But hadn’t I already?
Tissa and I were in the dressing room before the ceremony, a space the Grucken had set aside for me at Lithern Shrine, inside his training complex. Through the walls, we could hear the intense clamor of singing voices outside, the banging drums, the wild chanting. It was a Gaard tradition that the attendees chanted and danced frantically for up to four hours before the bride revealed herself. It was meant as an enticement for her to be wed, to arouse passion for her and the groom’s union in the hearts of the people before the wedding began.
We had been listening to it already for two hours when Nnati came into the room.
He stopped just inside and gaped at me. “Wow … Kaelyn, is that you?”
I laughed. “Of course. Who else would it be?”
“You’re …” Nnati was tongue tied. I’d never seen him like this before. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “Your dress, your hair, your glow. I can’t believe it’s you.”
“Thanks,” Tissa said for me. “I helped with the design of the dress. It’s pure white to match Zawne. I thought the diamonds and white silk were a nice touch. I also gave her a scoop neck and a sweeping train. And what about my outfit, Nnati? Being married to Raad sure has its perks. Check out the diamond necklace my hubby bought me just for his sister’s wedding. Look closely—these are real diamonds embedded in the gold.”
Nnati gave her a look with one eyebrow raised. “You’re sure getting comfortable in your new life, huh? I suppose it’s understandable. Nobody where we come from could have purchased you such a gift if they had saved all their money for forty years.”
Tissa grinned, mostly to herself. She was fiddling with the necklace.
“Anyway,” Nnati said, charging across the room to give me a hug. “You look amazing!” He stopped just short of me with his arms spread. “I want to hug you, but I also don’t want to wrinkle the dress.”
“I appreciate it,” I told him bashfully. “And thanks for your kind words. They mean a lot.”
Nnati blew me a cheeky kiss. “Anything for you, darling.” Then he turned his attention to the window. “They’re acting like lunatics out there. It’s like that mad parade for the dead at Lordin’s funeral. What’s going on? Why do the Ava-Gaard commoners have their faces painted like birds?”
“It symbolizes the Crown of Crowns,” I told Nnati. “It’s meant to be good luck for Zawne and me in the upcoming coronation. It’s supposed to raise our chances of being the chosen ones.”
I thought, If only they knew the truth. I wish I could tell my friends!
“I doubt you’ll need luck,” Tissa said as she put the finishing touches on my dress. “You’re as benevolent as they come. Your work with GMAF says it all.”
I said nothing. I was afraid that if I spoke, all the truths would come spilling out. I didn’t feel like accidentally getting my friends killed because I wanted to gossip.
Nnati was still peeking out the window at the crowd below. “I don’t see a lot of clan leaders,” he said. “No one from Surrvul or Krug. No one from Nurlie. The usual Gaard folk and some emissaries from Shondur are here, the king and queen, your Aska bro. But none of the other main players. What gives?”
“The coronation is tomorrow,” I told him. “They’re all busy. The clan leaders are getting their heirs ready. All the families have a thousand things to do before the coronation.”
“Gotcha,” he said. Then Nnati broke out laughing. “Your Gaard traditions are comical, Kaelyn. I love how enthusiastic the Ava-Gaard are. Will you and Zawne be jumping over the borehole?”
“Borehole! What borehole?”
Tissa shot Nnati a look. “They don’t do that here. That’s only in Nurlie, Nnati. Not even at my wedding to Raad. And honestly, it’s a little diminishing for such royalty.”
“What is it?” I said, ignoring Tissa’s weird attitude. “Tell me. It sounds fascinating.”
Nnati always loved telling stories about the solemn and archaic traditions over on the Nurlie continent. He clapped his hands together and said, “Before two people can be wed, they must jump over a borehole hand in hand. If they miss and fall into the hole, not only could they get a broken limb or a black eye, but their wedding is considered cursed. Many who fall into the borehole cancel their wedding on the spot.”
“That’s insane,” I said. “You guys don’t actually believe that, do you?”
Nnati shrugged and Tissa made a face.
“Who’s to say?” Nnati said with his usual pessimistic flair. “Some couples have good marriages. Some don’t. The ones who don’t, they blame the borehole.”
