Lord Irving wiped his brow as the civilians gathered along the street. “My deepest apologies for the short notice,” he said, eyes darting from us to the rabble. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make a public appearance, Your Highness, but I’m afraid news of your arrival traveled faster than I expected and the people—”
Crown Prince Bennett held up a hand. “We must do what we can to keep the kingdom at peace.” There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he had stayed up late last night.
The lord mayor nodded profusely. “Would you like some tea?”
For the next fifteen minutes he kept offering to bring tea, which Ulysses declined with increasing firmness. I fidgeted in my seat as the steward fussed and Crown Prince Bennett stared intently at his script, feeling rather useless. Ulysses said all I had to do was stand there and look pleasant.
It wasn’t long before the street flooded with people craning their necks to catch a glimpse of us. The guards held them in, though they were nothing but a flimsy chain compared to the sea of civilians.
I stole a glance at Crown Prince Bennett. There was a crease between his brow as he studied the script. I was surprised he hadn’t burned a hole into the paper yet.
“You’ll do fine,” I said.
This seemed to startle him. Crown Prince Bennett glanced at me before lowering his gaze again. “Thank you,” he said softly. The low timbre of his voice sounded almost gentle.
To my alarm, I blushed. I pressed a hand to my cheek. Was I feverish?
Before I could think too much on it, Lord Irving headed toward the podium, gesturing us to follow. Ulysses raised his eyebrows at me meaningfully, jutting a chin to the crown prince.
As the crowd’s murmuring grew, I grabbed Crown Prince Bennett’s hand, interlocking his fingers with my own. The action was difficult with the bulk of our gloves, but I hardly knew what else to do. It seemed that I had to take our image into consideration after all. He certainly didn’t.
“Welcome, citizens of Vandil!” Lord Irving said, projecting his voice over the rabble.
The crown prince eased his hand out of my hold. He looked uncomfortable. I was half-tempted to try again, but the crowd didn’t seem to be paying Lord Irving half as much attention as they were us.
“...this wonderful city. And now, it is my honor to welcome His Highness, Crown Prince Bennett Median, and his fiancée, Lady Narcissa Greenwood!”
The crowd cheered, but among the applause were several curses. I followed the crown prince to the podium, trailing a step behind as he greeted the quieting rabble.
The guard to my right gave me an encouraging grin. Red hair poked out from his helmet. I returned Flannery’s smile half-heartedly as I watched Crown Prince Bennett’s back. His posture was stiffer than usual as he began reading his script.
“It is the highest honor to tour Olderea this winter in celebration of my engagement with Lady Narcissa. As your future rulers, it is vital that we observe our kingdom at a personal level and connect with the land and the people who upkeep it—people such as yourselves. By the end of the tour, we hope our union will inspire those of all backgrounds, magical or non magical, to live in harmony and bring our kingdom to prosperity.”
The crowd began murmuring again. A woman shouted, “What a load of rubbish!”
The crown prince ignored her and continued his speech. His voice, though commanding in a room, was far too quiet for outdoors.
A young man in the crowd jeered. “We can’t hear you, Your Highness!”
This made him pause. I wrung my fingers and looked back at Ulysses, who shifted nervously on his feet. This group was certainly not as calm as the one in Delibera. Very few were smiling. The faces of the ones closest to us were tense and displeased.
Giselle had not joined us, claiming to be under the weather. I wished we had her peacekeeping magic at hand. Some individuals looked like they could use some restraining.
Ulysses’s pretty speech would not satisfy them.
Crown Prince Bennett stopped speaking as the crowd’s murmurs grew into chatter. He was freezing up. Prince Ash told me to take over if that happened. I certainly couldn’t stand and look pleasant in these conditions.
Pulling off my gloves, I stepped forward and slammed my hands on the podium. The sound was blunt, but effective. The noise quieted.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?” I said, enunciating each syllable.
Mother had a way of speaking to the public that almost ridiculed them—slowly and clearly as if to a child. Yet her demeanor was so pleasant that one couldn’t help but listen.
Public speaking was a skill essential to a crown princess. That was why Mother taught me all she knew.
Shoulders back. Chin up. Breathe from your stomach. Project. Take up space.
Hopefully, it would be enough to tame such a crowd.
