LOCATION: THE CRUCIBLE, 100TH FLOOR
PLANET: LAPIS DIVINUS, ORION LUMINARY INSTITUTE
YEAR: ? | DAY: ?? | TIME: ??
The rest of Kaela’s trip across Goldenvale was uneventful. Field after field of wheat, barley, and vegetables filled the view on either side of the road.
They passed through several small towns on the way and stopped to resupply as needed.
They stayed one more night at an inn to rest and freshen up the horses. And on the final day they left early in the morning, planning to make a push across the border by evening.
Kaela fidgeted in her carriage. She was unused to sitting idle in the first place, but this had been an entire week confined to the small coach. And now she was about to meet a man who she was supposed to marry.
This was a floor in The Crucible, meant to test her in different ways. Was she supposed to consummate this marriage?
Did she have to?
Then another surprising thought hit her.
Did she want to?
As the retinue continued along the well-packed roads of Goldenvale, Kaela would occasionally reach into the aether and brush her hands along the hilt of her Phantom Blade.
She missed its heft. The sound it made as it sliced through the air. Or through tougher matter.
When she grew bored, she always revisited memories of growing up in San Francisco. Of her family. Of training hand-to-hand fighting with different masters her parents had set her up with.
There was one time during her Peacekeeper Tutorial that Grim and Brick themselves showed up. They made quite a fuss with their appearance, and were treated almost like celebrities.
The two Peacekeeper leaders had heard about Kaela’s skill in unarmed combat and decided to test her. At first it was done as a joke. Two big, brawny men against Kaela.
She was all sinew and long, slender muscles, but neither Grim nor Brick could land a hit on her for the first ten minutes.
Grim had to pull out special skills to do so, and even then, Kaela had rolled with the strike to limit the damage it did.
Brick decided that very day that Kaela was one of his favorite people in the world, and he expended a great deal of effort ensuring that she and her sister Elena had the best opportunities to prove themselves.
They never got a free pass. That was not the way of the System. They only got the chance to show they were worthy of advancing.
The horses continued along the surprisingly smooth road. Kaela could hear the guards and coachmen chatting away.
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She looked out the windows of the coach, watching the crop fields go by. She was determined to make the most of this opportunity.
“Maybe he will be a good man,” she whispered.
Five hours later, the coach rolled to a stop and Ellister Rowan knocked on the door.
“Your Highness, we are less than an hour from the border. There is a stream here, if you wish to clean up before you meet Prince Lucien.”
Kaela opened the door and stepped out, stretching her stiff muscles.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Rowan. Thank you.”
She withdrew a cloth from her luggage and washed up quickly as the men waited, turning their backs for her privacy.
She also changed her clothes while she had the chance, donning a beautiful dress, elegantly woven and dyed in blue and yellow, the colors of Caerwyn and Seraph’s Hold.
When Rowan had sent back to the palace for more guards to escort the Princess, the Queen had slipped the dress into Kaela’s luggage.
There was no note, but it was still the only gesture of kindness she had seen from the entire family since her arrival in the scenario.
She brushed her hair, applied makeup, and got back into the carriage, letting the guards know she was ready.
The next time they stopped, she’d be meeting her betrothed.
On the other side of the border, Prince Lucien was pacing back and forth in front of the inn.
A scout had just returned, reporting he had sighted the Princess’s coach and accompanying retinue only a few miles away now.
“How many men are with her?” Lucien asked.
“She travels with five royal guards and two coachmen, Your Highness.”
Lucien appeared surprised.
“That’s it?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lucien’s first thought was that this lack of a proper escort was an insult to Seraph’s Hold, but he decided to withhold his judgment until the Princess arrived.
Another hour later, the carriage appeared in view along the road.
When they pulled up in front of the inn, the royal guard riding in front leapt off his horse, dusted off his armor, and cleared his throat.
“Your Highness Prince Lucien, allow me to present to you Princess Kaela, first daughter of Caerwyn.”
He opened the coach door and reached his hand inside.
Lucien felt himself growing anxious in that moment. It was surprising, because political marriages are seldom happy ones.
But still, he found himself hopeful that maybe this one might be more than just a vehicle for a truce between their two nations.
He saw a flash of yellow and blue, and then a woman stepped out of the carriage.
“She is… beautiful,” he whispered, trying but failing to hold his composure.
Kaela walked toward the waiting men, and curtsied in front of the Prince.
“Prince Lucien, I am pleased to finally meet you. May our union bring peace to the realm.”
It was a slightly formal line, but there was something about the warmth in her voice that sent a thrill running through Lucien’s nervous system.
“Princess Kaela, welcome to Seraph’s Hold, your new home. I see rumors of your beauty are not exaggerated.”
He took her gloved hand and kissed it.
When he raised his gaze to meet hers, a smile broke out between the two of them. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment.
Princess Kaela giggled.
Then she started laughing harder.
Lucien couldn’t help but find the lighthearted sentiment infectious, even if he didn’t know what was funny. He joined in the laughter and then they both realized they were making a spectacle.
“Ahem,” the Prince cleared his throat. “We have reserved all the rooms at this inn and cleared the tavern for our own entertainment tonight. Would you care to wash up before joining me for a drink?”
The Princess smiled widely. Lucien felt the kindness and sincerity in the gesture and his heart leapt.
“That would be wonderful,” she said, and the innkeeper led her away.
Lucien watched her go for a moment. Then he turned toward the head guard from Caerwyn.
“What is your name?”
The guard bowed his head.
“Ellister Rowan, Your Highness. At your service.”
“Tell me, Sir Rowan, and please be honest. This is supposed to be a gesture to end a war. Shall I be offended that your King saw fit to send his only daughter across these dangerous lands with an escort of only five guards?”