Gabriella was swiftly ushered through the castle doors by servants of the Crystal Empire, through the twists and turns of the beautifully decorated halls. Sadly even she had to admit that the rulers of the north had an interesting taste. The halls were decorated with crimson carpets with gold accents. Glass windows painted a picture of mighty battles and great tales of ages gone. The walls between lined with the likeness of forbearers long passed, images of Lords and Ladies in the finest wear. Each pale-skinned northborn looking stern and regal as you like. Emperors and Empresses through the millennia watched over their domain in death. The Crystal Empire was an ancient dynasty older than the Ember Region by quite a margin, in truth.
Soon enough, they came to a set of doors that revealed the dining hall. There were tables covered in foods unrecognisable to her.
Her gaze was taken from the delicacies of the empire when she noted the large plane of glass from the Redwater Duchy. There were not many others in the world that could craft such large and intricate glasswork. Through it, one could view the sprawling city below and the Great Glimmer Lake running through its centre. The Kingdom's lifeblood kept flowing through the royal bloodline, only passed down through the royal lineage.
Things were so different here, in all her moons of living, she had never stepped foot inside the crystal empire. The palace was breathtaking; though she detested the snowy deathtrap outside, it was considerably warmer inside the walls of the palace.
“They must have a mighty castle mage in their employ to keep a place like this warm.” She muttered to herself, taking note of the magic running through the walls; perhaps she could find out who this mage was and convince them to take part in the rebellion against the red king.
Gabriella shed her winter coat, annoyed that bringing it to keep up the look of a frail mortal had turned out to be moot. The journey here had been long, but at least she had pleasant company in her cousin. Rowen had been quite entertaining, if somewhat overly formal at times; she dared say that he was the highlight of their journey. It had taken them a little over two moons to arrive at their destination, since the maids that were brought along had to follow on foot, which the princess felt guilty about. Even more so seeing as Gabriella could have gotten them all there in an instant had she not been hiding her status as a blessed. At least they had been able to utilise the fay gates to avoid having to go over the sapphire sea and past the shattered isles by warship, she mused. Although it would have been pleasant to see her younger brother, although, Wrath was likely putting him through some hellish training at the moment.
“This place looks nothing like the Ember Kingdom,” Rowen grumbled under his breath as he stepped up next to her, clearly as unhappy with the weather as she had been .“Tis cold, depressing, and I am certain I would not see so much as a single plant if I flew above the castle with my phoenix.”
“I have to disagree, cousin, I think it has a type of unique beauty to it.” Gabriella chuckled when he gave her a flat look. “You must look past the cold surface to see the beauty underneath.”
“Maybe you speak some truth...” He paused for a moment in thought before shaking his head. “But I have yet to see it.”
“Were you able to send everyone off safely?” She asked after their words settled between them. “I’m glad that you accepted my invitation to stay.”
“How could I leave you without a friend in such a strange new place?” He.. well, it would be a falsehood to call that a smile, but he tried. “Suppose you were to be bored to death, I would have that on my conscience for the rest of my days.”
“We would not want something like that keeping you up at night, now would we?” She rolled her eyes at him in a rather unladylike fashion. “I am elated that I could help keep your mind free of your guilt.”
The doors opened before he could reply, the knight’s head snapping to the sound. As they parted, a tall man's figure came into view, he was standing about six feet tall with skin almost as pale as her clan’s new Lady. His dark brown hair was a mess on top of his head, and she wondered if he had just rolled out of his bed despite it being midday. The garments he wore were so simple they almost appeared to be those of a commoner, and she certainly would have thought as much if it was not for the expensive fabric it was woven from.
“Ah, you must be the Princess of Embers!” He spoke with a beaming smile, plainly excited to see her; he took swift steps towards her and engulfed one of her hands in his, placing his lips on her fingertips in greeting. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, it feels like we have been waiting for ages to hear of your arrival.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” She smiled, curtsying with her one hand still in his. “Are you perhaps the one I am set to marry?”
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“Gods no,” He chortled as he took his hand away. “That grumpy brute will be here shortly; he was in the middle of a meeting when you arrived and sent me to keep you company.” An embarrassed blush warmed his cheeks at the situation.
“I did not wish to disturb.” She blurted out hastily, hoping she could delay meeting the man she did not wish to marry, even for a moment longer. “I can go to my chambers to rest up, he can greet me when the time is available.”
“You are no disturbance at all,” The man declared, trying to reassure her. “You are the future of this Empire, and they are just greedy noblemen trying to acquire more than they know what to do with.”
Silence came with that statement, the Princess of Embers raising a brow at his words. Indeed, it was a sentiment she shared with many of the nobles in her very own court. However, she was not in the habit of saying such things where any passing servant could hear it.
