Briar
The room is large. A bed sits to my left. A window streams light through the haze of woven curtains. It is nearest to her quarters. A table sits opposite the bed, thick-laid books stacked on either side. The chair there sits squat, cushioned with deepening blue.
The walls close in around me, their blinding white turning bone all too fast. The floors dig me down into the soil, their warm brown suffocating me six feet.
"You will train," Avalynn says, her dark dress heavy away from her legs as she walks through the room. Her hands yank away the curtains. I go blind against the light. Her silver hair gleams a halo in the light. "You will accompany me in social settings such as official meetings for my coronation and political meetings regarding Maylea. You will also study Maylean government. In trade you will live here and be an advisor and a guard-in-training. Got it?" Avery taps the stacks of books. I nod slowly.
Everything is slow. Her steps. The echoes of them in my head. The way Avalynn skirts move as she steps out of the door.
The slam of the door is not slow. It snaps me back into my body. My brain stays slowed.
"Okay," I mumble to the empty room. How will I do all of this? I can hardly see my hands? My knees scrape the ground.
* * *
Knocks echo through my room just after the sun slips into my room. The blaze of yellow light pierces my eyes.
Avalynn walks in, her face pulled up in it's usual furrow. She turns to my bed as I sit up, pressing into my elbows. Her hair is tied up at the base of her neck. I have no idea what mine looks like. She woke me up.
"We have a crown viewing in ten," She says, crossing her arms. I rub my face.
"Minutes?" Avalynn sighs from the end of the bed.
"No, ten days. Get up and get presentable, quick." She leaves the room. I blink as the door closes. My body hits back in the pillows with a thump. I slept all night restless. I'm exhausted from just laying here.
I rise, pulling on a black dress that was left for me last night. I zip up my boots, never leaving the bed. My sweaty palms smooth down my hair as I glare at the floor. I have to get up. I have to get up.
It repeats in my head over and over and yet my limbs stay heavy. Someone pounds on the door. I jump, my legs slipping over the edge. I walk over, my legs shaking as I open the door. Avalynn stands there, arms still crossed.
"It hasn't been ten minutes," I say, my eyes going dry with tiredness as she rolls her eyes.
"I said we have to be there in ten. Now we have to move fast," She says, taking my arm in her grasp. She pulls me along, her fingerprints pressing into my wrist. I stumble over myself to keep up. Avalynn walks fast in heavy boots. I don't know how. I always found my feet heavier than the rest of my body. And I am submerged under the entire ocean itself.
The palace stays silent as we hurry through. I catch glimpses of studies and rooms for servants, each as big as my own. We only pass one person in the hall, a servant with a child.
"Goodmorning, Ophelia, Qia," Avalynn speaks quickly, brushing past them. The child looks up, her face alight with joy. The woman nods, smiling back at the child's quick glances between her mother and Avalynn.
Avalynn turns a corner before a question can form in my mind. She stops, her feet planted as she juts to a door. Her hands grip the front of her dress. Carefully, my eyes trace the lines pressed into her stomach, the creases of skin pulled taut on her knuckles.
"Is it–?" I start.
"For which crown I will wear," She mumbles, shaking her head. She smoothes down her dress in swift strokes before handling the door open. It groans as we press inside, sunlight spilling through three large windows. Where did she even lead us?
A person stands at the other side of the room, hands fluttering over meticulously tended tiaras. Avalynn's face scrunches up as she sees the line. Five sit waiting for her judgment.
The first stands tall, two asymmetrical strips of silver. The next is thin, a jewel of opal snugged in a grasp twisted of the silver band. Then gold, it beaming with dots of rubies every few ticks. Two chains drop from the sides, sweeping back to the ears, connecting the cartilage of the edge with two swept out wings. A simple band of pinkened gold sits next, rising to a peak in the center. Finally sits a woven band of quartz, the thin strips leaning away from each other's grasps. It was Roux's crown. And the King before her.
I watch Avalynn. Her eyes slip down, her eyebrows tugged together as she rubs her mouth to rid a frown. She shakes her head slightly before straightening, her face returning to regal.
"Basil," Avalynn calls. The person spins around. Their scraggly blond hair is tied back hastily, the end of the ponytail spilling over their shoulders. Their eyes are a wide green, cheeks tinted red with the idea of accidentally ignoring the Princess.
