The Title of Brinasha
POV: Alexandra
I saw the way Sylphia reacted to the title and felt it was time to speak up so I could understand what this meant, “Um, what is Brinasha?” Syl sighed, “It is a few things, to the other realms they have declared you a living Goddess and should be worshiped as such. This can only be done when the prophets determine that this must be so. It wouldn’t be hard to declare that considering how your soul was created. To Seely, it means that you must become the Queen of Seely in the future. You’re essentially, in title, The Living Goddess Crown Princess. This not only gives you power but it gives you the ultimate power in all courts in Seely. Since my father is convinced that you will marry Cal, this means that by proxy, he will have this power too since you will be part of his court. It is precisely what no one wants.” I plopped on the bed behind me, “How could this happen? I didn’t ask for this. Wait, what if I don’t marry Cal though? That means the crown will go to you Syl.” She sighed and shook her head, “Regardless of whether you marry Cal or not, you will still hold that power even if the crown passes to me. I will be Queen in name only, all decisions for this realm will be in your hands.” I buried my head in my hands and I felt a larger hand on my back rubbing it and he spoke, “I know it is overwhelming and this isn’t something you want to hear but it could change once our mother gains her senses.”
Sylphia rose from her seat and looked at Jess who was leaning against a wall in stunned silence, “Even if she comes to her senses, this changes nothing. We cannot rescind the announcement that went out to the other realms. She will have the power since it has been made official.” The room fell silent as well all had our eyes on the ground, contemplating all the different scenarios of what this meant. Their father was indeed cunning, using my visit to strengthen his power over Seely and quite possibly the other realms by proxy. Ny walked into the room bringing her jovial self but her smile fell when she looked at each of us, “Did someone die?” Syl muttered, “Yes, my career did. Father made sure of that.” Ny looked at her confused, “What does that mean?” Cal rose up and hugged his younger sister, “Ny, Mother has declared Alexandra as Brinasha.” Ny gasped, “This is awful. I don’t want my friend to rule Seely! No offense Alexandra, it just doesn’t feel right that you would rule over this realm when I feel in my heart that you were destined to rule over Vellum. I also know in my heart that Sylphia is most suitable and destined to rule Seely.”
A knock rang through the room and one of the maids came in, “Your Grace, your carriage is ready to take you to the portal. The Queen regrets that she cannot see you off but requests that Her Royal Highness do so. She also has stated that the supplies you need for the potion you promised to send on are in some boxes and Jheelis will accompany you to Vellum until you are finished with the potion creation is complete so he can safely see it back to Seely.” She handed me some papers, “You are asked to take this paperwork to His Majesty King Lucien.” I took the papers from her but could not look at them as they were sealed in a large envelope. She smiled, “I’m also to tell you that all but one of your gifts is on the carriage as well. The King will be keeping your crown until you come back to claim it. It was truly an honor to serve the Brinasha.” She bowed at me and backed out of the room and I sighed, “So this is crap I’m going to be subjected to from something I never asked for and certainly don’t want.” I rose from my seat on the bed and walked over to the door, “May as well get this show on the road, I really do need to go see the Elder Council when I return.” Jess followed after me and the royal siblings followed after her. We finally reached the front door of the castle where Jheelis was waiting outside but this time he was not going to be driving us. Hobbs was out there with him. He bowed to me, “Your Grace, it is my understanding that I must address you royally from the moment you return to Vellum. You are after all now the highest royalty in all of Seely. Superseding even the Queen.” I sighed and Ny nudged his arm, “Jerk, don’t mention it. She hates this.” He looked at me stunned, “Who wouldn’t want to have all the power in this realm?” Cal sighed, “You’ve been hanging around the old man for too long. Not everyone longs for power.”
He shrugged and climbed into the car alongside Ny. I turned to Syl, “I will think of something to fix this whole situation. Lucien might have some insight too. I will write to you about it.” Cal interrupted, “About that. Did you notice the pendant on the bird that I gave you?” I nodded, “Yes, it didn’t seem to belong there. I meant to ask you about that.” He smiled, “It is a communication crystal. I figured it would be best to keep lines of communication open between us. You can just speak the name of the person you want to speak to the bird, you’ll get connected. It works as inter-realm communication. I will give Syl a pendant with the crystal on it too. If she’s available, the necklace will light up light green and if she isn’t it will light up pink. I will have a pendant too if you need to speak with me.” I nodded, “That’s pretty practical but what if you all want to talk to me.” He winked at me, “She will sing a song to your heart. Even if you are not near, you will know someone is trying to contact you. She has a psychic connection to you as her recognized mother. She will let us know if you are available, she can even connect us to you psychically. You can respond with your mind.” I smiled, “Oh that’s actually a pretty neat gift. Good idea, Cal.” He smiled and took my hand then kissed it, “I will miss you terribly. I know you probably don’t feel about me the way I do about you though.” I sighed, “I think if we had met another time perhaps I could have liked you like that. I cannot return your feelings and I know you don’t want me to lie to you.” He smiled, “I can see the distress in your eyes, I understand. I thought last night about what I would feel if our roles were reversed and someone was trying to come in between me and you had we met earlier. I don’t think I’d be able to lie either. Please don’t fret but know you are always in my prayers.” Just then a shout came from the castle, “Your Highness Prince Calypso! His Majesty has summoned you to his court.” He bowed at me, “I must go. Well wishes, safe journey, and sweetest dreams until we meet again.”
