The dark polished wood reflected the serious faces of the council members. I drummed my fingers against the large table, my mind wandering away from the meeting.
"...think they are willing for a negotiation?"
I tuned out their words, my thoughts drifting back to the note.
"Mud hollow, Bridlesmark".
Who would send me a message like that? And how did they get into my room?
"...fishermen...complaining..."
I barely registered their words. My mind was still on the note, and the strange, unsettling feeling it had left me with.
Why Bridlesmark, of all places? I'd been wondering if I should show the note to my father, the king, but he always snapped when I mentioned Bridlesmark. Maybe I should have shown it to one of my advisors instead, but they all worked under my father, and would probably just report back to him.
"Arinthal,"
My father's voice cut through the din, and I snapped back to attention."We are discussing something. Care to contribute?" His eyebrows shot up, and he fixed me with a disapproving stare.
Clearing my throat, "Yes, Fath—Your Majesty," I corrected myself, trying to sound confident.
I glanced around the table, meeting the gazes of the council members. The Duke of Avalon, Maximilian Bavaria, looked me over with interest, his blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Lord Vynlar Stormbringer's sunny gold eyes sparkled with mirth.
Lady Catherine, on the other hand, looked like she'd rather be anywhere else, her emerald eyes flashing at me in disdain.
I took a deep breath and began to speak, "I think if we build a bridge across Eldritch to Bridlesmark, we could—" But before I could finish, Lady Catherine cut me off.
"What does that dirty city have to do with what we're discussing... your Highness?" she snapped, glaring daggers at me, her tone laced with mock respect as she drew out the title.
I gave her a *warm* smile, trying to deflect her antagonism. "Well, if you'll let me finish, Lady Catherine... Bridlesmark has a lot of water bodies. Instead of going through the stress of using twenty days to fish and still negotiating with Kingdom Oland, we could build a bridge, unite—"
My father's voice sliced through the air, heavy with disappointment, as he cut me off. "Anyone else have something reasonable to say?"
I felt frustrated instantly. Why did they even bother inviting me to these meetings if they never let me speak?
The royal advisor spoke up, "I say we negotiate." And my father nodded in agreement.
"Didn't you hear what I said, Counsellor Williams? There's no room for negotiation, they made it—"
Lord Henry cut her off, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Lady Catherine, you can bless us with a better idea, if you can even think of one."
The old woman's face turned beet red. "Pardon me?" She placed her wrinkled, long fingers over her chest, her bony shoulders squaring in affront.
Why was she even still alive?
The king's voice cut through the tension. "Negotiation it is." He swept his gaze around the table. "You're all excused. Except you, Arinthal." His eyes lingered on me in disapproval.
As soon as all the council members were out and the door to the throne room got shut, the anger he had been masking slipped, His face turning red with rage. He rose from his seat, bellowing, "What is wrong with you?!"
"You said to add my contribution, I just said what I thought was best... Your Majesty." I ducked my head, feeling no remorse.
"It's your obsession with those people," he hissed, "How do you want to rule Velcan like this?"
Velcan…
Once a united land, we had splintered into the divided kingdom we are today. The people of Bridlesmark, though an integral part of our heritage, had been overlooked, forced to endure the harsh realities of a land that seemed determined to break them.
The divide had happened over 200 years ago. Some said it was Queen Mariana who had thrown her baby into Eldritch—the canal, because of its "tainted" eyes. Others claimed it was a curse from a witch or a disease that had spread from a neighbouring kingdom. But I don't think any of it was the truth. It was just an excuse for the people with colored eyes to treat those with duller eyes as inferior. They used the myth of the "diseased" as a justification to treat the people of Bridlesmark as less worthy.
My father was just as guilty, neglecting them and their needs. It was selfish, and I knew that I would do everything in my power to change it.
The thought of Velcan's nobles buying maids from Bridlesmark like they were property made my blood boil. If I were in their shoes, I would fight back with every ounce of strength I had. The injustice of it all burned within me, fueling my will to unite our divided land, but until I was king, I couldn't do anything but try to convince my father.
"We have to do something, Father. People are dying over there, and we—"
"Would you stop it already?" He snapped. "Those aren't your people! These are your people," he gestured out the window, his nose and red eyes flaring in anger.
I straightened my back, unmoved by his nags. "I was sent a letter."
His expression changed to one of interest, and I pulled the crumpled note from my pocket and handed it to him. He read it quickly, his expression darkening. For a moment, he seemed frozen, his jaws working. Then, in a sudden burst of anger, he tore the letter apart. "It's an empty threat, ignore it," he growled, his glare warning me to drop the subject.
