The Ashen Queen

by Sidney Gray

  “That's not true, stop being so dramatic.”

  “Yes, it is,” she exclaimed, “ever since Olivia arrived...”

  “Not this again,’ he interrupted her. “You're being paranoid, Olivia is here to help me, help us.”

  “Help us!” she exclaimed.

  “Yes, in case you forgot she tried to help you and be your friend.”

  Sofia was shocked, “Is that what she told you? I can't believe you would just take her side like that. She never tried to be friends, she just wanted to tell me all about the god's plan for me and try to control me, just like everyone else in my life.”

  “Nobody controls you Sofia.” Alex snapped. “When will you realize you can’t go gallivanting around the city whenever you feel like it.”

  “Maybe it would be good for you to go gallivanting around the city once in a while; you might learn something about what's actually going on in your own city! When was the last time you actually left the palace?”

  “I’m sorry I'm too busy trying to run a country to sneak out at night and get into trouble.” He snapped, ignoring her point entirely.

  “It was one time and the only reason…”

  “Just exactly how often do you sneak out?” He interrupted again crossing his arms.

  She sighed, “often enough, I can't help it, I just can't stand being cooped up in this palace all the time, don't you just want to escape?”

  He shook his head. “I can't escape I have responsibilities, so do you remember.”

  “Yes, I am aware, it's hard to forget when everyone reminds me constantly.”

  “Because no one thinks you're taking this seriously; you’re sneaking out all the time, you barely talk to the other noble girls, you’re distracted in your lessons, Olivia thinks…”

  “Oh enough about Olivia, please, why do you always have to bring her up. What does this have to do with her?” she snapped, “you know maybe you should marry her, it seems like she would make a perfect queen.”

  “Stop acting like a child.”

  “Stop acting like you're the king, you can't tell me what to do Alex.”

  “Yes I can when you're putting your life in danger!” he yelled angrily.

  She didn't know what came over her at that moment, but she just wanted in all to stop, she was so tired of the fighting so without a second thought she stepped forward and kissed him. He froze for a second before she felt his lips move against hers. His hands grabbed her waist, and he pulled her closer as her hands tangled in his hair.

  The moment was broken by the sound of the door creaking open, and they both pulled back abruptly.

  “Sorry, just checking to see if you were both still alive,” Cole said stifling a laugh.

  He ducked back out, closing the door behind him and Alex cursed under his breath, “I'll never hear the end of this now.” he muttered.

  Sofia laughed and shrugged, “everyone already knows you can never stay mad at me for long!”

  He shook his head but smiled, “just be more careful.” he said seriously.

  She nodded, “I promise.”

  The guards didn’t even try to hide their laughter as she opened the door, she rolled her eyes at them and walked past. They let her go, but she was sure that Alex would send one of his them after her to make sure she didn’t try to sneak out again.

  Not that she would have time anyway, after the arrival of the other noble families of Arandale and the start of the tournament she wouldn’t have any time to sneak out.

  “Hey, wait up.”

  She turned surprised to see Cole jogging up behind her, and she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

  “I'm not here to yell, I just want to make sure that you stay out of trouble over the next week. Alex is under a lot of pressure from his father, this tournament has to go smoothly.”

  She scowled at him, “I'm not a child Cole, you don’t have to chastise me, I'll behave.”

  “Really? Because you don’t act like it, we have a responsibility...”

  “I know.” She snapped before he could finish, “I have been doing this for as long as you have Cole, I know what my responsibilities are.”

  She stormed into her rooms, resisting the urge to slam her door in frustration but it would just wake everyone up, and the last thing she wanted was to wake up her father. She sighed, she just couldn't understand why Alex couldn't see her side, he was so stubborn.

  Maybe it was partly her fault, she reluctantly admitted to herself, she just became so frustrated and started yelling, they both did. After a while, she had given up trying to talk to Alex. That was partly why she had started sneaking around more and more and what she found surprised her. Alex only knew what his advisors and spies told him, Sofia has seen the city, all the good and bad parts of it, as well as the other lords and council members, she knew all the secrets and scandals. She knew which lord was cheating on their wife and the council member with a drinking problem. There wasn't a person in the palace that didn't have one secret or another.

  She often thought Alex was too trusting. He relied too much on the information that others gave him. He was smart and had a kind heart, he would make a good king, but if he wasn't careful, he would be lead astray by people with hidden agendas. Most worryingly, Olivia. She didn't trust her at all.

  Sofia was glad he at least had Cole and the other guards to guide him. Cole, in particular, was good at seeing through the masks people put up, and he wasn't afraid to tell Alex if he thought he was making a mistake.

  She collapsed onto her bed thinking about the argument and wondering what had come over. She couldn’t believe she had just kissed Alex, what had she been thinking? Had she just made everything more complicated? Or would it make it easier? She was going to marry him after all, but she had avoided thinking about that for so long it was hard to really accept that it was actually going to happen. She struggled to sleep that night, tossing and turning, all those questions turning over in her head but the most surprising thing was how much she wanted to kiss him again.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Oops, sorry” Sofia called apologetically to a servant she almost ran into as she was rushed around a corner. The poor girl looked stressed, like most of the other servants in the palace, all trying to finish the last minute preparations before the arrival of the other noble families of Arandale. There had been a huge commotion earlier, when someone had dropped one of the chandeliers while trying to clean it, the Queen had been furious and had had to call in glassmakers from the city to fix it.

