight?” he asked.
Vivilyn nodded. “Tonight it is.”
“Ladies first,” he said. Vivilyn grabbed the lowest branch and pulled herself into the tree.
“I think it’s about time to go inside and to bed,” Prince Ethan said a while later from the branch below his brother and Vivilyn. Prince Aiden swung his legs over his brother’s head causing Prince Ethan to shift his weight.
The branch creaked underneath him as he spoke again. “The moon will be setting soon, and we all need to get some sleep.”
Vivilyn felt Prince Aiden’s legs swinging next to her, causing her left leg to swing slightly along with his right one. Her head rested lightly against the side of his shoulder.
“You’re right,” she said, lifting her head up. They’d been sitting there for a few hours at least, talking mostly about family. The more she talked to the princes, the more she felt bad for them. Even though they’d grown up in court with people constantly surrounding them, they only really had their family for true support. Vivilyn couldn’t count on her fingers how many people she could depend on. Of course her parents and brother, but Maia and her father, Ryso and his entire family. Even though she hadn’t known Verno, Lolina, and their three children very long, she was sure she could depend on them as well.
After she climbed down to the lowest level of branches, she slid off the last branch and landed softly on her feet, bending her knees to brace the landing.
“How’s your back?” Prince Ethan asked as he landed next to her.
“Much better,” Vivilyn said as Prince Aiden landed on her other side.
As they approached the side of the palace, Prince Aiden picked up the pack Vivilyn had left. Vivilyn slid her hand along the small catch that opened the hidden door.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Prince Aiden said to his brother as he held the door for her.
“What? Where are you going?” Prince Ethan asked.
“Vivilyn has something she’d like to show me,” Prince Aiden replied as he swung the pack onto his back.
“I guess I’m going with you then,” Ethan said.
“No,” Aiden countered. “You are going to bed.”
Ethan’s eyes squinted with suspicion before he spoke. “You’re not going to do anything that would harm her or your reputation, are you?”
“Ethan,” Aiden said sharply. “What kind of person do you think I am? Of course not. I’m just going to see one of her sketches.”
“Just… be careful.” He looked at his brother again and said, “I’m fine to stay up longer, really! I just figured you’d be tired after your long day.”
“Good night, brother,” Prince Aiden said.
Vivilyn stood just inside the door listening to the princes, but as Prince Aiden said goodnight, she stepped back out. With how lonely they must have been growing up, Vivilyn couldn’t help herself.
“Sleep well, Prince Ethan,” she said as she pulled the young prince into a hug. He stiffened for a few moments before giving her a quick hug back.
“You as well, Lady Vivilyn,” Prince Ethan said before walking away.
Vivilyn couldn’t make out the look on Prince Aiden’s face as she turned back to him. He offered Vivilyn his elbow and after she lit a candle, she slid her arm inside his.
“I can’t believe we never realized this wing had hidden hallways,” Prince Aiden said as they walked. The arm not currently claimed by Vivilyn reached slightly ahead of them, but against the wall. “As children, Ethan, Elissa, and I explored all around in the others. Almost all of our homes have hidden passages.” He looked at Vivilyn and moved his free arm to hold onto the top of Vivilyn’s hand. “It makes for a quick escape route if it’s ever necessary. There are also hidden rooms all around the place.”
“How often have the rooms and hallways been used?” Vivilyn asked.
“Mostly just for drills so we’d know what to do in the case of emergencies,” Prince Aiden said. “Except for… you know.” She knew he was referring to the explosions from the first Ceremony.
“This is it,” she said as they approached her room. She lifted the painting, careful to hold the sketch she’d slid in the back of it still.
Before she opened the bookcase door, she peeked through the newly discovered hole in the wall. Nothing changed in her room, and there was still no sign of Serinta. She pushed the door and it swung open slowly and quietly.
She stepped in as the prince gestured for her to go first. She held it open behind her for the prince.
“Did you… gain a roommate?” He asked as he glanced around the room. His gaze froze as he took in the extra bed near the bathroom door.
“You haven’t heard?” Vivilyn asked, as she looked at her wall where the hole should be. It made her uncomfortable to think that someone could be spying on her.
