Chapter 1
“King Godric, the Sun King, and Queen Osanna, Lady of the Rose,
cordially invite you to witness the union of their son,
Prince Gabriel, the Golden Prince
to Queen Erianna, the newly crowned Snow Queen
To take place the eve following the Summer solstice
At the four corners where our realms are joined as one.”
King Azar crumpled the gilded invitation and threw it across the room.
“Curse that cousin of mine.” He gestured for one of the page boys that stood waiting off to the side of the throne. The page boy stepped forward. “Bring Lord Amir to the throne room. Tell him I have an urgent matter to discuss with him.”
The page boy bowed and left the room.
The king stood and stepped down from the platform where his black marble throne sat. He walked over to the windows overlooking the eastern valley that lay below his palace.
Lord Amir entered a few moments later. “Your Majesty. You sent for me?” he asked as he bowed and waited to be welcomed into the throne room.
King Azar turned slightly. “Yes, Lord Amir. I have just received an invitation from my cousin in the Spring realm for his son’s wedding to the Snow Queen.”
“I see,” Lord Amir responded, unsure of how the king was expecting him to react to this news.
“It is to be held the eve after the Summer solstice,” King Azar said with a wearisome sigh. He stared out the windows with his hands clasped behind his back and shook his head. “Planning his son’s wedding for the eve following the Summer solstice. Is it not enough that he received the sun magic that was meant for this land? Does he have to take away from our sole Summer celebration as well?” The king gave a dejected sigh and continued to stare languidly out the windows. “Not to mention that a union of this kind between the Winter and Spring realms leaves our realm in a precarious situation.”
Comprehension dawned in Amir’s face as to why the king was upset by the news from his cousin. “I understand why you would feel slighted by this announcement, Your Majesty. Your cousin has always tried to take what belonged to you and usurp your authority over this realm. It is most inconsiderate of him to plan such an event so close to our own solstice celebration. And I agree. This union will leave our realm wide open for attack if they ever decide they need to take over more than just your magic and our solstice. I suggest we make contact with the Fall realm and create an alliance of our own,” Amir said as he stood close behind the king.
“The Fallen realm?” King Azar thought for a few moments. “Their realm is still reeling from the brutal takeover by that rebel soldier who thinks of himself as king. He is not royal. The council will never allow his kingship to be official, even if he married the queen of the king he murdered to get there. I’m not so sure an alliance with them would be in our best interest. It could bring us more trouble than we care to deal with.”
“I understand your hesitations, Your Majesty. It is true that the self-declared ruler of that land seems a bit abrasive in his approach to ruling, but his rebel forces were able to overthrow the throne, which means they have power and strength in soldiers that may come in handy if the realms were ever to go to war. I believe it would be a profitable alliance if we can make it work,” Lord Amir replied in a sickeningly soothing voice, trying to win the king over to his way of thinking.
“And how do you propose we create this alliance?” the king asked, still not convinced of the idea but unsure of what else could be done to stand up to his cousin and make sure the Summer realm remained under his rule.
“Why, the same way the Spring and Winter realms are aligning themselves. Through marriage, Your Majesty.”
The king looked askance at Amir out of the corner of his eye and quirked up his eyebrow. “Marriage? You can’t be serious, Lord Amir. Who is to marry whom?”
“I believe the rebel ruler has a son born by the late queen of the Fall realm. He should be about the same age as Princess Amber. If we strike up an alliance of that kind, that will create a bond between our realms that will ensure their alliance in war. And, if the rebel ruler’s own son is joined to our realm by marriage, it may keep him in check and prevent him from striking out against us in future. Or taking matters into his own hands as he did with the Fallen realm,” Amir responded.
“No,” King Azar said as he turned and walked back to his throne. He stepped up onto the platform and sank into his throne.
Amir followed him over to the throne. “Your Majesty. Please consider it. It would be our best option. The rebel ruler may think it unnecessary to join with us on his own because of his prideful independence. But, if the realms were joined by marriage, it would secure that alliance should we ever need it.”
