Under Pressure
POV: Alexandra
I stepped into the meeting room of the Elder Council and all eyes turned to me. True to what Edgar had stated, Lucien was there and his arms were folded. He looked at Jheelis and shot a glare at him. I swallowed hard and I felt my palms start to sweat. Elder Edgar directed me to stand in the front of the room and wait for them to start asking questions. Elder Enzo rose, “Hello Your Grace. Thank you for meeting with us today and for your punctuality. We have had reports from the King and Queen of Seely on how they felt you did on your visit. I understand that your visit went exceedingly well from their accounts. The King was specifically taken with your charm and smarts. There was one request that came in that was particularly troubling to some gathered here. I think you might know what that is. Can you please explain why the King has requested for your hand to marry Prince Calypso?” I nodded, “I thank you for the opportunity to speak with me today and the ability to explain what had happened. First, I believe King Renier covets some dormant power within me and has thought that this was the best way to get it.” Another Elder asked, “And how would you know that? Can Her Highness or the fae you have brought here validate this statement for you?” Ny stepped forward, “I can, sir. It is widely known in Seely that my father covets a power within Her Most Highest Highness.” There were whispers in the room and Edgar rose, “You called her Her Highest Highness. Why did you call her that?” Ny looked at the papers in my hand and then at me, “You have to give the papers to His Majesty now.”
Malinus walked up to me with a straight face, “Your Grace, do you have something to deliver to His Majesty?” I nodded, “Yes, sir. The Queen has asked that I give this directly to His Majesty King Lucien.” I handed him the papers and he looked at the seal and nodded, “Thank you, Your Grace. I shall bring this to him directly.” He took the papers over to Lucien who unfolded his arms and opened the paperwork. He read through it and clenched his jaw. He handed the papers back to Malinus and whispered in his ear. Malinus walked the papers over to Edgar. Edgar read the paperwork, looked up at me, and nodded at Malinus, “You may read it to the Council.” Malinus walked over and stood next to me, “To His Majesty, King Lucien of Vellum, second son of House Doré. Her Majesty Queen Reina of Seely, first daughter of House Mariposa announces the appointment of the title of Brinasha to Her Highest Highness Alexandra of Vellum and Seely, first daughter of House Batiste, soul daughter of Aphrodite and Apollo. This will be effective as soon as she steps foot on the soil of Vellum. Please be sure to address her properly as our Goddess and future sovereign.” Whispers filled the room and I looked over at Lucien. He was leaning his face on his hand and looking away from me. He was upset. I knew him well enough to know that.
As the whispers died down Enzo rose from his seat, “Your Most Highest Highness, it appears as though you have made a huge impression on the Seely court for them to grant you the highest of powers especially since you are not of fae blood.” I sighed, “It would appear so, sir. I don’t quite understand what I did to encourage this.” Ny spoke up, “If I may offer an observation Your Most Highest Highness?” I sighed again, “I really wish people wouldn’t call me that but go ahead.” She nodded, “Sorry, I must adhere to honorifics as pertains to the situation.” It was odd to me that the bubbly vivacious Nystasia had suddenly turned into her sister but this wasn’t unwelcomed. She continued, “While she did make a great impression, I believe this to be a ploy by my father to gain power. He believes that Her Most Highest Highness will marry my brother and essentially become one of my father’s court by law. Since she will be part of his court, he will have the ultimate power in Seely by proxy thus making him a de facto ruler.” Enzo nodded, “That seems to be on par with what we know of King Renier but it seems he is trying to start a war by doing so. Your mother is interfering with the state of affairs in Vellum by inserting herself into our Queen competition.” He glanced at Lucien who had shifted in his seat at some point and was glaring at me, “I believe on this point, His Majesty does have a few questions.” Lucien rose out of his seat and he may as well have towered over me with the stance and look he gave me, “I want to know if you gave any encouragement to Her Majesty and His Highness that would give them hope that they could wed you to him.” I shook my head, “No encouragement. I specifically told the Prince that my heart belonged to you, Your Majesty. I reiterated this when I left.” He looked at Jheelis, “So who is this fae you have dared to bring with you today?”
I drew a deep breath getting ready to explain myself to him when Jheelis stepped forward, “Your Majesty, it is an honor to be brought before you. My name is Jheelis and I am but a humble son of the King’s concubine. I have been asked to accompany Her Most Highest Highness to Vellum to carry supplies. She has generously agreed to help the people of Seely by preempting the deadly virus here that threatens to spread to our realm or so our prophets have foretold. I will let Her Most Highest Highness address the other reason this is needed.” Lucien turned his attention to me and his expression was a little bit softer which meant that his jealousy had subsided a little. He waved, “Please enlighten us then, Alexandra.” He did not address me by my unasked-for title and I was thankful. I smiled at him, “I can, Your Majesty. You see the three of us along with Sylphia observed some strange and troubling behaviors in the Queen that we can only conclude that she is under some spell or curse. I believe the light-healing potion will help lift this from her and bring her back to her senses. She can then rescind this marriage proposal and hopefully this unwanted title she bestowed upon me.” Lucien shook his head, “She cannot rescind the title but we can help you figure out how to restore power to Princess Sylphia if that is what you desire. As for the Queen’s behavior, I can confess now that Alexandra had sent me a letter checking in yesterday. Well, it was more like two. One had come through secret channels warning me of the proposal and what her behavior might be reported and the other came through official channels. Malinus, present the letter.” Malinus reached into the document bag he had draped across his body and placed the letter in the middle of the table. The letter bore my seal and it was the one I had sent through Hobbs. Lucien spoke again, “This is the letter Alexandra had sent through official channels. Malinus can tell you the gist of the contents.”