After Cal left Syl sighed, “He really does love you. That is only uttered amongst the fae to the one who has their heart. I really wish he hadn’t gone lovesick for you. It only makes it harder for him when you marry Lucien.” I shook my head, “You are just as practical as I and you know very well that nothing is guaranteed. I may lose.” She nodded sadly, “You are right and if you do, I have a feeling the Council will ask you to sacrifice yourself in the name of peace to become my brother’s wife. How would you feel about that?” I looked down at my feet, “I have a huge love for my home, my family, and my kingdom so naturally I would agree to do what I must to link the realms. I could think of worse husbands than Cal.” I looked up at her and she stared directly into my eyes, “You just told Cal that you didn’t feel that way about him. Wouldn’t it be awkward to marry him when you don’t love him?” I nodded, “It would be but I cannot say that I don’t have some feelings for him. My feelings for Lucien came on slowly but started out the exact same way. I could find myself eventually falling for him if I were to marry him. I don’t know if I ever really will get the choice as to whether or not I get sent here to become Princess but I keep my heart a crack open just in case I don’t have that choice. As for how I feel about becoming a Princess in the King’s Court, that’s quite another issue that I would likely have to think about and navigate.” She nodded, “You’re stronger than I, Alexandra. I imagine it isn’t easy to be placed in such a predicament. Perhaps it is best that you have the ultimate power over Seely. You are willing to sacrifice your heart for your kingdom. I don’t know if I could be so willing.” I placed a hand on her shoulder, “I could think of no one more deserving to rule over Seely. Only you know what it takes and only you know the subtle intricacies of the courts here. I could never know any of that no matter how hard I try. We will figure it out.” She wiped a tear that had spilled from her eye and hugged me, “You are truly my friend, Alexandra. I will pray your journey is safe but you must go now so you can meet with the Elder Council on time.”
I climbed into the car followed by Jess and we were on our way to the portal to Vellum. Jheelis cleared his throat, “I’m sort of excited to be going to Vellum. I have never been anywhere past Faedon.” Syl giggled, “I think you will love it there. I know I do. It is so warm and inviting. Some of the pyrios and lycans are jerks but what can you do?” He laughed, “Some fae are jerks too, Your Highness.” She pouted, “You can call me Ny when we reach Vellum. We are both equals there, at least in my opinion.” We got to the portal and Jheelis stepped out of the car and loaded a cart full of the suitcases, boxes of gifts, and supplies for the potion. I looked at him concerned since we would be climbing stairs on one side, “You have to climb stairs. Will you not have issues using a cart like that?” He looked over his shoulder, “Oh, thank you for your concern, Your Grace. I will be fine. I have levitation magic so this is nothing to me. It’s probably why Her Majesty sent me for this task. Also, you can probably take your time producing the potion.” Ny shouted, “Hey, you know she can’t do that!” He chuckled, “Yes, I know but I would love some time to explore at least Blackwood Deep and Tarn.” I smiled at him, “We will need several batches. I’d be willing to bet you will be back and forth with supplies and the finished potions.” He shrugged, “Your Grace is likely right on this aspect. I am ready to go now.” Ny went first, followed by Jess and Jheelis insisted that I go before him. As we stepped out on the other side, a carriage from the Elder Council was sitting there waiting for us. Jheelis came out from the portal and he was looking rather sick. I reached into my pocket for the mint gum my mother always gave me for portal travel and shoved it in his mouth, “Chew this, it helps.” He chewed and nodded, “Thanks, Your Most Highest Highness.” I noted to myself that my title changed out of his mouth and he did warn me that I would be addressed as such.
Elder Edgar stepped forward, “I would like to ask, Your Grace. Why did that young fae address you in such a way? We have not given the Seely Realm our permission for your hand yet.” I sighed, “I have a lot to report and not all of it is good.” He nodded, “Sounds like we should get going.” He looked over my shoulder at Jheelis, “Sir, you may leave all that there. The supply cart is coming up just now and the King’s servants will see to it that Her Grace’s things reach Blackwood Deep. You must come with us to Tarn. I have a feeling you will need to explain his presence too.” We all got into the carriage in the Vellum custom and I was surprised to see that Jheelis knew what he was doing. Even Edgar remarked about how he was able to adapt to our customs so easily. Ny exclaimed, “All children with royal blood in Seely learn the customs from Terre and Vellum.” I looked at Jheelis shocked, “Royal blood?” He rubbed the back of his head, “We haven’t confirmed it yet but I might be the illegitimate son of King Renier.” Edgar merely nodded and Ny looked at me for my reaction, “Why am I not surprised that that man whore has illegitimate children?” Edgar looked at me confused, “What is a man whore, Your Grace?” I blushed and sunk into my seat, “It, uh, it is a term humans use to imply that a man shares many women’s beds.” Edgar laughed loudly, “Oh my! This is quite amusing and probably a fair assessment of King Renier. Oh, but you didn’t call him that to his face, did you?” I shook my head, “I wouldn’t dare. The man frankly scares me. I wouldn’t have the courage.” He laughed again, “Very smart, Your Grace. We are finally here. Let’s get inside, His Majesty is also awaiting your report inside and he is not pleased so you will have a lot to explain.”
