Page 5 of Iris of the Crowned Flame

I grinned, feeling support from her, as I had hoped she would be. Lady Mallard is the youngest councilor by almost adecade, only just a few years older than Ethan. She comes from a northern mountainous region called Frosted Forests, not very well populated, but a hardy and egalitarian region all the same.

Over the years, when imagining running away with Amyra, I had often wondered if we could find a small community there and hide from bounty hunters and others who would come looking for a crown princess and just live out our lives openly. The fantasy was charming, if impractical.

With her input, the other councilors that supported the idea started offering ways to make this ball happen. Father sat down and tapped my arm, indicating I should as well. I watched as the various men argued the finer points of the idea. Father leaned over and whispered, “You did well, Lyla. This discussion shows they will adopt the idea once they satisfy Denenbaum’s tight ass.”

I nodded, satisfied this first meeting had gone well. Ethan reached for my hand and offered a squeeze. He then leaned in and said, “Great job. You handled them better than I could have hoped to do. You’re a natural at this.”

If I had nothing else, at least I had the support of my brother and father. With the discussion of a party to find me a husband reaching levels of excitement I didn’t expect middle-aged men to have, I realized I might not have much else. My fear of the men they might offer grew as I realized I might need to choose a man who wants to subdue me, as these men do. This was the last thing I wanted to do.

CHAPTER 4

The next two weeks flew by in a whirlwind of emotions. The choice felt dreadful, grief immense. I couldn’t help but feel like my life was ending. I suppose I was, in a way. My earlier life offered more freedom, privacy, and self-determination. After Mother died, I felt everyone was watching me, and it felt like it was for all the wrong reasons. No one cared about me, the real me. Sure, their concern extended to my attire, my gaze, the mystery man I might be involved with, and the future King. I can’t say I blame them, but I didn’t feel comfortable with all the speculation and gossip.

Although the Council hadn’t invited me to any further meetings, my father confirmed with Ethan and me that the ball was scheduled for one month after Mother’s funeral. They chose the date to allow for travel from several kingdoms that were the farthest trading partners we could reasonably support.

The event coordinators had me pick out lots of colors and decorations. They believed the ball would define my reign as queen, as if my future choices would always reflect these decisions. Thankfully, it’s summer, and with so many flowers in bloom, the choices were relatively easy. They settled on a color palette of pinks and purples, to reflect my mother’s favorite pink orchid tree and my affinity for irises. I appreciated the nod to her memory. Eliza, my seamstress, saw the colorscheme and promised to make me a gown worth being the center of the show, but refused to let me know her inspiration. The secrecy in it even made me look forward to the ball a little.

Most of all, Ivy and Amyra helped me learn about the suitors that got invited. Father knew where Mother’s list of best suitors was, because of course she was thorough in her efforts to marry me. He ensured invitations went out to everyone on it, regardless of their past attempts to attract my attention. Eight men were on that list and thus invited, along with their courts. Each of the councilors provided additional options. The four most conservative men added four more men from their estates. It was overwhelming to have to choose among twelve men, and to have only one evening to talk with all of them and get to know them. Thankfully, Amyra is nothing if not an expert at getting details about people, so she spent most of the time leading up to Mother’s funeral compiling information on these men.

Following the funeral, Amyra, Ivy, and I discussed the men when someone knocked. We each looked at each other, as if that would tell us who it was. People rarely came to my chambers, even now in this transition. I got up to answer my door and found Ethan on the other side. “Lyla, I really need to talk to you about this ball.”

He didn’t wait for me to invite him in, pushing past and rushed to close the door. I’d never seen him behave this way before. He looked around before asking, “Is it just the three of you? No one else? These walls have ears, you know.”

Ivy and Amyra nodded while I replied, “Of course it’s just us. What’s going on? This is so unlike you!”

I quickly returned to my seat, pointing to an empty chair to invite him to join us. He reviewed the scattered papers listing suitors’ names and information.

