Future Queens
POV: Lucien
The note from the Seely Queen had thrown me off a little because she wanted her daughters to eliminate two of my candidates. I was sure that they would throw Alexandra out based on Loki’s connections with the Seely Court. This played in my mind while I watched the proceedings of the ladies each come up and greet the princesses. Then they called Alexandra last. For some reason, the council always wanted her to go last but I supposed it was because they wanted her to use her reputation to keep eyes glued on the proceedings. These things tended to be tedious until the lady from a particular noble house was called up. Normally each family would only pay attention to their own house but when Alexandra was up, all eyes were on her. I didn’t quite know if it was because she was still new or if they wanted her to fail. I found myself paying attention to her as well since she was my preferred choice for Queen. Sylphia greeted her very warmly and invited her to speak over a cup of tea. I took that as a good sign that she would not eliminate her. She went on to speak with Nystasia. I knew Nystasia was the more friendly of the two sisters so I was hoping she wouldn’t pick her to eliminate. I was assured when Nystasia gave Alexandra the lily from her hair. Fae were very particular about giving gifts. They would only do so if they felt that the receiver could benefit them in some way. What I knew of Nystasia was that she had always wanted peace between the two kingdoms to continue to thrive. She was hoping that Alexandra and Jess were the two ladies who would continue that. No doubt the council would see the same thing as me.
We all gathered in the library downstairs with the only change being that the princesses attended. They did not have their attendants with them which made me nervous about Alexandra. Knowing Blake though, he wouldn’t let her be alone or out of his sight. I knew I could always count on my brother to keep Alexandra safe. We all settled into our seats and the princesses were placed on each side of me. I stood up once everyone was settled in, “All, we first must discuss the Queen’s letter. What do we think of letting the princesses choose to eliminate two candidates.” Elder Edgar rose from his seat, “Your Majesty, I believe that this would garner further friendship amongst our realm and theirs. I vote that they be allowed to eliminate two candidates.” A discussion erupted in the room where some grumbles could be heard. I settled the room, “I don’t believe we should be having a long discussion here, I am sure that the princesses would love to get to know the candidates.” Princess Sylphia rose from her seat, “If you agree, we could hold off on eliminating a candidate at this time so we can get to know each lady. While fae generally have a good idea of a person based on first impressions, we are willing to concede to your culture here and take some time to speak with each lady. Would that help to ease the council?” Sylphia spoke like a true future Queen. I nodded, “Thank you, Your Highness. I believe this should help to ease some concerns. I am going to just put this to a vote now so we can rejoin the party soonest.” Nystasia nodded enthusiastically.
Each member of the council stood up and gave their vote. It ended up being two dissenters which was no surprise since they were backers of Melody Maigny. It seemed they were nervous that she would be eliminated and I can see that, especially with an empath type like Nystasia around. If I was being honest with myself, I wanted one of the princesses to pick her to be eliminated so that some of my concern about this competition would be eased. I was pleased that the majority of the council was rational about conceding this decision to the princesses. We all decided that we would convene for now and gather together again after the reception. Nystasia abruptly left the room after telling her sister that she wanted to seek out Lady Batiste and Lady Kellen. She walked out of the room as if she was walking on air. Princess Sylphia discreetly asked to speak with me alone so we stood back from the group. She watched diligently as each member of the council left until Grand Pretre was left. She stood there and smiled at me, “Remember what I said, Your Majesty. Please seek me out later, I have some information to share.” She smiled, curtsied, and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Sylphia spoke, “May I address you informally?” I nodded, “Of course, you are to become my equal soon.” She nodded, “I think I need to be honest then, Lucien. My father has sent a spy amongst my attendees but it isn’t what you think.” I sighed, “It’s Loki, right?” She gasped then nodded, “I wasn’t supposed to know this but the night before I left Seely, I overheard them talking. Loki is planning on kidnapping one of the candidates. I’m not sure who but I wanted to let you know this so they can be protected properly.” I strode over to my seat and sat back down and looked up at her, “Would you like to know who the target is? I happen to know.” She sat next to me, “I would like to know and perhaps I can find a way to help her.” I sighed, “It is Lady Batiste. He cursed her.” She leaned back, “I have to be honest about her. My first impression of her and Lady Kellen were both excellent. They did the greeting perfectly which meant they practiced. This meant they were serious about wanting to maintain a relationship with Seely. They took it further by bringing us a gift as a symbol of friendship. This made me eliminate them from my elimination list right away. But can I ask you something?” I leaned forward, “You can, Sylphia. What is it?” She looked me in the eye, “Do you have a preference for Queen?” I looked away and sighed, “I didn’t when I implemented this competition so I put it in place because I didn’t want there to be controversy around my choice. I fell in love during all of this. It is the same Lady Batiste that is in danger of being stolen away from us.” She clenched her fists in her lap, “I hate that my father is involved in this. If it goes down as Loki has planned, I will ensure that he is found quickly and my father will be punished. This is the best I can do right now. I really couldn’t tell you which of our attendants was replaced.” I nodded and patted Sylphia’s hands, “It is enough to know we have allies within the Queen’s court. I thank you. I won’t blame the whole of the Seely Realm.” She relaxed her hands, “Thank you for reassuring me, Lucien. I will be taking my mother’s throne soon so I am hoping you can visit us for my coronation with your bride-to-be.”
