Chapter Text
Alcryst looked out the window of the carriage and gasped at the sight of the Firene countryside. There were flowers growing in every place that wasn’t the road, in a rainbow of bright colors. The fields were lit by sunlight with just a few small white clouds, and in the few places where there weren’t flowers or fruit trees, there was lush green grass.
Alcryst had never seen so many flowers in one place before. Nor had he seen such a clear sky or such soft, flat ground. He took a deep breath and smiled in amazement. The air even smelled like flowers!
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” said his brother Diamant, looking out the window as well. “It’s so different from Brodia.”
Alcryst nodded. “It’s so beautiful!”
“I agree,” said Diamant. “Just like it’s always spring.”
He placed a hand on Alcryst’s shoulder, and Alcryst looked up and smiled at him.
“King Morion, Your Highnesses,” called the voice of the carriage driver. Diamant and Alcryst turned in the direction of the voice. “We will arrive at Firene Castle shortly.”
“All right, thanks!” called the person that most people knew as “King Morion,” but Alcryst knew mainly as “Father.”
The king grinned and turned to look at Diamant and Alcryst.
“Well, we’re almost at the castle,” he said. “You boys ready to meet the Firenese royal family?”
Diamant nodded. “I’m looking forward to meeting Prince Alfred.”
Alcryst turned and looked out the window again. He’d almost forgotten that this wasn’t just paying a visit to the kingdom of Firene. This was actually for…what was the word Diamant had used again? Alcryst sounded the word out in his mind. Dip-lo-ma-cy. Diplomacy. A friendly meeting between kings and queens. That was what Diamant had said it meant.
Diamant had explained the reason for the trip to Alcryst. Their father and the king and queen of Firene wanted their two kingdoms to be friendly with each other, and so their father was traveling to Firene to meet with the king and queen and get all of that sorted out. Their mother was staying in Brodia to watch over the kingdom, but their father had taken Diamant and Alcryst along so that they could meet the prince and princess of Firene.
That was the part that Alcryst was nervous about. His family had told him about Prince Alfred, who was the crown prince and a few years younger than Diamant; and Princess Céline, who was the same age as Alcryst. But strangers made Alcryst nervous, even when they were about his age.
What would the prince and princess of Firene be like? Would they be nice? People who lived in such a beautiful place would probably be nice.
Or maybe they’d just think he wasn’t worth spending time with, the way everyone in Brodia did…
“Alcryst?” said his father. “You didn’t answer my question. Ready to meet the Firenese royal family?”
Alcryst yelped and looked away from the window. “I-I’m sorry, Father! I looked out the window while you were talking to me!”
His father laughed. “Caught up in the beautiful flowers, are you?”
Alcryst nodded. “And…I’m kind of nervous…”
“Ah, because they’re strangers,” said his father. “Well, that’s all right. The king and queen say that their kids are friendly. And Princess Céline is your age, you know!”
“I know,” said Alcryst.
“Here, I have an idea,” said Diamant. “Let’s look out the other window, Alcryst. I just noticed that you can see the castle through it!”
Alcryst scooted over to be next to Diamant, who pointed out the window. “See? There’s Firene Castle. Even the castle has flowers all around it.”
“Wow…” Alcryst breathed.
There really were flowers all around. Firene Castle was just as big as Brodia Castle, but the stones were lighter in color, and there wasn’t a huge wall surrounding the entrance. Alcryst was used to Brodia Castle, because he’d lived there his whole life, but Firene Castle looked so…friendly.
Maybe staying in a new place for a week and meeting strangers wouldn’t be so bad after all.
It seemed like no time at all before the carriage came to a stop. King Morion swung open the door and jumped out.
“Well, now!” he called back into the carriage. “They’ve come to greet us!”
Diamant squeezed Alcryst’s hand. “Are you ready?”
Alcryst hesitated, then nodded.
“I’ll hold your hand while we get out,” said Diamant. “Come on.”
Diamant helped Alcryst out of the carriage, holding onto his hand the whole time. As Diamant walked over to stand next to their father, Alcryst moved so he was partly hidden by his father’s traveling cloak, then squeezed Diamant’s hand. Diamant squeezed back.
A woman with long blond hair walked up to them, with a calm, kind smile on her face. Two children were just behind her, though Alcryst couldn’t see them clearly yet.
“Greetings, King Morion,” said the woman. “I am Queen Ève, ruler of Firene. It is good to meet the king of Brodia.”
“Good afternoon, Queen Ève,” said King Morion. “I didn’t expect you to come and greet us.”
