Crown of Smoke

Chapter 6

            The family reconvened in the house, each of their hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa. It had been so warm in the day, but the night was bringing a storm around. Gwen sipped hers, letting the sweetness take over and the warmth seeps into her bones. After the rally, Hayden had her going all through the town, practicing her curtsey to people as they spoke to her with his judgemental eyes following her as each new group came over and paid her their respect. She smiled to herself. She was no longer constrained by the pink dress Hayden had her in earlier but was now comfortable in her usual cotton day dress with an extra woolen cardigan over the top.

            Hayden was sitting on the kitchen counter, making small talk with her mother. Gwen caught Blaine’s eye and he rolled his eyes, making her giggle into her mug. Her father gave the pair a stern look, the residue of the soldier they had seen him fall so seamlessly back into when he stood on the fountain’s edge. Gwen couldn’t say that she was surprised, people had crowded all of them the moment they had stepped down from the fountain, a myriad of questions all blurring together. People had not been as rude as Gwen had expected, at least not to their faces, but they had been suspicious, to say the least. Gwen had heard things, about her lack of resemblance to either set of her parents and her lack of ability to be queen but she was grateful to her father, who had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and shepherded her out of the wall of whispers that encased her. 

            Hayden leaped off of the counter, the thud of his feet against the tiles of the floor bringing Gwen back to the present. He pulled out the chair next to her, slumping down with a grin on his face.

            “Well, even if no one comes forward and supports us then at least we got them all talking.” He nudged her. “Not bad, huh?”

            Gwen raised her eyebrows in response, a wave of tiredness washing over her. The only thing she wanted for the moment was her bed.

            There was a knock on the door, making every head in the room turn towards the sound. Her mother moved to go and open it, but her father raised his hand, stopping her before proceeding to go to the door himself. There was a muffled conversation of two male voices before her father, followed by three other men entered the room. When they approached Gwen, each of them got down on one knee with their heads bowed. Gwen felt the heat of embarrassment rise in her face, her throat tightening as she lost the ability to speak. Hayden next to her stifled a laugh, earning him a stiff jab in the chest from Gwen’s elbow. She coughed.

            “Farmer Chambers, you really don’t need to do that.” She managed to choke out. “I’ve known you for as long as I can remember.”

The farmer looked up at her and smiled kindly, the other gentlemen following him. Once Gwen could see their face she recognized the headmaster of the school, Mr Beck, and the butcher, Mr Hillis.

“I’m sorry to intrude on all of your evenings but I was not sure how much longer you would be here.” He said, gesturing to Hayden. “I thought it should be known that we want to support you.”

Hayden beamed. “I thank you, sirs. I believe that-“

“Can the princess not speak for herself?” Mr. Beck asked. Gwen smirked as Hayden’s ears turned pink. She half expected him to retort but seeing the butcher’s large stature he kept his lips tightly sealed.

“Thank you,” Gwen said. “I’m afraid we will not be here in Eldun for much longer, leaving tomorrow at sunset. I am to be escorted to the capital by Hayden Cliffe via the other villages. We shall not be storming the palace for a little time.”

The gentlemen nodded.

“And what would you have us do in the meantime, your highness?” Mr. Beck asked her, the mention of ‘your highness’ once again making Gwen feel a little flushed.

“The word needs to be spread, but discreetly, if you can. Try and encourage people to join the fight so that when we are finally able to send word for assistance to storm the palace, we will have it.”

The men nodded in agreement.

“I will still be here.” Her father assured them. “And I will communicate with you when the time is right.” He began to usher the men out of the room, each of them awkwardly bowing to Gwen before exiting the room. There was another series of muffled exchanges at the door before her father re-entered, a small smile playing on his lips.

“You’ll have to get used to all the courtesies. Hayden, add that to the list,” he teased, taking back his cup of cocoa, now only lukewarm, and swigging it until the cup was empty. He leaned over, kissing her mother on the forehead in a way that told her that things were going to be alright, causing her furrowed brows to unknit themselves.

