Chapter 6
Two weeks after Queen Catlett told me that she was going to make me her heir, the day of the ceremony arrived. Everyone of importance in the Kingdom of Vassa would be there, as well as several important people from outside Vassa.
The morning of the ceremony, Edgerton called me into his suite, which sat on the third floor next to the Queen's Suite.
"I don't know if you remember," Edgerton said, leading me into his study. "But when we were crossing the Great Desert, I promised that I would make you my heir, even if Queen Catlett rejected you as her heir. As such, I figured it was appropriate that I give you this today."
Edgerton handed me a parchment. It was rolled up and tied with a red ribbon. I untied the parchment and read it. It was written in the Common Tongue. In very formal and long winded language, it turned over all lands east of Hooks Road, with the exception of the Estate of Hooks, to her Royal Highness Lila Marie Haran, fourth daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah. Edgerton had signed the parchment and had pressed his signet ring into a wax seal next to his name.
"You are now the sole owner of the Barony of Haran, which makes you the Baroness of Haran. I know it isn't as impressive a title as Queen of Adah, but I owed you something for taking you from your homeland without your permission."
"Barony of Haran?" I said.
"In Vassa, the land changes its name to reflect the person who owns it."
Edgerton handed me another parchment. It was similar to the first, except it turned over all lands held and owned by her Royal Highness Queen Catlett Shay Laamatt, except for all the lands within the Istansada River Valley, to her Royal Highness Lila Marie Haran, fourth Daughter of Bella Justine Haran, the twelfth Queen of Adah.
"Queen Catlett owns two pieces of land. The land due north of the city, which was originally the Barony of Laamatt, and all of the Istansada River Valley, which her family inherited from the previous ruling family. The Istansada River Valley will remain under her control and will continue to be known as the Dutchy of Laamatt. She has turned ownership of the old Barony of Laamatt, including her family's old estate, to you. As of today, it becomes part of the Barony of Haran. This was all done to fulfill the second requirement for becoming the queen's heir, namely, you must be a landowner in Vassa."
Edgerton pulled out a map and showed me the lands that I owned. In terms of square miles, I was the largest landowner in Vassa. In terms of wealth, I was second only to the queen, who owned the very valuable Istansada River Valley, including all of the land within the city.
In Vassa only the royal families owned land. Everyone that lived on that land paid rent to the family that owned it, with the rent determined by the head of the governing family. There had been six royal families in Vassa before my arrival. With the queen and Edgerton deeding a portion of their lands to me, there were now seven royal families in Vassa, with me being the seventh.
Ceremonies declaring an heir weren't a big deal. Queen Catlett was making this a big deal for two reasons. The first reason was to let her enemies know that even if they succeeded in killing her, another woman would take her place on the throne. Her second reason for making this a big deal was to let everyone know that she was back. People knew that she had been sick, what they didn't know was that she had recovered. This was to be her coming out party.
As such, she had invited the other leaders of the Finger States--as well as the man behind the KRB, Maximillian Bedard---to attend the ceremony. I didn't know whether Max would show up or not. I suspected he would, probably to see how close Catlett was to death. Wasn't he in for a surprise.
The ceremony declaring me to be the heir presumptive was to take place in the late afternoon. It would be followed by dinner and a ball. After meeting with Edgerton and lunching with Queen Catlett, I headed to my suite to get dressed for the ceremony. The Lady Tabitha was there with a couple of serving girls. Much to my delight, Tabitha had a new gown. It had a flared skirt, a built-in corset, a scoop neckline, and long sleeves. It was gold silk and matched the color of her hair.
"I like the gown," I said.
Tabitha twirled. "It's certainly easier to move in than those hobble skirts everybody else is still wearing."
"Aren't you worried about being out of style?"
"As far as I'm concerned, everybody else is out of style."
"Good for you," I said.
The outfit I was wearing for this ceremony consisted of a red velvet gown trimmed with snow leopard fur. The gown had a flared skirt with snow leopard fur around the hem. The top part of the gown had a built-in black velvet corset, a squared neckline, and long belled sleeves with more leopard fur around the sleeve cuffs. A red velvet robe trimmed with snow leopard fur went over the shoulders and trailed behind me. My hair was loose and had grown long enough to reach the bottom of my shoulder blades. Queen Catlett suggested I wear the Ruby Crown, although it would be replaced with the heir of Vassa's crown--a silver headband with a lone peak at the front--during the ceremony.