“We believe in warm welcomes here in Firene,” said the queen. “My husband wished to greet you as well, but he is in the castle sorting out some small affairs of state. He looks forward to meeting you.”
“And we’ve been looking forward to meeting you!” said the boy standing behind the queen. He stepped out into the open and grinned at Diamant. “So you’re Prince Diamant? Good to meet you! Wow, you’re tall.” He held out his hand. “Sorry. I’m Prince Alfred.”
Alcryst moved a little more behind his father.
“Er…good to meet you too,” said Diamant, looking surprised. He nodded to Alcryst, then gently let go of his hand and walked up to the prince of Firene. The two crown princes shook hands. “So you’re Prince Alfred. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“How about I show you around the castle?” said Prince Alfred. “I’ll take you to the rooms you’ll be staying in! We’ve made up the guest bedrooms really nice for you. Come on!”
“Don’t overexert yourself, Alfred,” said the queen, sounding a little worried.
“Aw, Mom, I’ll be fine!” said Prince Alfred. “Let’s go, Prince Diamant!”
Alcryst ducked behind his father as he saw Prince Alfred, still holding Diamant’s hand, take off running and pull Diamant toward the castle.
“Whoa!” said Diamant. “I’m going to trip on my feet! Aaah! Prince Alfred, I can’t keep up—”
And he was already out of earshot.
Alcryst, clinging to the back of his father’s cloak, couldn’t believe what he had just seen and heard.
Prince Alfred is so different from Diamant…
“Hah!” said King Morion. “Your son’s full of energy!”
“He’s not very strong,” answered the queen. “But even when he has to stop to catch his breath, he never slows down for very long…” She paused. “Anyhow, now that our heirs have met…allow me to introduce my daughter, Céline.”
“She’s cute,” said King Morion. “Hello there, Princess Céline. You’re the same age as my younger son, right?”
Alcryst couldn’t see anything from behind his father, nor could he hear a response from Princess Céline.
“She is,” said Queen Ève. “And she’s rather shy. Don’t worry; she’s been looking forward to meeting the Brodian princes.”
“Ah, good,” said King Morion. “Well, then I should introduce my younger son…Alcryst?” He looked from side to side. “Alcryst, where’d you go?”
Alcryst clung to his father’s cloak and did his best to stay hidden.
“Alcryst, where are you?” said his father. “Come out. I want to show you off!”
Alcryst quickly adjusted his position in order to stay behind the cloak even as his father swung from side to side. Don’t tug on the cloak, he thought nervously. Don’t trip. Then he’ll know where you are…
“Sorry about this,” said his father. “Alcryst is shy too.” A laugh came into his voice. “And just as cute as your daughter!”
“He’s…shy?” said a soft, sweet voice.
Was that Princess Céline’s voice?
Suddenly, King Morion looked behind him. “Alcryst! There you are!”
Alcryst jumped and let go of the cloak.
“What do you think you’re doing hiding back there?” said his father, turning around and sweeping Alcryst into the air. “The queen of Firene wants to meet you!”
Alcryst yelped as his father held him up off the ground, but then he nervously turned his head to look at the queen and princess of Firene as his father set him back down.
Princess Céline really did look like she was his age. She had long, fluffy-looking blond hair, and her bright eyes were the color of the grass and leaves in Firene. She was wearing a dress embroidered with yellow flowers, and she hugged a doll to her chest.
Alcryst turned around all the way to look at Princess Céline. She had a friendly smile.
“It’s good to meet you, Prince Alcryst,” said Queen Ève. “This is my daughter, Céline. She’s the same age as you.”
Princess Céline didn’t say anything, but she looked directly at Alcryst. After a moment, she took one of her hands away from the doll and shyly waved at him.
Alcryst smiled and waved back.
He’d never met someone his own age before, except for Citrinne, who he’d always known because she was his cousin. He’d been nervous about meeting someone new, but Princess Céline seemed so kind. And knowing that she was shy, just like him, was strangely comforting.
The young prince and princess smiled at each other. Neither of them said anything, but Alcryst didn’t feel the need to, and apparently Princess Céline didn’t either.
“Well,” the queen said at last, after a few moments of silence, “why don’t we head inside? My husband has been looking forward to meeting you, and we should show you around.”
Princess Céline reached up and took hold of her mother’s hand.
“All right. We’ll follow you in,” said King Morion. “You ready, Alcryst?”
Alcryst looked up at him and nodded. He didn’t feel quite so nervous anymore.
You couldn’t really feel too nervous in a wonderful place like this.