by Maggie Lee
Coal Crown.
The Forged Royalty Series.
Copyright © 2018 by Maggie Lee
All rights reserved.
ISBN 9781720273257
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author. Except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fictions. Names, characters, businesses, place, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover creation and design by Quirah Casey of Salvation Creations.
Printed in the United States of America
First printing, 2018
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Coal Crown (The Forging Royalty Series., #1)
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Chapter 22.
Chapter 23.
What’s next?
Soulsphere.
Acknowledgements
I started writing a book (not this one) the same week I started college. That also happens to be the week I got married. I only tell you this, because even if he is a butt, my husband inspired this whole book. As you fall in love with Arden, you are falling in love with my husband as I have. This isn’t our story, and one day I will tell it, but I hope you fall for him like I did so many years ago.
This is my first actual published book, and god does it feel so good. I cannot even begin to explain how proud and excited I am. Something I also am is thankful. I am so thankful to the many people who came into play during the creation of this book.
Duke.
Thank you. You have inspired this entire story with not only your personality, but giving me endless facts about forging. You amaze me with the talent you have and determination to keep going. No matter how many times you get burnt. I truly love you my dear. You’re a pain my darling, but god am I so thankful your mine.
Scooter.
I love you. Thank you; for just being you, for always understanding, and for loving me unconditionally as well.
Jillian.
From day one, since I told you about my first book you have supported me. You even shed the light that maybe, just maybe this could be my thing. With all of my twists and turns, you’ve supported this. “In true Maggie fashion.” That’s what you said, and nothing has ever sounded sweeter. Thank you. Your support means everything.
Kathrine.
Oh my darling, you have listened to hours of book talk. It’s really all we have spoken about and I am so thankful to have you for midnight ideas and best friend support. You are a beautiful human.
Savvy.
You are seriously one of my best motivators and I am so happy I decided we would be best friends. It has been one of my best decisions in a long time. You are amazing and I can’t wait until I can hold a physical copy of one of your books!
Jojo and Morgan.
You two are the other 2/3 of my think tank. I couldn’t have done this without. You’ve been with me from the start and helped me with every step. Thank you friends. I can’t wait to help you along your journeys.
Lainiebug and Lord JaeBae.
You two. Oh my god. I don’t even know where to begin. Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. I would never have gone through with any of this without you two.
Jaliza, Kaydee, Kohbi, and Claire.
You tore me up and put me back together. This story would be nothing, just grammatically wrong garbage without you. I appreciate you so.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my kindergarten teacher. You once gave me an award for creativity, this is all your fault. Thank you Elaine Peters Moeller.
Chapter 1.
I sit in a peaceful silence on the roof of my grandparents’ old barn, watching the sunset for the first time in a while. I let my mind freely wander as I follow the sun on its descent from the sky to behind the old silhouetted treetops. Different hues of orange and pink fade into each other, projecting across the fluffiest clouds I've ever seen. The escaping sun in all of its glowing red glory too quickly disappears behind the tall pine trees that line the crest of the neighboring mountain. Some days, the forest’s coverage feels like a prison. On other days, it's a fortress from the darkening world around us.
For all of my life, we’ve lived hidden behind these trees and our palace wall. Only leaving to go with Father when called upon or doing our apprenticeships. Today was another day of apprenticeship for me. While it is a little bit of freedom from these walls, I’ve begun wondering if I’ll ever feel differently about having to come back behind the palace walls.
I'm starting to worry that I can't live like this anymore.
The sound of night coming to life draws me back and I start my descent from the rooftop. Everything is cast in the last bit of orange light and makes the walk back a scenic view. With the light rays shining through the trees and everything glowing a golden hue, it makes it hard to walk back to the stuffy stainless steel kitchen. I’m understanding of my punishment, but I hate it just the same.
As I approach the rear entrance to the kitchen, I wait as two of the kitchen aids finish their cigarettes. Once they disappear inside, I follow behind enough that it looks like I was just taking a break with them, but not close enough to draw their attention. The usually quiet and well-oiled kitchen is chaotic and buzzing today. Most days, we have an organized kitchen staff working.
The first day I was sent down here, my face was red from a fresh slap and Father told me I would live like a peasant, cooking among the Shamed. Sydney, our main chef, was a Mesial, but that didn’t matter. Father has always had a thing about the caste system. He sees people by their rankings; Distinguished, Mesial, and Shamed.
Sydney stood over me, tall and angry when she asked, “What did you do to earn a punishment of working alongside my clearly subordinate crew?”
In that moment, nothing was scarier than the things Father had threatened me with before dragging me down here. So, I told her the truth.
