Page 32 of The Forgotten Throne

Coronation Preparation

“Your Majesty, you’ve arrived just in time!” Mathew announced, making his way over to me. “I have Talia here to take your measurements for the ceremonial dress that is to be made.”

Clearly they were not wasting any time to get the ball rolling on these events, it was as if the execution never happened. Mathew took my hand and led me into a small sitting room that had a stool set up for me to stand on.

“We will leave you to get things settled while I chat with your guardians and consort,” Mathew said with a bob of his head and swept out of the room.

The woman named Talia was shy and looked slightly older than me but not by a whole lot. “You’ll have to forgive them. They have been waiting a long time for this moment.”

“I hope to have their energy when I reach their age.” I giggled, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. “Do you need to remove my dress or is leaving it on alright?”

“If you are comfortable taking it off, it will give me a chance to get all the measurements I need and record them so I can make you whatever is needed in the future. I am the best our village has to offer by way of seamstress,” Talia explained.

“Are you the one who did the stitching on my cloak? It is absolutely stunning. I’ve never seen finer work in all my life.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, that is my work,” she answered with a slight blush to her cheeks.

“Then I will slip out of this dress so that I selfishly might be able to get many things that have been created by your talented hands,” I shared with a smile and turned my back to her so she could help me with the ties.

Soon I was in my shift, standing on a stool as Talia worked quickly and silently, moving with the precision of years of practice. There was something so simple about this interaction that was soothing after the craziness that has been going on around me. The fire in the sitting room filled the space with warmth so I didn’t feel the chill standing in my undergarments and the soft sound of her taking notes and muttering to herself was welcome. Then all too soon the moment came to an end and Talia was helping me get the dress back on. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and found Paxton waiting guarding the door while the others were getting lectured by Eleazar.

“You didn’t need guardian lessons?” I asked, pausing next to him.

“They promised to fill me in later but none of them would pay attention unless someone was here. I’ve seen my fair share of ceremonies while I was wandering through the kingdoms that I can catch on faster than most of them,” he shared with a shrug.

“One of these days I would love to hear about what it is that you did while you were presumed dead,” I commented as I headed into the main space of the building.

“Now when the Queen heads to take her purification bath only the woman can escort her past the archway. The whole purpose of this is to wash off the old life before being crowned and then staying pure until the ceremony is over. Do I make myself clear?” Eleazar demanded.

They guys glared at him daring to suggest that they would ever sully me in any way. “I don’t think that will be a problem, my honor is still intact.”

The viceroy turned to look at me when I spoke. “Of course, forgive me if you thought we were to assume otherwise but the world has changed around us so much that we didn’t want to be unclear of expectations,” Lawrence explained. “These rituals are meaningful to us all and we don’t want to dishonor the gods by not following them as they should be.”

“Of course and I wish to honor them and our people by following them,” I assured as I took a seat with the others. “Now maybe we can go over these expectations together?”

Lawrence turned to the others, and they seemed to speak to each other without using words but when they came to an agreement they all nodded, turning back to us. “Let us start at the beginning shall we?” Mathew suggested. “The event will take place a week from today, that will give us time to examine the castle and make the preparations needed. Talia is skilled but getting a dress done sooner than that would take magic that none of us have discovered as of yet.”

“Sounds fair to me, plus it will give us time to adjust to things here as well. I would really love to be able to spend time in the castle as well learning what we can that might be hidden away,” I said smiling over at Sal who was nodding his head excitedly in agreement.

“There will be a lot of work on your part that needs to go into this you Majesty,” Eleazar warned. “Once we get through this, then you will have more time to call your own.”

“Alright where do we start then so we can get this whole thing moving?” Cole interjected.

Eleazar gave him a disapproving look but ignored the snark. “It would be best if you go up to the castle and check things out, make sure that it’s only the drawbridge that needs immediate attention. Then with Talia working on the dress it leaves us to preparing you for the vows you make to your people, the dragons, and the gods. They will need to be memorized and unfortunately the people who wrote them were long winded but the bright side is you already know how to read the language so that makes it easier.”

“Who knew learning a dead language would come in handy,” I mused thinking back to the game of strategy my father and I used to play. “When does the cleansing bath take place?”

“That won’t be until the day before the coronation,” Lawrence answered, waving that information off. “Before we get to that, you’ll need to visit the dragon lands and greet the dragons who gather there along with you partner Vasin. They will need to know who to reach out to if they have concerns or there is trouble on their borders. When that has been accomplished, meet with General Alsten to set expectations while your guardians work with the command leaders to set up security for the day of the coronation. Then there is the banquet for after the coronation to start preparing for along with the need to pick staff to work in the castle once you reside there full time.”

Hearing all of this caused my brain to start overheating like a pot boiling over. I’d been thinking that a week would be plenty of time to figure all of this out but as they listed everything that needed to be done, I realized that I was starting from scratch. There was nothing in place and I would need to build the environment that I wanted to live in for the foreseeable future. The castle would have nothing left in it or at least I assumed seeing as it’s been four hundred years whether it had magical protection or not. Food would need to be stocked, jobs given out, and so many other things that I’m sure I wouldn’t think of until I discovered we didn’t have it.

Helena... I needed Helena. She would know how to help me. Being the steward’s wife and having to help deal with all the clans’ needs she would be a person I could trust to help me deal with all of this. I turned to Cole grabbing his arm as if he was the last link to my sanity. “Do you know where your grandparents were put up?”

“Yes...” Cole hedged.

“Great, now I need you to get Helena and bring her here—now,” I ordered, needing him not to argue with me. He must have seen something in my face because he just placed a quick kiss on my forehead and left.

“Love are you alright?” Gavin asked, reaching out to place a hand on my knee.