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IT IS SATURDAY. TODAY, Macsen will try to take the crown and Everleigh will claim it as her own. The atmosphere is strained as the five of them sit before Halfreda’s fire breaking their fast.
Will is looking and feeling so much better. He will be able to help today. He is hoping to play the fool and cause a distraction when he gets the nod from Archer. His wounds have been cleaned and dressed again and with his bandages bound tightly, he can move freely around. He is on the mend.
Halfreda is hungry and eats more breakfast than anyone. She is convinced it will be her last meal on this earth and she is resigned to dying. She wants only one thing; to see her beloved Everleigh with a crown on her beautiful head.
Ginata is worried. She cannot see the crown on Everleigh’s head. She has been having faint visions since she woke, tucked up with Halfreda, and she cannot see straight. She sees the princes and Everleigh at the coronation but she cannot see Everleigh with a crown. She says nothing and eats silently. She will be there to help in any way she can.
Archer is watching Everleigh. She’s not eating, just holding onto a piece of bread. He is ready for today. The biggest day in his life as a knight of a Queen, watching her be crowned and fighting on her behalf. He knows that Macsen will not go down without a fight. Halfreda muttered something yesterday about locking him in the tower. He knows that won’t work. He will have to kill him. Macsen didn’t hesitate for a second when he believed he was killing his own sister and he killed his own father quite happily.
Archer is ready to kill him, happy to do so.
Everleigh is sad. It is her birthday but no one has remembered. Her father is dead. Her brother is a murderer. Instead of the sweet joy of living and ruling she is burdened with the difficult task of battling her brother for a crown she never even wanted in the first place.
Halfreda clears her throat. “I don’t know how appropriate this is, Everleigh, but we all wanted to give you something.”
Archer leans over and kisses her cheek. “Happy birthday, Queen Everleigh.”
Everleigh is crying as she pulls him towards her for a hug. “You remembered.”
“Of course. We all did.”
Ginata passes her a small box. Everleigh thanks her and opens it. It is a little bottle of perfume.
“It’s tiny,” Ginata says. “But it will last a long time. You need but one drop and the scent will last all day.”
Taking off the tiny lid, Everleigh squeezes a drop on to her wrist. It smells of roses. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Will passes her a box next. “Will. You shouldn’t be worrying about me, only getting better.” Now that she knows no one forgot her, she feels a bit silly. Today of all days she shouldn’t be worrying about presents.
She opens the box. Inside is a beautifully carved wooden quill and a bottle of ink. “For signing your royal declarations,” he says, pulling a funny face at her, needing to diffuse the tension.
“It’s perfect Will. Thank you.”
Halfreda passes her a package next. Everleigh opens it. It is the prophecy, framed in a delicately engraved wooden frame, words still glowing.
“This is your proof. Your birth right.”
“Your teacher gave it to you? Is he still here?”
“No, he left this morning, he is devastated at the loss of the King. And upset that he didn’t see it coming, couldn’t save him. We have all had our vision clouded this week, somehow.”
Archer nods his head. “I accompanied his carriage to the top road. I was worried about him, but we talked and he’s fine. He will visit again when you are Queen, he said.”
Everleigh smiles at that, she likes the teacher. Feels safe with him. And it stands to reason that he has more knowledge, power and experience than even Halfreda. That is bound to come in handy.
She traces her finger over the prophecy’s words. “I’m ready,” she says.
Archer puts a hand on her arm. “One more present.” He passes her a small velvet pouch, tied closed with a ribbon.
She takes it off him and undoes the ribbon. She opens the pouch. Inside is a tiny replica of a crown, in solid silver, set with a ruby, an emerald and a sapphire. “A brooch for you to wear, until the real crown is on your head,” he says.
“It is so beautiful. It must have cost you a fortune?”
“It was worth it. And I had a little help.” He grins at Halfreda and then pins it on Everleigh’s dress.
“Are we ready?”
They all stand up.
Halfreda is wearing a cleaner, less shabby version of her usual robes; for a coronation, she will need to look a little more presentable than she normally does.
Archer has his sword, bow and arrow and two daggers about his person.
Everleigh is dressed in her most beautiful gown; one fit for a Queen. Halfreda took it from her room yesterday. She will stay in Halfreda’s rooms until Archer collects her.
They are all nervous. There’s a lot that can go wrong today.