Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2022 | This version of the book was posted solely for the ONC. A final, even more, polished version will be coming soon to Amazon! All feedback on story pacing, character development, and the overall plot is mos...
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A banquet. In the palace. I have been invited to the king's banquet.
"What?"
I gasp as I am led through a long hallway and into a guest suite. Mother is following closely beside me. We will change into proper dining gowns. We will share a meal with the king, the prince, and all the royal officials.
Looking to Mother, I make my eyes wide. She reaches for my hand, squeezing it softly.
"I shall return with your new gowns shortly," says the servant, dipping in a curtsy before she prances out of the room.
"Mother," I say, keeping my voice level as I stare at her. "What is happening? You keep puzzling me with riddles and snippets of information that make no sense. How did you know the king would believe my story about the Lark?"
She sighs, "It is as I said, the queen loved larks. The king made them the symbol of Evæqesta. The queen perished shortly after childbirth and the king named the prince after the bird..."
"Is it common knowledge?" I ask as my imagination recreates the prince's eyes.
"No... I worked for the queen up until I met your father. The prince was born a year before your brother."
I am about to ask why I have not been told any of this when the servant returns. She is followed by another young woman with her arms full of different colored gowns.
"His Majesty wishes for you to adorn yourselves with one of the gowns," she says with a giggle. "And you may keep them all, he says."
"We can assist you if you wish," says the second servant smiling as she places the garments on a nearby chair.
"Please, allow me a moment alone with my daughter," Mother says and the two servants runoff. "Ariabella-" she steps toward me, cupping my face in her hands. "I understand this is all confusing and perhaps I should have shared certain stories with you sooner. But this is an opportunity for you to be in the royal court. To mingle with the prince."
"Do you mean to say you want me to catch the prince's attention?"
I gape at her.
"What mother wouldn't like to see her daughter become a princess?" she counters, smiling. "Get dressed; let's not make the king wait."
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