Divine Royalty

by Shelli Humphrey

  “What is going on?” He demanded of Catalina. “We finally learned the truth.” She answered. “What does that mean?” he asked completely confused. “It means they learned all the secrets their parents have been keeping from them for 15 years. Now stop fussing around talking to us. Your wife needs you.” Rhiannon spit at him. Michael glowered at her but did not say another word. He came right over to me and picked me up. He carried me back to our bedroom and laid me on the bed.

  I woke up some time later. I had no idea how long I had been asleep, but I was starving. I got up and headed down to the dining hall. I could smell the delicious fragrance of breakfast cooking and realized I had slept all night. The servants rushed off to get me food and Lysandra went to find Michael and Catalina. Michael arrived first. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. “I am so sorry my love.” He whispered in my ear. “Did they tell you what they told me?” I asked curiously. “Yes and Rhiannon showed me too. I wanted to know exactly what put you in that state you were in last night. I cannot believe that your mother would do that. Not after having just gotten you back and having lost your father.” He said sadly. “Honestly I think that is exactly why she did it. It was too much for her and she knew if she left that room she was going to have to put on a strong face and keep it together for the sake of the kingdom. I do not think she had it in her to deal with it all anymore.” I said as the realization hit me. “So she left the mess for you to deal with?” Michael asked. “Mother knew the kingdom would be in good hands with Stasia on the throne.” Catalina said as she joined us. “Where is Rhiannon?” I asked. “She is in my chambers for now. Damyen is with her. Until I spoke with you I did not want to make a big scene but I did not want her to be alone.” Catalina informed me. “Can you have Damyen bring her here? And Michael can you fetch Lysandra and Shealah for me please?” I asked, trying to push my emotions aside and be the queen I needed to be.

  A few minutes later Damyen walked in with Rhiannon on his heels. She wore a hooded cloak, which I thought was a great idea, because if people started seeing her before I had set my plans in motion, there would be an uproar of confusion. Damyen gave me a quick hug before going to sit by Catalina, and Rhiannon sat beside me. A servant brought both of them a plate of food. Rhiannon did not touch hers, but turned to me expectantly. “We did not get to my final question last night.” I said calmly. “What is it?” She asked curiously. “What happened with the festival yard?” I asked, sounding as if I had asked her what the weather outside was. “Oh right. I had sent one of my men to check on things here and he had a run in with a girl from his past. An argument started and next thing he knew, he had set the stalls nearest to him on fire. Everything he tried to put the fire out, made it grow larger, so he got out of there and came home.” “So why was the stall your friend Maggie worked at the only one not completely destroyed?” “I showed her a few small spells that anyone could do back when we were young and the protection charm was always her favorite.”

  At that moment, Michael walked in with Lysandra and Shealah behind him. It had been a long time since I had seen Shealah. She looked a lot happier than the last time we saw each other. “Thank you for coming so quickly Shealah.” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. She smiled sweetly and said “Of course Your Majesty. What is it you need of me?” “I need you to try and find some gowns for Rhiannon here. Some everyday ones and a party dress for tonight.” I informed her, surprising just about everyone in our little group. “Of course Your Majesty. Rhiannon I can take you to my shoppe and we can find everything you need.” Shealah said. “Before you ladies leave, I need to finish. Lysandra I need you to get the word out that the festival's ball will still take place tonight and that we will have a special guest of honor. Do not let out who the guest is and make sure the staff gets the palace ready quickly. We will also need another throne added to the Throne Room. Michael, can you send for Samuel to accompany Rhiannon to Shealah's shoppe?”

