Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

  *

  Princess Phoenix took a deep breath and took the first step down towards the mass of people below. Most in the sea of faces were those she didn’t recognize, and as she descended into their midst, she searched for one she knew. Her lavish gown trailed behind her, falling gracefully down the stairs with her steps. People gasped below her, and she knew that the hours her maids had spent preparing her for the big day had paid off.

  Phoenix wasn’t the majestic beauty that her mother was. She was constantly reminded of this as her maid repeatedly told her that her more modest looks simply made her more approachable in a misguided attempt to make her feel better. In truth, Phoenix was glad she wasn’t more like her mother in that respect. She got so much attention just for being a princess, she could hardly imagine if she was an amazing beauty on top of that.

  Finally, she spotted someone familiar. Her old friend, Wren, stood waiting near the bottom step. She beamed widely at him. Though several larger boys, whom Phoenix knew to be notorious bullies, shoved him out of the way, he tried to keep her eye. She flowed passed the bullies effortlessly, politely yet obviously ignoring them to come to a halt beside Wren on purpose. She held out her hand towards him, and he took it, gallantly leading her to the center of the room. If she remembered correctly, he had been an excellent student of dance and would help her keep her feet during this first dance when all eyes would be on them.

  He did not disappoint. He bowed deeply to her while holding one hand in hers, and she curtseyed back. Music welled up around them, echoing off the wooden walls, and Wren sprung to motion. He led her through the difficult steps of the dance with ease, making them seem to fairly fly across the floor. Her skirts billowed out around her perfectly, exactly as the designer had intended, creating an art-in-motion work of genius.

  “Guess what?” he whispered in her ear as the dance brought them up close.

  “What?”

  “I saw the unicorn this morning; it does exist!” he said excitedly, whirling her around in a circle before pulling her close to dip her deeply towards the floor.

  “You did?” she exclaimed with similar enthusiasm, almost missing her footing.

  Before Phoenix’s duties had claimed her for other pursuits, she and Wren had spent hours devouring the histories of strange creatures that once were. She felt a twinge of jealousy that he had been free to pursue this, but quickly shrugged it off. Jealousy was not an emotion befitting a princess.

  “Yes!” he confirmed, still perfectly moving to the dance steps. “Only for a moment, but it was there.”

  “That’s amazing,” Phoenix had time to exclaim before the dance twirled them away from one another for the grand finale of movements.

  When the music ended and another tune began, people joined in the dancing, taking the attention off of Phoenix. She smiled gratefully at Wren, who was still holding her hand. He was looking at her with a peculiar gleam in his eye, and her smile wavered. Struggling to maintain her happy expression, she waited for him to speak.

  “Happy birthday, Phoebe,” Wren said.

  He then produced a small package seemingly out of thin air. Phoebe was lost as to where he might have hidden it during their dance. He held it out to her, and she eyed it reluctantly, knowing that taking it would ruin a friendship she had cherished. She sighed inwardly, making sure to keep her semblance of easy comfort, and took the gift from him. It was a rectangular object, wrapped in beautiful blue, silken fabric and topped with a white ribbon.

  She held it for a moment, running her hand across the smooth wrapping, her heart aching. “Thank you, Wren. That’s very kind of you, though it wasn’t necessary. You’ve already given me the best gift by maneuvering me through that first dance so seamlessly.”

  He watched her, his eyes darting down to her motionless hands, where she simply held the package. “Well, go on then. Open it up,” he prompted, his voice shaking the tiniest bit.

  Phoenix smiled again, with sadness in her eyes, as she pulled on the end of the white ribbon. It slipped loose of its charge, letting the blue fabric underneath fall apart to reveal the contents. The cover of a book emerged from the wrapping, and its title stood out starkly, embossed onto the leather – “Love Poems”.

  “It’s a collection from the Golden Age,” Wren told her excitedly, “I found them when I was doing my research and…and thought of you,” he added this last part shyly.

  He looked down for a moment, then back up to meet her eyes, his brown orbs filled with hopeful longing. Phoenix held her breath, willing him to stop. “I-” he began, stammering slightly, “I love you, Phoebe. I always have. I know we haven’t really had the chance to spend much time together the last few years except for formal functions, but I was hoping that now that I’m on my own and you’re turning eighteen…” he paused, “I was hoping that you would do me the honor of allowing me to court you,” he finally spit out.

  Phoenix was silent for a long moment, gathering her thoughts. Finally she spoke, steeling herself for the pain. “I love you, too, Wren.” As hope sprang up in his eyes, she quickly added, “But like a brother. You and I are not meant to be. Being with me would suffocate you. My life is about duty and perfection. Though I often wish I could join you in your research, I cannot.” She paused before adding with a small smile, “You will make someone very happy someday, but I’m afraid it won’t be me.” Though it was true that their lifestyles were incompatible, it was more than that. She cherished his friendship, but wanted nothing more. She longed to keep the close relationship they had, but had known when she first noticed his interest that someday it would have to come to an end. She had seen very little of him lately anyway for the very reasons she’d told him a courtship wouldn’t work, but the loss somehow seemed more final now.

