Crown of Smoke

Chapter 2

            It was still dark when she woke up. Someone had come in and pulled the covers over her but the chill in the air still seeped through, making goosebumps appear all over her skin. She pulled the blanket up further, wrapping it so it rested right underneath her chin, tickling her with its soft fibers. She lay there like that for a moment, letting the night’s events wash over her once again.

            She was no princess, not anymore anyway. She couldn’t remember a world before King Kaleb had taken over, and she doubted anyone her age could. What she had learned at school was that after the tragedy of the palace fire there had been a few noble families who had bid for the place of the new monarchy, but it had finally landed on the shoulders of Kaleb Yates, the heir to the Lord Yate’s estate. There had been a mixture of responses to the king’s assertion of power, but at the time Gwen had been too young to understand anything of what was going on. As she had gotten older, she had heard of various issues with the king; he was too extravagant, he was elitist, he refused to trade with other kingdoms for petty reasons. There had been rumors that he had fathered bastards across the kingdom, despite his wife sitting at home and there was the issue that Sturry, the kingdom that the previous king, her father, had been from, had refused to deal with Colvine at all because of suspected foul play in his death. Gwen had never been overly political herself, but she had heard her mother and father grumbling that it wouldn’t have been like this without the fire.

            She turned over, the sound of the clock beginning gnaw at her mind. It was obnoxiously loud, forcing her out of bed and down the stairs, desperate to find some peace.  

            She paused at the top of the stairs. She could hear everyone asleep, their deep breathing echoing through the house. She could vaguely see the silhouette of Hayden lying on the couch. He lay straight, his face up. He was awake, the white of his eyes reflecting the moonlight coming through the window.

            She tried to tip-toe past him, but he sat up as she walked past him, watching her as she left him behind and entered into the kitchen. She set the kettle on the stove and pulled down a mug. Tea always sent her to sleep.

            “Are you not going to wake everyone up with all that clanging?” Hayden stood in the doorway, his clothes still on but his hair slightly disheveled. Gwen decided not to dignify him with an answer. He continued talking anyway. “Have you ever seen pictures of your parents? You must have in history books.” Gwen hadn’t seen any pictures apart from the odd ones that would be in the newspaper and she had never paid too much attention to them, but she decided not to give him the satisfaction of telling him that. “I thought you would look just like your mother but she was a lot regaler than you, but I think people will like that you look more common. It’s quite nice.” He moved in closer now, helping himself to a mug from the cupboard behind her. “I’ll have some tea if you’re making some.”

            Gwen rolled her eyes and despite her head telling her not to appease him, she ended up making him a cup as well, taking a spoon of tea leaves and plopping them into the mug he set down. She went to add sugar, but being the bitter person he seemed, he refused. They stood in silence, hands wrapped around the mugs as the steam rose into their faces. She watched him, daring him to say more, but to her surprise, he remained quiet. He wandered into the living room and she found herself following him out of suspicion.

She wondered what she looked like after violently sobbing herself to sleep. Gwen truly hated that this was how he was seeing her, not that she cared what he thought, but she desperately wanted to be above him. Prove him wrong somehow. It was so frustrating to just sit there like he hadn’t come in and completely turned her world upside down. She wanted to scream at him, but it would be pointless.

            “What do you want me to do about all of this?” She whispered, “it’s not exactly like I can just walk up to the palace with nothing but myself and demand a throne back from the king, even if I wanted it, I would be slaughtered.”

            Hayden grinned, putting down the mug and rubbing his hands together with excitement.

            “Finally some sense!” His voice rose and Gwen hurriedly hushed him, bringing him back down to a whisper. “We’ll have to start small, obviously. We can start off in the West and gradually make our way to the capital and towards the palace. There’s not much point in us getting too close before you have some support and some force. We’ll have to get at least a couple of nobles on your side to persuade the rest as well. We can’t use the media, obviously, which would be much easier but word of mouth that the true princess is still alive? That’ll travel fast enough by itself.” Hayden’s eyes were glimmering, but Gwen recoiled.

            “But what do I have to do?” She asked. “I can’t just be a princess! I’ve never left Eldun!”

