Lucky Charm
CHAPTER ONE
I felt the weight of the royal crown bearing down as the bishop placed it firmly on my head to a rapturous applause and the bright lights of the media. Six months since my father had died and I was now the official Queen of Silverwood.
The national anthem played as cameras flashed, blinding me with their brightness. My only job was to stay still and look regal as the massive congregation sang.
When the music had stopped and the cheering had died down, Luca came bounding over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He held my hand as I stood, trying not to fall over with the weight of the bejewelled monstrosity on my head. He looked resplendent with his immaculate royal attire decked in golden trim and epaulettes. I, on the other hand looked like a royal golden meringue with the biggest dress Xavi had ever dared to dress me in. It was white with a golden lace overlay that nipped in at the waist before billowing out at the skirts. Over the top I wore a golden velvet cape edged in ermine that trailed along the floor behind me.
I walked down the aisle of the huge cathedral arm in arm with Luca who was doing his best to keep me upright. I tried not to think about the next time we’d be making this particular journey. In five months time we’d be doing the same walk only then it would be on our wedding day as husband and wife.
Despite the all time low ratings of popularity for the monarchy, a surprisingly large number of people had turned out for the coronation. The cathedral was packed with the kingdom’s elite, not to mention various celebrities and royals from other lands, and the roads outside of the cathedral were crowded with people. I gave Elise a quick smile as I passed and she smiled back. She looked more radiant than ever, probably due to her honeymoon glow. Leo had proposed to her at Christmas and with mother’s blessing, they’d had a discrete family wedding in the palace on New Year’s Day. The only people they’d invited were family and Daniel and Dean. I envied them for the intimacy of it. My wedding plans were shaping up to be a complete nightmare of epic proportions thanks to my mother and Xavi collaborating. In my mother’s mind, I needed a wedding even more spectacular than the last one to make people forget what had happened at it. As many people had died including the groom and the king, I thought having a bigger wedding cake and better dressed bridesmaids probably wasn’t going to cut it, but I kept my mouth shut and let her plan it her way.
I tried to get my wedding out of my mind and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other without losing my crown or tripping over the long skirt I was wearing. As everything was being televised and shown to tens of thousands of people throughout the kingdom, I knew any misstep would result in more damaging press for our family.
Security was at an all time high to prevent the same disaster as the one at the palace six months ago, and as I left the cathedral, I was flanked by ten guards specially brought in from the Silverwood Army. They led me through the snow to the awaiting golden carriage, but it was Luca that helped me through the door with my large skirt.
Thousands of people screamed and cheered as we were taken through the crowd lined streets back to the palace. I waved and smiled as I was expected to do and tried not to look as uncomfortable as I felt.
“How are you feeling your majesty?” whispered Luca in my ear.
I turned away from the crowds for a second to look into his handsome face. “Exhausted,” I replied honestly. “You?”
“I’m feeling like the luckiest man in the world right now. I cannot believe I’m going to be marrying you in a few months. You look every inch the queen and if it wasn’t for the eyes of every person of Silverwood currently watching us, I’d be kissing you right now.”
I smiled. I wanted to kiss him too, but I couldn’t be seen to be kissing him in public before our wedding day. Instead, I reached out for his hand and squeezed it.
We lapsed into an easy silence. I felt comfortable in his presence and couldn’t think of anyone who I’d prefer to be with on the day of my coronation.
There is one other
The voice in my head piped up. I couldn’t think of Cynder. Not now. I ignored the little voice and instead concentrated on my new role as monarch.
“My father made it look so easy,” I said, sighing.
“Your father was a tyrant and a murderer,” Luca reminded me.
“Yes, but the people loved him. They hate me.”
“They hate all royalty because of what happened. You’ve told the people the full story. You can’t make them believe it.”
It was the truth. As soon as I found out that my father had died, I’d gone to the press to tell them the truth about the riots. I’d also gotten Cynder cleared of all charges. What I hadn’t expected was for the people not to believe me. No one wanted to hear the truth that it was the fault of my father and Xavier when it was convenient to carry on blaming the Magi.
“Why does no one believe it?” I asked Luca for the thousandth time.
“Because for a long time, people treated the Magi like dirt, fuelled by the belief that they were to blame for all of Silverwood’s problems. No one wants to be the bad guy and so it’s easier to believe a lie than to face up to what they have done.”