I was starting to wonder what would happen if Zawne and I were to jump over a borehole. Would we fall in and be cursed? Would we become king and queen?
“But enough of this Nurlie talk,” Nnati said, coming close to me. We stood in front of the oval mirror, all three of us in the frame. “This is a happy day. Happy for you and happy for the whole of Gaard and Geniverd!”
“And your dress is finished,” Tissa said, a pincushion and some thread clutched in her hand. “It’s time for you to go, Kaelyn. They’re chanting your name. They’re cheering for their new Gaard-Ma.”
Queen, I wanted to correct her.
I didn’t. I smiled instead, stood between my two best friends in the most beautiful dress I could have imagined. It was my wedding day. Tears of joy spilled down my cheeks. “Thank you so much,” I said. “Thank you for being my best friends. I promise we will never part, no matter what. Nothing will ever change between us!”
Standing on the podium next to Zawne was a dream come true, a dream I had never known I had. He was handsome in a snow-white tuxedo, dashing with his hair gelled and his teeth whitened. Strong, tough, unbending, and yet he was gentle and loving. We held hands while the Grucken began the wedding ceremony. The crowd silenced. I looked out and saw Papa’s face shining in the front row beside Raad and Tissa. Papa was so proud of me. Mama would have been too.
“Love prevails,” I said, Zawne and I facing each other to do our wedding vows. “Ava-Gaard, we call on you all to help us to abide by Decens-Lenitas.”
Then Zawne recited his Shondur verse. “Love prevails. Ava-Shondur, help us to abide by Decens-Lenitas.”
And together we said, “Only love until the very end. May Mother Geniverd help us to abide by Decens-Lenitas.”
“When asked to choose a human quality you both possess that you place above all else for my blessing, you chose love,” the Grucken said. “Let all who’ve gathered here bear witness. Prince Zawne, why love?”
Zawne pasted his eyes onto mine. “When I look upon Lady Kaelyn, I see love. Her love is honest, kind, respectful, caring, and empathetic. Her love listens, shares, and has integrity.”
The Grucken turned to me. “What about you, Lady Kaelyn?”
“His love is brave and does not fear pain or danger. His love is faithful, sincere, and resilient. He is love.”
We were married. Zawne and I kissed, and the crowd went crazy. He picked me up and whisked me offstage to the cheering of our clanspeople. He carried me all the way to our flyrarc, and we were gone, the merriment below like a rioting crowd at a music festival. Zawne put the flyrarc on autopilot, and we kissed all the way to Sud Cottage. It was romantic, dreamy, everything I could have hoped for.
He kicked the door open with me cradled in his arms in my wedding dress. We were both giggling. “Take me to the bedroom,” I said. “I want to kiss my husband.”
Zawne carried me through the halls of Sud Cottage as if I were weightless. It was funny, because we would only live in the cottage for one night. After tomorrow’s coronation, we would be moved into VondRust Palace. It was only a brief honeymoon.
Everything was great until Zawne dumped me on the bed and I saw half-packed boxes stacked by the closet. Lordin’s things had been crammed into them. Jutting from one of the boxes was a framed portrait, a picture of her wearing a diamond tiara and looking very much like a queen. It made me think, Did I usu
rp her? Have I stolen Lordin’s place?
Then, Is she watching us right now as a Min?
Chapter 9
Every forty years the world stopped. Four billion people held their breath as the heirs of Geniverd gathered in Coronation Square and awaited the Crown of Crowns. It was something many of us were experiencing for the first time. It was something the older generation would experience for the last.
P2 camera drones hovered above the square like silent metal hummingbirds. They were broadcasting the coronation throughout the kingdom. They were the paparazzi, technological eavesdroppers. The people were gathered below them by the thousands. Six distinctive creeds mixed in the enormous lower courtyard of Coronation Square. Anyone who owned a flyrarc hovered in the sky and watched with binoculars. The sky was so full of them it looked like an invasion. The streets were packed. No one was at work.