King Azar sighed and rested his head on his hand that was propped up on the arm of his throne. “I hear what you are saying, Lord Amir, and I appreciate your words of wisdom. I’m just not sure the rebel ruler would be inclined to join his son to a princess in Amber’s state.”
Amir thought for a moment before responding. “What if the rebel ruler didn’t know about Princess Amber’s malady?” he asked as he looked at the king with a malicious glint in his eyes.
King Azar moved his hand away from his face and looked at his vizier. “And how do you propose to pull that off, Lord Amir?”
Amir smiled. “We use a stand-in for Princess Amber. We can use that girl who sits with her and reads to her and such.”
The king raised an eyebrow as he listened to Amir’s suggestion. “Her companion? Have you lost your mind? We can’t wed a companion to a prince.”
“She wouldn’t actually wed the prince from the Fall realm. We would just use her in place of Princess Amber for the time-being until they agree to the marriage. We can cover her face so the prince won’t know the difference, and when the time comes for the wedding, have Princess Amber wed him. The union will be binding, and he won’t be able to back out once they are wed.”
King Azar stroked his salt and pepper beard as he thought about it. “I’m not sure, Amir. Do you think a scheme like that would actually work?”
“I believe it will, Your Majesty. We need this alliance with the Fall realm.”
King Azar sighed. “I suppose we have no other choice. Send a message to the Fall realm and invite their prince to visit our kingdom, and we can introduce him to Amber– or her companion, rather– and see what happens from there.”
Amir smiled. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will send word to the Fall realm right away.” He bowed and exited the throne room.
King Azar sighed again and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “I hope they don’t find out about Amber too soon,” he said to himself.
“What are the plans, Father?” Sir Erick asked Lord Ragnar.
“I have received information that indicates the other half of the gem is indeed in the Summer realm’s palace. We need to figure out a way to get you into the Summer palace and find the other half of the gem. With the two halves of the gems united, our kingdom will have endless power and will never Fall to anyone else,” Lord Ragnar replied as they bent over the maps of the Summer realm in his study.
“Lord Ragnar,” a messenger boy said as he bowed in the doorway.
“Yes,” Lord Ragnar said as he looked up at the boy.
“I have a message from the Summer realm,” the boy said as he stepped into the room and held out a missive to Lord Ragnar. Lord Ragnar took it and broke the seal. He unfolded the parchment and began to read. A sinister smile filled his angular face.
“Good news?” Erick asked.
“Fortuitous,” Lord Ragnar replied. Pulling out a piece of parchment from his desk he bent and scrawled a response on it. He blotted the page to make sure the ink was dry before he folded it. He then grabbed his wax spoon with some residual wax still in it and held it over the candle. Once the wax had formed a coin size puddle on the outside of the page, he set the wax spoon aside and took his ring off to seal it with a crest he had designed for himself when he had taken over the Fall realm. He handed the page to the boy.
“Here is my response to the king of the Summer realm.”
The boy bowed and left the room.
Erick stood straight with his muscular arms folded over his chest. “What was the news?” he asked.
“The king of the Summer realm has asked to meet to form an alliance,” Lord Ragnar replied.
Erick smiled. “That is fortuitous.”
“My Lord,” a soldier ran into the study.
“What is it?” Lord Ragnar replied harshly.
“Someone broke into the treasury and stole the Phoenix gem.”
“Then why are you standing here instead of chasing after the insolent thief?” Lord Ragnar demanded. He looked at Erick and nodded his head. “Go. Catch that thief and bring them back. I want them to know the pain they have brought on themselves for breaking into our kingdom and thinking they could get away with such a precious treasure.”
Chapter 2
A few weeks after they had received the invitation from King Azar, Prince Aiden rode beside his brother and a small entourage of soldiers that were conveying them to the Summer realm.
“It is certainly warmer the closer we get to the Summer realm. The trees are greener too. They actually have leaves on them,” Aiden said, trying to break the silent tension that had been the constant companion of their trip.
Erick stared straight ahead without acknowledging his brother’s remark.
“We have been traveling for three days now, and you have barely said a word to me. You won’t tell me why we are going to Ashteria or anything about this trip. Could you be human for once in your life and actually communicate with me?” Aiden asked.