  Lysandra went off to get started on the tasks I had assigned her and Michael went off to find Samuel. That left me with two very confused sisters, a brother in law and a mistress. I smiled and laughed at the looks of complete confusion on their faces. “Stasia what is going on?” Catalina finally asked, when it became apparent that I was not going to explain myself without some prompting. “I am giving Rhiannon what she should have been given at birth. Despite the situation that brought her into existence, she is a daughter of the previous queen, which means she is a princess of this kingdom and as its current queen, I have the right to bestow upon her the title and privileges of her birthright. We will make her existence known tonight at the ball, where she will be crowned as our truly long lost princess and she will take her place on the throne next to us.” I finally explained, shocking everyone around me. Shealah, who had no idea who Rhiannon was until that moment, was stunned speechless. Damyen looked to Catalina to see her reaction. Catalina was staring at me as if she did not recognize me, and Rhiannon was starting to tear up. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. “Thank you Stasia!” Rhiannon said softly as she wiped her face. “What about your other family Rhiannon?” Catalina asked. “I have never completely felt comfortable there. Yes I am an important person to them but the only place I have ever felt at home was with the two of you. All I wanted when I came here and talked to Mother was answers and some acceptance.” Rhiannon said a little uncomfortably.

  A couple hours before the Ball was set to begin, I was walking through the palace making sure everything was all set. I knew Lysandra would make sure my every command was fulfilled, but I liked supervising party preparations myself. The Ballroom was decorated perfectly, and the guards had brought in a new throne. The banquet hall was set with enough places for the entire kingdom, and I could smell the feast cooking from the kitchens down the hall. Everything was perfect.

  In my dressing room, Rhiannon was getting ready with Catalina, Lysandra, and Shealah. I smiled as I looked over my little sister. She looked like the princess she was born to be...well almost. “Rhiannon, I had this made for myself when I came home but never got the chance to wear it before becoming queen. I thought it would look perfect on you.” I said as I held up a beautiful silver tiara with rubies encrusted in it. Rhiannon actually squealed in delight when she saw it. Luckily Lysandra had planned for a tiara. She had done Rhiannon's hair perfectly to fit around the tiara. “There. Now you look like a princess.” I said smiling. She hugged me tightly, and had a huge smile on her face.

  I walked into the ballroom and was surprised to see how packed it was. The Festival Ball was always a big event, but this was the biggest I had ever seen. It seemed like every citizen of my kingdom was in this room. My little tease about a surprise guest of honor must have gotten everyone's attention.

  I went up to my throne and called everyone's attention. “Thank you all for coming tonight. I know this festival has not been what we expected. I wanted to apologize for the fire in the festival yard. It was started by accident. Every vendor who lost their wares in the fire may come to me tomorrow and I will pay you for your losses. I also want to thank everyone who came out to my sister's wedding the other night. Princess Catalina was beyond overjoyed to see everyone. Now to get to the part you have all been waiting for. Our guest of honor tonight is someone I thought gone for good years ago, but in the process of trying to find out the truth behind my mother's death, I discovered that I was not this kingdom's only lost princess. My mother had another daughter after I was born. She was hidden from the people because she was not my father's daughter. My mother had been raped and when she gave birth to a child from this rape, my father convinced my mother that it would be okay. They would pass her off as his. But it turned out that that would be impossible, so they hid her from everyone. Even the palace staff did not know of her existence. When I was eight years old, Catalina and I were playing with our baby sister out in the fields and all of a sudden it seemed like she had just dropped dead. After her funeral, Mother forbid us to speak of her. As t
ime went on, we had even managed to forget about her, until a few weeks ago when the guards brought her in as a suspect in my mother's murder. By the time she had gotten here, her body had shut down and we thought she was dead, but one look at her face and Catalina and I knew it was our baby sister. Then in searching for the cause behind the fire yesterday, we discovered our baby sister was alive. Catalina went to take her into custody with the guards. In the process, she learned the truth. A truth that was then shared with me, one I did not want to believe but has since been proven true. My mother was not killed. She took her own life as a result of my baby sister trying to confront her and get answers and some acceptance from a mother who had never wanted her. Mother thought she was being haunted by the ghost of her dead daughter. The only way she could think to save herself from it was to take her life. She knew she would be with the Goddess and with my father, and she knew the kingdom would be in good hands with me on the throne. Now we are here tonight to give my baby sister her birthright. As Queen, I have the ability to grant titles to anyone I see fit, and as a daughter of the previous queen, my baby sister is entitled to the position that Catalina and I grew up with. I would like to introduce you all to my baby sister, Princess Rhiannon.” I spoke to the people with every ounce of power I had. When I finished, the doors to the ballroom opened to reveal Rhiannon standing with Catalina. Rhiannon walked slowly through the crowd, which parted for her. Once she reached me, I hugged her quickly before turning back to the crowd in front of us. “Please welcome Princess Rhiannon. She may not have been raised here in the kingdom or in the palace, but she is a princess of this kingdom and she will be there for all of you just as Catalina and I have been.” I said before leading Rhiannon over to the thrones. I took my seat and she slowly sat on her new throne. We were then joined by Michael and Catalina. Damyen stood slightly behind Catalina's throne.

