After tea, I was rushed off to my literature lessons with another Centaur named Elijah. Elijah was younger than William and quite a bit more sarcastic, which I enjoyed. The lesson was relatively simple as we began by going over the prominent literary artists of Erivale. It was history round two but with an emphasis on literature as I learned of the Shakespearean equivalents and the Homers of Erivale. There were some substantial differences, of course, such as the role magic played in literature and storytelling. Literature ended with the assigned reading of poetry written by a famous author – Liam Estur.
My language course was terrible, to say the least. Everyone in Erivale spoke the same language as their primary tongue, but all of the other races had their own discourses. My tutor for this lesson was a Syreni named Mabel.
I was beginning with Siren's speech as it was the easiest to learn, or so I was told. The allegedly easy language was almost impossible to actually speak, or rather sing. Siren speech is rhythmic and melodic in a way I had never heard before, and I always stumbled over words and had trouble pronouncing them right. Mabel and I were both frustrated by the end of our lesson.
I ate a lonely dinner in my room before dance lessons. For the ball, I had to learn traditional Ithican ballroom dancing styles. Soren was my partner, and I stepped on his toes far too many times to be acceptable, but he continued to smile as if I was a perfect dancer. The liar.
The last time I stepped on his foot, I pulled away, "I can't keep abusing you like this. It isn't fair. You've been too kind to me to have me stomp all over your feet for any longer."
Soren chuckled. "It's quite alright, Amberleigh, I barely felt a thing."
"That's a lie, and you and I both know it."
"Tell me, how was your first day of lessons?"
I narrowed my eyes. "I see your subject change, but I'll go with it anyways. It wasn't too bad. The etiquette lessons came in handy for the tea, and I'm enjoying continuing to learn about history."
"That's lovely to hear. And on a more personal note, how is your first real day in the palace? You can be honest with me; while I may work here, I am not blind to the cons of this life."
I let out a loud sigh and looked to the ground where my feet, which were crammed into uncomfortable heels, kicked at nothing. "It's been a lot. A lot of it feels lonely. And there's so much to learn in so little time. It feels like everyone is watching my every move, just waiting for me to mess up. I couldn't get through tea without messing up, and Guinevere calling me out on it. What will I do at the ball with hundreds of subjects and politicians there simply to just watch me?"
"It may seem like a steep hill now, but you are doing remarkably well for someone in your shoes. Plus, more qualities make up a queen beside her etiquette lessons. Qualities such as compassion, drive, and empathy, which after a chat with Gerard, it is clear that these are some of your strongest attributes."
I blushed, somewhat uncomfortable under the praise Soren sang to me. "I don't know how to do this, but I want to make a difference. I wish there was a way to help the world but stay in the shadows. I'm not comfortable with being on a public stage, or leading, or commanding."
"That is not a luxury you will have, but I believe you will be strong enough to handle it when the time comes. You have many months before you will have to assume the throne and go through the Ceremony of the Gods."
I paused and simply blinked at Soren, "Excuse me what?"
"The Ceremony of the Gods?"
"Well yes! But what do you mean months?" I shrieked. The small sense of control and drive I had built up this morning immediately crumbled under this new information.
"Yes, your coronation will be this spring during the vernal equinox."
"Soren, I'm not ready. Why are they doing it so soon?"
"It is a tradition for the crown royalty to be coronated after their twenty-first birthday on any of the equinoxes or solstices. Guinevere will turn twenty-one just after the winter solstice, so the date had long been planned, and the coronation festivities were set for this upcoming vernal equinox."
"But I won't turn twenty-one before the vernal equinox."
"That is of minimal concern to the king and queen."
I suddenly felt lightheaded, and I pressed a hand to my forehead, ignoring the slight sting when I brushed my gash. "I think I need to sit down." Gerard looked flustered at my suddenly pale appearance and led me to a chair. He fluttered over me asking if I needed water or something to eat or to call a healer. "I'll be okay, Gerard, thank you. It's just a lot to take in."
"My apologies Amberleigh, I should not have dumped this information on you. You are under enough stress as it is."
"No, it's okay, Soren. I needed to know sooner or later. I just don't understand how everyone thinks I can be a proper ruler in a few months."
"You may surprise yourself. Plus, the Ceremony of the Gods is often recorded as a spiritual moment of clarity for many rulers. This will likely help you with your new role as a leader."
"What even is the Ceremony of the Gods? What will I have to do?"
