It’s said that the Oceanport castle was just as old as the wall in the Citadel, if not older.

In the times of the ancients, the castle had been built as both a symbol of power as well as a final line of defense if the kingdom were to be attacked. The fortress castle was designed to defend against both land and sea attacks. Because of this, despite the strain of time and lack of any repair, most of the thick walls were still in place.

The key word being most.

Ria sat on the stone throne in the back of the room. The rock chair was simple with wave designs and the images of the first queens carved into its sides. The top of the throne rose high above Four’s head, looking like different tendrils came together to form an insignia bearing the likeness of the parchment Sacred Piece, Carmae.

Hands resting on the sides of the throne, Four held a stern expression on her face. There was a dominance in the set of her shoulder and a mark of strength in the furrow between her brows. She looked like a queen.

Ria grunted. This chair, sorry, throne, was incredibly uncomfortable to sit on.

She squinted. It was also hard to ignore all the sunlight coming from behind her.

The large hole in the back of the throne room was the perfect window-less window. Apparently, a Sea Raider attack had taken out the wall. Ria wondered what exactly they hit it with, that such a large hole could be made through the thick layer of stone.

Still, there was a perfect view of the ocean and town. They could make out the huge crowd of people gathered below. Ria liked to think that it was probably a modern aesthetic somewhere in her own world. She focused her thoughts back to the coronation.

Rows of people lined up on the sides and back of the room. Despite having only announced the news yesterday, a large majority of Oceanport had decided to come and attend the event. Those that could squeeze inside had done so. Outside the castle, more curious Port-Dogs lined up, hoping to catch a glimpse of their new queen.

It had been centuries since Oceanport had had an official queen, much less a coronation! Everyone was curious. For the first time, neighbors put down their grudges to stand together, and everyone watched with excitement. A sort of festive cheer filled the kingdom.

When asked what to put as the symbol of the event, Ria had requested the daisy flower. The fronts of the castle held long banners with the flower hurriedly stitched onto them.

Seeing the new symbol of the queen, the people followed suit. The daisy fields were empty as each Port-Dog had a flower either in their hair or pockets. The streets were decorated with white and yellow flower strings.

In comparison, their throne room was sparse except for the carving in the rock columns that had been there for centuries.

Ria breathed in elegantly.

The townspeople pointed at the action, murmuring amongst themselves. The queen must be preparing herself for the great moment! The whispers grew louder as the room thrummed with energy.

A long ruby red carpet was draped along the center of the room.

Old Luce, dressed in a fancy black cloak (which they had found in an old chest in the storerooms) looked a little less fanatic than usual. His messy white mane had been washed and oiled. The man’s eyes were surprisingly clear as he walked down the aisle. All eyes were on the ancient coral crown held within his hands.

The crown was adorned with gems of aquamarine and aragonite. Huge pearls lined its sides and a stunning blue diamond sat in the center of it all.

Ria gulped. Don’t sneeze, don’t sneeze, don’t sneeze, she begged herself. The girl closed her eyes and forcefully exhaled. Her fists clenched. Despite the huge hole in the wall, the throne room had been vacant for so long that it was extremely dusty.

Behind Old Luce stood Finn. Puffed up chest and saber sword fully out on display for all to see, the boy was only having too much fun with the entire ceremony of things. With a long cape flowing behind him, Finn looked like a fairytale knight come to life. He waved to the people as he passed.

Ria glanced at Jerrel and Bran. The old teacher was their “unofficial priest” and the little boy held a cushion in his hands. Carmae glinted from its spot on top of the cushion.

All the eyes in the room stared at the Sacred Piece in wonder. The Port-Dogs smirked victoriously. There were rich lords and ladies that had never seen the Sacred Piece before! Some teared up thinking of how they would be able to tell their grandchildren the story.

Catching her gaze, the little boy smiled brightly.

The queen nodded at him, eyes softening.

The girl’s heart squeezed. If only Derek and Daisy had been here. Her back straightened. Ria clenched the handkerchief in her hands. Although it wasn’t traditional, the girl had been insistent on having it as part of the ceremony.

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From his seat next to two buff ex-miners, the head minister hid his sweaty hands in his lap. He definitely wasn’t nervous!

The man sighed. Never in his life had he been forced to do so much work! Who would have thought that his new employers were so much more demanding than his former ones?

Still, even he couldn’t contain his glee at the elegance and beauty of the ceremony despite its last minuteness. With a single look, Four had given him full control to design and organize the ceremony as he wished. He had told the Port Dogs where to set up the banners and how to organize the old carpet. The design of the banners outside had been his and the cushion holding the coral crown was from his sofa at home! It was the first time he was able to accomplish a task with his own ideas.

The man hummed thoughtfully. Seeing the full attendance, he thought smugly, maybe he could start a business as a coronation planner! He definitely seemed to be better at it than he had been at being a puppet minister.

“Your Highness,” murmured Jerrel.

Ria nodded. She rose, trying not to trip in the heavy dress.

The girl had sent an invitation to Tom and Timmy (as well as their boss) but none of the men had attended the event. Ria wasn’t disappointed per say, but the dress that had mysteriously appeared in front of the castle addressed to Four just this morning, had made her gloomy mood disappear.