Erick stopped his horse short and moved it in front of Aiden’s, forcing Aiden to stop. Erick nodded for the soldiers surrounding them to continue ahead.
“I haven’t told you anything because it is not your concern. We are going to Ashteria to arrange an alliance between our kingdoms that will protect and strengthen our realms. If Father had wanted you to know, he would have told you. It is my job to get you there. Isn’t it enough to just accept a command and do as you’re told?” Erick asked with a cold hard stare.
“Look, if you are still upset about not catching the thief that stole the Phoenix gem, you don’t need to take that out on me,” Aiden replied defensively. “I was simply asking why we were journeying to the Summer realm. Not trying to start a fight.”
Erick raised up slightly in his saddle. He was big anyway for a man, tall and broad through the shoulders with dark short hair and a scar that ran down his face beside his right eye and down his cheek, giving him a frightening appearance. He was also gruff and often came across as uncaring, which only added his already intimidating size. He was the epitome of their father in flesh and blood, and Aiden was the exact opposite. Aiden had always been smaller than Erick and their father always seemed to view him as the weaker son. He had also been drawn to things like music and art, which had never helped improve his father’s view of him.
Erick had been born to their father before their father took over as ruler of the Fall realm, so he had no legal right to the throne. Aiden had been born to the Fall queen, which gave him royal blood and made him the heir to the throne. Erick had often been Aiden’s protector growing up, but Aiden always wondered if not being heir to the throne bothered Erick. He had certainly become more distanced from Aiden and stand-offish to him over the years and now treated Aiden more and more like an enemy than a brother. Aiden rarely did anything to rouse Erick’s anger because he knew Erick could crush him like wheat beneath a millstone if he ever became angry enough, but he had been growing tired of the cold silence and couldn’t stand it anymore. When Erick raised up in his saddle, Aiden knew he had stoked Erick’s ire. He turned his horse’s head slightly and backed up.
Erick knew he had struck the right chord of intimidation into his little brother when Aiden pulled his horse away. He smirked. “Just do what you are told, and we will both be fine,” Erick said in a haughty manner.
Aiden glared at his brother. “Fine,” he said shortly as he moved his horse around Erick’s and carried on.
Aiden rode the rest of the way in silence behind Erick. They entered the iron gate of the Summer palace around dusk and were greeted by a servant boy who asked who they were. When Erick told him, he ran into the gray stone palace to fetch someone to welcome them. Aiden sat with his shoulders slumped on his horse, exhausted from the long three day journey–and still put out by his brother’s patronizing remarks earlier. His eyes roved across a section of outer wall that appeared to be set up as stalls for horses with small sections walled off to separate the horses and piles of hay everywhere. A clanking sound landed on his ear, causing him to turn and see the blacksmith shop not too far from the horse stalls, the smithy hard at work hammering out a fiery orange horse shoe. He turned the other way and saw a stone well near the gate and a few smaller stone structures with colorful cloths draped between them that bled into the vast wall that surrounded the palace. Must be some kind of marketplace, he thought.
He continued to take in the graystone palace that stood out like a fortress against the dimming light of the setting sun. A bright red flash caught his eye and drew his attention to a small tower above them. His breath caught in his throat as he saw a beautiful young woman standing in the window wearing a crimson dress with bell sleeves that was trimmed with gold embroidery. The woman had red hair that burned like flames in the fading sunlight. Aiden stared at her, taken in by her fiery beauty as strands of her hair blew in the wind and whipped around her head like dancing fire. A soft, sweet sound reached his ears as he watched her. Curious, Aiden leaned forward in his saddle to see if he could figure out what the sound was above the din of the courtyard noises. He smiled when he realized what it was. His smile widened as he looked back up at the woman. She was humming, and from what he could hear of it, she had a beautiful voice.
A sudden jolt to his arm stirred him from his daydream.
“Wake up, baby brother. We don’t want you all blurry-eyed when we meet the king.”
Aiden was about to respond to his brother when the servant boy came back with someone who appeared to be the king’s vizier. The man was dressed in a red robe covered in black embroidery. He bowed. “Welcome to our humble kingdom. I am Lord Amir, advisor to the king and overseer of the palace. Please, follow me, and I will get you settled in before you meet the king.”
