A Royal Visit.
Mikona was jolted out of sleep by a pair of insistent hands shaking her. She pushed Lily's hands away, and burrowed herself back into the mass of pillows and lush sheets. The hands found her again, and Mikona was dragged out of the bed kicking. She fell on the floor with a painful thump.
"Mikona! Why must you be so difficult? Hurry up and get dressed!" Lily snapped. She yanked the curtains open, letting in a burst of the bright morning sun. Moving briskly back to the bed, she began to set it to rights.
Mikona glared resentfully at Lily through a tumble of blonde curls, and then allowed her gaze to fall on her hands, where she started to clean and pick her nails. "I don't have anything to wear."
Lily snorted, and continued to plump pillows. "You have enough clothes to fit everyone in the palace twice over. Get moving."
"Ok, I don't have anything I want to wear."
"Then I guess I will have to pick something for you," Lily crossed the room, opened the wardrobe, and began to sift through the clothes.
Mikona sighed, blowing some of her hair out of her face. A hand yanked the rest of it out of her face. Grumpily she watched Lily assemble a formal outfit: a green dress made of silk and soft tan leather shoes. A simple gold chain, adorned with a single emerald and matching earrings were laid on top of the dress, as well as the necessarily underclothes.
"I'm hungry," Mikona stated as her stomach rumbled.
"Well, if you had been up earlier, you would've had breakfast," Lily frowned at the selections she had made. "Are you ok with this?"
"Uh-huh," Lily was certainly better at choosing clothes than her servant. "What is it if for?"
"You didn't hear the trumpets earlier? No? Of course not, you were sleeping, as always. Your brother, Jeffrey and his family have arrived for the wedding. This outfit is for the formal welcoming which his Majesty has asked, or rather, demanded that you attend."
"Joy," Mikona mumbled, pushing her head into the side of the bed. With a loud grunt she threw herself backwards, her body splaying on the floor. She looked up at Lily, who was observing her, and Mikona laughed. "Ok, I'm moving."
"Sure," Lily said after a few moments, and Mikona still remained on the floor, drifting back into sleep. Lily walked across the room, and grabbing the girl by her hands, pulled her up until she was standing.
"Told you I was moving," Mikona said as she reached for her clothes.
"Lazy girl, you went back to sleep!" Lily exclaimed, laughing.
Some time later, after Lily had succeeded in dressing the bride-to-be, Mikona sat beside the king on the dais. Her hair was pulled back with beaded tan leather strips, and a few curls were allowed to escape to frame her face. The emerald color of her jewelry and her dress brought out the green in her eyes. A foot tapped softly with impatience, as she waited for her brother and his family to be announced.
The reception room was unbearably hot, as there were a great amount of people clogging the area. Mikona managed not to shudder as Ulhan placed his hand on top of hers. She quickly averted her attention from the clamminess of his hand to the rest of the room. The entire court had gathered, and now waited for the visiting royalty to arrive. The rustle of fabric, the swish of the fans moving to cool warm courtiers, and soft whispers filled the room. Outside a door creaked open, and after a few moments, slammed shut. Everyone in the reception room fell silent.
Brisk steps followed by a soft knock were heard outside. A pair of pages opened the tall, heavy doors to reveal a pair of heralds.
"Your Majesties," one of the heralds cried, referring not only to King Ulhan, but to Prince Charles and Princess Savine as well. "Their Royal Majesties Prince Jeffrey and Princess Lianna of Uvinia." Trumpets sounded as the couple walked through the doors into the room.
Mikona observed the two as they came closer. It had been awhile since she had seen either of them. Her eyes met Jeffrey's briefly, and they both had to struggle to keep from revealing their excitement at seeing each other again. Jeffrey had been her guardian for as long as she could remember, and it was only recently that she had found out that he was her brother. He had guided her through her time at Gnotam, and was now working hard to ensure her future did not reside with Ulhan.
She didn't know Lianna well, but knew of the love that she shared with Jeffrey, and knew that the two were happy with each other. Lianna had made Jeffrey's acquaintance after their brother, Harry, had rescued her from rival pirates. Harry was still missing, and many presumed him dead. Lianna was frequently in contact with Lily, the presumed widow, in the hopes of being able to help her rescuer. Jeffrey and Lianna's daughter, Shanya, was not present that morning, and Mikona assumed that she was being well taken care of in the palace nursery.
The customary greetings were exchanged, and the couple was invited to a banquet that night in their honor. Mikona hoped it would be a quieter, smaller affair than the formal reception. She became lost in her thoughts for a few minutes as the formalities continued, and felt a soft breeze touch the back of her left hand as Ulhan removed his hand from hers. Bringing herself back to reality, she watched as the king got up from the throne to offer his arm to Princess Lianna. She looked up with a smile, quickly hidden, to see Jeffrey offering his own arm.
Mikona gravely stood, and placing her hand lightly on his arm, moved down from the dais, and with the others, left the reception room.