  She dodged around more servants as she cut through a narrow passageway. She was relieved to finally be out of her rooms. She had spent the entire day before cooped up with her mother going over every detail of the tournament, every noble attending, every outfit she would be wearing and everything she should and shouldn't mention. She suspected her father was putting pressure on her mother to ensure Sofia was fully prepared, and so it had been a long day.

  Thankfully her mother had been distracted that morning, so she had taken the opportunity to sneak past her. Although she might regret it later, she was just enjoying the small amount of freedom she had. Finally, she arrived at the royal wing of the palace, and the guards opened the doors when they saw her coming.

  “Thank you.” She called rushing passed.

  She skidded to a stop in front of Alex’s room, impatiently waiting for the guard to knock and announce her arrival and burst through the door as soon as she heard Alex say, “let her in.”

  She was annoyed, but not surprised, to see Olivia already there, lounging in an armchair along with Alex and the guards. She ignored her, heading straight for the huge balcony opposite the door and she threw open the doors to reveal the most amazing view of the bay and the beautiful sparkling blue ocean, stretching out as far as the eye could see. She envied him this view, it was breathtaking.

  “Did you see it?” She exclaimed.

  “See what?” Lex asked curiously, he was the first to get up and follow her over to the ba
lcony.

  She smirked, “I was right! As always.”

  She heard various groans behind her but chose to ignore them. Instead, she just pointed toward the harbor, and to the largest and most beautiful ship she had ever seen, she heard the other exclamations behind her as they all saw the ship for the first time. It was well known that the Emsworth family spent more time at sea than on land which was why they had the most impressive ships in all of Latheria, well according to Lord Emsworth. They had been hearing rumors for months now about this ship and Sofia had heard a couple of sailors talking about it a couple of weeks ago, claiming it was twice the size of the Emsworth’s other ships. Not only was it large but Lord Emsworth was a powerful water mage, so he had created a gigantic wave to help push the ship along.

  “I told you, didn’t I, and none of you believed me!” she said smugly, they thought she had been exaggerating when she told them the size of the ship.

  “I wonder where you heard that,” Olivia muttered behind her.

  Sofia ignored her, she was too busy watching Alex, he looked exhausted like he hadn't slept in days. Alex glanced at her and the memory of their kiss the other day sprung to mind, and she looked away quickly, she tried to push the memory aside, but it was hard to ignore with Alex standing a couple of feet away. She had spent the last two nights tossing and turning, unable to stop thinking about their kiss, trying to sort out her feelings. She had seen Alex at training the next morning, and he hadn’t acted any differently so neither had she. She wondered if he had even thought about it all. She was trying to pretend it hadn’t happened but still she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  “He sure likes to show off doesn't he,” Jack commented.

  Olivia frowned, “Lord Emsworth should be more careful, or he will upset the god of sea.”

  She saw Jack roll his eyes and Olivia must have noticed as well because she turned on him, furiously.

  “They are dangerous, and he should show them more respect.” She snapped.

  Jack just shrugged, unconcerned, “go tell him that.”

  Olivia huffed and left, announcing she had other more important business to attend to. The other guards seemed to relax once she had gone and they spent some time outside on the balcony watching the ship, laughing and joking. It had been a while since they had had visitors to the palace, so she was starting to get a bit excited, and nervous. She really did want to make a good first impression and not just because her mother would be furious if she didn’t. At least she had until the party that night to prepare herself.

  They were suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the door before it was thrown open and the King strode in, not bothering to wait to be announced. The guards immediately stood to attention.

  “Ahh, I see you have noticed the arrival of some of our guests,” he said as he saw them all standing on the balcony, “it is quite impressive isn’t it! Alex, I expect you are ready as they will be arriving soon?” he said to Alex, not bothering to wait for an answer before he turned to Sofia. “Sofia, I’m glad you’re here. I thought it would be a great idea if you were there to greet our guests as well. As the future Queen, it will be a good experience for you, I have already sent a messenger to your rooms to inform you. I expect your parents will have already received it and will be wondering where you are,” he finished with a wink and strode back out the door leaving Sofia slightly queasy, she thought she would have the rest of the day to prepare and her mother was going to be even more furious with her for leaving now.

  “You ok there? you look a little pale.” Alex teased.

  “Oh, Mother is going to have a fit.” She muttered, while the others just laughed.

  “I should get back; maybe they haven’t received the message yet.” She said hopefully, rushing across the room.

  “Remember it's unladylike to run,” Cole called after her as she threw open the door and rushed out. She walked quickly, trying not to run, she wished she could just turn invisible and run back to her rooms but there were too many people around, and she would just end up running into them. It seemed to take her forever, but finally, she made it, only to find her parents already waiting for her, her heart sank at their furious expressions. Her mother gasped when she saw her.