She rose from her seat, “Thank you for having this conversation with me. It eased my mind immensely. If you’ll excuse me, I really do want to join the reception since I asked Lady Batiste to have a visit over a nice cup of tea.” I followed her out of the library but was stopped by Grand Pretre. She ushered me back into the library, “I know you are anxious to get eyes on Alexandra but I really think we should talk right now.” I waved her into the room, “Of course. Please take a seat, Your Eminence.” She took the seat that Sylphia had occupied earlier, “She was very anxious when she sat here. I don’t blame her, her father is assisting Loki and she hates it.” Not that I doubted Sylphia’s sincerity but it was comforting to hear a confirmation from a very reliable source. She cleared her throat, “It took a while but I finally lifted the magic from the book that Darren Batiste gave you.” I sat up straight, “So what information were you able to get from it?” She winked and shook her head, “I’ll get to that in a few minutes, you see I have something else to discuss with you first.” I groaned and leaned back in my seat, “I swear sometimes, Grand Pretre, that you are merely a cat occupying a person’s body. You like to toy with your prey.” She giggled, “No, I just must tell you about these eliminations. First, your wish is unlikely to come true since I have already spoken to Princess Nystasia about who she absolutely cannot eliminate at this point. This would move The Order against Alexandra and Jess swiftly.” I clenched my jaw and then spoke tensely, “What do you mean about that? Wouldn’t it just out the last house to us?” She sighed, “It would but not without the death of one or both ladies. As one is your love and the other your close friend, I doubt you want that for either lady. We need to keep Lady Maigny and Lady Delnaro in the competition. These are the ladies that the purists view as the best candidates.” I tapped my foot nervously on the ground, “Does that mean that House Maigny is the other noble house.” She shrugged, “I cannot say that for sure but I am sure young Ashton will find that out for you in due time.”
I sat contemplating the mission I had sent Ashton Batiste on for a little while before she brought up the next topic. She leaned forward and said, “Now onto the subject of the book.” I leaned forward as well, “What did it say?” She chewed on her bottom lip, “His weakness was that he wanted to possess something from his object of desire. I knew this when we were in your office after you handed me that book. It is what called to me so I was in a trance.” I furrowed my brow, “What of hers does he want to possess then?” She nodded and sat back, “That’s the question that I needed to consult her chart for. You see, Alexandra is the result of two Heavenly beings so therefore she’s the rare one who possesses many traits. Some she has already discovered while others she has not.” I swallowed hard because sometimes her abilities brought her a lot of hardship in her life, “How many more does she have?” She looked up thinking, “I’d say at least two more.” I sighed, “There’s no chance he’s after one of her manifested abilities I gather.” She laughed, “No chance at all. She possesses a particular ability that could be a blessing or a curse.” I sighed, “If he’s after her for it, it is already a curse.” She nodded, “We are in agreement there. This is one to be feared by Gods though.” I was holding my breath for her to reveal this ability. She sighed and said, “This ability…it is called God’s Breath. It has the potential to make or kill Gods.”