"An empty threat?" I blurted, not willing to let it go just like that. "Someone sneaked into my room without getting caught and left a note, and you think it's an empty threat?"
"They can't do anything, Arin." He stalked over to his throne, a majestic solid oak structure with velvet cushions and gold accents.
I followed him, my words spilling out in a heated rush, standing firm and refusing to back down. "You're underestimating them. Just because they have dull eyes doesn't mean their brains don't function properly."
His eyes snapped back to mine, flashing with warning, and we locked gazes in a tense standoff. For a few piercing seconds, neither of us looked away, until I finally yielded, nodding curtly.
He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "You're dismissed."
I heaved a sigh before I turned on my heel and left the throne room, the heavy wooden doors closing behind me with a soft thud.
I spotted Daemon leaning against the wall, and his eyes locked onto mine instantly "Don't tell me you mentioned Bridlesmark again," he said, his voice tinged with a familiar, exasperated tone.
I brushed past him, but he fell into step beside me. "You know the king will get mad and stop inviting you to these meetings."
I flashed him a smug smile and a shrug. "Good, then I'll have something better to do with my time rather than wasting it on stupid meetings discussing things like overfishing."
As my cousin and royal advisor, he had always been diligent about guiding me in my royal duties. His mother, the king's sister, had passed away when he was young, and he had been raised in the palace. His father, a travelling explorer, returned every decade, leaving him to grow up largely on his own.
"Arin, you have to be serious," Daemon lectured. "These meetings are a huge deal. It's an honour to be attending them, but you're taking it for granted."
I rolled my eyes, familiar with his never-ending tongue-lashing. His obsession with work was exhausting. My mother had known what she was doing when she appointed him my royal advisor.
"I am serious," I countered, strolling through the Royal Garden. The sweet scent of flowers filled the air, a calming contrast to our conversation. "Things like overfishing aren't the real problems of Eldrid."
Daemon corrected me, "You mean Velcan?"
I shot him a glare. "No, I mean Eldrid, our united kingdom, not the separated part called Velcan."
He stepped in front of me, his mono-lid garnet eyes apathetic. "You need to forget about this whole United Kingdom idea, Arin. It's not going to work."
I pushed him aside, my tone sardonic. "Thank you for your motivations, Dae."
"I don't even know why you bother about them," He Said. "If you step into Bridlesmark alone and they find out you're the crowned prince, they'll kill you on sight."
"I plan on doing that, though." I smiled.
"What do you mean?" His brow furrowed, and his grip on my shoulder halted me mid-step.
I leaned in my voice barely above a whisper. "I got a letter."
"A letter?"
I nodded "It said to come to Mud Hollow, Bridlesmark."
His expression turned grave, but I brushed him off and continued walking. We entered the courtyard, where maids bought from Bridlesmark worked. They toiled away, selling themselves for their families' well-being. It was a sad reality, one I intended to change soon.
"You don't think it's a trap?" Daemon's eyebrows shot up, his raven hair gleaming in the sunlight.
"Why would they invite me somewhere just to set a trap?" I argued.
His face turned sceptical, his doubt clear. "You're not getting it, these people... they're dirty, corrupt—"
"And are still the people of our land. Whose fault do you think it is that they turned out that way?" His silence was telling, and I pressed on, my conviction growing. "That's right, it's us. So it's better if we work on it."
His voice dropped to a murmur, his eyes darting toward the maids. "You don't even know anywhere in Bridlesmark, you might get lost... and possibly killed." He mouthed the last word, careful not to fuel the gossipers.
"The crowned prince? Killed? I don't think so," I said confidently.
"You're underestimating them," he hurried to keep pace with me.
I chose not to respond, knowing that I wasn't underestimating them. I believed they had valid reasons for inviting me, and I was willing to take the risk.
"Does the king know you're going?" He questioned. "Are you taking guards with you? Do you want me to come with you?"
I shook my head firmly. "No, no, and no. You're staying here and covering up for me"
I expected him to obey, as he should, and not breathe a word to my parents until I returned.
"You're being reckless!" Daemon called out, his voice edged with unease
"Don't worry, if things go south, you can take my role as the crowned prince." I turned to face him, giving him a nonchalant wink in my response. With that, I walked away, leaving him behind.
I didn't have much time left, I needed to sneak out of the palace in disguise, catch the ferry, and get to Bridlesmark – a place I'd never been. From there, I'd find Mud Hollow, find out the reason behind the letter, and return home before anyone noticed my absence.
Easy peasy.