I was on the raised podium above the masses, surrounded by a barrier of Protectors. We heirs were an island above the people, eighteen pairs kneeling in a wide circle. The air was tense. I knelt on a cushion next to Zawne and Raad, with Tissa very near to us. Directly across the square was Jaken and his wife, Kyna, representing the Ava-Shondur. To the left was Surrvul’s insane cluster of heirs. They were all married to other noble Ava-Surrvul. It was a real nationalist offering, and they glared angrily at everyone else, pale faced and blue eyed. They wore bright pink hats with sawtooth points along the brims. They were kind of creepy.
The Grucken stood center stage. He wore a long robe of many colors and leaned on his jeweled staff. We were all waiting for the Crown of Crowns. Everyone was nervous except Zawne and me. The Grucken was deadly serious as he turned slowly in a circle, scrutinizing the heirs, acting as though he was judging our hearts, as if the Grucken were a Min and could hear our thoughts.
I suddenly realized how paranoid I had been growing over the past two weeks. I was seeing Min everywhere I looked. I sometimes whispered Roki’s name so he would appear. I would ask him, “Roki, is that a Min?” pointing through a window in the palace residence at any person who I thought was suspicious.
“No, Kaelyn,” Roki would say. “Not everyone is a Min.”
But how could I know for sure?
The Grucken’s words reverberated as he summoned the flight of the Crown of Crowns. He was saying, “We implore you to choose wisely from these couples offered by Geniverd, the elite, the wise, the moral. Whomever you choose will be named the Most Courageous, the Shielded Ones, the Most Supreme Majesties. They will rule unquestioned for forty years. They will lead Geniverd into the future.”
The Grucken bowed his head to the current king and queen. “We thank you for your service, the Queen Emerita and the King Emeritus,” he said. “Geniverd thanks you for your service. Please step down.”
As per tradition, Zawne’s parents rose up from the twin thrones at the far end of the square and stood nobly beside them, ready to pass over control of the kingdom. They looked happy, watching Zawne and me with subtle grins. I had to remind myself, They already know!
And that was when the bird appeared. The Grucken raised his jeweled staff and cried out, “The Crown of Crowns has come!” Silence washed over the crowd. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It was a magical moment. Some of the heirs wore worried expressions. Lady Juni of Nurlie had her eyes shut and her arms folded over her sand-colored gown. The Surrvul heirs straightened their backs and tried to appear their most decent, their most righteous, as if Decens-Lenitas had any importance at this stage of the game.
The bird was just as Papa had described to me when I was a little girl. Its bill was straight and yellow. It had a long turquoise tail for such a tiny creature, yellow breasted with white feathers, and red sprinkles on its feet. It came streaking from the sky as if from Shiol, almost leaving a trail of color behind it. The heirs took a quick glance and then bowed their heads. No one breathed.
The crowd gasped when the bird landed on Zawne’s head. There was a surge of whispers, shouts; every one of the Surrvul heirs cursed under their breaths and stood up angrily. I caught Raad’s eye, and he grinned wider than I had ever seen. Tissa gave me a thumbs-up. Then the trumpets blasted. The cheers were deafening. We were in Gaard, after all, in the capital, and most of the crowd was local. The bird flapped off Zawne’s head, circled the podium, then flew off into the sky.
Everything happened in a series of flashes, almost too much for me to handle. We were being ushered into the middle of the square by the Grucken, who congratulated us quietly while some of the heirs stormed off and some lingered on the fringe with big smiles, happy for us despite their loss. The Grucken said to the crowd, “May I present the Most Courageous, the Shielded Ones, Their Most Supreme Majesties, King Zawne and Queen Kaelyn of Geniverd.”
The people lost their minds. Hats were thrown in the air, firecrackers, fireworks exploding above the city. Flyrarcs diffused special fuel mixtures to create spritzes of rainbow-colored exhaust overhead. Two royal clerics were draping me and Zawne in vestments of gold silk. I didn’t even see who placed the gem-studded tiara on my head or the spiked crown on Zawne’s. Then we were bowing to the roar of our people … our people … my people.
“Thank you,” Zawne bellowed in his strongest voice. “We will serve Geniverd well.”