  The ball went on all night without incident. The people danced and ate and mingled with each other. Many of them came up to personally welcome Rhiannon, which made her night. Towards the end, Damyen was called away by a young lord. They had a whispered conversation before he came back and whispered to me. “It seems your little sister already has an admirer. The Lord Nathan wishes to approach her.” He said softly so only I could hear. I smiled before whispering his message to Rhiannon. She looked over at Nathan then nodded to me. Damyen brought Nathan over and introduced him. “Princess Rhiannon, this is Lord Nathan.” Lord Nathan took Rhiannon's hand and kissed it before looking up at her with a soft smile. “It is nice to meet you Your Highness. I wanted to personally welcome you to the kingdom and ask if you would honor me with a dance.” He said sweetly. Rhiannon blushed. “Thank you my lord. I would love to dance.” She said before standing up. Rhiannon and Lord Nathan danced the rest of the night away. They were even still dancing when Michael and I went to bed.

  Chapter Seven

  The next day we were awakened by a very excited Lysandra. She was just about bouncing out of her skin with excitement. I had to force her into a chair to get her to calm down long enough to talk. “What has gotten you so excited Lysa?” I asked her. “I have lots of news Stasia!” She said and it looked like she was about to jump out of her seat. “Well get on with it then girl.” I urged her impatiently. “That Lord from the ball last night has come to request your permission to court Princess Rhiannon. Shealah has sent word to you announcing her engagement to James. And I have been approached by a lovely young man as well.” The words just about flew out of her mouth. I could not believe it. After all the tragedy and loss we have all gone through since my disappearance, getting all this good news all at once seemed weird, but I went with it. I was excited. My baby sister has found a suitor in less than 24 hours of being named a Princess, and both of my best friends have found suitors as well. How could I not be excited?

  Michael woke up then. He looked around and was surprised to see me and Lysandra sitting over by the window. “What's going on love?” He asked me sleepily. “Looks like we have some more weddings to plan.” I said excited. “What? Who's?” He asked more awake now. “Shealah and James have announced their engagement. Lysandra is being courted and Lord Nathan is waiting to ask my permission to court Rhiannon. Of course she still has a little while before she can marry. She hasn't actually turned 15 yet, but her birthday is coming up.” I told him and his shock was very evident on his face.

  The next few weeks went by slowly. Most of my time was filled with preparing for my daughter's birth as she was due in a month. I also had my usual queenly duties to uphold but my sisters helped with as much as they could. Michael helped Rhiannon adjust to palace life, seeing how he was the only one of us who hadn't completely grown up here. Even Damyen had grown up in the palace, being a royal guard and the son of a royal guard. Lysandra was busy planning her wedding around her regular duties and Shealah had finally set a date for hers.

  I was walking through the gardens with Rhiannon discussing plans for her birthday which was a few days before the baby was due. Since it would be her 15th birthday, I was planning on throwing a ball and Lord Nathan could finally propose to her. She was more excited than even Catalina was on her wedding day. After I told her what I wanted for the ball, she went off to talk to the servants and get started planning it. This would be her first time planning a royal ball.