A familiar wolf mask sitting on top of the dress gave her a clue as to who the gift was from.

The ocean blue coloring was even more stunning with its fancy lace and gold stylizations. The pearls running down its center and the beautiful shining, daisy-patterned sleeves had made the five-year-old in her jump for joy. (Ria would never admit it, but she had spent some time spinning in front of the mirror; fascinated with the way a twirl could make the dress puff up like a pastry.) But now, she was cursing the stupid gown in her mind. Why was a dress so heavy?

Slowly, Four rose to her feet. The fabric of her dress rippled like a wave, making her seem like an ocean goddess rising from the sea, draped in victorious cerulean.

From their place at the bottom of the stairs, Finn and Old Luce kneeled. The crown was held up high towards Four. Jerrel took a deep breath before announcing:

“All kneel for the crowning of the queen!”

There was a certain hypnotizing power in such a crowded room. The entire hall slowly got to its knees. The ones outside the castle heard the call and followed in kneeling as well. All of Oceanport knelt to their new ruler. But rather than resent it, the people looked at each other with bright eyes. Who knew a coronation could be so exciting?

“Crown bearer, rise.”

The hall thrummed with excitement as Old Luce rose to his feet. He climbed the stairs to deliver the crown to Four.

Jerrel looked on seriously, despite freaking out in his mind. He was a teacher, not a priest! Why was he doing something like this? He shot a glare at Bran. It was all his fault. The kid had been jumping up and down when Four had first mentioned the honor it would be to have him hold Carmae. It was only natural that Jerrel also found himself dragged into the ceremony of it.

He exhaled shakily as Old Luce arrived at the top step with the crown.

Ria closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Jerrel’s shaky hands reached for the precious object.

The whole hall watched with bated breath.

Finn scrunched his nose.

“ACHOO!” The boy raised his saber to rub his itchy nose.

Unbeknownst to him, the noise startled Old Luce. The man tossed the crown in the air and scrambled down the stairs. He hid behind one of the Port-Dogs, shaking in fear. “No! Begone evil spirits!”

The rest of the room gaped. They watched as the crown soared through the air. The centuries-old heirloom shattered against the rock floor, its precious gems flying in all directions.

“Hey! Look what I got!” One of the Port-Dogs raised their hand in the air. They held a shiny pearl in it.

The rest of the room applauded the great catch.

Like that, the hypnotizing calm was broken as the people clamored about. Everyone in the back and outside wondered what had happened.

Ria stared at the shattered crown. The room watched as Four openly face-palmed. Why did stuff like this always happen?

Meanwhile, the head minister was fuming! His entire upper body flushed red.

Turning, his eyes caught sight of a cowering Old Luce. Pointing to the other, he screamed, “I’ll kill you for ruining all my hard work! Ahhhh!”

With that, it wasn’t long before the entire throne room erupted into chaos.

Ria slumped back into her seat. She sighed happily. The dress really was heavy.

“Are you all right, Your Highness?“ Jerrel glanced over, expecting a distraught queen, only to be shocked at her amused expression.

“Who do you think will win, Old Luce or the Head minister?” she asked. Her head tilted as she rested her uncrowned head in her hands.

Jerrel turned his sights back to the chaotic throne room. “Well, ma’am, if I had to place my bets, I think it would be on the foreigner. I didn’t know a man could get so red.”

Turned out, Jerrel was right. The head minister did win. Old Luce ran away sobbing, a black eye decorating his face.

—

In the end, the actual crowning was a small, private affair.

Jerrel placed the metal circlet atop Four’s head. The metal had some wave engravings carved into it and pearls lined into it but otherwise, the new crown was quite plain. The metal that made up the circlet was also quite common, coming from ingots that could be found by the beach.

One of the former miners had been a blacksmith. The man had immediately offered his services to the queen and worked hard to present the temporary crown to Four. The craftsmanship was elegant but simple.

Needless to say, the others shifted uncomfortably. Surely, such an ordinary thing was not fit for a queen’s head.

But Four’s eyes had gleamed at the sight of the circlet. Waving a flippant hand in the air, she said, “Just put it on. As long as I can get out of this dress, I’d let you put just about anything on my head right now.”

Despite her flippant attitude, when the girl emerged out of her changing rooms, dressed in more simple attire, the circlet still sat proudly atop her head.

When asked, she shrugged, “It’s grown on me.”

Even when the official crown was fixed (as much as it could be), Four merely placed it back in the vaults, claiming the circlet was less of a hassle and that she really couldn’t afford it if the crown broke again.

When the circlet was presented to the people, they were shocked by the positive feedback as the Port-Dogs cheered loudly. Apparently, such a plain circlet made of common Oceanport metal demonstrated that Four was a queen of the people and did not hold herself above but on equal standing as them. She had led their people out of the mines of the Citadel, so it was only fitting that her crown was forged of a metal made from a material that could only be mined for in Oceanport.

Jerrel had rolled his eyes at the saying. The things people made up… But Four merely hid her mischievous smile when she heard the report, leading him to wonder how exactly such a rumor had started.

The others in the room knelt.

“All hail, Four, Ruler of Oceanport. The Last Queen of the Realm.”