  Her heart ached, but she let him take his hand away from hers without trying to stop him. She knew he’d be embarrassed, and anger was a common tool to cover that emotion.

  He admirably said nothing, simply giving her a stiff bow and walking off. Luckily, she’d had the foresight to make sure that they were in a corner and out of the prying eyes and ears of their peers that he would at least be spared that embarrassment. The only ones who had heard were her guards, and none of them would ever gossip about what they witnessed in her presence.

  She sadly watched him go, and glanced back down at the poetry book. It was a lovely gift, and had it not come with the painful strings attached, she would very much have liked it. She had noticed the affection in his looks lately – she would have had to have been blind not to notice – and had purposefully avoided him at functions, hoping he would find another interest. It had been to no avail, it seemed.

  Sighing, she set the book down on the table, already piled high with other gifts, and looked out across the throng of people once again. She saw Rhys, another childhood friend, leaning against the opposite wall, scowling at nothing in particular. She caught his eye and he smiled at her, giving her a little salute and mouthing, “Happy Birthday”. He didn’t move to come closer, however.

  There were plenty of courtiers that she recognized, many of whom had come to various functions at the palace, but none of which had become especially close to her. With the exceptions of Wren and Rhys who had both known the royal life as youngsters, friends she now had were usually too intimidated by the station to get too intimate.

  Regina Atwald waved enthusiastically and came over, slowing nervously as she approached the guards surrounding Phoenix. Phoenix waved them off, unable to help feeling slightly annoyed by their presence. She carefully masked this emotion and hugged Regina.

  Regina’s father was obsessed with birds of prey, a passion that his daughter shared. Phoenix had spent many afternoons in her company. Though she herself had no talent with the flighty beasts, it entertained her to no end to watch the miraculous-seeming feats that Regina and her father could entice them to accomplish.

  “Happy Birthd
ay!” the girl exclaimed cheerily.

  Regina examined the boxes and boxes of presents, and then grabbed one from beneath the pile. Phoenix quickly put up a hand to avoid the lot of them falling towards the two girls, and a guard moved forward to re-pile them for her.

  “Whoops,” Regina said, scurrying skittishly away from the guard’s gesture, then ignoring him to hand Phoenix the box. “This one is from me. Open!” she commanded. Then, with another nervous glance at the man still hovering nearby, she added, “Your Highness.”

  Phoenix smiled. Regina’s long black braid was bouncing up and down across her corseted front as she hopped around in excitement. She let herself get caught up in her friend’s enthusiasm. She tore off the wrapping paper eagerly and then more carefully opened the box inside. It held a gorgeous set of earrings, encrusted with green jewels attached to long delicate feathers – no doubt from their own birds. Phoenix took them out gently and held them to her ears in awe. A guard moved out of the way to allow her access to the mirror by the wall, and she admired how they looked.

  “Oh, Regina,” she exclaimed. “They’re heavenly. Thank you so much!”

  She chatted politely with Regina for a few more minutes until another young person came forward, and Regina was escorted away to allow the next guest to present their gift. Phoenix spent the afternoon accepting more and more elaborate and extravagant gifts as the well-wishers advanced in age.

  Finally, she had gotten through the entire procession, and Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief, putting a hand to her stomach. One of the knights came forward to whisper in her ear.

  “There’s no one immediately requiring your attention, Princess, if you’d like to retire into the chamber beyond for a moment or two of solitude.”

  Phoenix sent him a grateful look. After glancing around quickly to make sure he was correct that she wasn’t snubbing anyone to retreat for a moment, she took his advice and slipped into the chamber. It was empty, save for the guards who followed her in, and Phoenix sat on the plush couch.

  To think that this celebration was only the beginning. Her eighteenth birthday marked the culmination of a unification process that had been going on her entire life. Her mother, Queen Layna, had agreed to merge the two countries of Gelendan and Treymayne into the larger country they now called Elaeld. For the last eighteen years it had been ruled by her mother and the leaders of the old Endlyfta council – or Ieldran as it was called. This Triumvirate of leaders was headed by Lady Aria, and it was commonly accepted that it was Queen Layna and Lady Aria who ran the country, though they were backed by the now-combined Council. There was even talk that the tribes far to the north may consent to becoming an official part of the country. At the moment, there was an alliance between them, strengthened by Lady Katya’s leadership of the tribes and position within the Elaeld court.

  Now that Phoenix had come of age, however, the complete unification would commence. Next summer there would be a massive ceremony to crown her as the first official monarch of the new country of Elaeld. The event was sure to make even this extravagant affair seem a simple tea party.

  She sighed and stood from the couch, strolling over to the glass doors that led out to a balcony off the side of the ship. The yacht had been commissioned for the event so that the party could flow down through the middle of the country, allowing more citizens to feel as though they were in attendance.