I knew he was right, but it was of little consolation. I’d naively thought that I could tell the truth and invite the Magi back and everyone in Silverwood would be happy. I soon found out that anti-magi feelings ran much deeper than I had expected. My father’s legacy of hate had lived on even if he hadn’t.
I turned back to the window and plastered on my fake smile again. There were so many people out there and yet nothing about it seemed real.
I looked at the crowds as the six white horses pulled the carriage through the heavily guarded gates of the palace. Even now, six months after the riot, I could still see a number of people demonstrating against the Magi. Today was not a special occasion for them. It was just another excuse to bring their plaquards and spew their vitriolic bile. They had been there all winter. Not even the harsh weather conditions we’d experienced had put them off. When the Magi themselves had demonstrated last year about their appalling treatment, the police had used brute force to move them. These guys were left alone.
When my father had died, I’d tried to hire back all the Magi staff that had lost their jobs at the hands of my father. Most of them had just disappeared and the few I did find were too scared to come back because of the anti-magi demonstrators. I’d even resorted to hiring a private investigator to track down Cynder and Agatha, but he’d not been able to find either of them. Agatha’s aunt and uncle’s house had been ransacked and no one knew or would tell where they had all gone. Cynder had just vanished without a trace.
It was believed that the majority of Silverwood’s Magi had fled to The Kingdom of Thalia, so I could only hope that Cynder and Agatha had found safety there.
The carriage came to a halt at the palace doors and two footmen opened the door and helped me out. The palace itself looked better than ever after all the restorations that had been done on it and the only reminder of the disaster that had happened all those months back was the lingering smell of wet paint. Paint that had been used to cover up the blood stains and new plaster filling the bullet holes in the walls.
“I’m going to get changed,” I said as Luca and I entered the main hall. The dress was weighing me down and I couldn’t wait to get out of it.
“Do you need any help?” Luca replied, eyeing up the multitude of buttons.
“They are just for decoration,” I smiled. “I think I’ll be ok. Why don’t you get changed too?”
Luca nodded but I could see he was put out. Royal protocol demanded that we weren’t too intimate until our wedding night, so apart from the occasional stolen kiss, we’d not had much in the way of intimacy. I’d not asked how many women Luca had been with. I didn’t want to know. He was far more experienced than I and used to getting what he wanted. The long wait until we were married was difficult for him, but apart from kissing him when no one was looking, there wasn’t much I could do about it. He was living full time in one of the guest houses in the grounds. Of the four, his was the only one occupied now that Leo had moved into the main palace.
I watched him leave before running upstairs to my room. Xavi had laid out a simple but elegant dress for me to wear for the rest of the day. I heaved a sigh of relief as I took the heavy crown from my head and eased myself out of the hefty gown. I laid myself down on the bed in my underwear, reluctant to get changed and go out to face the next part of the day – Meetings with the press followed by a huge banquet of celebration.
My room felt emptier than ever now that Elise wasn’t in the adjoining room. I’d grown up in the middle room between my sisters and now both of their rooms stood empty. Elise had been given her own suite of rooms after marrying Leo. I’d get my own suite when I married Luca. The rooms were ready for me but I hadn’t once been to look. I had too many memories in my old room.
I stood up and made my way over to the window as I had many times. Peeking through a crack in the curtains, I looked out over the snowy white grounds to the apartment that had once been occupied by Cynder. I’d spent so many fruitless hours gazing at the window, hoping that I’d see the light on or any other sign of life in there.
Not that I needed any reminders of Cynder. He pervaded my every thought, and at night he filled my dreams. I’d been naive when I thought agreeing to marry Luca would help me forget. Nothing helped me forget but in truth, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. He was still out there somewhere. Still on the run, despite no longer being a wanted criminal.
I went back to my bed and picked up the chain from the bedside table. The small silver carriage glinted in the sun. I’d not worn it in months but I couldn’t bring myself to put it away in a drawer. No matter how many times my head told me that marrying Luca was the right thing to do, my heart wasn’t buying it. I slipped the bracelet on my wrist and pulled my dress over my head.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of my room, ready to take up my duty as the new queen of Silverwood.
End of Chapter -