The Autumn Fairy by Brittany Fichter

Author:Brittany Fichter [Fichter, Brittany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-31T05:00:00+00:00

35

One Boy

Peter couldn’t follow the steady stream of excited chatter Saraid kept up as the tailor finished hemming his ceremonial cape, nor could he focus on the distant horns as they signaled to the city below for silence. Louder than everything else was his own heartbeat and the empty echo of his boots down the long hall as he walked to the outdoor platform.

Dozens of royal and noble well-wishers followed him, each more excited than the last. The king’s advisers were breathing sighs of relief that the kingdom would finally have an anointed heir, and their wives were gossiping about what Saraid and Peter’s children would look like, who would favor the mother and who might have the father’s eyes. The knights were uncharacteristically on edge, even Benjamin, not speaking to him or anyone else. Not that he’d made any effort to speak with them, other than visiting Domnhall that morning to see how he was faring.

Only one soul at the edge of the party stayed quiet and watched him with sorrowful eyes that reflected his heart. He didn’t dare turn around to meet them, but the weight of their gaze was enough to make his already heavy heart sink. If they knew how he had already failed...how he was the reason their true crown prince wasn’t here, they wouldn’t be singing his praises. Far from it.

A cheer went up from the crowd below as Peter stepped out onto the platform. Wind ruffled his hair, and he briefly fantasized about leaping off the edge and riding it. Where it might take him, he no longer cared. As long as it was anywhere but here.

The king walked to the edge of the platform and put his hands on the low stone wall that lined it. When the people were quiet, he began to speak. “People of the Third Isle, we have great reason to rejoice. For on this day, we will anoint a new heir so that when I am gone our kingdom may continue on, fighting our forests and magic and carrying on the proud traditions that we have sought to preserve since the time of the Olc War and beyond.”

Lies. So many lies. Peter stood still as a stone and listened dutifully, but each word that should have been a blessing seemed to drip with the blood of the innocent. He felt as though he were drenched in it, as though the green uniform he wore should be stained red.

“Not only do we have reason to rejoice today in our gaining an official heir,” his uncle was saying, “but we have the promise of a new queen, too!” The crowd roared again as the king turned and looked behind him, his face a mix of delight and relief. Saraid came to stand beside Peter.

She glowed, like one of the sky creatures in his father’s ancient texts. Her golden hair had been pulled behind her ears, but the long, delicately tangled curls rippled down her shoulders and back like a waterfall of sunshine.

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