  “Where on earth have you been?” she hissed, “a messenger just arrived...”

  “I know I know,” she said interrupting her, “I was just with Alex, and the King arrived and told me, I came as fast as I could.”

  But her mother was barely listening, in fact, she looked like she's going to faint. She dragged Sofia into her sitting room where there were already servants rushing around frantically.

  “I haven't had time to prepare, you don't have anything to wear.” Her mother muttered to herself, which was never a good sign.

  “Well you need to find something Louisa, they will be here soon. I need to leave now, make sure she is there on time.” Her father said sternly as he walked out the door. Her mother ignored him as well, still muttering to herself.

  The next few minutes were a mad rush as she hurriedly tried on dresses while servants pulled at her hair and applied powder to her face. By the end of it she was hot and sweaty and had almost been hit over the head with various pairs of shoes, but they had finally found a suitable dress and her mother had deemed her presentable, although she still fretted on the way to the entrance hall.

  “Appearance is everything Sofia, it's the first thing people notice. This is your first meeting with the other nobles, and you need to make a perfect impression, Lady Emsworth will no doubt pick out every flaw she can find.” her mother muttered as they walked.

  They arrived to find everyone waiting for them in the entrance hall, it was Sofia’s favorite room in the palace, and she took a moment to look around before anyone noticed them arrive, it was incredibly beautiful with murals painted on all the walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the crystals catching the light and almost giving life to the murals. The room was also circular with corridors spilling off in all directions and a grand staircase at the end. The royal family stood in a row in the center of the room, their guards stood on either side along with the council members and other nobles who lived in the city, servants hovered behind, ready to help with luggage and direct guests to their rooms.

  Their heels clicked over the tile floor, and everyone turned towards them. The Queen gave her a small nod of approval, and she could almost hear her mother's sigh of relief behind her.

  “You look lovely, Sofia, I can't imagine it was easy finding something to wear on such short notice.” She commented glaring at the King.

  “Oh nonsense Mariana, Sofia always looks perfect.”

  Sofia clenched her hands behind her back, suddenly nervous, while her mother smiled smugly. She went to stand beside Alex relieved when the King and Queen turned their attention away from her. Alex smiled at her reassuringly.

  “Just think of all the food there will be tonight, especially the dessert, Father has brought in the greatest chefs from all over Arandale,” he said quietly.

  She laughed quietly, Alex knew all about her sweet tooth. She remembered when they were younger, and he used to sneak into the kitchens and steal desserts for her after Lady Hallewell had made a comment about Sofia’s weight and her mother had then put her on a strict diet. She had complained to Alex about it, and the next day he had surprised her with a small cake, stolen from the kitchens.

  She could feel the weight of her father’s gaze on her, but she refused to look at him, she knew he would be evaluating every interaction she had, but she couldn’t worry about that now, she had to focus, the last thing she needed was him making her feel even worse. Thankfully the nobles started arriving, and he turned his attention to them, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  Sofia wondered briefly how they were going to fit everyone in the palace when she noticed the number of servants the nobles had with them before she hurriedly plastered a smile on her face.

  Lord Emsworth was the first to arrive. He was
a tall and arrogant man, he waltzed up to the King with barely a bow as a greeting, his wife and daughters trailed behind. He barely gave the Queen a small nod of greeting before moving on. The Emsworth family were one of a few nobles families who didn't agree with the King remarrying, while they would never be directly rude to the Queen they were in no way friendly. Alex, on the other hand, was greeted like a long-lost son, even Sofia received a much warmer greeting than the Queen. She was quite surprised seeing as their daughter, Elizabeth was only a couple of days younger than Sofia and had narrowly missed out on being Queen herself, the family had been quite upset after that, but it had been 17 years. She caught Elizabeth eyeing Cole and wondered if the family had other plans in motion.

  Lord Sutton arrived next with his son, Eldridge, an unfortunate name, she thought, it was his grandfather's, in some noble families it was tradition to pass down names. He was actually quite handsome and seemed very friendly, she actually felt sorry for him, not knowing what was to come. The Sutton family oversaw most of the mining in Arandale. Their family was very wealthy and always had the most spectacular jewels, no doubt the main reason Chelsea and Evelyn were so eager to marry him.

  The morning dragged on until finally the last of the nobles arrived, Lord and Lady Richmond, their family lived near the border of Bordonia and oversaw trade negotiations. She had heard a lot about them from the other nobles, and it was never good, so she was eager to meet them. It would be nice to meet an improper noble, she thought.

  “Ah it's about time,” said the King in greeting, “I thought you were going to miss the whole tournament.”

  Lord Richmond chuckled, “One time I overslept, and you never let it go.”

  They embraced each other like brothers.

  “It's been a long time old friend.”

  “Too long, I'm sorry I haven't made the trip in a while, not as young as I once was.”

  “Yes, what I would give to be young again.” The King replied looking pointedly at Alex and Sofia before he introduced them and the palace servants rushed forward to help them with their bags, as far as Sofia could tell they hadn’t brought their own servants, they really weren't like the other nobles.