Malinus cleared his throat, “In this letter here, she basically said she was enjoying her time in Seely and that the royal family were lovely and accommodating. She also states that she fell in love with Prince Calypso and has requested that she withdraw from the Queen competition.” I gasped, “I did not write that. Your Majesty, I really hope you do not buy that.” Enzo rose and pulled another letter out of his pocket, “I confess that I got a similar letter addressed to me from Her Most Highest Highness asking to withdraw. I was going to reveal it here today and let her know that she had to request the withdrawal from the council verbally. I am assuming, madam, that you are not going to make that request?” I shook my head vehemently, “Not at all! I love my realm and my King. Why would I do that?” Lucien looked at him, “Could you place the letter on the table? I would like to see something.” Enzo nodded, “Of course, Your Majesty.” He placed the letter next to the other on the table and Lucien cast his reveal magic. One letter’s seal revealed the seal of the Queen, the butterfly as well as the seal of the King, the snake. Enzo’s brow furrowed, “I might have guessed since the letter had not sounded like her at all. She sounded almost too bold in that letter. I was taken aback. Now that I see it came from King Renier, I am now honestly not shocked. Given our conversation with the selection council, we do have a recommendation on this Your Majesty. That is if you care to hear it.” Lucien nodded, “Of course but perhaps we should dismiss the fae in the room before that.” Enzo looked at Ny and Jheelis and nodded, “I’m sorry to tell the two of you that His Majesty is right. If I can compel Lady Jesslynne to escort our guests to the waiting room?” Jess nodded at the Elder, “As you will it, Your Majesty?” Lucien nodded at her curtly and she took the two out of the room.
Enzo continued, “We have decided that our recommendation to you, now that our lady is home safely, is to threaten war on Seely. Of course, we don’t intend to follow through. We just need them to rescind the offer at least until we have concluded our selection for our future Queen.” Lucien sat down and thought it through then looked up at me, “What do you think, Alexandra? I would like to hear the opinion of one who has spent time in the Seely realm.” I thought about what the council was suggesting and looked at Enzo, “The Queen Mother agrees to this plan?” He nodded, “She’s actually the one who suggested it.” I inhaled deeply then nodded, “I believe this to be the best path for this alongside the potion that Jheelis will deliver to Princess Nystasia so she can give it to her mother.” Lucien nodded, “I believe you may be right. How long will it take you to produce this potion for her?” I smiled, “As soon as I get back to Blackwood, as long as the sun is out.” He smiled back at me and nodded, “Then you should go as soon as possible. We will draft the declaration and send it on with that Jheelis person.” I shook my head, “I don’t recommend that method, Your Majesty. That would get him killed and he is valuable to Princess Sylphia whom I would consider an ally to Vellum within the Queen’s court. We cannot risk alienating the one person who remains in Seely that is on your side.” He looked at Enzo who looked at me with amazement, “You are quite right to think this way. I believe your time spent with the prudent and practical Princess Sylphia has been valuable. Does anyone else have anything else to ask Her Most Highest Highness?” All the other members in the room shook their heads and Enzo smiled back at me, “It appears you are free to go at His Majesty’s leisure.” Lucien rose, “I thank you for your time today, Alexandra. You may return to Blackwood Deep where I am more than certain you are eagerly awaited.”
I bowed at Lucien and excused myself from the room where I was greeted by Jess. She smiled, “I am guessing all is well now.” I shrugged, “As well as it can be but we need to get home quickly before the sun sets. Let’s gather our guests and go.” She smiled, “They are already waiting in House Batiste’s carriage. Your father has come to fetch us back to Blackwood.” I smiled, “The best news I have heard since before we left.” We stepped outside where my father was standing on the steps. I ran up and hugged him, “You don’t know how good it is to see you at this moment. It has been a very rough few days.” He chuckled, “Given the letter that we got from Queen Reina, I would say so. We can discuss it later though. Let us get you home now.” We climbed into the carriage and were on our way to Blackwood. I looked over at my father and asked, “So I did get to hear if the potion I made has helped the victims of the disease.” He sighed, “It has to a larger effect but…” He pulled a letter out of his pocket that was addressed to me from Doc, “He included this in a message to me. He figured you would understand if you read it yourself.” I opened the letter eagerly and it said only, “I regret to inform you that the child, Tilly, has passed away from the disease. Sadly, we did not get the potion to her in time.”