“It’s the suitors. I know you’ve been looking into them to understand their motives. Have you ruled out any so far?”

The look of concern on his face was intense. I didn’t understand what he was hinting at.

“We haven’t yet. We are still trying to understand them. What is troubling you?”

Ethan glanced at Ivy and Amyra again. It seemed like he was worried about trusting them. He’s never doubted my judgment on friends before, not that I’ve had many to doubt. “Ethan, you can trust them as much as you can trust me. Ivy and Amyra are trying to help me find someone good, not just for the kingdom, but for me.”

I watched his face relax a bit, and he continued.

“Katelle’s dad invited a suitor from Scoria Bay that he is going to insist you focus on during the ball. He’s been urging me to increase your interest in him before the ball comes. He’s given me an entire list of information he wants me to share with you. But it feels weird Lyla, I don’t like it. I can’t tell what his angle is. His duchy doesn’t trade with Scoria Bay. I can’t see any reason he would benefit from this suggestion.”

Katelle was Ethan’s girlfriend, and her father was Lord Denenbaum, who certainly wasn’t anyone I trusted. I ruffled through the papers, looking for the information on this suitor. We had little on the suitor. The people of Scoria Bay are notoriously secretive about their affairs. All we could confirm was that he would arrive the next day, after the funeral.

“OK, I see here. This says his name is Egan, he’s the third born son of the King… they are a kingdom that decides succession by birth order, right?” I glance up to see Ethan nodding. “Hm, ok, so he’s potentially power hungry. That’s not unexpected in this group. We haven’t had strong trades with them in the last five years. They export mainly fish and ice, and we have very little need for either. I don’t see why this would be a politically helpful choice. What does Lord Denenbaum want me to know about him?”

Ethan pulls his list out of a breast pocket. “He wants me to talk up his affinity for musical theater, the arts, and sailing.”

The Lord knows I treasure a good performance, or a painting that really captures emotion in a new way. Sailing seems like an odd choice; I don’t really care forthe water, and it’s easy to assume he would like that, living in a kingdom of islands.

“There’s nothing truly suspicious about this. Could Denenbaum have a familial connection? Maybe he is trying to position his family to gain from this? What are your senses telling you?I scanned the pages, confused, yet Ethan possessed a reliable instinct for this. It was really a shame that he goofed off during lessons, that sense would have helped him a lot with navigating life as a king.

Ethan shook his head. “I can’t really find a reason for this, either. Katelle says she has no family outside of this country. Her mother hails from a small estate two-days-ride from here. They’re completely landlocked. She doesn’t know much about her dad’s side, but she’s positive that this isn’t a relative. Something feels off by this. I can’t quite tell, but I want you to be aware of him and this deal. He wasn’t on Mother’s list, nor was anyone else from the Scoria Bay, and I’m not sure if that’s because she knew something was off with them. Mother and Lord Denenbaum didn’t always get along. She hid it from others, but he used to make remarks.”

My eyes widened, and my thoughts raced. “What remarks? Do you think he…?” I trailed off, but we knew the physicians remained baffled by Mother’s death. We were still waiting for the official report, but so far, nothing made sense.

Ethan abruptly shook his head. “No, no, I don’t think he was involved in that. I know he was disappointed to find out I’m not taking the throne. He really thought I would be the heir, but he hasn’t wanted Katelle and I to get married yet. It makes little sense for him to do something now. I wonder if he’s taking advantage of the situation, though.”

I glanced at Ivy and Amyra. Both looked pensive. “What do you two think?”

Ivy sighed, and Amyra was the one that spoke. “I think we need to strategize. We have four weeks until the ball, and not much information on these men. I don’t want you to marry any of them. I wish we could convince the Council to allow you to rule alone. But this is the path we must take, and in thatrespect, I think choosing one person at the end of the night isn’t the way to go. We need to determine the Council’s other invitees and devise a plan. Maybe we could use this to our advantage. Select a handful of these men and invite them to stay and prove their value to you as a king for our country.”

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