“While Father expected us to turn our backs on my brother without a second thought, I cried during the Separation Ceremony.” Father was angry at my weakness. This was a light punishment compared to what he threatened me as he held me against his wall by my neck.
That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done—joining my family when we publicly announced his death to us. Father made sure it was a public Royal Event. He hosted important guests from our kingdom and had what I can only compare to a funeral to show that he was then considered dead to us.
I disappointed him by showing weakness. I still disappoint him, he tells me all of the time he wishes I weren’t his successor. I suspect he would make me abdicate if he thought he could get away with it without upsetting Parliament and the rest of the Monarch.
As the aids return to their duties, I watch one of the younger dishwashers go past the door with arms full of pots and pans. I rush and grab a few pans from her. I adjust the heavy pots as I wonder how she can ca
rry so much weight across the large kitchen all the way to the dish room.
“Evening Nina, need any help?” I ask over the roar of the commercial sized dishwasher.
“No, Ms. Mackenzie, I believe Sydney is about to give out orders in the kitchen.” Her words are quiet and I barely hear her over the dishwasher. It’s obvious she still isn’t use to addressing me. It’s taken a while for me to make a place here for myself.
I take dry dishes from the clean rack and start distributing them so I look busy. I’m late, but not so late that I can’t get away without being noticed. After such a long day working at the school, I needed some time to just appreciate my life. I’ve been studying and working my whole life to be an Educator, and eventually take over our Board of Education from my uncle. However, now I’m not sure I will have anything to do with Education. With my brother being forcibly abdicated and removed from our Royal Line, that puts me as our next Queen. Only Father has refused to teach me how to rule, he believes it to be a man's job.
Sydney finds me eventually, “I need you to start working on prep.”
Her voice is serious, and I’ve come to know it as her we need to hurry tone.
I take my place on the far side of the kitchen, near the pantry. With little activity around me I take in the action happening across the kitchen, large amounts of food are being prepared. Our guest count must be high tonight.
I continue chopping through my pile of celery watching the chaos slowly turn into the smoothly run kitchen Sydney keeps. The monotonous action lets my mind wander. I’ve honestly enjoyed my time cooking since June has left. She went to school right after the ceremony was held and it has been lonely here. It’s just under the six months she had her visa set for. Part of me wonders if June will come back at all, or stay away like my brother. I always daydreamed that somehow they would find each other while she was away, but from what I understand she has no ambition to even acknowledge that he’s alive somewhere out there. I told her once of a secret I’ve been keeping from everyone, but she acted as though I was wasting my time. She told me to stop writing him letters, and that I should focus on the Kingdom and our futures here.
June, while being a few minutes younger than me, already has prospects for marriage. Her world is set in stone, while I still don’t fully understand what Father wants from me. He’s allowed me to continue my apprenticeship. Although I assume that's more because he doesn’t want me involved with Parliament or queenly duties yet.
A sous chef sees my pile and joins me, cutting up vegetables from my pile. I give him a nod when he sets his mat and knife down, but stay quiet as we work. His help is appreciated, but I’m not sure how to express that without sounding lazy.
After a while, Sydney's words about communicating and making friends start to run through my mind. Sydney has worked on making sure that I fit in with the crowd. To my reluctance, I’ve actually started to make a few friends. “Say hello, ask how they are doing, and communicate about what you are doing.”
Her list continues in a loop until I crack and acknowledge him properly. “Good evening.”
“Evening miss. How’re you?” His tone is quiet and he radiates a nervous energy, one that mirrors my own.
“I’m well, and you?” I force a large toothy smile out and he visibly relaxes.
“Well, miss.” With that we both return to focusing solely on our work.
We both work until the pile of food we have is gone, and I return to get the tomatoes for the base of the chili. I grab the last of them and hope that they don’t need more before the next trip with the grocers to the farmers market.
When I return, fresh and clean cutting boards are waiting for me.
“Thank you.” I tell him, realizing I’m not even sure of his name to properly address him.
“You’re welcome miss. Before you start, I think someone is here to see you.” He points across the kitchen and I spot her.
June! She’s back early! Her shiny blonde hair is perfectly styled and she looks so cozy in her warm winter clothes. Standing there perfectly dressed, she almost looks plastic and it’s evident she doesn’t belong in here.
