Kingdom of Silver and Starlight

Were she not currently in the process of bleeding to death at night in the middle of a forest clearing, Seraphina Azul would have agreed that she'd had a life that was considered easy by most standards within the Radiant Court. After all, her father was the Ethereal King of the Clouded Domain, so how could she have failed to do so? By the time Seraphina had reached the tender age of twelve, she'd understood that there was a difference between herself and the drab fey servants who waited on her hand and foot. Seraphina was an only child, her mother having perished from a combination of magical exhaustion and pregnancy complications barely a year after she was born, and the girl had grown up hearing the rumours. Not out of any desire to listen, but because the servants took very little care to hide their whispers. That it was her fault, that it was her father's fault. What delusion had made him believe that a mere Sylph could withstand giving birth to the child of an Ethereal? What a waste of royal blood, they murmured while she bowed her head over meals, that the princess was a half-breed. In high society, all children were expected to be seen but not heard, so as she grew older the young girl learned to keep to herself. She rationalized to herself that there was no need to complain really. Her father was rich, and life was always easy for little Seraphina. She had never starved, never gone too bed cold, which was more than some people could say, but she'd also never left the palace walls or flown. She was supposed to be half air spirit and yet the best she could do was hover a few feet off the ground. Even the nymphs could do better than that. By the time Seraphina was fully mature she was the perfect little Radiant Court lady; petite, quiet and subservient in appearance, intelligent enough to hold dialogue, but not so outspoken as to upstage her conversation partners. Especially not the men, the ones who watched her with coveting eyes and let their gazes drift a little too low for her liking when they said hello. Seraphina sometimes wondered if she was more of an investment to her father, than a child. She wished she could ask him, but Seraphina could count the number of conversations they'd had on one hand, and only one of those discussions – if they could rightfully be called that – had involved more words than an impersonal "good day father", "you as well". Seraphina Azul did not have many friends. Oh there were the other children her age who often came to play, children of her father's subordinates or dignitaries from bordering kingdoms, but they weren't her friends. Seraphina didn't like children her own age much, and she certainly did not like the boys her maidservants kept introducing her to. They were all either pushy, loud, condescending liars to some degree, or complete cowards and wimps, but her opinion hardly mattered in the long run. Maybe that was why this was happening. Yes, maybe if her father hadn't pushed so hard, then none of this would have happened. The princess had woken up that morning already aware that it would be a difficult day. Today heralded the start of the Radiant Council, an annual gathering of every kingdom and court. It was meant to foster peace, easy trade, and perhaps allow for marriage prospects. It always began with a grand feast, a bit of merrymaking to promote joviality amongst the merchants and nobility, and the palace had been turned upside down in preparation for the delegations that would be arriving. Seraphina named them out in her head as she snuck through the Ethereal castle, taking care to avoid the patrolling guards and harried servants that swept through hallways. The Seafolk from the eastern oceans would arrive in full opulent livery, as well as the Dragonkin from the northern territories, and the Gilded Dwarves from their underground kingdom, amongst many others. There were even rumours that a delegation from the Voided Lands would be in attendance, though no one could confirm that. In spite of her reservations, Seraphina couldn't help feeling a little excited. As much as she loathed the posturing and politicking that occurred during these assemblies, she adored seeing people from the other kingdoms. Outside of her books, it was truly the only way she could get any information of what the outside world was like. That said, she did prefer to do most of her people watching at a distance. There was no need to get any closer, Seraphina thought to herself once more, fitting a nimble foot into the thin crevice between the quartzite bricks and pushing herself higher. The realm beyond the castle was gorgeous and filled with a myriad of secrets just waiting to be uncovered, but people scared her. Their secrets were personal. When the same wind that tossed dandelion seeds became a gale that uprooted a mighty oak, Seraphina understood that was simply the way of the world. Courts liked to boast that they had some divine link to the elements, and perhaps they did, but that connection didn't equate to camaraderie. Flames, earth, the gusting wind, they weren't alive. They weren't friends or enemies, they simply were. People weren't like that. They weren't impersonal aspects of the environment. Their contradictions meant something, their cruelty had a birthplace, and their actions often sprung from a source. Perhaps that should have seemed comforting, to know that there was an origin point for their misery and spite, but Seraphina preferred the carelessly indifferent destruction of a raging blizzard than the pointed abuse of another person. The little recess Seraphina tucked herself into was cozy, if a little cramped, and she doubted anyone would catch her all the way up here. Giggling to herself, she rested her elbows on the stone sill and hummed appreciatively at the procession of carriages and troikas making their way up the stone walkway, framed by bushes of purple geraniums and clusters of hydrangeas. Some were pulled by Pegasi with shimmering white wings, and others by gryphons with brassy feathers. "Princess Seraphina, please get down from there!" Squeaking in surprise, Seraphina almost fell right out of her hiding spot before catching herself on a loose piece of granite. "Huh?" Seraphina peered down from her spot to see her eldest maidservant staring up her, a look of panicked concern on her wizened, bearded face. "Ah, I'm sorry Otraena. I'll be right down!" It was only years