Basil stumbles forward, laughing half-heartedly as they step in front of Avalynn. She watches as they do.
"Ah! Princess Avalynn! Ah, uh, you caught me off guard," Basil tumbles over words, their hands moving just as fast as their mouth.
"Are we not on time? One P.M.?" I slept until one? Basil shakes their hands with their hand, waving an arm out to the crowns.
"No no I just got so sucked into cleaning that one there–see? The last one with the horns, or well strips? Would they be strips? Ah, perhaps not, well, can't say. Ha! Ah well, yes, take a look." Avalynn bends to look at the two-stripped one. I watch as Basil hurried around, hands waving swiftly as they grab a measuring tape and round glasses. They slide the glasses on, standing behind the crown Avalynn studies. They tap their fingers nervously at the mannequins head. Avalynn stands back. "Take your time your highness. I can fit you whenever you please."
"Thank you Basil," Avalynn says. Basil nods, a slight blush rising to their face. They turn to me then, eyes widening ever still. If they keep this up they're gonna fall out.
"Who are you?" They ask. I bite my teeth together, keeping myself from fleeing. I inhale, pressing my lips together. Avalynn studies the next crown.
"Princess Avalynn's advisor. Training in government and guard," I say, straightening my spine as Basil walks around me, their back bent. They hum, coming up to study my face. "Today is my first day," I say weakly. Avalynn coughs from her study.
Basil twists their lips, brushing hair from the side of my face.
"I believe we've met," Basil says, squinting. Flames ignite in my chest, scorching my throat hot. "I just can't place where."
"I had them scout the palace, living here a few weeks beforehand. It's from there," Avalynn says, moving to the next crown. Basil hums, taking a step back. They smiles then, eyes closing for the first time.
"Ah must've. I can't quite seem to remember all those slimy details. They slip away all too swift when you have other things a' mind," Basil says, swinging back to Avalynn. I exhale a sigh.
"Quite," I sigh in relief. Avalynn raises her eyebrows at me, her lips pressed flat in amusement. Basil looks back at her.
"Any ideas, your highness?" They say. Avalynn turns back, her lips peeling up in a reluctant smile. She nods, her hands reaching out as she steps to the side. Her feet still as she lifts the band on silver, the opal drop shimmering a kaleidoscope of hues. Basil brightens, their fingers delicate as they pick the crown from Avalynn.
"Ah! The opal!" They exclaim, turning swift around the mannequins. They bounce on their heels before Avalynn, fingers twitching. Avalynn leans, her hair brushing over her shoulders as Basil lifts the crown to her head. They rest it gently on her brow. Avalynn straightens, her eyes flicking to Basil, and then to me.
Basil's hands lift to their mouth, a squeal of delight escaping their mouth. The crown rests easy on Avalynn. She glances at me, doe-like.
I shouldn't say it looks good. I shouldn't say I like it. My opinion of her doesn't matter. She doesn't want to hear it from me.
Instead I raise my lips, not quite a smile, and nod. Avalynn mirrors curtly, turning back to Basil.
"This is it," She tells them. Basil nods, rubbing their eyes before lifting the crown off of Avalynn's head. They take the measuring tape from their neck, swiping it around Avalynn's cranium. Avalynn bends as Basil tip-toes up, eyeing the numbers.
They back up, waving the tape before grinning.
"Should be a week before it's complete. Come back then. I'll send for you," Basil says, squishing in their face. Avalynn nods, thanking Basil.
She takes my arm before we leave the room. I shut the door, back in the darkened hall. Avalynn sighs, pressing her back up against the hall. I focus on her. Her eyes look heavy.
"Basil's too excited," I mumble. Avalynn knocks her head back, scoffing a chuckle. She rolls her head to me.
"Yeah. Reminds me of Bastet a little when they would get excited," She mumbles so low I hardly hear it. Pain pierces my chest. Yeah...Bastet is like that. All bumbling blabber when their brain moves too fast for coherent words. "Quarry any day."
I snicker, leaning my head back as well. Avalynn chuckles softly, rubbing her face.
I wonder how much she missed them. Is it just a twinge of pain? Or can she feel it consume her entire chest? Can she feel the same weight of the sea I'm struggling under, or is her's more fire?
I want to ask. I shouldn't ask.