Crown of Smoke

Chapter 13

        The sound of carriages could be heard outside the next morning as Briar’s parents left their home, leaving the place finally free for Gwen to start to roam. She was just beginning to stretch out the aches of sleep when Briar came and collected her early. Hayden and Harry were still in bed, their snores leaking from under their doors in crescendos.

            Briar handed Gwen a pastry, asking her idle questions about how she had slept (very well) and the like, before leading her upstairs. Even the staircase was grand, slightly dulled golden banisters spiraling upstairs with engraved patterns of ivy leaves wrapped around them, the little stalks of ivy cascading down in little spirals. The carpet was soft and fluffy and Gwen’s toes sank into the cream-colored wool. Her nightgown (Briar insisted on providing her one in a pale lemon color) flowed behind her as she followed Briar up another set of stairs and into Briar’s suite.

            Briar’s bed stood in the center of the room, with lilac canopy curtains floating down and covering the part where she slept. They waved gently in the light breeze coming through the open window. It was dreamy, the walls all white and painted with clouds that were the same color as the canopy painted onto the walls amongst the occasional painting of the sea and fields. Gwen wandered over to the window, admiring the view of the treetops of the forest she had walked through the night before in the morning light.

            “I do wish we were more of a similar size.” Briar sighed from the wardrobe. Gwen had never seen so many dresses in her life, not even at Harrison’s. “I’d love to see you in some of these-“

            “Oh, Harry gave me some dresses if I need to dress up,” Gwen replied, crossing her arms over her night gown, suddenly hyper-aware of the fact Briar was already dressed in a mustard yellow day dress with flowers braided flawlessly into a crown around her head like a halo. Briar ignored her.

            “I’ve had my handmaid run you a bath, why don’t you go on into my en-suite and I’ll find something for you and bring it in.” Briar smiled over her shoulder, only half paying attention to Gwen as one of her hands waved towards the dark wood door that led into the biggest and most luxurious bathroom Gwen had ever been into.

            Like Briar’s room, most of her bathroom was white, her family seems to have some affliction for the color. The huge tub at the side of the room was already full and steaming, almost running over with the mountain of bubbles. Gwen squealed to herself, hoping Briar didn’t hear and stripped off before ducking straight under the water, warming her right into her bones. She heard a muffled sound from above the surface, so she rose her head and peaked through the veil of bubbles and could make out Briar laying out a dress the color of sapphires on a rail. Gwen took a more moment to herself, sensing that it would be the last one of the day until she went to bed, and then got out and dried herself on a soft towel.

            It was a simple dress, but the skirt had a few layers that flared from the waist down to halfway down her shin, and sleeves reached down to her wrists, ending in elegant points on the top of her hand. She felt like a dancer and twirled to herself in the mirror before going out to greet Briar once more, drying her hair half-heartedly with a towel.

            Briar was lying on her front on her bed, writing something down on thick parchment, the kind that the king sent his notices on. Gwen strolled over, leaning on the post of her bed and watching her for a moment. Briar bit down on her lip, finishing with her signature in a flourishing movement.

            “Take a seat, dear.” Briar smiled, sitting up on the bed and reaching to her side table to retrieve an envelope. A servant who had been standing at the door without Gwen noticing came and took the letter from Briar’s hands, seemingly already knowing where it was to go to, before leaving the pair of them alone.

            Briar tilted her head, once again examining Gwen.

            “Have you ever thought about marriage, Gwen?” She asked.

            “Marriage?”

            “Do you need an explanation?” Briar smirked.

            “I know what marriage is.” Gwen sulked. “I’m just wondering what it has to do with anything.”

            Briar chuckled.

            “Darling, it has to do with everything. The monarchy is supposed to marry in order to aid with international relations or for the purposes of bringing heirs to the throne and the like.” She paused whilst Gwen continued to stare at her with a puzzled expression. “If you made an advantageous marriage sooner rather than later, then it would be easier to encourage people to be on our side. There are high noble boys who would be more than willing to marry the future queen of Colvine in order to help with our little revolution.” Briar explained.

            Gwen continued to stare at her, her face changing from confused to aghast. The audacity of Briar to even suggest such an idea made her recoil from her. She had said it so casually too like marriage was always some sort of political transaction. There was always the possibility of a political marriage, the second Hayden had walked through the door that had become a possibility Gwen realized, annoyed at how naïve she had been to ignore such a thing. But even when it had snuck up on her, it had always seemed so far into the future, something for if they actually won, not something that could be done so quickly. The fact that it was so imminent made her all the angrier that Hayden had neglected to ever bring it to her attention.