"Milady! This will never get done if you don't hold still!" exclaimed the seamstress. Mistress Kymadi was vexed, as Mikona jumped every time a needle came close to touching her skin.
"Nikylo, please hold still for Mistress Kymadi," Princess Savine said wearily.
Mikona sighed, and did her best to hold still when the seamstress went back to work on her wedding dress. Almost immediately after the formal welcoming had concluded, she had been ushered back to her quarters to continue the fittings for the dress. A dress that she hated.
The design had not been her choice, but Ulhan's. Blood red, it clung to her body the way his sweat had clung to the skin on her hand earlier that morning. So naturally so that not even Mistress Kymadi's experienced hands could avoid pricking Mikona with a needle occasionally. The dress had thin straps, a low cut bodice, and long enough to make her worry about tripping. Trimmed with black, the dress was bold, particularly with the wide black satin ribbon that wrapped around her waist. Rubies, a white veil, black shoes, and a bouquet of white roses would make the outfit complete, and Mikona the most untraditional bride to marry a king.
"How much longer?" she asked after an hour, and cried out as another needle stabbed her in the hip. "Enough! I've had enough of this damn dress for today!"
"Milady!" the poor lady cried as Mikona charged out of the room, yanking the unfinished dress off as she went. Clad only in her undergarments, she stormed into her room, and out into the balcony garden.
"Do you always prance about in your underwear?" Jeffrey blushed, and turned away. Mikona turned crimson, and ran back into her bedroom, and grabbed a robe.
"You never prance about in your underwear in the privacy of your rooms?" She glared at him as she swiftly moved back into the garden, and she settled herself in a chair.
He assessed her body language, and responded, "Of course, when no one is around." He paused to laugh, and continued, "in this case there was someone around."
"How was I to know that someone was around?" his laughter was familiar, and soothing.
"A fair argument, I suppose one usually assumes privacy in one's own room."
"You must. Privacy is something I must fight for nowadays."
"How are you?" there was genuine concern in her brother's eyes.
Mikona rose from her chair, and looked around for prying eyes or eavesdroppers. Finding no one, she began to pace, and a single tear traced her cheek. "I don't want to marry him," she whispered. She looked imploringly into Jeffrey's eyes. "He's cruel to be doing this, particularly when I would much rather have someone else."
"Be patient little one. We are doing everything we can to resolve the situation. I know these are hollow words, but please put faith in them. Come sit down, you're upsetting yourself."
"Listen to you, you sound so adult, so politic. A foreign court is agreeing with you, brother," she smiled warmly at him, trying to feel better. She obeyed his request to sit down, and a soft breeze blew her tumbled her hair about as she did so. Mikona wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
"So is marriage, and fatherhood," a distant, satisfied look overcame his face.
"Is it everything you hoped?"
"No. You look surprised! No, it's good for me, but it isn't what I thought it would be. Being as in love as I was, and still am, mind, I thought everything would be perfect, one happy day after the next. Sometimes it is like that. Other times, we can't stop arguing! I wouldn't change it for the world, though. I love Lianna truly, and Shanya too." Jeffrey smiled. "You will have the same happiness too, Mikona, I promise. Vicca thinks so too," called their mother by her pet name. It had been given to her by Harry before the family had been broken apart.
Mikona heard a rustle of fabric, and looked up to see Ulhan standing behind Jeffrey. Terror filled her heart, how much had he heard?
"Your majesty!" she sprang up, and curtsied as best she could in the robe.
Jeffrey, his face carefully composed, bowed low. The king watched all this in silence, and seemed to be thinking deeply.
"You said my sister's pet name, Vicca. I have not heard that name in a long, long time. Only her children used that name, and they have been dead for some time now. Did I hear you correctly?" Ulhan addressed the question to Jeffrey. "Are you really my sister's son, whom I thought lost?"
"You mean you thought you had killed him too, among all the other innocent mages you had executed in your jealous fit of rage," Mikona thought, but she did not say anything.
"Yes, your Majesty, I am your nephew," Jeffrey said carefully.
The king digested this new information, his thoughts not revealed on his face. "Did any of your siblings survive as well?"
"None that I know of," he responded.
"Well then! This is great news! Do your parents know?" the king smiled broadly. Mikona detected something savage working in those eyes.
"I do not believe so."
"We must go inform them immediately, they will be ecstatic. Come, nephew," Ulhan placed an arm around Jeffrey's shoulders, and as the two left the room, Ulhan paused, and looked over his shoulder at Mikona.
"Your behavior with the dressmaker today was unacceptable. I hope you will be more agreeable tomorrow," and with that the two left the room.
Mikona sighed with relief, and collapsed onto the pillow laden couch. Jeffrey was safe for the moment.
A/N: It has been a very long time since I have updated, and I am hoping that the extra long chapter will help make up for that. I wish I could say that there will be another update soon, but college and a lack of time makes it difficult to make promises. Thank you so much for reading, and please review!
Sillygoose49