“Mother,” said Arris.
“Father,” said Yvlle.
“Children,” said their parents, exasperated.
“This is an important day not just for your brother, but for all of us. Must you antagonize him?” asked Yzara.
“No, but I want to and therein lies the difference,” said Yvlle.
Eustis finally looked up from his novel. He reached for his bowl of porridge, stopping only to gather the scorpion on a spoon and fling it to the floor. He kissed Yzara on the cheek. “You haven’t tried to kill me in a week, my love, I was beginning to feel neglected.”
“I could tell,” said Yzara, patting his head.
“Yvlle, your mother is right. No need to be rude. And Arris, wearing white is…” Eustis considered him. “A choice.”
Arris plucked at his cloak. “Mother, I must change immediately.”
“No!” said Yzara, grabbing his arm. “No, my love. Wehave all made our choices… and now we must abide by them.”
Eustis raised his pair of binoculars and whatever he saw in the crowd made him grimace. “Arris, you have assembled every option… whoever wins will be your wife. There can be no further delay. You know what is expected of you.”
Hundreds of years ago, Arris’s great-uncle Bloody Felyx had refused to marry. But rather than risk the gentry forcing his hand, he sowed whispers to one court and the next that he had made a choice elsewhere. War waged. Towns collapsed. Whole lineages vanished. And magic on the Isle almost disappeared entirely.
It was not a mistake to be made again.
“Ours is a life of great privilege and great sacrifice,” said Eustis quietly. “It is not an easy burden to bear nor should it be. Of course it is heavy. Of course it is cruel. But what we do is in service of something much greater than ourselves.”
Before Arris could reach for his father’s hand and reassure him, Yvlle cleared her throat:
“Earlier, Arris literally said, ‘If my betrothed must be the death of me, then may she make these final weeks worth several lives.’ It was all very dramatic and solemn, Father, you would have been pleased.”
Arris scowled at her.
“Ah, well, in that case,” said Eustis, and then he reached for a piece of toast.
Next thing Arris knew, Queen Yzara had pushed him gently to the front of the balcony. The realm of wintryenchantments that Yzara had commissioned for the bridal contestants was separated from Rathe Castle by a wide strip of greenery. On either side of this road loomed massive statues of grinning stags and too-thin hares, sharp-eyed hawks and several snarling cats. At the base of each statue, vines coiled and slithered. As far as warm welcomes to Rathe Castle went, it was… odd.
“Your sister made some additions,” said Queen Yzara.
Whatever else his mother might have said was lost once the heralds raised their trumpets. As the gates of Rathe Castle opened, Arris held his breath. His dreams rustled inside him and his world was made vivid with hope. Yvlle would laugh at him but if Arris could take this moment and press it between glass or translate it to color or render it to song, he would. The Isle was magic, but to him, this was the most wild of enchantments… this hope that someone in this crowd would reshape his world and his place within it.
“Breathe, Arris,” said his sister, elbowing him.
Arris exhaled. The gates lifted. And his hopes took wing.
A giant sylke balloon in the shape of a huge rosebud floated through the entrance. The rosebud unfurled, its petals opening to reveal a beautiful girl at its center. Her hair was rose pink. A cascading arrangement of pink roses splattered with gold formed her gown. The girl curtsied prettily as the petals arranged themselves into a staircase, which she descended with the utmost grace. Arris was smitten,but then a cloud of bejeweled moths burst through the gate and he lost sight of the pink-haired girl. When the cloud dissipated, another beauty appeared. She was dark-skinned with snow-colored hair and a dimpled grin. Arris’s heart started to beat faster, but she had no sooner curtsied in the direction of the balcony before a pair of white crocodiles pushed through the gates, dragging a carriage of bone behind them. Out stepped a girl with the bluest eyes Arris had ever seen. Eyes so blue he wondered whether looking into them long enough might reveal the shape of his very soul.
One by one, Arris was dazzled. He was taken by the beauty draped in veils of thinnest frost, the girl who appeared on the back of a water horse, her smile revealing sharp, milky teeth and a splash of scales along her throat. He found himself daydreaming of a life with nearly every person who passed through the gate. Nearly. There were a few with whom Arris immediately felt no connection, including a siren who walked inside chewing what appeared to be a human finger, a girl with mud-caked hair and of course the girl who walked in, took one look at the monstrous statues, and promptly left.
Once the contestants had gathered below, Queen Yzara stood.
“Welcome to Rathe Castle!” said Queen Yzara. “At the end of this tournament… our hope is that our beloved son and heir, Prince Arris, finds not only his future bride… but the Isle’s future queen.”
Arris did not move. He very much wished to lean overthe balcony, but as Yvlle had pointed out earlier, he would only be revealing an undesirable view of his nostrils. With the statues blocking his sight, Arris could discern only a handful of expressions. Some calculating. Some hopeful. Some shining with tears.
“In order to determine which one amongst you is best suited, we shall be conducting a series of tests over the next four weeks,” said Queen Yzara. “The first shall be one of talent, for the future queen must bring something of note to this kingdom. The next trial shall be one of discernment, for the future queen must be perceptive. And the last shall be a test of power. At the conclusion of each round, some of you will be asked to leave the Castle.”
A few of the contestants murmured and shuffled. Arris caught a smug glance here and there.