Without thinking much about it, with one hand still holding the painting, she grabbed one of her half-done sketche
s and attached it to the wall directly over the hole. She also made a mental note to make sketches for the other women and give them as gifts to also hide the holes. Or at least some of them.
“Serinta moved in after Natalie kicked her out,” she said as she turned back to the prince.
“Natalie kicked Serinta out of her room?”
“She did, right before the beach date,” Vivilyn said. “She’s been here for a bit.” Prince Aiden lit many of the candles around the room, so there was a nice soft glow all around them.
Before bringing the painting over closer to the prince, she slid the sketch out of the back of it and set it under the book laying on her desk.
Prince Aiden sat down on the couch near the easel and patted the spot next to him as she approached. She smiled shyly as she sat down and held the painting out to him.
“This…” The prince began before pausing. He lifted his hand and traced the air right in front of different parts of the painting, starting with the ocean, slowly making his way towards the nest and the bird, and then he froze once he got to the very light comet near the sun.
“Did you actually see this?” he asked.
“What?” Vivilyn slid so close to him that she could feel radiating warmth. “Oh, that. I thought I did, but I couldn’t clearly tell what it was.”
“Things are changing,” Prince Aiden said. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Vivilyn froze.
“What do you mean?”
“My brother was right. If anyone else sees this, then it is possible that the bird and the eggs will be destroyed.”
“But why?” Vivilyn asked.
She pushed her hair out of her own face a bit forcefully. The prince looked up at the corner of the room, then closed his silver eyes.
“Because…” he said then stopped. Vivilyn gave him time to construct his thoughts. He shrugged before saying, “Magic.”
She remained still for a few moments in hopes that he would continue.
“Which means?” Vivilyn asked when he didn’t.
“There are two kinds of phoenix,” the prince said as he lightly traced the air in front of the bird in the painting. “The more common one inhabited the volcanic islands of Tristol until the Last Dragon crashed into the largest volcano, causing the biggest eruption known to mankind.”
“Captain Elina,” Vivilyn said. “She’s who vanquished the Last Dragon and his master.”
“Exactly. The other type of phoenix came from the deserts. The last ones seen vanished in the time of Wizard Vic.”
“Because he vanquished all magic and phoenixes are creatures of magic?”
“Sort of. He didn’t vanquish magic.” Prince Aiden set the painting on the ground and turned towards Vivilyn, one of his legs curled underneath the other. Both of his knees were touching the side of Vivilyn’s leg. She turned her upper body to face him more.
“But if he didn’t vanquish it, then what did he do?”
“He created a boundary of sorts. I’m not sure exactly what he did, but it caused all the creatures of magic to either flee outside of the boundary or fall into a deep sleep, hidden away from us. But he knew that the boundary wouldn’t last forever. He was able to see what would happen around the time that magic would start returning.”
“The phoenix,” Vivilyn said.
“That phoenix has been around since I was about four. Elissa and I were playing with our grandmother. Nana pointed it out to us. ‘That’s our bird,’ she’d said. ‘Only we can see it until its time to return comes around. I hope no one else can see it in your time.’ And I never thought to ask why not.”
“But if I saw it…”
“You saw it. And Irene and Clara saw it. If the comet is what I think it is,” Prince Aiden said. He shook his head. “Then my parents’ greatest fear is coming true.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Magic is returning, Vivilyn. Like in the old days,” Prince Aiden said. “The boundaries are failing.”
“Magic… is returning.” Vivilyn shook her head. “How… how can we stop it?”
“I don’t think there is a way,” the prince leaned closer to Vivilyn’s face. “But if there is, should we?”
“Because magic is bad?”
“Yes, magic had its moments of being devastatingly dangerous, but it is why we have the collections of energy that we do. Our technology is because of what magic used to be. We are designing things specifically from items of old." His eyes glittered with excitement as he spoke. "I have my moments where I don’t think it’s magic my parents fear. I think it’s the uncontrollable, the unknown.”
“The easiest thing to fear is the unknown.”
“Exactly,” Prince Aiden nodded in agreement. “The world always wants to be in balance and magic is part of our world’s balance. That’s why…” He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair.