Just as I finished dressing, Captain Hubbard arrived with a new cutlass for me to wear. This one had a gold blade guard instead of a brass guard and was kept in a silver scabbard. The scabbard's belt contained a silver buckle with a gold bias relief of Adah and a rose made out of rubies in the middle of Adah.
"Why a rose?" I asked Captain Hubbard when he presented me with the gift.
"Because it reminds us of you. Beautiful to look at, yet capable of drawing blood. To my men and I, you are, and always will be, the Rose of Adah."
The Rose of Adah. I liked that nickname. It was better than Mouse, or Lila the Insignificant, or the Barbarian Princess. Classier.
"Your gift is greatly appreciated, Captain." I buckled the cutlass around my waist.
Captain Hubbard bowed. He was wearing his red and white uniform with one addition. A brimless black hat with a long crown that curved from front to back. His bright red jacket also contained something new, gold braids draped from each shoulder.
"Those are new," I said, pointing to the braids on his jacket.
Captain Hubbard smiled. "The queen's given me a promotion. I'm now Commodore Hubbard. It was a reward for getting you and the chancellor safely home. I tried to explain to her majesty that it was you who got us safely here and not the other way around, but she insisted on giving me a promotion."
"Commodore Hubbard. I like the sound of that. I'm just sorry you no longer have a ship to call your own."
The smile on Commodore Hubbard's face widened. "There's good news on that front. The queen has commissioned the building of a new flagship for the heir."
"So, there'll be a new Star of the Sea. That is good news."
"Very good news. However, it won't be called the Star of the Sea. This ship will be given a new name. The Rose of Adah."
I was dumbfounded. They were going to name a ship after me. No one had named anything after me. Ever. "You're going to name it after me?"
"It seems fitting," Commodore Hubbard said. "To name the heir's flagship after the new heir."
"You've left me speechless, Commodore."
Commodore Hubbard laughed, then grew serious. "You know Maximillian Bedard is here today."
I nodded. "Queen Catlett wants him to see that he failed, failed in his attempt to poison her, failed in his attempts to prevent me from getting here."
"A man like Maximillian Bedard won't view those as failures. He'll only see them as setbacks. As long as he's alive, he'll keep trying to kill both of you."
"Hell hath no fury like a king scorned," the Lady Tabitha said. She moved behind me and picked up the hem of my robe. "It is time to go, Your Highness."
I donned the Ruby Crown. Commodore Hubbard offered me his arm and we headed off.
"How does this work?" I asked when we reach the doors to the throne room.
"A herald will announce you," Commodore Hubbard said. "You'll walk up the aisle and stand to the right of the throne. The herald will then announce the queen. She'll e
nter and take her place on the throne. She'll order the heir's crown to be brought forth. She'll then ask you to kneel in front of her. She'll then replace the crown you're wearing with the heir's crown. Which I must say isn't nearly as impressive as the one you've got on. When that's done, the queen and you will leave the room together with you at her right hand. From this day on, you are the queen's right hand."
"I'll carry the hem of your robe up the aisle," the Lady Tabitha said. "But I won't ascend the dais with you. Only the queen and the heir are allowed on the dais. I'll pick the hem up when you step off the dais and head out of the room."
"I believe its time for me to take my place," Commodore Hubbard said. He bowed to me, then disappeared inside the throne room.
I peeked into the throne room when the servants manning the doors opened them for the commodore. There were a couple hundred people in there, which was all the room could hold, kings and dukes and barons, duchesses and baronesses, their adult sons and daughters, lords and ladies all. There were no chairs in the room save for the queen's throne, so everyone had to stand. They left an aisle in the center of the room for us to walk up.
A minute later, Queen Catlett descended the staircase, accompanied by Edgerton and a lady carrying the hem of her robe. She wore a gown and robe identical to mine with the exception of the color. Instead of red velvet, her gown and robe were made out of a dark blue velvet. Like mine, they were trimmed with snow leopard fur, a sparkling white fur with small black spots. Her snow white hair glistened like a pale waterfall, reaching to the small of her back. On her head was the crown of the Queen of Vassa, a silver headband with seven peaks.
Catlett whispered something to Edgerton, who bowed and disappeared into the throne room. That left the queen, myself, the Lady Tabitha, and the queen's lady in waiting, a beautiful auburn haired woman in a pale blue dress named Eness Ellbey. Her dress was cut identical to the Lady Tabitha's dress, which didn't surprise me. There was no way Tabitha would let anyone into this procession who wasn't up on the latest fashions.
"How do I look?" Queen Catlett said.