I said nothing. I couldn’t. My throat was tight, and I was having a slight panic attack. The Grucken led us to Zawne’s parents, and hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Then we sat in the thrones while the ex-queen and the ex-king bowed to us. The King Emeritus and the Queen Emerita were bowing to me! Me, Kaelyn of Gaard! I wept tears of joy while the world worshipped me. The smell of earth and toffee filled my nose. Roki was close by, and it made me cry harder. Later I followed Zawne and the Grucken to our flyrarc with tears in my eyes.
We landed at VondRust Palace to a welcoming committee of servants, Protectors, and a peculiar man who was short and balding. Greeting us with an enthusiastic smile, he said, “Congratulations,” then got straight to business as we walked into the palace flanked by Protectors.
“My name is Torio, as Zawne already knows. I am the head of the council and will be assisting with the royal transition. If you have any questions, my number is already programmed into your visins. You may call me at any time of the day or night. From this moment onward, you will be escorted everywhere beyond the palace by at least five Protectors. This is for your safety.”
I was trying to take everything in. Zawne was so calm, nodding and hemming as he rubbed his chin. But it was a lot for me. I tried to keep up as Torio led us through the grand mansion that was now our home. It was such an extravagant place. Everything was furnished in velvets and golds, the ceilings stretching high, and each corridor was a massive tunnel of portraits and archaic candelabras that must have been gold. The entire palace smelled faintly sweet. It was not a flowery smell, more of a refined scent, like cherrywood or burnished copper. It was hard to define, though the smell of it was easing my panic. I wondered if the atmospheric bubble around VondRust infused a calming herb into its generated scents.
Torio talked quickly as we walked. “Your calendars are already full,” he said. “You can check the schedule anytime on your visins. It’s all been preprogrammed. Tomorrow you will be selecting your councillors.”
“Thanks, Torio,” Zawne said. They had known each other for twenty-five years. “Where are Mama and Papa? Where’s Jaken? He’s Shondur-Elder now, right?”
“Right,” Torio said. He was articulate with his words. I could tell Torio knew his duties well and would be extremely useful in the weeks ahead. “Your parents have already left for Shondur ahead of Jaken. As you know, there are huge parties being held in all six clans. Jaken will be inaugurated as Shondur-Elder, with his wife being ushered in as Shondur-Ma. I’m afraid your parents won’t be back for at least six months.”
“They deserve a break,” Zawne said.
I agreed with him, yet internally I was panicked. I thought, Who’s going to give me advice for t
he first few months if I can’t talk to Zawne or Roki?
At least Zawne was confident. He swaggered through the lavish halls beside Torio as if he had been born for the role of king. I guessed, in a way, he had been. But then again, hadn’t I been raised for the role of queen?
“You’ll have ten councillors,” Torio said. “You may review the short list of names tonight and pick fifteen suitable candidates for interviews, then choose your final eight tomorrow afternoon. They are all eagerly waiting on standby. As for the other two councillors, you each get an independent pick. I’m sure each of you has a trusted friend you would like to make an adviser.”
“I do,” I said right away, thinking about Nnati. But then I remembered the foundation. It was my tribute to Mama’s memory, and Lordin’s dying gift to me. Who would look after it if Nnati was living in VondRust and advising me?
Torio stopped. We had been walking for five minutes through a labyrinth of hallways, and I was utterly lost. We were in a honeycomb of golden trim and red carpets. “These are your quarters,” he said, gesturing to a huge open doorway. “There will be Protectors outside at all times.” The Protectors who had been following us branched off and stood on either side of the doorway, silently menacing in their robotic armor. “There will also be Protectors below your windows outside. In total, there are about a hundred Protectors on the estate. They work through a hive-mind synapse system. Any sign of danger will be registered by the whole company. You’ve never been safer.”
Except from Min, I thought.
Then Torio was bowing. “I will collect you in the morning. Get some rest, check over the files, and once more, congratulations. You are the new rulers of Geniverd. I bid you good night, Your Most Supreme Majesties.”
Torio scampered off down the hall. Zawne looked at me, extended his hand, and said, “Shall we, my queen?”
I took his hand and let him pull me into the bedroom. This was it, my new life as a queen. Zawne shut the doors and carried me to the royal bed.
Crown of Crowns Page 10
