The Morning Banquet

The rays of the sun entered my room in slivers of a thousand hues as they pierced through the stained glasses of my window. The room is empty, there were no maids that prepared for my dress or the servants that delivered me breakfast— I have woken up early. I stood up from the bed and sat down as I faced my vanity mirror. I brushed the locks from my snow-colored hair and detangled the strands that clung to each other. The palace was quiet at the moment, a rare thing to happen for the last 3 years. Since the death of my mother, the late Queen Eleanor, the King always found a way to distract himself from the lonely space my mother has left him with. He would hold banquets and balls, made festivities, and would go to war against the neighboring kingdoms for the sake of filling the gap my mother has left him.

I lifted the hem of my dress as I made my way towards the window in my room that oversaw the garden the late Queen has spent her time decorating and filling up with flowers that she loved. She filled it with flowers that she grew up within the kingdom she came from before she got betrothed to the King to strengthen an alliance. I rested my head against the pillar when the doors opened to noises of busy footsteps— my servants.

“M’lady, we have already warmed the water for your bath,” one of them stated with her head down, her eyes glued to the marble floors, “the King is waiting for you along with his constituents. He had prepared a feast,” she continued.

“My father and his friends could wait,” I replied as I passed her and the rest of the servants that lined up beside the door, “I’m going to visit my mother first.”

The servants bowed their heads and made sure to not get in my way as I sauntered out of my room. The knight outside followed me as I paved my way through the halls to reach the stairway. The clanking sound of his armor and his boots against the marble floors echoed through the palace as we took the stairs to the garden. I stopped on the landing and started to take off my sandals.

“Wait for me here,” I told the knight as I placed my slippers beside the staircase. He stood in position and in an instant he seemed like a statue, sculptured as a decoration my mother picked to guard the stairwell.

I took a step forward and felt the grass and earth beneath my feet. The dirt and soil under me felt freeing and reminded me of my mother. The vines grew out and the flowers bloomed in her garden, the weeds and wildflowers also started to appear. My father couldn’t have the strength to go here for this place reminded him of her so much. Since the Queen died, the garden became a place that nature started to retrieve.

The sunlight that sliced through the branches of trees illuminated the statues and the water on the fountain situated in the middle of the garden. There was enough light to show the beauty of a place that was allowed to go wild and unkempt. I paved my way towards the mausoleum my father ordered to be built to serve as the graveyard of the Queen. I plucked a rose as red as blood beside the door of her resting place, an offering that was meant to be given to her.

I turned the golden knob and slowly pushed the two doors open, it revealed a pearl white floor and a ceiling adorned with stained glasses that depicted the life of my mother. The light of the sun permeated the glasses which created different slivers of color that shined upon the paintings, statues, and large vases of flowers within the confines of the mausoleum’s walls.

The place was filled by the sound of running water from the fountain and fishes on the small pond inside the Queen’s resting place. I moved towards the pond and lifted the hem of my dress as I stepped in the waters. The cool embrace of the pond reminded me of the ocean outside the castle walls, the same beach where I used to go look for seashells when I was young. The fishes swam near me as their scales reflected the hues of the stained glasses which caused them to look like they were painted in different colors.

I walked towards the tomb of the Queen and placed the red rose I picked a while ago on top of her plaque. I sat down and allowed my fingers to trace the letters of her name carved on the golden plate.

“I miss you,” I said to her. My voice echoed through the place and I imagined it was her saying it back to me.

“It’s my birthday tomorrow,” I told her as a smile formed on my lips, “I wish you are here when I turn eighteen.”

I pressed both my hands on the cold surface of her tomb and leaned down to kiss her name.

“I love you, mother,” I whispered.

***

I walked out of the mausoleum and decided to sit beside the fountain, I watched how the moss thrived on the fountain like a huge green scar as it grew larger and larger each day— it slowly occupied everything. I looked towards the stairway in the hopes of beckoning the knight to deliver my slippers to me but he wasn’t there— he must have returned to guard the feast my father held this morning. I stood up and paved my way towards the stairs when a noise came from the small chamber near the stairs.

