Nehemia walked to Mother's throne and curtsied. Mother rose from the throne, and everyone in the room kneeled except for Nehemia. Aelin brought forward a new crown- not the Princess' crown, but the Heir's crown. It was a replica of the crown Aelin had worn to war with the Valg, except made even more grand. But not as grand as the Queen or King's crowns, of course.
She then took a lap around the ballroom, looking at the room of her suitors and their parents, who had greeted Mother the day before in a grand feast. Her suitors all had their hands out, ready for her to claim.
She started her second lap, and found Haz.
She gracefully stopped, her dress flowing in synchronization with her body. She eyed Haz. His chestnut hair was shaggy, but not messy, and flowed in long waves to where his neck met his jaw. His hazel eyes were sharp and focused. Intelligent and kind. Kingly, Nehemia thought. His jawline was strong, and his lips... Nehemia kept herself from staring.
She reached for his hand and claimed it. He stepped out, his steps confident and precise. She led him to the center and set her hand on his shoulder. He took her waist, and their dance proceeded. They didn't speak for a while into it.
"Enjoying it so far, Princess?"
"I am, Prince. I think I will marry you." She said. Haz laughed. His breath smelled like fresh mint, and Nehemia had to force her eyes to keep from his lips. He may not be her mate, but this would not be a loveless marriage.
"Two days is all it took? I expected to have to work harder."
"And you will if you want to keep my heart. Getting a woman to want you is one thing. Getting a woman to choose you... That is another, Jaton." She said.
"I'm glad. Part of me enjoys the primality of it. The way it feels like a hunt." He admitted.
"You wish to consume my heart?"
"I certainly do." Nehemia's stomach fluttered.
"You are doing a good job of it. But, I must depart from this dance, my Prince. The other princes have traveled just as far. It'd be rude to not humor them." She said quietly. The prince seperated from her, and she felt oddly cold without him. He fell back into place, their dance having brought them perfectly around the room.
For the next two hours, she danced with the different princes. Some were handsome devils who admittedly excited her. Some were brutish and forceful, and she prayed for whichever poor princesses ends up in their beds. Some admitted to not wanting to marry her, which Nehemia respected if nothing else.
Finally, she released the final prince back to his spot. Finally, it was time for her to decide. She moved to the center and pretended to carefully look over each prince, before finally landing on Haz again.
"I choose Prince Jaton Haz of Praltak." She announced. "You may ask your question, Prince." The prince walked forward and kneeled in front of her.
"I, Prince Jaton Haz of Praltak, secondborn of Garick Haz and the Bane of Beasts, hereby ask you, Princess Nehemia of Terrasen, heir to the Terrasen throne and to the Western Faeries, daughter of the Fire-Bringer, and warrior of the Bastard's War for your hand in marriage."
"I accept your hand, Prince Jaton." Nehemia said. He lifted it, and she took it, as promised. He stood. At his full height, he was nearly a foot taller than her. "I look forward to the future." She said. The ballroom guests began their applause, geniune or not, and she began another dance with Jaton.
The other princes danced with ladies of the court- daughters of the lords and ladies of Terrasen and the Terrasen Royal Court, and some visiting friends. Lady Celaena of Anielle was dancing with a handsome prince, seeming very happy with her catch. She saw Aedion and Lysandra's daughter, Coriana Ashryver. Elide and Lorcan's daughter, Aelin Lochan. Fenrys had, a few years ago, found a Fae woman named Lexi who happened to be his mate. Their daughter, Vivian Moonbeam, danced as well.
And many other noble-born young girls. Some danced to please their parents, others hoped to win the favor of a powerful prince. They knew they had a slim chance at ascending to a throne, but they could get favors and boost their house's power. Or simply have a pleasurable night.
The music slowed, and attention turned to the throne. Father offered Mother his hand, and she accepted. The room bowed to Her Majesty. Mother was, truly, a beautiful woman. She had scars, but they weren't ugly. Her eyes sparkled in a way Nehemia rarely saw- mostly during her or Braxon's birthdays. She expected to see more it for little Marion's birthdays as well.
Mother and Father danced in the center of the room, everyone watching them. Thats when Nehemia saw that Braxon had found a girl his age- probably the daughter of a foreign king- and held her hand. It was adorable, Nehemia thought to herself. Though she was already thinking of ways to tease him about it.
Finally, they came to Nehemia and Jaton. Father took her into a Father-Daughter dance while Mother took Jaton into a dance. No doubt to give him a few thinly-veiled threats as to what would happen if he hurt her daughter.
Jaton seemed to find them funny, and Nehemia thought that to be a good thing. Her family made lots of threats, mostly in jest. A sense of humor is a must for any long-term members of the household.
Evangeline burst into the room, and all attention turned to her.
"Raiders." She said to Mother. Aelin's dress, beautiful as it was, burned away in an instant to reveal armor and a sword.
"Guards, keep the foreign royals safe. If they wish to take charge of their own safety, let them. I advise you all to stay in the castle. Raiders are annoying, but they rarely get anywhere near the palace. My Queensguard will keep you safe. If your room has a window..." She said, unsheathing her sword and walking out the door. "Enjoy the show."