Erick dismounted, followed by the other soldiers who had traveled with them. Aiden glanced up at the tower window to see if he could catch a glimpse of the young maiden again before he dismounted. No one was at the window. Aiden let out a small sigh of disappointment. Erick nudged his leg, prompting him to get off his horse. Aiden dismounted and let one of the servant boys take the reins. Erick grabbed his shoulder before they walked into the palace.
“You better keep your head out of the clouds and focus on why we’re here. If either of us mess this up, Father will have our heads.”
Aiden chafed under Erick’s tight grip. “How can I be focused on why we’re here if I don’t know why we’re here,” Aiden replied through clenched teeth.
Erick squeezed Aiden’s shoulder tighter, causing him to grimace. “You’ll find out soon enough why we’re here. Just do as you’re told, little brother, and everything will be fine.”
The vizier turned back to see if they were coming. Erick gave Aiden’s shoulder another warning squeeze and pushed him forward to follow the vizier into the palace.
Erick stopped by Aiden’s room before they went to dinner. “Come on. We have been asked to meet the king in the throne room.”
“I don’t need an escort everywhere I go. I could have found the throne room on my own,” Aiden balked at the idea of Erick always feeling like he had to herd him like a lost sheep or something.
“From what I remember, you were always getting lost in our own palace because your head was always who knows where. It became easier to just keep eyes on you instead of always having to seek you out,” Erick said in a wry tone. “Now, come on. We don’t want to keep the king waiting.”
Aiden glared at his brother. He finished buttoning the brown and gold doublet with golden leaves embroidered into it that his father had insisted on him bringing to make a good impression on the court of the Summer realm and followed his brother out of the room.
As they walked down the hall, Aiden heard a soft, sweet sound drift through the halls. He stopped to listen.
Erick stopped and turned an agitated glare on his brother. “See, this is exactly what I was talking about. Had I gone on without you, I would have been standing awkwardly by myself in the throne room for who knows how long waiting for you to finally make your appearance.”
Aiden took a few steps and looked around, trying to see where the music might be coming from. “Don’t you hear that?” he asked as he took a few steps back towards his room.
Erick stared at him blankly. “Hear what?”
Aiden stopped and looked at him with surprise. “The music,” he replied.
Erick’s stare hardened. “What music?” he asked, growing increasingly annoyed at always having to be the one to keep his brother in check.
Aiden studied Erick for a moment to see if he was simply ignoring the music so they could get going, or if Erick truly didn’t hear it. After a few moments, the music stopped. “Well, the music stopped anyway so I guess we can go.”
Erick looked like a stone statue the way he glowered at Aiden. “You had better stop all this foolishness, and soon. There is far too much riding on this meeting to have it thrown to the wind by a daydreamer.” Erick turned and stalked down the dim stone hallway.
Aiden glared at his brother’s back as Erick walked away from him. His ears perked up when he heard a small snidbit of the sweet melody again. He smiled. “This trip could be worth it after all,” he said to himself as he let the melody soothe his irritated spirit before following his brother to the throne room.
Chapter 3
“His Royal Highness, Prince Aiden of the Kingdom of Havilah, and the champion warrior of the Fall Realm, Sir Erick the Fearless,” a servant announced as they entered the throne room.
Erick stepped aside to allow Aiden to enter the room first. They stepped to the thrones and bowed.
King Azar acknowledged them and threw out his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Welcome to Ashteria. I hope your journey was not too arduous between our realms.”
Erick straightened and acknowledged the king. “Our journey was most enjoyable, Your Majesty. We appreciate your generosity in extending such an invitation to meet with you here in your beautiful realm.”
Aiden eyed his brother. He never used such refined and elegant language at home. In fact, Aiden had no idea his roughrider brother could be so diplomatic. Erick cleared his throat quietly and nudged Aiden, prompting him to follow suit.
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing us the opportunity to meet with you. It is an honor and a privilege to join our realms in such a noble endeavor,” Aiden said as he took a step forward and bowed his head towards the king.
