A CROWN OF THRON

The kingdom of Aurelion had one golden rule, everything had to be perfect, the gardens were trimmed before sunrise, the royal silverware was polished until it reflected the faces of the servants. Even the palace musicians were forbidden from playing a wrong note during breakfast, and at the center of this magnificent obsession stood Princess Seraphina Aurelia Valemont, bautiful, brilliant, proud as always, and absolutely impossible to please.

"Who arranged these flowers?"

Her voice cut through the royal ballroom, six servants immediately lowered their heads,peincess Seraphina stood beside an enormous arrangement of white roses, examining it as though it were evidence of a crime.

"The royal florist, Your Highness," one servant answered nervously.

Seraphina tilted her head.

"Did I ask who purchased them?"

"N-no, Your Highness."

"I asked who arranged them."

The elderly florist stepped forward, trembling slightly.

"I did, Princess."

Seraphina regarded the flowers.

"The white roses should have been positioned in the center, surrounded by the red ones. The lilies belong near the windows because their fragrance is stronger. And these ribbons—"

She lifted one between two fingers.

"—are ivory, not champagne."

The florist swallowed.

"They appeared to be champagne beneath the morning light, Your Highness."

"Then perhaps you should have examined them beneath the evening light."

Silence, Seraphina turned toward her personal maid.

"Have everything replaced before the guests arrive."

"Yes, Princess."

"And tell the musicians that if I hear one incorrect note tonight, they will perform outside the palace walls for the next month."

Her maid hesitated.

"Princess, the musicians are from the royal academy."

"Then they should know how to play."

Seraphina swept away, her silver gown trailing behind her, she was twenty-one, the only daughter of King Alaric and Queen Evelyne, and the most sought-after princess on the continent, she had been educated in diplomacy, history, mathematics, languages, and military strategy. She could identify a forged royal seal, negotiate a trade agreement, and recite the laws of succession without consulting a single document, she had also rejected seventeen marriage proposals, one prince had been rejected because he spoke with his mouth full, another because he had described poetry as useless, the seventeenth had made the unforgivable mistake of telling her that women were too emotional to govern, Seraphina had personally explained three centuries of his kingdom's political failures to him before sending him home, her father had called the incident unnecessary, her mother had called it entertaining, Seraphina had called it an educational service.

But today, something was different, as she entered the royal council chamber, she found both her parents waiting, her father stood beside the enormous windows, his expression unusually serious, her mother sat with her hands folded over a sealed letter, Seraphina immediately grew suspicious.

"What has happened?"

"Nothing has happened," the king replied.

"Father, you have summoned me before breakfast, dismissed my usual advisers, and locked the council chamber. Something has happened."

Her mother sighed.

"Must you interrogate everyone before you've even sat down?"

"Only when everyone behaves suspiciously."

"Sit, Seraphina."

The princess obeyed, although her expression suggested that obedience was a temporary courtesy, King Alaric placed both hands on the table.

"The kingdom of Dravaryn has proposed an alliance."

Seraphina relaxed slightly.

"An alliance? Excellent. Their northern trade routes would reduce our shipping costs considerably. If we negotiate access to their iron mines, we could also—"

"It is a marriage alliance," the queen interrupted.

Seraphina stopped speaking, for three full seconds, she said nothing, then she laughed, it was a small, disbelieving laugh.

"No."

"Seraphina—"

"No."

"You haven't heard the details."

"I heard the word marriage. The details are irrelevant."

King Alaric's expression hardened.

"This is not a request."

The princess slowly rose from her chair.

"Then you have mistaken me for a treaty document, Father. I am your daughter, not a piece of land you can surrender to secure your borders."

Her mother's expression softened.

"Darling, Dravaryn controls the mountain passes that protect our northern frontier. Our kingdoms have competed for those territories for generations. A marriage would end the rivalry and secure peace."

"Then negotiate peace."

"We have."

"And?"

"Their prince will marry you."

Seraphina stared at her father.

"Which prince?"

The king hesitated, that hesitation was the first warning.

"Prince Kael Draven Blackthorn."

The princess went very still,then she closed her eyes.

"Oh, absolutely not."

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You know him?"

"Unfortunately."

"How?"

"Last summer, at the royal tournament, he informed me that women should concern themselves with embroidery instead of military strategy."

Her father cleared his throat.

"And what did you say?"

Seraphina opened her eyes.

"I explained that his army had lost three border skirmishes in six months because its commanders had failed to account for the seasonal movement of their enemies."

The king stared at her.

"The prince was furious," she continued. "So I explained it again, more slowly."

Her mother pressed her lips together, fighting a smile.

"And then?" the queen asked.

"He called me a pretentious little princess."

King Alaric looked toward the ceiling.

"And you?"

"I told him that being born with muscles did not qualify him to have an opinion about everything."

The queen finally laughed, the king did not.

"Your feelings are irrelevant. The wedding will take place in three months."

Seraphina's smile vanished.

"You cannot force me to marry a man I despise."

"I can," her father said quietly. "And if you refuse, the alliance will collapse. Dravaryn may close its mountain passes. Thousands of our soldiers will be stationed along the border again, and people will die."

For the first time, Seraphina had no immediate answer, she hated that he was right, and that her future had become a matter of diplomacy, but most of all, she hated the thought of standing beside Kael Blackthorn while he looked down at her with that infuriating expression, finally, she lifted her chin.

"Very well."

Her parents exchanged surprised glances.

"I will marry him," Seraphina continued, "on one condition."

"What condition?" the king asked cautiously.

She smiled.

"If Prince Kael intends to rule beside me, he will learn that I do not bow to men simply because they are taller than I am."

Her father sighed.

"May the gods help that boy."

Seraphina gathered her skirts and walked toward the door.

"Father?"

"Yes?"

"One more thing."

"What now?"

She turned with a sweet smile.

"If the prince arrives wearing that ridiculous black armor he favors, please inform him that this is a royal palace, not a battlefield."

Then she left, the queen watched the door close.

"Alaric?"

"Yes?"

"I believe we may have made a terrible mistake."

The king rubbed his forehead.

"My love, I believe we have made two."

     ------------