Nehemia patted Jaton on the chest. "Fight with me?"
"This is going to be an interesting place to live." Nehemia was already walking out the door.
"You have no idea."
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Raiders were an annoyance to all nations. Groups of bandits that occasionally weasled into a city and began to... Well, raid. Most avoided killing civilians, since that was just an unnecessary death sentence and was more likely to bring a full-blown retaliation. But, they still caused a lot of damage.
Nehemia drove her sword, Hellfire, through a raider before bringing it in a wide arc, forcing the next two back. Jaton brought his ax down into a bandit where he fought in the street. Nehemia feinted right and stabbed left, bringing him to his knees. She took a hidden knife and jammed it into the last one's throat. She took her sword out of the second and took his head off. A thud shook the ground from behind her.
The raiders began to flee.
Nehemia turned to see Mother, flaming as ever, riding Phoenix. The flames ceased. She addressed the nearest soldier.
"Find a commander. Have damage assessed and reported immediately. Normal procedures. Have the message relayed throughout the city. It seemed to be a standard raid."
"This is standard?" Jaton asked, his ax on his back. "Orynth is a beautiful city, but... Perhaps security is a bit lax."
"Raiders rarely kill, and rarer so on purpose. And the raider leaders usually send the killers to us in chains as appeasement. Things can be replaced, and its cheaper than redoing the entire security system of a city this big." Aelin said.
"Don't worry, Jaton. Only one invader has ever landed a troop behind these walls, and he is now a stain on my Mother's balcony." Nehemia said.
"Years of trying and he won't wash off." Aelin added.
"I suppose that all makes sense. Is the ball still on?" He asked.
"Are you a party boy?" Nehemia asked.
"No, but I won't turn down a good party." He said.
"The ball was almost done anyway. Now its time for a feast." Nehemia said.
"Another one? I haven't eaten all day and I'm still full from last night."
"What can I say? Terrasen has a lot to spare. Homelessness is practically nonexistent, and poverty is rare and usually not severe."
"Thanks to the many laws you've made to help them." Jaton noted.
"Yes, well, I can't take the credit for all of them." Mother admitted.
"You two can talk, I'm hungry." Nehemia said, sheathing Hellfire and walking away.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Aelin stood on top of the tower. Nehemia was to be married in two years, after they parade around both nations. The parade had just started leaving Orynth. Braxon held Aelin's leg.
"So." Aelin turned to him. "Who was that little girl you were with?" Rowan almost choked on his laugh.
"Princess Reya Qual of Vero, a small island nation east of Doranelle." Braxon said.
"She told you all of this?"
"Yes. She said the nation is beautiful and peaceful. They have an army, but they haven't had a war in ages. They have no violent crime."
"What else did she tell you?"
"Well, she had asked if I wanted to visit Vero. I said I have to ask you first." Aelin nodded.
"Do you fancy this... Reya Qual?" Aelin asked.
"She is very pretty."
"I saw. But what do you like about her besides that? Is she smart, strong, gentle? What makes her different from all the other pretty girls?"
"I don't know. She was nice to me."
"All the girls are nice to you. The same way all the boys are nice to Nehemia, and as they will be to Marion. I am not saying this about Reya, as I do not know her. And if you wish to know her, I can arrange it.
But, I must warn you as I warned Nehemia when she started liking boys. There will be a lot of girls vying for your hand. You will be King of Samia one day. It will be a strong nation with strong allies. It will be wealthy. People like to be wealthy.
Jaton may very well love your sister, but he stands to gain much from this marriage. Without marrying an heir, he will never have a throne or a crown. Even now, his power will be limited compared to hers in Terrasen.
In the same way, many girls would stand to gain much by simply marrying you. And some people are amazing actors and actresses. Thats why we have this song and dance of meeting and vetting these princes- we don't want your sister marrying some villain, do we?
Some girls will want to marry you because you're handsome. You know you're very handsome, don't you?" Braxon reddened and smiled. "Some will want to marry you because you have gold, power, armies, all of the above. Some girls might even marry you with the intent of taking everything from you- secretly kill you and take your things. Its terrible, I know. Again- I am not talking about Reya. She sounds like a nice girl. But you must be careful.
You must find a girl you can live with for years and years and still care for. That sounds easy, but it isn't. It means putting up with things that annoy you. Things you couldn't foresee before marrying. She must also be strong, smart, and caring. She must be capable of helping you and your nation, and she must desire to do so. It isn't good enough to find a girl who is docile and acts like a pet, taking commands and not helping at all. This girl, whoever she ends up being, will be your queen. She will be a one-in-a-million kind of girl who gets things done. A king needs a strong queen, just as I have a strong king." Aelin gestured to Rowan. "If you want to see if Reya is good for you, I will arrange it. We can both visit this little island of hers. Your Father can keep Terrasen running while we do. Do you want that?"
Braxon thought for a moment.
"If I never give any girl a chance, how can I find the one-in-a-million? I want to visit Vero." Braxon decided.
"Then Vero is where we will go. I want to meet Reya." Aelin looked at Rowan. "Are you good to keep things going?"
"Of course. Go scare the living hell out of some royals." Rowan said. Aelin smirked and led Braxon out.