“You can call me Tempest.” He spoke to ward off the awkward silence. “I am the cool brother; trust me, you would much rather spend your days around me as time passes.”
“Gabriella.” She spoke with a thin smile before gesturing beside her. “This is my personal Knight, Rowen.”
Tempest took his eyes off the Princess, acknowledging the other presence in the room for the first time. He did not say anything for the few seconds that their eyes met, with just a nod of his head he looked back at the Princess. Gabriella was not all that surprised; it was the servants' and guards' jobs to be seen but not heard. Even knights like Rowen, while valued on the battlefield were not seen as equals by most nobles let alone a Prince like Tempest.
“My parents are overjoyed that a child of theirs is finally getting married and can give them the grandchildren they have been prattling on about.” Her heart skips a beat at his words until they sink in, and her brows knit together in confusion.
“Parents?” Gabriella asked in confusion. “If your brother is the Empire's ruler, your parents should have perished some time ago, should they not?”
“Things work differently here,” He replied, failing to hold back a laugh. “Once every child of the crown is of age in their generation, we set a duel, the last one standing battles the King for the right to rule.”
“Truly, that is…one way of doing it?” Rowen’s voice was tinged with naked shock, his composure slipping.
Gabriella could not blame him, it was an ancient practice, one that most Kingdoms had done away with in this cycle. With how old the Crystal Empire was, however, it was not surprising they held on to such traditions. The eldest domains always had some strange customs, her brother’s being a prime example. The traditions of the Masks varied and changed from clan to clan. It was not uncommon for members of the clans to have to brush up on customs before venturing to another clan’s keep. If only to avoid insulting their fellows by not observing one of their practices.
“It shows that the next ruler is strong enough to take their spot as the head of the family.” Tempest glanced at the Phoenix Knight for a moment before returning his gaze to her. “It also proves to the people of the empire that they are capable of taking care of them, should the time come.”
“That is certainly an interesting way of doing things,” Gabriella admitted; she shuddered slightly at the thought of anyone having to battle her eldest brother for the throne; she certainly would not survive it. “How long has your brother ruled over this Kingdom?”
“He has been in charge for quite some time...” He cleared his throat nervously but for what she could not tell. “He is a good ruler, but his personality could use some work.”
“You are one to talk, brother.” A voice as annoyed as it was smooth came from the door left open after Tempest had come through. “You are completely irresponsible in your duties and spend too much time worrying about noblewomen.”
Gabriella turned around to see what the person who owned the deep voice looked like. He looked similar to his brother but there were noticeable differences. The newcomer had a more clean and professional look to him, whereas you had to look hard to be able to tell that Tempest came from noble blood, his brother had the look of a man born to rule. Though Tempest's hair was a rich brown, the man in front of her was as black as her brother's soul, with his eyes matching in colour.
“There is nothing sweeter than the touch of a noblewoman brother.” Tempest smiled cockily.“They are just so delicious, how could I not want a bite.”
“Well, this particular noblewoman is off-limits and you know that.” He spoke while glancing at her, as their eyes finally met she had to resist the urge to glare at the cold man. “We have a duty we must both uphold.”
“Is that all you can think about when you look at this beauty?” Tempest asks in disbelief. “She is positively stunning, how could you not be even a little bit enticed?”
“As you know It is tradition for the Queen regent to choose who takes their place.” He folded his arms across his chest, the action causing his muscles to flex under his thin business shirt, “This marriage is nothing more to me than following the traditions that have been in place for aeons.”
“Jacquees…”
“Good, then I’m happy we can agree on one thing.” Gabriella cuts in on their conversation. “Neither of us are thrilled about this arrangement, so it would be best if we avoid each other unless social convention deems otherwise.”
“That is fine by me.” Jacquees gave her a thin smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “I had no intention of visiting you other than to produce my heir.”
A shot of cold dread shot through her as he reminded her that she would eventually have to give him a child. Perhaps she could use magic to make it appear that she was with child and just steal one from an orphanage when the time comes. They would grow up with a far better life than first intended, but with the powerful mortal mage somewhere in the castle... they would possibly detect the illusion even if they could not see through it.
A figure walking up behind the Prince started to come into view, and he turned around as he heard them approaching.
“Just in time,” Tempest voiced with a nervous laugh, trying to change the topic. “Gabriella, this will be the head maid in charge of taking care of you and my brother.”
Gabriella took her eyes off of the Prince to greet them, their eyes met and silence followed, her tongue refusing to cooperate with her brain. Standing in front of her as clear as day, was the very last person she would have expected to see.
Before she could say something Hera’s voice echoes in her head
“Hello, my love.”