The king smiled. “Join indeed,” he replied with a surreptitious glint in his voice.
King Azar gestured to the servant who had announced the visitors. The servant bowed and stepped out of the room.
“We have many things to discuss in the hopeful joining of our kingdoms,” the king continued.
Aiden quickly lost interest in the conversation as Erick continued in generic small talk with the king. He stood with his hands behind his back as his eyes drifted up to the wooden beams that lined the ceiling and then to the windows that looked towards the east. It was too dark to see anything outside, but he imagined they must showcase some sort of incredible view to be included in the throne room. He looked down at the black and gray tiles. The gray design in the black marble tile almost gave the appearance of wispy smoke blowing across the floor beneath their feet. The smoky tile matched the black marbled throne the king sat in that was covered in bright red velvet and bled into the red drapes that lined the wall behind the king. Aiden noted the identical–though slightly smaller–empty throne beside the king’s and wondered if the king’s wife would be joining them. His eyes continued around the perimeter of the room and landed on a small area off to the side that housed a golden harp along with a few other instruments. Instruments weren’t normally on display in a throne room unless someone in the royal family played them. Aiden smiled as he thought again of the fiery woman he had seen in the tower window earlier and the sweet melody she had been humming. He hoped the sight of the instruments meant that she was the princess.
The king stood and gestured behind them. “Ah, my sweet azalea.”
Aiden and Erick looked back as a woman entered the room. She looked pretty in a red, gold, and orange gown similar to the one Aiden had seen earlier, but it wasn’t quite the same. The woman wore a thick, shimmering veil over her face and hair. She was escorted to the front of the throne room by a guard, who helped her up the two velvet steps that led to the thrones.
Aiden watched curiously as the guard took a stance close to the woman.
“Prince Aiden. Sir Erick. May I present my beautiful daughter, and the shining sun of our realm, Princess Amber.”
Erick bowed and nudged Aiden to do the same. Aiden bowed but didn’t take his eyes off the veiled woman. Though he couldn’t see her face clearly or see the full color of her hair, he was pretty sure this woman was not the same woman he had seen in the tower earlier. Strange. He had been almost certain that the woman in the tower must be the princess when he saw the instruments on display in the throne room. Why else would they be kept in such a prominent place? The king certainly didn’t give the appearance of being an accomplished musician.
Erick straightened, as did Aiden, and stepped forward with a small mahogany box that housed one of the unique onyx stones from the Fall realm on the top. Erick presented the box to the princess and said, “Your Highness. It would be an honor if you would accept this gift from the Fall realm as a sign of the hopeful union between our two realms.”
Erick opened the box, revealing a beautiful yellow-orange garnet necklace.
Aiden’s eyebrows shot up as he watched, surprised their father would have parted with such a beautiful piece of jewelry. The young woman hesitated as Erick held the box out to her. She seemed uncertain about taking the offered gift. Her head tilted slightly towards the king, who gave her a warning look in return. Aiden watched as the princess’s hand trembled slightly as she reached out to take the necklace. She put it around her neck and clasped it, her hands still shaking slightly, and nodded her head in acceptance of the gift.
The king beamed. “Now, shall we adjourn to the dining hall so we may celebrate this blessed union?”
Erick stepped back and bowed his head towards the king. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
Erick looked at Aiden and gestured with his eyes towards the princess. Aiden got the hint. He stepped towards the princess and bowed.
“Your Highness. Might I escort you to the dining hall?” he asked.
The guard who had been standing beside her stepped closer. The king grunted and gave an unspoken command to back off, causing the guard to step away.
The princess hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand of the prince. Aiden helped her off the small platform. The lowered voices of the king and his brother reached his ears as the princess put her shaking hand on his arm to be escorted from the room.
“This marriage will surely form an unshakeable alliance and bring much prosperity to our realms,” the king said.
Aiden faltered slightly as his foot scuffed the tile floor at the remark. The princess glanced at him. “You didn’t know about the marriage did you?” she whispered.
Aiden carried on as if nothing had happened as he responded.
“No. I had no idea.”
Copyright 2022
Ashley Beach-Author and Storyteller 