            Hayden shrugged, “I’ll teach you it’ll be fine.” Gwen scoffed but he just laughed. “You’ll be great at it.”

            “You literally said a moment ago that I don’t look regal.”

            “Yes, well,” Hayden cleared his throat nervously, “it’s not the most important quality. We can figure it out. I can teach you. I’ve read every book I can possibly find on the subject.”

            “Planning on becoming a princess yourself, were you?”

            “No,” he chuckled, “I just thought the girl who was would probably need all the help she could get. Needless to say, I was correct.”

            It was strange, Gwen thought. He wasn’t necessarily insulting her, everything he said was true, but she had the strongest urge to slap him right across his smug face purely because he had the audacity to say all of these things. She took a breath, composing herself once more, and waited for him to continue as she knew he inevitably would. She had humored him with her replying and with her questions and she didn’t see him letting her get away so easily.

            “You don’t have to do much talking. I don’t mind talking,” he said, making Gwen scoff loudly.

            “Really? I had not noticed.”

            Hayden shot her a look, leaving an unsaid insult in the air that hung between them. Despite her anger, the combination of the silence and the tea began to make Gwen tired again. If Hayden hadn’t been there, she would have taken the blanket and fallen asleep on the sofa herself, as she often did on nights when she could not sleep. His sleep was not her concern as he seemed not to have slept yet anyway, but she did not feel at ease with him there. If she stayed, he would be taking notes of how she can learn to sleep more like a queen or how her sleep position would affect her posture.

            “I’m going to back to sleep for a bit now if that’s quite alright by you?” Gwen said, breaking the silence and getting up before he could reply. She took his mug from him and caught a glimpse of him yawning when he thought her back was turned. She rolled her eyes to herself, dropping the mugs in the sink before trudging back up the stairs and tightly wrapping herself back up in her blankets.

            The smell of warm toast and butter woke Gwen the next morning. Her mother was already sitting on the edge of her bed, plate in hand with the thickest, butteriest piece of toast she had ever laid eyes on. There was even some blueberry jam on there, something which only ever was bought out for one of their birthdays. Gwen smiled sort of sadly, regretting the fact that she had been so dramatic the night before that her mother had felt compelled to bring out such a special treat. Her mother, however, looked at her with an intense tenderness in her eyes. She was not angry with Gwen, nor was she was not disappointed by her response. She simply knew that Hayden’s showing up meant some sort of shift.

            Gwen thought of her mother, or at least the woman who had been a mother to her. The woman who sat in front of her had never been coroneted a queen, but she had worked hard every day to make sure that she was safe and looked after and loved. There was no one Gwen looked up to more than her. And then there was her father, who had always been so strong and kind and full of mischief. He would come home tired and haggard from a long day’s work and would still manage to find the energy to laugh at her and Blaine’s antics. Gwen had not truly realized until last night the lengths at which he went to in order to protect them both from this world, from the danger which they really faced.

            But she knew that, despite all they had done for her, she was no longer their child. Not just by blood, but by the fact that she had grown up now to a person who could no longer be protected by the barriers which they set out. She had always wanted to travel, to find her own place in the world and even if it was not a queen, she had found a way to figure out what that place might really be outside of the bakery and her home, outside of Eldun and the world which she knew.

            Gwen took a bite out of her toast, the sweetness of the jam overriding the bitterness of her thoughts. She grinned at her mother who returned the expression.

            “I thought you might like your breakfast up here.” She said as Gwen took another bite, “there’s a lot of angry male energy downstairs competing with one another.”

            Gwen chuckled. She reached out her slightly sticky hand and held her mother’s, giving it a small squeeze.

            “What are they arguing about exactly?” Gwen asked, “just so I have some warning.”

            “Well, your father does not think it would be safe for you to go with Hayden alone and Blaine is naturally taking his side.” Her mother sighed. “I have to admit; Hayden’s debating skills are excellent.”

            “I refuse to give him credit for anything,” Gwen smirked in reply. Her mother grinned at her, pleased to see that despite the events, Gwen’s fiery heart was still burning brightly. “I suppose I should go and clear things up. I have things I’d like to say, too.”

            Her mother nodded. “I imagine you do, my dear.”