"You all right?" she asks as I run across the kitchen and wrap myself around her. She lets out a girlish giggle as I wrap my arms tightly around her freshly tanned body. We’re twins, but we couldn’t look more different. June has curly blonde hair and resembles my mother with her beautiful curvy body. In almost every way possible, I am the opposite to her. I have dark brown—almost black—straight hair. I keep it long like a shield, but it definitely makes my pale, white skin stick out. Our eyes are the only thing that link us. A bright green that runs in our family, through many generations on my mother’s side.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Father requested I take my exams early, so I’ve finished my classes and now I’m back." she replies as she pulls herself up to sit on the counter. Sydney will have a cow if she sees her, but hopefully she is busy off somewhere else in the maze of the kitchen. My heart is thrilled to have June back, it’s been a lonely few months without her around.
"Oh my, I'm so happy you're here. Is that why we’re cooking so much? Celebrating your return? Wait." I pause thinking about what this means. "You're a Doctor!"
"Yes, ma'am. It’s too bad I won’t get to play in the hospital anymore. Father has me starting my portion of training with Uncle Donald tomorrow. I don’t even get a day off now that I’m back. What a slave driver!” We both laugh, but I tense at the slave joke with our staff so close. They surely aren’t paid enough and work too many hours. That’s something I’ve come to find out in my time down here.
Our giggles dissolve as I move back to my place in front of the cutting board.
June quietly watches me for a while and slowly the other workers finish up and move to start new tasks. I look up and see her curious about what I’m doing, the last time she probably came into the kitchen was long ago. Most likely before our mother passed away. She would come down everyone once in a while and work in the kitchen with the staff, I think it was an escape. I can understand that.
I finish cutting the tomatoes and then start working to get the pots and pans I’ll need ready. My partner senses that he’s no longer needed and disappears to another part of the kitchen. A part of me feels bad for not getting his name, but I decide to try the next time I run into him. It’s not as though I could know him further than the kitchen, but friends are never a bad thing to have.
As I cook down the onions, I wonder if he’s always been in our kitchen. Maybe this was his set job, like working with my uncle on our Country’s Education has always been mine. Did his get changed like mine? As a Daughter of Schrielle's Royal Family, it was predestined what I would go into before I was even born. My brother was to be our next leader, I was to help our country teach and shape the younger generation of our people, and my sister was to keep them healthy. We have known of our roles since young childhood.
Our Founding Father and First King believed in the necessity of demand. When something was needed, our leaders chose how we obtained it and because of that, we haven't had inner turmoil like wars. You are given a job and spend your life training for it. After school as a youngling, you know what you will be when you grow up. It may be something your family has always done or possibly something brand new. It depends on how you test going through school.
To prepare for that job, sometimes our people leave to attend a school, or training of some type after years of apprenticeship. Most come back, but some do not.
With my Reign coming up in the next few years, I’ve just started really learning more than the generic bit they taught us as kids about our history as a country and how we became what we are today. Father is in the process of building an army now that our debts are finally paid off.
Apparently war is expensive.
"What are you making?" June interrupts my thoughts.
"Chili, for the staff though. Unless you need something to warm your bones, I can sn
eak you a bowl." June had gone to school in our continent’s most southern country. She was beachside for most of her studies.
When I missed her most, I would daydream that her and Teijan were somewhere close, maybe even on the same coast. How neat would that have been? He told me in one of our first letters that he was in a seaside city. When I asked how the ocean was, he told me the girls were prettier. I can only imagine what he is getting into and what stories June would’ve been able to tell once she came home from seeing him for six months.
"It's not winter just yet, Kenzie." She’s right. It's late into the eleventh month, around the time that our history books mention a thanks of giving happening.
Sydney comes in in all of her crazy curly gray-haired wonder, “What in the world do you think you are doing?”
June looks to me with wide eyes and I mirror her expression. She’s been caught, and I can’t help her. A little bit of fear spikes, but I know that Sydney won’t do more than kick her off of the counter.
“Sorry Sydney, I was just talking with my sister.” Her tone isn’t remorseful at all and I’m not sure if it’s an attempted act of authority or if June is being condescending.
June’s never been one to care about titles. Sydney being a Mesial shouldn’t be the problem, but for some reason I feel it is. Just how she looks so dismissively at her aggravates me. What in the world is wrong with June?
“You had to chat with your ass on my freshly cleaned counter? A counter where your food is prepared. If you want to eat food prepared on a counter where we let people sit, be my guest.” Sydney doesn’t wait for a retort, instead she turns on her heel and continues on her way to the pantry.
Annoyed with June, I hold up a finger telling her to wait while I go after Sydney. I find her sifting through packages of seasonings when I come in. Multiple excuses and apologies run through my mind as I wait for her to find what she needs.
“Sorry about that, she’s grumpy from travelling all day. Long flights and all that.”
She gives me a look letting me know that she’s aware I’m full of it. “Don’t apologize for your sister. You have better things to do.”