  A servant came up to me after Rhiannon left to deliver the invitation from Shealah. I opened it to discover her wedding was the day after Rhiannon's ball. It seemed that week would be full of happiness, Rhiannon's first birthday as a princess, Shealah's wedding, and my daughter's birth, or so I thought.

  The morning of Rhiannon's birthday, I was eating breakfast with Michael. Everyone was running around making sure the last minute preparations for the ball that night were set. It seemed like we would have nothing to do that day, but then a terrified farmer came running. I instantly recognized him. He was the one who had brought my father's body home after Marcus had killed him. “Your Majesties! I have terrible news!” He said out of breath. You could hear his fear in his voice. “What is it sir?” I asked, afraid to hear what he would say. “There is an illness going around. It started last night. People are getting sick and dying from it. It starts with a cough and a fever, but then they start puking blood. Before you know it they are dead.” “What? Where is this happening? How many have died?” Michael asked worried for our people but scared it would spread here and affect his family. “In the outlands. It has not spread across the fields, yet. When I received word of it, ten people had died. But that was over an hour ago so it could be much more by now.” The farmer answered. “Okay go home. Bring your family inside and keep them there. Make sure everyone washes up and then ties a cloth over their mouth and nose in case it is spread through the air. If you get anymore word from the outlands, send a message straight to me.” Michael says, trying to push his fears aside and get to business.

  The farmer left to do what he was told. Michael called the guard from outside the door. He sent him to gather all the guards and the handmaidens. I sat by waiting to hear Michael's plan. Once everyone was there, Michael called their attention. “We have just received word that there is an illness spreading through the outlands. People are getting a cough and a fever and then they start puking blood. This illness is killing everyone who gets it. I need word to get out to the villages to warn them. They need to all stay in their homes. They need to wash and cover their mouths and noses. I also need the handmaidens to help secure and cleanse the castle. All windows are to be closed. Everyone needs to wash, and anything that has come in from outside the castle in the last couple of days, needs to be cleansed. Everyone is dismissed to get to work, except Samuel and Lysandra.” Michael informed and ordered everyone at once. When everyone else had left the room, Michael turned to Samuel and Lysandra. “Lysandra, I need you to take Stasia and help her bathe. While she is in the bath, close up all the windows in our room and cleanse it. Then bring her there. You two must stay in there until I say otherwise. Samuel, you
are to make sure no one goes in there unless you hear an okay from me directly.” Michael ordered them. They nodded and started walking towards the door, but stopped when they realized I was not following. “What are you going to do?” I asked my husband, just now realizing that he was going to take care of this on his own. “I am going to inform your sisters of what is going on and try to figure out how to stop this illness from annihilating our kingdom. I cannot do that unless I know you and our daughter are safe.” Michael said and he stroked my cheek. “If you want me to hide in my room while you are out risking your life, you do not know me very well.” I said stubbornly, knowing it was useless. “My love, you need to go with Lysa and Samuel. They will protect you. If it makes you feel better I will send Catalina to stay with you once she has bathed.” “Fine. But what about Rhiannon?” I asked, giving in. “She has lived in the mountains near the outlands the majority of her life. She may know something about this illness. Plus she cannot be killed, so I think she is my best ally in fighting whatever this is.” Michael said before kissing me. I nodded and left with Lysa.

  We went straight to my dressing room. She got to work right away in preparing a bath for me. Once I was in, she went to walk to my bedroom. “Wait!” I called. “What is it Stasia?” She asked confused. “There is no point of you going into my room to cleanse it unless you have washed too. This tub is big enough for my whole family. Take a few minutes to bathe before you go to my room.” I told her, trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about. Honestly I was just scared of being alone right now. Lysa nodded and got into the tub. We both washed up and when we were done, she dressed quickly and ran to my room. While she was cleaning it, I stayed in the dressing room. I found a comfy gown to slip into and then decided since I was going to be stuck in my room without having to deal with the public, I would not dress up like normal. I kept my hair down and wore the minimal amount of jewelry I could personally allow myself. A little while later, Lysandra returned. She was smiling, which made me wonder what was going on.