Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 19 of 70

The morning after her talk with Raven, a horn sounded from the gate. Willowyn watched from her window as a rider crossed the drawbridge. His hair caught the sun like spun gold. She had never seen him before. Yet her mother, Queen Elara, stood waiting in the courtyard, and she was smiling. That smile stopped Willowyn cold. Her mother rarely smiled at anyone. She scooped up her pale minx and hurried down the stairs. By the time she reached the hall, the guards found her first. "The Queen calls you to the throne room," one said. Willowyn set the minx down and went. The stranger stood near the dais. Up close he was tall, with pale blue eyes and a circlet of silver on his brow. A green cloak hung from his shoulders. He looked at Willowyn the way a buyer studies a horse. She did not like it. Willowyn bowed. She held her tongue. "Willowyn, come, child," the Queen said. "Come meet Lord Eros." Her voice was warm, warmer than Willowyn had heard in years. "He rules the land beyond our northern border." Eros inclined his head. "Princess. Your mother has told me much about you." His smile was easy and practiced. "She did not tell me of your beauty though." Willowyn glanced at her mother. "You never spoke his name to me. Not once." The Queen's smile thinned. "There was no need. Until now." "Until now," Willowyn repeated. Something cold slid through her. "What does that mean?" Eros answered before the Queen could. "Your mother and I made an arrangement," he said. "Years ago. When you were young." He spread his hands, calm as still water. "Our two kingdoms have quarreled over the river for a century. A marriage would end it. Yours and mine." Willowyn's breath caught. She stared at her mother. "Is this true?" Queen Elara did not look away. "It is. I promised your hand to seal a peace. Before you were old enough to argue." Her chin lifted. "You wish to end wars, Willowyn. Here is one, ended. All you must do is wed." The room felt smaller now. Willowyn thought of Kai, gone across the sea. She thought of Raven, waiting to guide her beyond the oceans. Both paths went dim in an instant. "My deal with you gives me a year of freedom," Willowyn said. "Six months remain. You cannot take them." "The wedding waits until spring," Elara said. "Your months are yours. After that, you belong to this peace." Eros bowed again and withdrew with the Queen, already speaking of terms. Willowyn stood alone on the cold floor. Her secret was out. Her mother had bargained her away like a treaty long ago. The peace Willowyn dreamed of building herself had been chosen for her, and it wore a stranger's face. Six months. She had six months to find another way, or lose herself to a marriage she never chose.