The Shifting Tide

The Wedding

 When Cassia was little, she used to believe that the dunes were endless, the horizon starting and ending in the shifting sand.

Her mother would tell her that they came from this sand, it being woven into them by the god Bess as much as their blood was. Although she liked to believe she outgrew the stories of the old gods, it was days like this where it seemed as if the desert was truly part of them.

Golden light from the setting sun hit the dust, sending shimmering waves ripple across the wind and through the open doors of the palace.

Sometimes the rough sand would whip through the corridors and sting the skin of anyone who dared to leave their room. But today it fell like glitter over the reception, as if a wedding gift from Bess himself.

The chatter in the ballroom swelled, but Cassia's gaze still focused through the open windows on the sparkling dunes, changing shades as the sun set.

"That was the most boring speech yet," Her eldest sister's voice snapped Cassia out of her trance, and she looked down to see her plate already filled.

The High Priest must have finally finished his wedding address.

Astraea kept talking as she grinned at Cassia, "Four speeches down, only yours is left."

Cassia shook her head, pointing her fork to her brother, "I have no plans to be married anytime soon. Castor's older than me, he should be next."

Castor smirked, "Unfortunately, father has made me too busy. I wouldn't be able to fit a wedding into my schedule."

Elara, the third oldest's, eyes sparkled as she leaned in, her long black hair dangling dangerously close over her food, "The Shiloton princes were already talking about you. I heard them saying you were the most beautiful woman on the planet."

"A marriage to them wouldn't help anyone. We already control their territory," Cassia brushed off the compliment and began to eat, but her three sisters exchanged glances.

Although it was Lyra, the fourth sister's, wedding, everyone in the room had been watching Cassia. With her long wavy black hair that stretched down her back, sharp blue eyes that would study whoever looked near, or tanned skin reflecting the lifetime she had spent in the sun, it was indeed no rumor that Cassia was the most beautiful woman on the planet.

Astraea giggled quietly, discreetly pointing her finger to where the Shiloton princes sat, "I'm not sure they would be able to stand Soras' capital anyways."

The princes had moved their chairs to be in the shade of a couple of the many towering columns, but still were not able to quell the sweat that dripped down their faces.

Cassia hid a smile. She often forgot how unbearable the heat of the Sorian sun was to newcomers.

Gazing around the reception, about half of the guests seemed to be relieved that the temperature of the day was leaving. The night's chill was closer to the cold of the blanketing forests and snow-capped mountains they had traveled from.

Yet the same flaming sun engraved into the golden crowns of Cassia and her siblings flew on the flags in their foggy cities.

Castor called it the irony of the Empire of Soras.

As her eyes wandered, they settled upon the elevated throne at the front of the room, where many of these suns were carved into the stone.

Cassia squinted as she realized the imposing chair was empty, and quickly turned back to her sibling's conversation.

Celeste, the second oldest, was poking at a spiny blue fruit with her knife, "What is this?"

Elara answered her excitedly, "Doesn't it taste amazing? They're grown in the new Cerulean territory. We just had them imported a month ago-"

"Where's father?" Cassia blurted out, then realizing her interruption, turned to Elara's offended face, "My apologies."

The rest of the table turned to where the Emperor of Soras was expected to be, but as Cassia had mentioned, he was gone. The only one who didn't flinch was Castor, who continued to finish his plate, an unperturbed look on his face.

Being the two youngest, despite their three year age gap, Cassia and Castor were the closest siblings by far. They could read each other's behavior easily, from when one of them lied or held a secret, and especially when the other person knew something.

Cassia crossed her arms, complaining to him, "You always are told everything! I have as much claim to the throne as you do!"

At least if she wasn't married off like her four sisters.

Castor smiled slyly, his eyes twinkling with information, "Sorian forces captured someone."

Although her sisters groaned, muttering "Here the two of them go, mentioning the war again", Cassia's interest spiked and she leaned closer.

There was no way Emperor Aten Vega would have deserted his daughter's wedding for one prisoner. Unless...

Cassia's thoughts became an unintelligible whirlwind as Castor began to speak in hushed tones, "It was Baran. Who is directly under James Aster."

The pulse of her heartbeat got louder as the chatter in the ballroom faded out. Aster's forces were the only obstacle the Sorians faced. His merciless warfare tactics had caused thousands of her father's men to be murdered and had wiped entire Sorian towns from the maps.

He wasn't in charge of a country, which meant two vital facts; that he and his followers were almost impossible to pinpoint, and that the only thing that drove them was their determination to kill anyone, as long as they were Sorian.

This endless war needed to finish, and this one prisoner could turn the tide.