Gwen loved their relationship, she had admired it forever and would continue to do so. Their affection never seemed to falter; they would exchange tender touches in even the direst of moments to make sure that the other knew that they would be alright. Gwen craved that. She craved someone who would look at her in that way and support her, especially now. Watching them in the kitchen made her confront the fact that she was going through all of this herself. She had Hayden’s support, she supposed but he didn’t really care for her, nor she for him. He had no sympathy or comfort to give her. To him, she was simply a way to get rid of the king, a ploy. It hurt her but it was not as though she wasn’t aware. She sighed and looked at Hayden, the closest thing she had to a friend for who knew how long. He sat not looking at any of them, a plan formulating behind his eyes. He saw her looking at him and gave her a confused glance to which she defiantly replied with a simple raise of her eyebrows, sticking out her tongue in the least elegant fashion that she could muster. He rolled his eyes. He was tolerable, Gwen decided. He may not be the warmest of people but at least he could calm her down and do the majority of the talking for her.

“I suppose we’ll need to leave soon?” She sighed to him. “To the next village.”

“I think we should make out way East towards Sillin. I know someone there that can take us in for a night or two, as well as to introduce you to some more people of influence.” He pulled out a map, smoothing down the creases so it lay flat on the coffee table. “Then we’ll see how it goes, carrying on East a little before going more North towards the capital.” He circled a few villages, chewing on his lip in thought. “I have a few friends spread out who aren’t loyal to Kaleb that I think we can rely on.”

“Nobles?” Gwen asked, surprised to hear that even those with money did not agree with all that the king was doing. She thought, based on history class, that all rebellions had to stem from the people who worked, people like her. She had never heard of a rebellion being supported by nobles before.

“There are many still loyal to your parents, Guinevere.” He replied, looking up from the map and into her eyes. “And they will be loyal to you also.”

“Do you think-” she hesitated, trailing off and watching her thumbs twiddle rather than looking at Hayden. “Never mind.”

“They will believe you,” he said. He placed his finger under her chin, lifting her face up so high that it made her sit up, shoulders back once more. Even when he was attempting to be comforting her was reforming her. “They don’t really have many other choices.”

♔

            Gwen sighed, letting her hair out of her updo. Her feet were killing her and the corset had not proven to be particularly comfortable either. She threw everything over the end of her bed, screwed up in a pile and smiling to herself at the fact Hayden would definitely not have approved.

            She pulled her towel from above her door and made her way down the hallway to the bathroom where her mother had graciously made her a warm bath to recover in. She slipped into the warm water gratefully, the aches and pains of her feet slowly dissipating with all of her anxieties.

            This was her last night in the house she had called home for the foreseeable future. Possibly forever, if the palace was to become her home. It hurt her deeply. Even in their modest bathroom, Gwen had memories of her mother brushing and braiding her damp hair before school, of Blaine screeching that he needed to use the basic mirror just as much as she did, of her father shouting from downstairs for them to just share the mirror, clearly oblivious to the issue.

            A lump formed at the base of the throat and she pushed it down. The candles flickered as she moved, pulling her towel tightly around her she got up and began to sweep the hallways.

            The door to their parents’ bedroom made her stop again, with its markings in paint of her and Blaine’s height. It was funny to think that once she was so much taller than him when now he towered a head and shoulders above her.

            “You’ve never been very tall have you?” Hayden’s voice said from behind her.

            “Shhh!” Gwen turned to him angrily, grasping to keep the towel tightly wrapped around her. “Everyone is meant to be in bed.”

            “And yet here you are,” he replied. Gwen scoffed and pushed past him into her room, annoyed even further as he followed. “Look, I just wanted to make sure everything was ready to go.”

            “Then come back and ask in the morning!”

            “We might need to leave in the morning.” Hayden sighed.

            “But… I need to have time to say goodbye.” Gwen said, the lump making its way back up into her throat and her lip beginning to quiver. “I can’t leave in the morning.”

            “Apparently there’s another storm due tomorrow evening and we need to get to our next destination.” A look of genuine sympathy passed through Hayden’s eyes as he watched Gwen slump onto her bed, grabbing a pillow and pulling it close to her as though it would shield her from the pain of leaving. “You can say goodbye to them, Guinevere, I promise.”

            She looked up at Hayden’s face. He looked younger and less intimidating when his eyes regarded her like this. His edges seemed softer in the candlelight. She tore her eyes away, curling into her pillow, and nodded.

            “Thank you.” She murmured, not looking up until she heard the door close behind him as he left.

            She looked at the pink dress on the end of the bed and folded it before dropping it into her trunk.