The princesses sat in the throne
room, watching as the great doors opened at the end of the hall opposite of them. The room seemed so much larger, much more empty since they had received the news of their parents death earlier that week. Nothing had changed, still the guards lined the walls and the maids kept the place immaculate, but even as she sat now with her sister, the throne hall was silent. She couldn't even begin to understand what her sister was going through. They had both lost their parents, but Amar was the one being forced into the role of queen. The king's advisers had already taken it upon themselves to seek out a prince for her sister to marry and that was why the pair sat, just waiting in their parents thrones.
Isolde didn't feel weird sitting in the kings spot. More often than not, she had taken the arm of the chair as her seat while she listened to her father speak to the citizens of their kingdom. Their family had always been a happy one, the king had held his wife on a pedestal and his daughters were the light of his life. The princesses lives had truly been magical, just like a fairy tale, full of spectacular balls and lavish trips, gifts and posh experiences. Now, it seemed like they were finally getting their first taste of tragedy, finally waking up to what the world actually was. It felt like the girls hadn't even had time to mourn their loss. The very next morning, Amar was being pulled from all sides, being forced to address her citizens in a way she never had to before, being forced to sit in meetings and listen to grown men tell her who she should marry. On the other hand, Isolde had seemed to manage to slip into the background, disappearing from the limelight like a ghost. She had been able to mourn on her own time, leaving her sister alone to fend off the ravenous advisers who were trying to influence her every decision.
The younger sister knew she had to be with her sister in this moment, however. She lifted her gaze to see who was entering the room, not surprised to see her father's most trusted adviser, Rainier, entering. If he was coming to address the girls, it must be to let them know that Amar's suitor had finally arrived. Isolde turned in her father's chair, leaning over the arm to finally grab her sisters hand, wanting to send as much comfort her way as she could without hugging her. "You do not have to follow through with this. Think of what father would say." Isolde kept her voice low, not wanting Rainier to hear as he approached. Peering into her sister's dark eyes, she squeezed her hand, holding it tightly. "He would want you to be happy." Isolde had always been so much like her father. She saw the responsibility of the crown, but wanted nothing to do with it. Like her father, she preferred to listen to her heart over her brain, truly believing it would never lead her astray.
Hearing Rainier's footsteps stop a few feet in front of the throne, Isolde turned her head to meet his gaze, slowly dropping her sisters hand and pulling herself to her feet. The parliament had been very vocal about their distaste in seeing her sit in the king's chair, but she hadn't stopped and she wouldn't, until her sister chose a king to take it.
Prince Caspian looked up at the
castle as his carriage carried him through the main streets of the kingdom. The sights were breathtaking and Loradan castle seemed to put his own to shame. The castle was so high up on a mountain, the majority of its towers shrouded by clouds that he almost wondered if he was imagining the beauty of it. The kingdom he found himself in was right by the ocean, many waterfalls seemed to fall down between stacks of buildings, feeding the many canals that ran through the alleys. The scenery and all of the smiling people he saw in the streets were all a nice breath of fresh air, enough to distract himself from the real reason he was here.
His parents were trying to rid their land of him like he was some sort of contagious disease. He knew what he was, was actually worse than that, but it was easier to live in ignorance than face the truth. The horses slowed to a complete stop outside of the castle and the sound of the carriage door opening snapped Caspian back into reality. The prince jumped to his feet, stepping out of the carriage with excitement. It saddened him to think about how happy it made him to be away from his family.
"Prince Caspian," a member of the Loradan parliament was quick to meet him, bowing his head when he stepped up to the prince. "If you will follow me, I've already sent someone after the princess. She should be waiting to make your acquaintance."
Caspian took a deep breath in as he straightened the brilliant blue
cape off of his shoulder and straightened out his jacket. He had been the oldest of all of his parents sons, and yet, he was the last to be married. His father had made his second oldest son his heir, not shortly after Caspian's
problem had been discovered. That had been three years ago. "I cannot wait to meet her. I am terribly sorry to hear about the king and queen's passing..." Caspian's voice trailed away as he followed the adviser into the castle, the ornately decorated castle with all of its gold and jeweled embellishments had his breath catching in the back of his throat.
"It was an absolute tragedy, the poor girls are still trying to process it..." the man who led Caspian to the great hall didn't really seem too upset by the mentioning of their passing, but the prince was far too distracted to pick up on the odd absence of emotion. It wouldn't have seemed extremely weird to him anyway, not many people revered their monarchs in such high regard. "Just through these doors, your highness." The adviser motioned to the large doors in front of him. They stretched all the way up to the ceiling and had a beautiful story of a god carved into the wood. The fine arts seemed to be very celebrated in this kingdom, from all of the impeccable architecture and decorating.
Caspian's collar seemed to be tightening around his throat once the doors began to open, revealing the beautiful white and gold throne hall. The prince refused to let the gorgeous surroundings captivate him this time, instead, focusing solely on the radiant beauty that was sitting in one of the thrones down the way. Her sister and the adviser standing in front of them seemed to blur from his vision, completely ignoring them as he started making his way towards Amarille.