"Like the picture of health."
"I feel like the picture of health, much to the chagrin of some of the people in that room."
"And the delight of those that love you."
"Might as well get this started," Queen Catlett said. She nodded to the young man standing in front of us, a herald dressed in the red, gold, and white of Vassa.
The two doormen opened the room's heavy double doors and the herald stepped into the doorway. Somewhere inside the throne room a pair of trumpets blew, announcing the ceremony had begun. When the trumpets stopped, the herald spoke. "Presenting her Royal Highness, Lila Marie Haran. Baroness of Haran. Princess of Adah. Holder of the Ruby Crown and Heir Hopeful to the throne of Adah."
I headed into the room, moving as gracefully as I could manage, which wasn't nearly as graceful as Queen Catlett seemed to move. I smiled and nodded at the people to both my left and right, most of whom returned my smile.
Most of the people I didn't know. On my right, the King of Holt was there with his daughter. The girl smiled when I looked her way. Her father didn't. Clearly, he still resented me for killing his brother, probably resented me more for never giving him a chance to punish me. Standing on the other side of his daughter was Shu, who had a big grin on her face.
The King of Enid was there, looking as plump and as friendly as the last time I saw him. Maximillian Bedard was also there. He smiled when I looked his way, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. He looked unhappy to see me alive and healthy, which made me wonder how he'd feel when he saw Queen Catlett looking equally healthy. If Commodore Hubbard was right, then he was already plotting his next move to kill both of us.
The front row on my right consisted of Edgerton, Commodore Hubbard, and the other barons and baronesses of Vassa. I smiled at them and they all returned my smile, save for the Baron of Selve, who was still smarting over his youngest son's exile to the prison camps of Poshta.
When I turned to the front row of people on my left, my breath caught in my throat. Vomeir was standing there, dressed in his green and silver ceremonial uniform. His helmet tucked under his right arm. To his left stood Sardis, Derbe, Militus, Botek, Solek, Tolek, Captain Patera of the Queen's Guard, and the rest of the Adan soldiers. All dressed in their ceremonial uniforms.
For a second I froze, wondering if I was seeing things. How did they get here? That was an easy question to answer. They must've come with the soldier Edgerton left back in Adah. Commander Conkling Eades. The bigger question was, why were they here? Why did they travel to the end of the world, to a land they knew nothing about? My guess was they were running for their lives. Once they had sided with me, it was either leave Adah, or risk being executed by Bedonna and her supporters.
The civilians, like Zore the stable boy, and Talia Pock, the daughter of the Queen of Thieves, could slip back into society unnoticed. No one would even know they had supported me. Vomeir, Patera, and the other soldiers weren't that lucky. Bedonna would know they hadn't supported her and would resent it.
Thinking about a throne reminded me of where I was and why I was there. I continued to the dais, where the Lady Tabitha released my robe and took her place alongside Edgerton. I stepped onto the dais and took my place to the right of the throne. Once I was there, the trumpets blew again, and the herald stepped forward. "Presenting her Royal Majesty Catlett Shay Laamatt, Duchess of Laamatt, Queen of all Vassa."
The herald stepped aside and Queen Catlett entered the room. As she walked up the aisle, she smiled and shook hands with several of the people standing on the aisle.
I watched Max. By the time Catlett reached him, he had a phony smile on his face that couldn't hide the truth. When he first saw her, his cheeks paled considerably. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to look as healthy as she did. He reached for her hand, which she gave him. When he leaned forward to kiss it, she pulled her hand away and turned to the people on the other side of the aisle. Max looked at me and glared, as if I had told her to do that. I felt like saying to him, "Don't glare at me, I'm not the one that paid people to poison her."
When the queen reached the dais, the Lady Eness released her robe and took her spot alongside the Lady Tabitha. Queen Catlett ascended the dais and sat upon her throne.
"We are here today to make a formal declaration of the heir to the throne of Vassa. Before I do that, I want to tell all of you how much this young woman means to me. Most of you know that I was sick for quite a while, very sick. What you don't know is that I was being poisoned."
The queen paused for the gasps of surprise, of which there were plenty. When the crowd quieted down, she continued. "What you need to know is the princess was the one that discovered I was being poisoned. If it wasn't for her, I would be dead. So it is with great pride and pleasure that I ask her Royal Highness, Lila Marie Haran, Baroness of Vassa, Princess of Adah, to kneel before me."
I moved in front of Queen Catlett and dropped to both knees.
"Bring forth the heir's crown," Queen Catlett said.