“That’s why what?” Vivilyn could tell there was more that he wanted to say, but he stopped himself.
“I-I’ve already said too much.” He shook his head and then smiled. “Why are you so easy to talk to?” He set one hand on Vivilyn’s knee and tilted his head as he leaned closer.
The two of them were so close Vivilyn could feel the warmth of his breath again. She looked into his eyes. They were so big and appeared even bigger, as close as they were. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
“I feel like I could tell you anything. I’ve never known anyone I could talk to and really feel like I was being heard.”
Vivilyn nibbled slightly on her lower lip while still looking at Prince Aiden. She saw his gaze lower to the movement before he started leaning in even closer.
The sound of voices near Vivilyn’s door shifted her attention. Serinta’s squeaky laughter sounded.
“I should go,” Prince Aiden said as they both split apart and stood up in unison. “May I have this? I won’t let anyone see it. I just… It’s beautiful and I can’t bear to let you destroy it.”
“Of course,” she said. She ran to the bookcase as Prince Aiden picked up the canvas. The hidden door swung open when she pulled the book trigger.
Before he stepped through, she quickly ran to her side table and grabbed the torchlight he’d left with her.
“I think you should take this.”
“Of course,” he said. “Thank you for returning it to me.”
As the prince stepped through, back into the hidden hallway, he turned around to face her again.
“No one can know,” he said and she nodded.
If people become scared of magic returning in more than just the handful of people like me, it’d become a witch hunt. Vivilyn shook her head.
“I won’t tell anyone,” she said. Prince Aiden smiled and bowed to her quickly.
He clicked the torchlight on before he spoke again.
“Until next time, Lady Vivilyn.”
Chapter 13
Despite being told it would only take a week to get the responses to their letters, it took two weeks and three days before the women were summoned back into the dining room.
Prince Aiden had gone on all the remaining dates in that time.
Lady Lena Martina of Baytown had gone into the sky in a giant balloon and a nice dinner that evening. Lady Elsie Anne of Everstone went into town and hosted a reading event in the library for the children in Ettravil. Lady Mayla Atu of Seabrill went for a horseback ride through the forest. Lady Entra went for a hike and apparently stumbled into a cave full of different puzzles that she and the prince worked out together.
The remaining women were all split into different groups and mostly spent time with each other along with a tad bit of time with the prince on their dates.
Vivilyn had a glimpse through visions of each date. Because the Seer’s fruit was still making her see things often, she’d tried to avoid being in groups just in case a vision came that was difficult to hide.
Six more women had been sent home.
“Ladies, Ladies,” Adontus said at the en
trance of the room. “You are all looking lovely as always.” He stepped in.
Prince Aiden came in right behind him and quickly moved onto the front platform.
“Good morning,” the prince said with a slight bow. All the women in the room stood up and curtseyed. He waved them back into their seats.
As everyone settled again, he resumed. “I know I told you that the responses to your letters would be here within the week, and I apologize. There were some… hold ups, but I hope you will all forgive me.”
Most of the women nodded and murmured something along the lines in the affirmative. Many of the dark clothed people entered the room with envelopes in their hands.
“Without any further delay,” the prince said with a large wave of his hands, “your letters.”
Excitement fluttered through the room as envelopes started getting placed in front of all the women.
Two envelopes were set in front of Darissa and immediately tears started to fill her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Vivilyn asked, still waiting for her envelope.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Darissa said, wiping tears away with the back of her left hand. “I’m so happy.” Her smile seemed to grow wider. “Mother was well enough to write a letter. This is her handwriting and everything.” She held the letters close to her chest as though it would bring her parents closer to her. One of the people handing out letters whispered into Darissa’s ear and she nodded.
Many of the women tore into the envelopes as soon as they were set in front of them.
“My cousin is engaged!” “My uncle refused to follow grandpa’s last wishes and has run away to the borders.” “My little sister has a horrible flu.” “The whole town is celebrating my success so far!”
Others though, just held on to their letters so they could read them in private.
It wasn’t long before all the letters had been handed out and the last of those giving them out left the room.
Vivilyn looked around. There was no envelope in front of her.
