Once I passed the test, of course.
“Are you ready for your gown, Your Highness?” Jinky stood in the open doorway with a heavy bundle draped over her outstretched arms. There were four more maids behind her, all carrying various pieces of the coronation ensemble.
I stepped into the skirt layers first. There were petticoats to keep the dress full, under a white silk skirt, and then a nearly black, dark-purple split skirt over that. The bodice was heavily beaded, with glittering crystals and a tall, wide, feathered collar, and there were voluminous slashed bell sleeves that matched the skirts, ending just below the elbow. There was a giant, fluffy train attached at the waist, in a shimmering iridescent purple, with silver trim.
Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” I called.
Elias peeked his head inside and said, “The priestess has arrived. It’s time.”
I took one last look out the window. I had the feeling that everything and nothing was changing all at once. I’d always be me, but at the same time, I’d never be the same, and I was acutely aware of it. Nothing in my life had turned out as I expected so far. If I’d been able to see into the future a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed any of this would happen. Yet it all felt strangely right.
Jinky helped me walk down the spiral staircase. The other maids held the train of my gown. At the bottom, Nix and Lucas were waiting to escort me to the stage. I’d also asked Elias, Ayo,and Jinky to stand beside me as my chosen family. While I voiced some concern that Nix was being so visible, seeing as she was hiding from Jade Mountain, she dismissed my worries with a wave of her wraparound shades.
We all gathered in front of the door at the bottom of the steps, which led into the sanctuary. Inside, I heard musicians playing the ancient songs, and lots of excited chatter.
“Remember what we rehearsed. Once the procession music starts, you’ll count to five, then walk out,” Jinky said while she fussed over my dress. She seemed more nervous than I was.
“Don’t worry, I remember,” I assured her. I’d been so anxious for so long, and now that the moment was here, I felt a sense of peace wash over me.
So when a guard entered the room with a beautifully dressed woman, I wasn’t surprised.
“Mom!” I cried, and rushed to hug her. “You’re here.”
She was thin and pale, but she looked every inch a queen. “Elias fetched me last night,” she said. “I’m so glad I’m here to see this. Your father would have been so proud.”
I didn’t know I was crying until I felt her hand wipe the tears from my cheek.
“All right, it’s on. I’ll be standing by Elias,” my mother said. “Good luck, just try to stay calm,” she advised.
I released my mother, my heart full of love and hope. My father was dead, but I was his legacy. I would finish what he began.
The melancholy opening flute notes began. I counted to five as rehearsed, and then the doors opened up in front of me. I began to walk.
More instruments joined the first flute, until the only thing Iwas aware of was the intense music and each of my own steps as I neared the throne. None of the people around me registered; it was just me, the songs of my people, and the golden throne on the dais ahead of me.
The walk felt like both miles and feet; it was as if time had been suspended. All I could hear was my heart beating in my ears.
As soon as I reached the throne and turned to sit for the ceremony, I snapped back to reality again. I heard a baby crying softly somewhere in the crowd, the hushed murmurs of people commenting on the proceedings, the scrape of feet against the stone floor, and the echo of instruments as their notes faded and stopped.
Lucas, Nix, Ayo, Jinky, and the others lined up across the side of the stage. I looked over at Lucas. He looked back at me and smiled. My mother and Elias were on the other side, and I bowed my head to them as well.
Luzviminda stepped forward. She wore a simple, floor-length red dress, and her curly hair cascaded down her back. Her only adornment was a gold circlet engraved with symbols of the four courts: the mermaid’s tail of Sirena, the wings of Sigbin, the dragonfly of Lambana, and the steed of Tikbalang.
She looked back and forth across the crowd before addressing them. “Welcome to all the beings of Biringan, from every court, and every station. We are all here today, as one realm, to anoint our new queen. We do so in the tradition of many thousands of years of our land and people.” There was an outburst of applause, and then she said, “And thus, we begin.”
A haunting, low song played, and the ritual started.
Two guards stepped forward from the hall, holding a large, square wooden box between them. They walked up the aisle to the dais as the music echoed across the sanctuary. My heart began thumping in my ears again.This is where it can all go wrong.
They made their way up the steps one at a time.Step, step. Step, step.They stopped in front of me and switched their hands around on the handle in order to face the audience. The box was sealed on all sides. There were no locks, no hinges, no way to open it. Nothing sticking out of it. I didn’t even see how it was a box, instead of just a solid block of wood.
“This is the Puzzle of Truth,” Luzviminda announced. She made a point to examine it on all sides, like a magician, and had the guards turn in a full circle so everyone could see for themselves, too. Only, unlike a magic show, this wasn’t an illusion. I had to get the royal scepter out of that box, using only magic.
I swallowed, nervous. I’d discovered what my power was; the question was whether I could do it again.
Luzviminda spoke to the crowd once more. “The puzzle is an enchanted lock. There is no one way to solve the puzzle. But only the true heir to Biringan can do it.”
She looked to me now. That was my cue to approach the box.
