Page 2 of Settle Down, Princess

“Darling, there’ll be a ceremony here,” Mother said, her words coming out in a rush. “That’s something I was only made aware of this morning. Then there’ll be another when you reach Khean.”

“Khean?” I asked. “I’m going to Khean?”

“Enough chatter.” With those words, Grandmother was once more the dowager queen, standing upright and fixing all of us with a sharp look. “Jessalyn, get dressed. Everyone else, ensure my granddaughter is outfitted to the standards of a princess royal.” Her eyes met mine. “All answers will come when you come to court, my darling. The time for questions is after that.”

I did as she asked, having no idea of who I was to marry. Jemima came in with my corsets and cinched me in so tight I wouldn’t be able to take a full breath until they were loosened. Over that went my petticoats, then my undergown, then finally, my wedding dress.

The heavy satin slid across my skin, sensuous as a caress, and gleaming with the same dull lustre of the pearls. As each button was done up, I was wrapped in the most beautiful gown I’d ever seen. My hands sank into long silk gloves, a great necklace sporting diamonds and the deepest of blue sapphires was put around my neck and then, when my hair was piled high, a veil of thin cotton was placed on my head, kept in place by the tiara I wore only on very special occasions. Once I was fully dressed, the veil not yet pulled forward over my face, Mother dismissed the attendants.

“You’ll do,” my grandmother said with a nod. I saw her lips thin and tremble for just a moment. Her eyes became suspiciously shiny before the smallest of tears escaped and slid down her cheek.

“We’ve talked to you often about duty, Jessalyn.” Mother stepped forward and took my hands. “And today you’ll be called upon to fulfil yours, but…” That hesitation: it was uncharacteristic of my mother. She was queen; used to giving firm, decisive orders, even to me. She seemed to gather herself and continued, “But no matter how this all goes, there are ways around it.”

That made no sense at all to me, so I just nodded. My grandmother drew closer, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ve initiated you into all of the secrets of women thus far,” Grandmother said. “And there is yet one more that we must teach you. After the ceremony.”

After what ceremony? I thought, my eyes flicking between these two women upon whom I had relied on my whole life. Was I actually going to marry one of the Kheanian contingent… today? That seemed impossible. It was our custom that first I would meet my husband-to-be, then there would be a courting period… My confusion, my questions, were all kept inside. My mother and grandmother nodded at me and then at each other before they led me all the way to the broad doorway of my father’s court.

“Her Majesty, The Queen of all of Stormare,” the seneschal announced as we reached the threshold. “Her Majesty, The Queen Mother, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Jessalyn.”

I couldn’t see into the great hall through the doorway; couldn’t see any of the members of the court; couldn’t see who stood atop the dais beside my father’s throne, waiting for me. I couldn’t see anything ahead of me at all because I was an unmarried woman, and therefore doomed to go half-blind about the world of men to ensure I was suitably modest. Instead, I trained my eyes on what I could see, a small circle of red carpet under my feet that was part of the wide runner that led from the doors all the way to the base of the dais my father sat upon and then up the steps to finish at the throne. When we reached the bottom step, my mother squeezed my hand and all three of us sank to our knees before him.

“Jessalyn, my daughter…” Was there real tenderness there in my father’s voice? It was so difficult to know. He was close to a stranger to me, albeit a slightly terrifying one. “Today is the day all fathers long for and wish would never come, when you go from my house to the house of your husband.”

Mother’s fingers bit into mine, ensuring the impression of the seams of the gloves was etched into my skin.

“Today is the day that Princess Jessalyn of Stormare becomes queen of all of Khean!”

And that was when I understood my mother and grandmother’s trepidation. The dress I wore might be my wedding dress, but it would also be my shroud.

Chapter 2

The kingdom of Khean was a viper’s pit. I’d never been there, but my grandmother had, and she’d made her opinions clear more than once. And in that pit of snakes, one particular serpent ruled supreme.

Magnus, the King of Khean.

He was several years older than me, but that was something I was raised to expect in a husband, so, that in itself was not the issue. It was the fact that during his reign, there had been many Queens of Khean. Daughters of royal houses all across the continent had been sent to marry the king, but none lived long enough to enjoy their position. Their cause of deaths were shrouded in mystery, yet each queen died young.

On hearing my fate, I couldn’t help but try to jerk my fingers from my mother’s grip. The reaction to get away was an instinctual one, but her hand tightened around mine. Beneath our perfectly tailored gowns, our muscles strained against each other, a small war fought unseen.

I could not become the Queen of Khean. I might not aspire to be a long-lived, beloved monarch like my grandmother, but… A sob rose and was caught in my throat, a choking feeling making me imagine a big, masculine hand wrapping around my neck and squeezing the life out of me. I would be Queen of Maggots, Empress of the Corpse Eaters. I tried again to pull away, to grab the skirts of the dress that had, up until a moment ago, been a wonder to me and now seemed like a trap I had been lured into. My mother kept me in place. All it’d taken was pretty fabric and some expensive saltwater pearls, and I let them put the noose around my neck. As my father spoke, I felt it tighten.

“Rise, Daughter, and come forward.”

I knew how to do this; what was expected. Rise in one smooth movement, back ramrod straight, eyes demurely downcast, even though no one could see whether I was obeying that stricture behind the veil. And so, instead, I stared ahead of me, my eyes burning through the thin cotton, as if that would force the fabric to fray and reveal my executioners. I slowly took one shaky step, then another, towards the danger, even when my whole body was urging me to run away from it.

I knew that four men stood by my father’s throne: the contingent from Khean. The maids may have rhapsodised about how pretty each man was, but to me they were just sinister shapes beyond my veil, ready to drag me kicking and screaming to stand before their king.

“As you all know, a wedding between two royal houses is a grand occasion,” my father said. Was he trying to persuade himself or me? “One where the members of the bride’s and the groom’s courts attend for days of feasting. But…” Gods, there was something apologetic in my father’s tone. “But, the King of Khean is unable to be here today and has sent his proxy to represent him. As this is the case, a simple ceremony will be performed now to officiate the marriage here in Stormare, and then a much more lavish one will be held once my daughter reaches Khean.”

Now? I thought hysterically as my lips moved to form the word.

The way my father spoke was as if he was a simple man trying to extricate assurances from a merchant in the marketplace, not a king wedding his only daughter to the monarch of a much larger country. But, in that moment, his lack of authority made sense. We were essentially a vassal nation of all three of the major kingdoms surrounding us, and we were in no position to refuse a direct request from any of them.

“Surely so, Your Majesty…” A new voice almost made me stumble. Have you ever heard a cat purr? That deep, rumbling sound was the perfect analogy for his resonant tone as the man spoke. It was as though his voice rubbed against my skin with the same soft, sensual touch as the satin of my dress. “Indeed, it will be a celebration for the ages. My king looks forward to the moment you and your court are able to attend.”

That drew a flurry of nervous murmurs from the courtiers gathered. The announcement of my fate had been met with perfect silence, but the prospect of entering Khean for themselves, if only for a visit, had them clucking like chickens when a fox circles the coop. I ignored them as I continued climbing one step after another, those shadowy shapes near the throne looming ever larger as I went. Then I saw that if I took another step, I would be standing on the top of the dais. I stopped, unsure of what to do next.

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