After Queen Mesyla’s coronation ceremony, a private celebratory feast was held in Almaran Palace. As tradition, Mesyla and Jamos invited the other Kings and Queens of Arla and their families to attend. The feast was held in the grand dining hall, an extremely large room with a high, glass ceiling and vivid painted walls. And in the center of this room was a round, wooden table where the royals ate and drank until nightfall.

As the feast unfolded, Mesyla took in her new peers…one by one. To the left of her, King Stefan and Queen Rosar of the Meadows engaged in a very animated conversation. Stefan was frowning as Rosar was using her hands to explain something to him. To the left of Rosar, her only child, Princess Ely sat quiet. Rumors circulated that Ely was kept imprisoned in the former area known as the Gardenia Kingdom when not traveling with her mother. Ely really missed her father…who died long ago in a tragic ‘accident.’

To the left of Princess Ely, there sat King Jaho II of the Desert Kingdom, enjoying the remainder of his lamb. His son, Prince Jaho, hadn’t touched much of his food. Instead, he had spent most of the feast pouting and trying to make contact with Mesyla. She hadn’t spoken to him since the night of the Formal Ball.

And to the right of Mesyla, on the other side of her father, sat King Kyrian and his wife, Larella. Larella was wearing the most exquisite burnt orange gown Mesyla had ever seen. Kyrian had his arm wrapped tightly around her as they listened to Mesyla’s father talk about the history of Almaran Palace…and why there are no mirrors in the dining hall.

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And to the right of them, the Isle Queen, Sharra, sat. Sharra was wearing a long, white one-shoulder dress adorned with white flowers. And at the center of each flower was a Fymae, a rare, round gem resembling a pearl. Throughout the night, Sharra had been engaged in a very engaging conversation with Emmar, whose official title is Pariesa of the Isle. Pariesa meaning twice removed from command.

As the night went on, Mesyla couldn’t stop staring at them. Sharra’s presence in the Mountains was surprising, not only to Mesyla, but to them all. Unlike her predecessors, Sharra rarely left her palace in the Southern region of Arla. To see her, especially after she just delivered her first baby and the execution of her husband, left them a bit bewildered. None of them knew the truth of what happened in the Isle… what led to his execution. That secret was only between Sharra and Emmar.

Once the feast was over, Mesyla and Jamos said their goodbyes to their guests. All, but Sharra and Emmar, were staying in guest residences just outside of Reņt for the night. Emmar and Sharra, instead, decided to take a small vessel from the mainland of Arla to a small island, the land where the most beautiful kingdom in Arla was birthed, their home: the Isle Kingdom of Stars, Light, and Mists.