*Book One of the Amor Fati Series*
Prince Calanthe Ámarent, once the child of a beloved queen regnant and now a disgraced prince, goes on a journey to re-discover his identity after experiencing tragedy, loss, and abuse at the hands of his Aunt, Qu...
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Calanthe gazed straight ahead of him, eyes unwavering and fixated on the door to the Feast Hall. Jax stepped around him and opened the door for him before Jax looked back, a threatening glare in his eye. Calanthe tried not to glance for longer than a second. Jax had been deadly quiet since he had come to fetch Calanthe for the gathering and it had his head swimming through a dense fog layer. He waited on the precipice of despair.
With a sharp inhale, Calanthe forced his shoulders back and his head high. Flickering golden light shone into the hallway and cascaded over him. Many voices flooded out of the feast hall, none of them distinct to his ears. He pushed himself to move forward and into the grand room as Jax followed behind him. Calanthe put Jax into the back of his thoughts when every eye turned to him upon entrance.
His people looked to him for the first time in all his years and they saw him for who he was meant to be. He was a prince saving his people, if only that choice had been his from the beginning. He took what fate had brought him and made due with it.
Calanthe flinched when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Eleanora rounded him, looking him up and down with a fond smile on her lips. He couldn't manage to return it. Her smile fell before she shifted her gaze to Jax and scowled. He lingered too close for Calanthe's comfort.
"You should assist the other guards in securing the castle," Eleanora ordered, then slipped an arm around Calanthe's. "Calanthe is under my watch and care now."
Eleanora pulled Calanthe along, leaving Jax to glare after him. Eleanora, when she could, was Calanthe's saving grace from Jax. She'd interrupted Jax on several occasions and had stolen Calanthe away at opportune times, saving him from the worst of Jax's obsession. He appreciated her subtleness and that she didn't dare to pity him like others.
"Mother wanted to wait until the kings arrived to bring you out," she stated, keeping the conversation between them. She smiled at a few passing nobles before she turned her focus back to him, "I convinced her otherwise. Your presence here will only settle the nerves of the people."
He managed to upturn his lips, thanking Eleanora in silence. His vicinity wasn't a stain but a soothing compress to the souls of his people. Eleanora reminded him of that while Hyacinth sought to convince him his people wanted to murder him in his sleep.
The two walked arm in arm away from the door. Hushed conversations mixed with boisterous chatter continued once more, and most eyes fell away from him. He breathed a sigh of relief and let his gaze drift around for the first time since he'd gotten here.
Golden colored ribbons hung from the rafters, swaying with the drafty air and shimmering under warm light. In the middle of the room, the iron chandelier dangled above the dance floor, its rim wrapped in the same ribbons. The banner of Eglantine filled empty spaces on the walls and could catch any eye. The backdrop was a vibrant but alluring shade of purple, deep and rich, and the embroidered emblem glittered when it caught the candlelight just right. The emblem was that of an elk's head, its horns were lengthy and twisted like branches in many directions. The elk was a sign of dignity and inner strength and had been the Ámarent family crest for ages.