Two young men in red, gold, and white moved to the edge of the dais. One carried a red velvet pillow with the heir's crown, the other carried an empty red velvet pillow. Queen Catlett stood up, removed the Ruby Crown from me, and placed it on the empty pillow. She picked up the heir's crown, moved back in front of me, and placed the heir's crown upon my head.
"Repeat after me," Queen Catlett said. "I, Lila Marie Haran, promise before the One God, the maker of us all, to support, defend, and protect the people of Vassa with all my heart and soul, until my last breath."
I repeated the statement. When I finished, the queen spoke. "I hereby declare Lila Marie Haran, Baroness of Vassa, Princess of Adah, to be the heir presumptive to the throne of Vassa."
The queen offered me her hand. I stood and took my spot at her right hand. The trumpets blared again, and we headed out of the room, side by side.
"Did you like my surprise?"
Catlett whispered, nodding in the direction of Vomeir, Patera, and the others.
"When did they get here?"
"They arrived yesterday, along with Commander Eades. The man that stayed behind in Adah, so there would be room for you on the sand ship."
"I remember him, Commander Conkling Eades."
"Your men were very upset when we didn't let them see you. I had to talk to them myself, which wasn't easy considering they don't speak the Common Tongue. With Edgerton's and the commander's help, I finally managed to convince them that you were fine and they could see you today. Mind if I ask who they are?"
"The ones in brass are regular soldiers. The ones in silver are members of the palace guard. The ones in gold are members of the queen's guard."
"Are you glad to see them?"
"I'm always glad to see people I care about. Although I'm a bit surprised they're here. Shocked might be a better word."
Queen Catlett smiled, a smug smile. "As someone once said to me: men do not travel to the end of the world for just anybody."
She was repeating my words, but from my perspective, it wasn't the same thing. Edgerton and the others traveled to Adah because they loved their queen. Vomeir and his men were here because they had no choice. If they remained in Adah, Bedonna would've executed them for not supporting her. Patera and his men were here out of love, but it was love for my mother.
I thought we might go outside and wave to the masses, but apparently there were no masses to wave to. In this part of the world, royal ceremonies took place indoors, with only the landed gentry attending. It was much different back in Adah. Coronations were always held outside, so everyone could attend.
Instead of going outside, we moved to the dining hall, where dinner was ready and waiting. I sat on the queen's right. Edgerton sat on her left. The rest of the queen's court sat to the left of Edgerton including, Commodore Hubbard, the Lady Eness, the Lady Tabitha, and Bokham. Directly to my right sat Vomeir, Patera, and the other Adan soldiers. They were attracting a lot of attention from the crowd, who had no idea who they were.
Even I had to admit that they stood out from the crowd. They weren't as tall as the men from this part of the world, but they were a good deal more muscular. While most of the men from this part of the world were clean shaven, most of the Adan men had facial hair, although their beards were neatly trimmed. Their ceremonial uniforms also helped them to stand out.
The uniforms consisted of gold, silver, or brass breastplates over green tunics, knee length gray leather skirts, and gold, silver, or brass shin guards. They all wore swords around their hips and had green capes trailing down their backs. They carried their helmets under their right arms and set them on the table in front of them.
Once everyone was seated, Queen Catlett rose to her feet. "I'm pleased that all of you made it here safely. I also suspect that most of you are wondering who the men to Princess Lila's right are. I can tell you that the men wearing the brass armor are members of the Adan Army. The men in the silver armor are members of the Adan Palace Guard. The men wearing the gold armor are members of the Queen of Adah's Personal Guard. And yes, I've been informed that their armor is solid silver and solid gold. They took an oath to defend the princess against anyone that might want to harm her. Seeing how far they've traveled, I think it's clear that they take that oath seriously."
While the queen spoke, a grinning Patera leaned across Vomeir and whispered to me in Adan. "I see you've landed on your feet."
I couldn't think of a response to his comment, other than to return his grin and shrug my shoulders.
Vomeir leaned toward me and whispered in Adan. "Don't suppose you can tell us what she's saying?"
"She's telling the man sitting directly across from us, the one dressed in purple and black, that the next time he tries to kill me, he's going to have to go through all of you. In diplomatic terms of course."
Vomeir sat back in his chair and mumbled under his breath. "I hate court politics. Always have. Always will."
I laughed and listened to the rest of Queen Catlett's speech. This had turned into a very good day, even if there was one king sitting across from me that wanted to punish me for killing his brother, and a second that wanted to kill me for simply existing.