  Phoenix pulled the doors open and stepped out onto the deck. The wind blew softly against her skin, and she smelled the faint odor of fish and water plants. She looked down at the water far below her. The motion of the boat could hardly be felt, but the combination of the vague feeling of movement and the height from which she was looking straight down from made her feel momentarily dizzy. She looked out across the water instead. The boats that lined the river around them were dwarfed by the massive yacht they were on. The shorelines were filled with well-wishers, waving and shouting things she couldn’t make out. Regardless, Phoenix beamed at them and waved. She caught a tiny child’s eye, who was waving at her from a closely passing boat, and she switched up her wave. Instead of giving her the regal side to side motion, she just waggled her fingers up and down at the little girl so she’d know it was directed to her.

  The little girl squealed in excitement, loud enough for Phoenix to hear, and her smile widened. The little girl giggled gleefully and tugged at her mother’s skirt, pointing towards the princess. The mother’s gaze also directed towards her, and she nodded at the woman.

  Phoenix glanced sideways at the rows of mages out on balconies similar to hers and made a small gesture at the girl’s boat. One of them stepped forward and made a throwing motion with his arm. A shower of flowers and candy burst forth from thin air, landing all over the decks of the nearest boats, including that of the child. The little girl scrambled around to collect it.

  Phoenix spent a fair amount of time waving to the people, still amazed that so many had turned out for the event, before finally retiring inside the cabin. Eventually, she could spend no more time in solitude without appearing rude, and she re-entered the festivities.

  A copious amount of food was laid out, and she marveled at the ingenious creativity of the cooks. There was a bouquet of flowers made entirely out of fruits, beautifully displayed assortments of pastries and sweets to please any palate, and the masterpiece proudly presented in the middle of the cabin: a five-tiered, larger-than-she, grand exhibit of a dessert.

  Her birthday cake.

  Excited shouting suddenly sprang up from the front deck, and Phoenix hurried along with everyone else to see what all the fuss was about. The doors banged open as people scrambled to make sure they didn’t miss the excitement, and Phoenix was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight.

  She blinked her eyes to adjust them to the sudden light and was pushed by the crowd farther onto the deck. Her guards pressed in close around her and shoved people out of her space. She waved a hand at them that she was fine, but they paid her no heed. More people were shouting, trying to make themselves heard over the din, and were pointing, wide-eyed, to something off the bow of the yacht.

  As she was carried along with the swarm of people to the edge of the boat, she finally saw what everyone was pointing to. Far off in the distance, out in the open water of the sea, was another vessel, one as large as the one they were sailing. This struck her as strange; as far as Phoenix knew, this was the only vessel ever built this large.

  She fervently hoped that this was not her parents’ idea of a birthday gift for her. They knew she loved to sail, and they had a propensity for being quite extravagant in their gifts. Phoenix always felt as though they were trying to make up for something. It would be like them to have commissioned this boat for her party only to present her with one of her own during the event.

  A quick glance back at the deck above where her parents now stood, partially set back from the main party, told her this wasn’t the case. Both wore concerned expressions that each was struggling to hide. Lady Katya and Lord Hunter stood beside them, flanked by a fair number of Council members. Katya’s face, as always, was impassive, but Hunter was staring at the vessel with unveiled disbelief, his mouth hung wide open in surprise. This was obviously not something that the royals had planned.

  Phoenix peered at the ship with more interest, trying to make out the symbols carved into its sides. It had a large figure of what appeared to be a woman sticking out from its hull in the front, proudly slicing its way through the waves. The vessel bounced slightly, riding the harsher swells of the open sea towards the mouth of the Great River that their own ship was floating down.

  The motion of the foreign ship halted; the scurrying about of the sailors could be seen as they rushed around to take down sails and secure them. A gigantic anchor was dropped into the water behind them, making a magnificent splash, and the vessel stilled.

  A flag flapped carelessly in the wind, mounted atop its crow’s
nest – a black silhouette of a panther with a large green eye. The crowd around Phoenix fell silent and watched in tense anticipation. Faces turned to look up at the royal party and the Council. Slowly, Queen Layna and First Advisor Aria moved forward. Though Phoenix had no talent, she knew by the faraway look in her mother’s eye, that she was using her other-sight to see farther into the distance, and perhaps even attempt communication with the unknown vessel.

  After a few tense moments, her features relaxed almost imperceptibly, but the watching faces were so intent upon her that all caught the subtle sign. Whatever she had seen had erased the worry. Apparently this strange ship posed no immediate threat. Phoenix turned with the others to eagerly await their next move.

  They made no move, however, simply mooring where they were and allowing the Elaeld ship to come to them. All eyes turned once again to Phoenix’s mother.

  Queen Layna made a tiny nod, no doubt instructing the captain what to do, then made the outward gesture for all those aboard to see. She raised a hand and extended her arm, making an arc from her shoulder out in front of her, indicating that they were moving forward. The yacht moved with tantalizing slowness, out towards the mouth of the river, out towards the open sea beyond…out to greet the foreign vessel.