Realm of the Sun

Chapter 21

November 1st, Current Era

Dear Sylas,

Congratulations on your engagement to Lady Lin- err, whatever her name is. This isn't a formal letter so I don't find it necessary to be extravagantly proper. Oh look! I've used such big words. Father's tutors are finally paying off. Anyway, I've just written to you not only to congratulate you (because why would I do that?), but also to serve a fair warning before something happens.

My family, along with the royal procession and cabinet ministry will be arriving in Liyuan sometime between December 7th and 18th. It hasn't really been decided. I don't really get to make decisions, being spare and all. Marisol gets to do the fun (or boring, depending on how you look at it) royal duties. Bernadette is simply ecstatic to visit Liyuan once more, or at least ecstatic as she could be, because let's face it, she isn't one for expressiveness.

If you may, please send my regards to whoever you see fit, just not the dreaded lieutenant general or general of your youth army. Those two women scare me. Hopefully, I will see you soon.

Cheers,

James Benson, His Royal Highness, Prince of House of Golden Iris, Duke of Bastiere, Lord of Hanover Estate, Lord Protector of the Western Isles, Superior Guardian of Broken Hearts, Other titles I made up and can't remember

Of course, James Benson would send a letter, detailing the arrival of the royal family in times of turmoil, especially with an impending doom-saying prophecy. There were only twelve days until the solstice, marking today as December 9th. The Benson's would arrive any day now. Sylas wasn't too concerned with how the cabinet or Queen and King Consort would react to the prophecy, or even Marisol, the heir to the Ardish throne. But knowing James and Bernadette from past experiences, they would undoubtedly try to play hero and end up unintentionally killing themselves. More on James' part, really, but with the whole hostage situation, assassinations, rebel forces, and daybreak prophecy, there was going to be too much on King Magnus' plate to deal with the Benson's arrival. He was two days over-due to notify anyone of importance, but seeing that the royal family hadn't arrived yet, he was hoping now was not too late.

Sylas did not dare to go and find a messenger to deliver notice to the king. He wasn't that brave. Instead, he opted to find a more familiar person to be the recipient of his news.

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"Sylas Lai, the one time you choose to be incompetent is the one time we might be endangering a royal family?"

Prince Nicholas was not being as forgiving as Sylas hoped.

"I'm sorry, it slipped my mind, with the whole prophecy thin-"

"This letter is dated November 1st!"

"Could we not yell? It's barely afternoon-"

"I am hardly yelling."

Nicholas sat down onto the wooden chair, sighing as he grabbed a ruby red pillow from the side and buried his face in it. Sylas shifted uneasily as he waited for Nicholas to continue his ranting.

Sylas tugged on his sleeve, uncomfortable with how it was setting with his waistcoat. "Surely the Benson's would have notified your father?"

The prince groaned. "No. Queen Marilyn would never warn Liyuan officials of her arrival. She does this frequently- any excuse to show that we are incompetent and cannot adhere to a nation's needs gives her reason to invade again without too much drawback from the public."

Sylas's expression changed. "That's so unfair though. How can we prepare for something we don't know will happen?"
"Ask Queen Marilyn. I only hope that your delay will not cause any issues. I'll thank James personally when I see him next." Nicholas shot a warning glare made up golden glows and daggers at him. Sylas gulped.

"I'm going to get this to my father, but until then, start alerting kitchen staff. We can't let this problem get in the way of our other issues."

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Author's note:

hello!

hihi, it's me, remi :D This is officially the last part of Part 2, Luminary Crescents... which means I really need to take a break to refill my creative juices, finally get my own coffee machine, and take a nap...
as a reminder, I am a full-time university student, with a part-time job, meaning I am going to need some time off. Realm of the Sun returns April 17th, with a 3 (3! non-factorial) chapter premier.

Part 3 is entitled Shattered Twilight, which bears no plot relevance but does sound cool. I think.
thank you again for reading!