My feet felt the cold seep through my soles as I ventured towards the noise. The sound became louder and clearer with every step I have taken towards it. The sound of metal clanking, wood creaking, and muffled voices. The door was not locked, it has left a small space fit enough to peek. I glanced through the small crack and saw how the room was well lit with the sunlight which openly entered the chamber through the big window.

My eyes looked with curiosity as I saw Princess Veronica, my cousin and the daughter of my father’s late brother, kissed the knight who accompanied me down to the garden. I took a step back as a sudden feeling of shame took over my body. I ran up the stairs on my bare feet and swiftly walked towards the hall where my father held his morning banquet. I knew Princess Veronica has been doing that since the death of her father 2 years ago when she just turned 18. She would sneak out at night and play with men and use them for what she desires. The men wouldn’t reject her, for who were they to reject a princess? Why would they reject someone with royal blood who asked to share with them a carnal sin?

The hall has been decorated with gold and red and the table has been blessed with food and mead. The kitchen was in chaos right now especially at a time that they served my father’s alliances and close familial ties. The men from different kingdoms, who wore various colors that represented each of their heritage and culture, were in a serious discussion with the King as they shared a bountiful feast fit for royalties.

I sat beside the King as a servant quickly approached me to serve me my breakfast. My father looked at me and placed his hand on top of my hand that rested on my lap below the table. He squeezed it three times, communicated with me in a way to not disturb their ongoing discussion.

The servant came back with a plate of roasted chicken and lobsters and another plate filled with fruits. She poured me a fruit tonic on my chalice before she returned to her place and completely disappeared in the backdrop of the castle walls. I sliced the chicken and started to eat, it took my mind off of what I have seen in the garden.

“Where’s Veronica?” he whispered under his breath, only intended for me to hear.

“She’s in the garden,” I replied with my eyes that avoided him.

I saw the way he turned his gaze towards me, indirectly ordered me to say something.

“She’s playing with her toys,” I said as I locked my gaze with the King. He raised his eyebrow and I watched the way his lips moved to form questions for me to answer. But before he could speak, he was interrupted by a question that came from one of his constituents.

My father and his alliances talked about the wars that they have conquered and the kingdoms that failed to make them fall to their knees. They discussed their combat strategies and the war planning that they have made which led them to the success of these wars. Their discussions went on and on and not just to relive these battles— they have been preparing for an impending war.

“Are we sure that we will be able to come out as the victors of this war, King Regan?” A man who wore a blue coat and an embroidered print of the Western Sea’s mermaid sigil expressed as he put his knife and fork down.

“We are facing something that we haven’t faced before,” my father’s advisor spoke and everyone fell into a deafening silence.

The silence grew so loud that it felt like I have grown deaf and the world stopped spinning for a few minutes.

“I have decided to invite them here tomorrow night,” the King expressed which had led the men at the table to be either shocked or whispered disapprovals under their breath.

“I have sent my men to the Northernmost part of the Dark Woods and the peaks of the Dark Mountains. I sent them an invitation,” the King continued despite the cacophonies of arguments his constituents had expressed.

“What are you thinking, your Highness?” Lord Ardal, the King’s advisor, queried as he seemed to be perplexed by the King’s decision.

“We will invite them to a feast and discuss a way to find a ground where our Kingdoms could meet. An agreement that we would all benefit from,” my father explained.

“And besides,” he added, “it’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow.” He looked at me and gave me his warmest smile as he held my hand tightly underneath the table.

“My Princess Victoria will turn eighteen,” he declared to the morning banquet, “and if my plan for peace fails,” the King paused to look at me, “my daughter’s birthday is something I would want to celebrate before a bloody war,” he continued as the room went into a series of cries that were thirsty for violence and bloodbaths.

I stared at my plate of an unfinished meal as I wrapped my head around what the King just said.

Tomorrow,

A feast would be held but there will also be blood.

My father squeezed my hand three times.