She wanted to storm out but she was stuck to the spot with her head whirling at a hundred miles a minute. She had never considered that part of coming to the throne, she realized that actually, she hadn’t considered a lot of things that accompanied the crown. All Hayden had prepared her for were balls and parties and name memorizing. He had never mentioned anything at all about marriage. Perhaps he had been waiting for Briar to bring it up to her, hoping that coming from a female figure it would seem more appealing. Suddenly her confusion was replaced with the burning hot feeling of anger, flowing through her and propelling her off of the bed and down the stairs.

            She found Harry sitting at the table, halfway through a croissant, but Hayden’s door was still closed. Briar had chased her down the stairs but was resigned to knowing that there was no stopping the storm which Gwen was about to create.

            “Hayden Cliffe open this door right now!” She screeched through the door. “I swear if you don’t-“

            He opened the doors with eyes still read from sleep, looking past Gwen to see Briar’s knitted brows and apologetic eyes.

            “When were you going to mention the fact that this queen malarkey involved me being chained to someone for the rest of my life, hm?”

            “Chains don’t have to be involved unless you want them to be, but I never thought you were that sort of girl.” He smirked. Harrison choked on his croissant.

            “I’m not!” She shouted back, stomping on his foot and making him yelp before turning back to her own room and locking the door behind her.

            “Guinevere, don’t be so childish.” He said. She could tell his cheek was pressing against the door, but she didn’t care. She sat on the edge of her bed, both her legs and arms crossed as angry tears fell from her eyes and freely down her cheeks. “It’s just an option that could help to turn the tides.”

            “And when did you start to consider this arrangement? Have you already picked out the perfect husband for me?” She spat.

            “Gwen, darling I didn’t mean-“

            “Briar hush.” Hayden’s voice cut in. “We had discussed this before we had met you. It wouldn’t be hard to find you a suitor… but we did have two particular candidates in mind.”

            “Oh, goodie at least I get some choice in the matter.”

            “Guinevere…”

            “Let me alone.”

            “No.”

            “Shocking.”

            “Gwen,” Harrison had come to the door now. Gwen almost smiled thinking about the three noble children crowded at her little door, Hayden in his pajamas, Briar and Harrison in their finery. There was a sound of whispering, different pitches in harsh hissing tones behind the door. Gwen couldn’t make out what was being said but she could tell who it was from their voice, Briar’s was high pitched and nervous and Harrison’s lower and trying to calm the situation although Hayden had very few words, they were all low and stern.

            After a few minutes, she heard two sets of footsteps leave, one definitely being Briar with her heels. The other she couldn’t tell. Neither of the two boys had been wearing shoes any larger than slippers so there were no obvious tell-tale signs there. The curious part of her desperately wanted to open the door and see who it was, but she restrained herself, lying back on her bed and staring at the ceiling instead. Her eyes felt tired from crying and despite the fact that it was still morning, she felt herself falling to sleep, drifting in and out of consciousness.

            When she awoke, the sun was beginning to fall, although it was still light enough that the sun came streaming through her window. Outside her room was quiet. She crept off of the bed, cursing the creak it made as she took her weight off of it and pressed her ear up against the door. She couldn’t hear anyone on the other side and dared to open it.

            Hayden fell backward on the floor, his head hitting the wood with a thump, but he didn’t seem to care about the throbbing pain. Instead, he looked up at Gwen with a grin, still dressed in his pajamas, although his hair had finally begun to flatten back down to its normal state. She scowled down at him. He lifted up a plate with a piece of pink cake adorned with strawberries up to her. Her stomach growled. She sighed and took the plate, going to sit back on her bed wordlessly and leaving the door open. Hayden stood up and shut it behind them. He made a move to come closer to Gwen but her eyes told him to stay exactly where he was.

            “Maybe I deserved that.” He grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Gwen continued to look at him darkly, although she imagined it was difficult to take her very seriously when she was stuffing herself with cake.

            “My arse doesn’t half hurt after sitting on the floor for six hours.” He muttered to himself, hinting for an invitation to sit on the bed but as stubborn as he was, Gwen was determined to match it. “I feel as though I need to explain myself.” he continued. “This group of ours was formed a few years ago. There’s me, Briar, and Harry obviously but there are also a few other nobles who have expressed an interest in trying to find the lost princess, assuming she was alive. This plan has been in the making for a long time and everyone has their opinions on it, but the three of us here were the ones who had…” he paused, searching for the right words, “the noblest intentions.”

            Gwen scoffed.

            “Don’t be dramatic Guinevere. I may not have gone about things correctly but my intentions remain noble.”

            “Then explain them.” She said. If Hayden was surprised she had finally answered him, then he didn’t show it. “If I’m going to follow you do you not think that I deserve to know why? I’ve let things go on for this long without question but if I’m going to compromise my values I think you should tell me everything.”

            Hayden just shook his head. “Not yet.”

            “Why not?”

            “Because it’s just not the right time. Go ask Briar hers instead.” He rolled his eyes. “Maybe she’ll inspire you.”