of frequent exposure that kept Otraena from shrieking in horror when her charge proceeded to carelessly toss herself from the fifteen foot high nook. For a second the girl plummeted towards the stone floor, only to come to gentle if sudden halt three feet away from the brocade carpet. "You can't keep doing this!" The old woman fretted. "What were you even doing up there?" "Sorry Otraena," Seraphina stood properly, brushing away the dust and cobwebs that had attached themselves to the fabric of her empire-waist dress. "I was just thinking about tonight's celebrations." In response, Otraena scoffed and gestured for the princess to hurry up and stop dawdling. "Well you're not going to get anything done by just hiding in corners and standing around. Dearest Earth and Skies, you're hardly dressed! Have you even brushed your hair?" Seraphina pretended to groan dramatically as she was herded through the corridors, passing by servants and guards who averted their eyes and called out greetings that she had no time to acknowledge before she was being bundled into her bedroom. From previous discussions with other princesses, or even the daughters of other nobility, Seraphina got the idea that her room was considerably smaller than most high-born daughters. Not that she minded. It was comfortable, with a plush cream-coloured carpet bisected by a rug so thick that her toes sank into the fibres. A large window took up most of one wall and faced the eastern lands, ensuring that the wind that drifted through the open portal carried a hint of the ocean. The other wall was covered by a mismatched collection of shelves, two awkwardly balanced atop one another. Mahogany and painted pinewood housed stacks of books, childish pieces of art, dried flowers, and other trinkets. Seraphina passed the pearl-studded comb over to the fussing lady and flopped down onto her vanity. Otraena had been her nursemaid almost from conception, and acted more like a mother than a mere servant. She was a Dwarf that had come to the domain seeking employment in the royal armoury, but had apparently struck up a close friendship with Seraphina's mother and decided to care for the lady's daughter after she'd died. The princess often wondered what truly kept the old Dwarf tied to the mountain and the floating isles that surrounded it; was it duty to her deceased mother, or love for her? "I heard that the Voided Lands would be coming," she said instead, "is that true?" Otraena hissed like a cat that had gotten its tail caught in a door, nearly yanking out several strands of white hair. She paused long enough to drag her fingers over her chest, tracing out the skeleton of a magic symbol designed to ward of evil. "You keep that name out of your mouth Princess." "Ow! Why?" Seraphina demanded, twisting around on the bench to look at the older woman. "Nothing good comes from that place, and nothing good goes there," Otraena replied, patting her hair apologetically before resuming her work. "It's called that name for a reason. There's nothing there worth a damn, only ghosts and monsters." That sounded horrifying. Tingles shot up her spine but Seraphina couldn't label the feeling as simple fear. "Then why invite them to the council in the first place?" Otraena looked even more horrified. "And risk the rage of the damned? Have those beasts declare us rude? Absolutely not! At any rate, they never actually come to these meetings. Hmph, good riddance I say. Maybe they know they aren't wanted here." "Or perhaps they don't need our trade at all," Seraphina murmured. What care did demons and ghouls have for money and jewels? The last piece of her hair tumbled past her shoulders, glossy and smooth and smelling like her mother's rose-oil. "Well it shouldn't matter to you, so don't bother yourself thinking about them." Seraphina turned and drifted off the bench, floating over to the cupboard where Otraena was sorting through a plethora of gowns. The princess arched a disbelieving eyebrow at some of cuts, unsure if she'd even seen them before, let alone worn them anywhere. Otraena and the other servants had claimed that they were presents from her father, and she wondered if the old king thought that fine fabric and finer jewels would be enough to buy her forgiveness after a lifetime of neglect. With a cry of triumph, the caretaker pulled out a trailing gown of gossamer and silk, and Seraphina's jaw dropped in awe. She marveled at the glittering threads woven into the diaphanous skirt. It felt like wearing the night sky, as though the tailor had spun the twilight into a dress and brushed it with paint made from the crushed gemstones. The top barely covered her shoulders, while the bottom fell to the floor. When she lifted herself a few inches off the ground, there was still fabric brushing against the carpet, and she wondered how she was expected to walk safely into the hall. The answer to that was apparently a pair of ridiculously tall silver heels, and a lot of good luck. By the time Otraena placed the sapphire tiara atop her platinum locks and deemed her ready, the sky had turned a deep periwinkle blue and she could hear the faint thrum of music. Her handmaiden gasped when she turned to look at herself in the mirror. "Oh my Earth, Skies and Stars, you look beautiful!" Seraphina blinked at her reflection in the glass, but couldn't see whatever had provoked Otraena to tears. If anything, the dress was the true showstopper. Beyond the gauzy fabric all Seraphina could see was the same skinny little girl, stark white hair against coconut brown skin and darker eyes. "Are you sure?" She asked, weaving her fingers together tightly. "Of course!" Otraena beamed. "I've no doubt that you will turn heads tonight, Princess! You look just like your mother did. Who knows, perhaps you'll find a match before the end of the night." Instinctively Seraphina clapped a hand over the back of her neck where her Soul Mark resided, hidden behind her veil of hair, and swallowed back the wave of revulsion that overtook her at the mention of her hypothetical soulmate. She thumbed the silver locket around her neck instead, a tiny engraved compass that had belonged to her mother. Put it out of your mind, she told herself. Seraphina breathed in and out, sinking into the detached mindset that often carried her through these events. It was time to show herself and, if she was lucky, perhaps she'd get through the rest of the night without any incident.