CHAPTER I

"Jon." A warm hand shook his shoulder gently. "Jon, wake up."

Only one person in the world could be so gentle when waking him up. Jon opened his eyes, and slowly his vision foccused on the concerned eyes of his little sister. A spring of blond curls tickled his cheek as she leaned over to check if he was already awake.

"Come on, brother, you need to get up soon."

"Hm?" Jon closed his eyes again. He heard her steps crossing the room. His ears barely had time to process the sound of the curtains sliding through the pole when a painful gold light flooded directly into his eyes. "Gods! Susan!"

"Everyone's waiting for you downstairs," her cold voice cut through the peaceful melody of the birds outside. Jon blinked slowly, his heavy eyelids only allowing him to see a glimpse of his sister, who was looking around uncomfortably. "Seriously, Jon, would you rather live in the stables? This room is completely filthy!"

Jon swallowed hard. He always woke up with a dry throat. Then opened his mouth to contradict her, only to close it a few seconds later as he realized that perhaps she was partially right. Several parchments and scrolls layed lazily around the table and floor, clothes were scattered around and books opened in random pages layed on the floor right next to the bed.

"Well," he finally said,  his sleepy voice dragging as he rubbed his eyes, "I could argue that being a royal does mean that I have a room which is at least three times bigger than a standard person, which inherently leads to having three times the level of disorganization of-"

"Don't." Susan placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. Something about her looked familiar.

Jon's heart swelled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Jon, what?"

"Nothing. You just- looked just like Mom right now." Susan's hands slipped from her his and she frowned at him, this time with sadness. "Do you remember how she used to get mad? She'd stand exactly like you're standing right now."

Suzy blushed and looked away.

"Not really," she admitted.

Perhaps she was too young, Jon realized. He didn't push the conversation further.

A moment of silence filled the room and the atmosphere changed. Jon examined her for a second. Susan looked weak and feeble, with dark stains under her empty green eyes. Her personal servants tried their best to hide her constant tiredness, but it was no use. Too many sleepless nights, constant nightmares and depression had left her void of all her prior shine. Her blond hair had lost the spark it used to have as a child, and she was terribly thin, so thin and small that she was wearing the same green and white dress that she had worn two years ago for a masquerade.

In about three months, Susan would be fourteen years old, but no doubt she came across as older. Ever since Mom had died, she had lost all of her energy, like a golden rose that had started wilting before it had been given a chance to bloom. She was fourteen, she was supposed to be full of energy, thinking about her marriage to a foreign prince and spending her money on beautiful dresses. She was supposed to sing, dance, play cards, practice archery and make friends with the other ladies. She was even supposed to be going through a rebellious phase. But Susan was always alone. Her eyes were always nailed to the ground, her movements were deprived of life. She spent her entire days reading in discrete corners of the garden, as isolated as she could from everyone else. She never missed a lecture and she always did as she was told without a trace of complaint.

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"I came to warn you that everyone's waiting outside and Uncle will be mad if you don't show up soon."

"Show up for what?" Jon grumbled. "Another stupid party? What's the occasion?"

Susan's eyes widened.

"Certainly, you didn't forget that today is your birthday?"

He blinked for a second, and then he felt fully awake as the events of the past week suddenly came to him like a sudden weight pushing him down.

How could he forget?

Yes, he remembered now... the reason why he was feeling so gloomy was exactly because he had spent the entire night writing letters of appreciation to all the nobles who had sent him greetings for his sixteenth birthday. The Palace had been in a hurry for the past few days as the last arrangements were made with careful detail. His uncle, the King Regent Phillip Archer, was more decided than ever to show the world that the wealth of Elezia was vast and its glory was incomparable. He was using Jon's birthday as an excuse to show off the luxury of his country. This was meant to be a full day of lavish activities: the banquet, the masquerade, the cruise in the afternoon, the horserace and the ball to close off the day.

"No, I remember perfectly."

He tossed back the bedsheets angrily, all traces of sleepiness gone. An uneasy urge climbed his chest as he stood up, and the cold air coming from the window against his thin silk sleeping gown gave him a chill.

"Good," Suzy said seriously, folding her hands in front of her waist. She did look like Mom. Except that Mom was always smiling. "Everyone is here to celebrate. I shouldn't have to remind you that even the Prince of Sharya came all the way from the North-"

His heart joulted so hard that he forgot he was tired.

"The North!" He cried excitedly. "Anyone from Lightsgate?"

"Are you serious right now? Why in the name of the Gods would they be here?"

"Because it's my birthday? Because Uncle invited every ruler from every country on the continent?"

Susan looked positively confused.

"I'm sure Uncle doesn't even see them as a country, Jon. I mean, mages? Pure mages? They're more like... well, rebels, to him. They would be beheaded if they even dared to set one foot in Elezian soil, you know very well how Uncle feels about them." Suzy sighed. "Anyway, I just meant that your guests-"

"Uncle's guests-"

"-travelled a great deal to see you, and the least you could do is show up on time," she finished harshly.

"Right. As if any of them gave a damn that the second prince is turning sixteen this year. They've come to dance around a bit, to flirt, to establish political connections, who spend their ridiculous amount of free time. The last thing anyone will remember is that today is my birthday."

"That's not true," she said. "I care. Leo cares."

"Does he?" Jon couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Do you want to bet that as soon as I set foot outside I'll see Leo surrounded by a million girls? He uses these occasions to flirt and to drink and to have a good time. He isn't responsible enough, he isn't fit to be a ruler."

"That's not true," Susan hissed. "He's our brother. He has enough on his plate as the future king."

"Right," Jon laughed coldly. "But we shouldn't worry too much, Adrian can make up for him if he ever feels like the crown is too heavy to carry."

Susan gave him a hurt look that made his anger go away completely. Before he had time to apologize, she sighed like she was too tired to argue with him. 

"I'm going to let that go because today is your birthday and I know how anxious you get around in large gatherings. And I'm going to send your personal servants inside and pray for the love of the Gods that they'll be able to perform a miracle in one hour." She raised an eyebrow at him. "We don't want our guests to mistake you for the stable boy, after all."

She bowed shortly and turned around, her boots clicking on the wooden floor.

Jon's smile fell as soon as she was out of sight. He could hear the chatter through the window. All those princes and nobles from foreign countries that had come to see them made him nervous. Whatever the day would reserve for him, he seriously hoped it would come to an end soon.