            “Can you not be an arse for five minutes? Are you not even a little sorry that not only did you uproot me from my life for your cause, but you were also going to sell me off to the first noble man who showed a bit of interest without telling me?”

            “I don’t know why you’re so surprised about all of this! I mean you must have known it was going to come eventually. It’s how your own parents met.” Hayden was pacing back and forth now despite the small size of the room. He stopped, standing just in front of Gwen. He didn’t show a morsel of remorse in his face, just looking at her blankly like she was an i***t. It made her blood boil.

            “You really can’t see past the end of your own up-turned nose can you?” she spat, standing up. She had never been more annoyed at how tall he was. “That’s not how I was raised! My parents who I grew up with didn’t marry for money or power, they married because they loved one another.”

            “Love isn’t a reason for anything.”

            “Only you could say something so stupid and think you’re being clever.” She pushed herself up against him, the anger radiating off both of them and bouncing between their almost touching faces. “If you really thought that. I wouldn’t be here. I don’t give a s**t as to why you bought me here Hayden Cliffe, at this point, I barely even care that you are planning to marry me off to a stranger for your own gain, but I care that you’re treating me like a fool when I’m not.”

He stormed off the room, leaving the door open just a touch and leaving her behind to stew in her rage. She could feel her chest rising and falling with each hot breath until she began to cool down, closing her eyes for a moment to ground herself. Gwen straightened the dress Briar had stuck on her early that day and checked the hallway but it was now completely empty, Hayden’s door closed behind him.

She began to wander down the hallways and found a staircase leading upwards, different from the one before. She realized she had no idea where Briar actually was. She was now standing in the lobby, absorbing it more than she had earlier when she was being whisked through it. It was stunning. Even the ceilings were painted with golden accents, the chandeliers cascading down and illuminating the space with their golden glow. She tried to listen for some activity but found none. A maid scurried past her and Gwen tried to ask if she had seen Briar but the maid ignored her, shooting her a cautious look. She remembered she wasn’t meant to be there and Briar’s parents would not be very happy if they ever found out. She sighed loudly to herself in the empty space before beginning to walk a little more.  

She went into a few more rooms on this floor. There was a dining room that could have fit three of Harry’s dining rooms inside them, all painted in a luscious cream with bronze decorations. There was a ballroom that was painted a cornflower blue with dark wood floors and a silver chandelier in the middle that held diamonds, sending rainbow fragments around the room. There was a second kitchen, this one more showy with drinks already out and arranged for people to take, should they not have a servant available to bring it to them. More staff passed Gwen as she browsed through all of the rooms, but none gave her a second glance, determinedly avoiding her gaze.

It was in the library that Gwen finally found Briar sitting in a plush red chair. This was the simplest of the rooms Gwen had entered so far, but it still oozed a sense of grandeur and it was one of the vastest. There were red sofas and arm chairs for reading scattered between the endless shelves that reached up to the ceiling, one of which was occupied by Briar, right between the fiction and non-fiction parts of the library. There were a few volumes not on shelves, placed in glass cases with fancy placards. Gwen made her way over to one and she found that the words on the page were in a language she didn’t understand. As she observed a few, she realized that they were all in different languages, imported from foreign lands.

“Those were gifts from the king to appease my parents when he first took power,” Briar said from her sofa. She was watching Gwen now with a curious expression. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m sorry for my outburst.” Gwen blushed. “It was never really meant for you, Hayden’s the one I’m angry with.”

“Ladies always feel the need to apologize for their emotions, but darling if the shoe were on the other foot do you think Hayden or Harry would apologize for being upset? You have every right to be angry, and don’t forget it.” Briar smiled kindly, moving her dress over so that Gwen could come and sit next to her. Gwen took the silent offer gladly, getting comfortable and placing her feet on the pouf in front of her as Briar poured her a cup of tea from the tray that she had ordered earlier that afternoon. It was sweet enough that she could tell Briar had put in extra sugar for her. Apparently, her sweet tooth could be spotted by someone from a mile away.

            “He wouldn’t give me any reasoning for anything, he’s so bloody stubborn Briar, I truly don’t know how you’ve put up with him for this long.” Gwen sighed. She wrapped her fingers around the cup of tea, letting the warmth seep into her fingers in some attempt to find comfort.

            “He’s certainly not the easiest of people to get behind I’ll admit, but there’s certainly something about him that enchants people to join his causes. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t see that yourself.” Briar pointed out. Gwen blushed, taking another sip of tea to try and hide it.

            “Why did you follow him?” Gwen asked her.

“It’s a long story from a few years ago,” Gwen could sense the hesitation in Briar’s voice, but Briar straightens her skirts and put down her own cup of tea before turning back to Gwen with a determined expression. “Although, I suppose now is a good of a time as any to tell it.”