"The Ceremony is based on the ancient tradition that rulers of Ithica are blessed by the gods. Many other rulers from the other nations have similar magic power surges, but with our already high affinity for magic, the Ceremony of the Gods will only amplify it. The day before your coronation, you will enter the sacred temple and sit before the Tree of Souls. I personally do not know exactly what will happen, but the ordeal will likely take all night and into the morning. From then on out, your magical abilities will be incredibly powerful."
"Do I even have magical abilities? Besides occasionally finding ways into and out of Erivale, I've never done anything exceptionally magical. Soren, this is too much, there's no way I can do this."
"Amberleigh, portalling is one of the most powerful magic manifestations there is. Many Elves and sorcerers have died in the pursuit of portalling."
"Died? Oh my god."
"Died because they maxed out their energy," Soren backtracked. He sighed and rubbed a tired hand down his face. "I'm not explaining this well at all. I'm sorry, Amberleigh. How about you head off to bed. You have more lessons tomorrow. I promise everything will be okay and don't fret about your magical abilities. Your lessons won't start for over a week, and they will be with someone with more expertise in the subject than myself."
I gave a weak nod to Soren. My mind was still reeling, and I hardly noticed as Gerard gently helped me off the chair and directed me back to my room. My mind barely registered as Leda helped prepare me for bed.
I had much to think about, and I didn't know how to get it out of my head. I felt like I was swimming in information, and I wanted nothing more than to unscrew my ear and shake it all out. Random bits were sticking for only a moment, the Great Wars, the uneasy feeling I was beginning to have about the royal policy and practices, the Ceremony of the Gods, dying from magic use. And of course, to top it off, I haven't even read my poems for my literature lesson yet.
I tossed and turned in the bed for about half an hour before I threw back the covers with an annoyed growl and sat up. I stared around my new bedroom. The sight of it was even irritating me now. It was all mine, simply given to me because of a birthright I didn't know I had. Everything was gilded gold and perfect, and I had to be perfect, just like the crown molding of this room. I wanted to scream, I just compared myself to fancy crown molding.
My eyes landed on the pristine canvas propped up on the new easel, and I felt my fingers twitch with the urge to create. Padding across the cold stone floor, I turned on one of the glowing orbs on the wall behind the canvas. It was just enough light to illuminate my workspace.
I quickly began opening the jars containing the paint colors and preparing my brushes. I had no idea what I was going to paint, but I knew it was what I needed right now.
Picking up the first brush, I went to dip it into the red paint and felt an image slam into my mind. It was the same feeling I had when I saw the image of the Faun's playing in the glade when I met Gerard; the same, wind knocked out of you, shakiness.
The vision became all I could see, a dark room, slightly hazy with a large circular table. Sat at the table moving clockwise was an Ursa, much larger than any Ursa I had seen before in visions or in real life. A large pink scar ran across his left eye, leaving it permanently closed. More scars were visible on the pristine white fur that stretched down farther than it typically did, about mid-abdomen. Bright silver armor wrapped the rest of the body, and a silver helmet was in front of him on the table.
To his left was a Garuda and Lilitu in matching armor and colors. The Garuda's wings were dark brown with red tips and had metal coverings across the front bone structure, providing extra support. Large metal spikes were attached to the armor as well, turning the wings into a weapon.
A Centaur and Faun were next to them, also in armor, this time a mix of silver and leather. The Faun had a grim expression on his face, and the Centaur seemed to be studying the others in the room.
Next to them was a Syreni male in his human form and a Nereide. They each wore armor made of iridescent scales about an inch in length. Overall it made up a beautiful form of chain mail that was likely much stronger than it appeared.
Lastly, were a pair of regal Elves in shining silver armor. Everyone at the table was dressed for war.
The more I studied the vision the more I realized that the Elves appeared to be at the head of the table. It was odd to me how they seemed to radiate power over the others. The group was sat around a round table where there should not have been a head. Round tables were supposed to symbolize equality amongst the individuals present, but that did not appear to be the case.
The memory felt slow and sluggish in my head, almost as if someone had put it through slow motion. The different races were arguing over something, I couldn't tell what it was, but it seemed like it was the Elves against the rest of the races.
A spark rose in the corner so subtle the only reason I was able to see it was because I was looking into the memory. In the far corner of the dark room, an inky navy glow began to grow, partially illuminating a face. I couldn't make out many details of the face, but I could tell that he wasn't supposed to be there, this meeting was for the races sitting around the round table only.
Suddenly the image hit play, and everything sped up to real-time. The arguing was continuing until the navy-blue magic melted into the air and created a cloud over the table. The male and female Elves smiled at one another as the rest of the races immediately silenced and stared, glassy eyed at the two Elves. The voice, "help us", whispered across my mind again, shocking me from the vision.