 
Click Here Return to Home Page Read First Chapter Princess Briony I can remember it like yesterday. It was a delightful spring after a long cold winter so many years ago. A freeze had nipped the budding trees the week before, spoiling their beauty. Everyone said that fruit would not be plentiful that summer, and I was already mourning. As a boy of seven, fruit, fresh or dried, was a mainstay in my bag for long walks, and day long play. As nature has a way of compensating for such disaster, the sun came out after the frost and did its utmost to force the trees to leaf. Their fulsome green made up for the ruined blossoms. Toligere is the largest city and the capital of Lusainne. I lived in the castle with my mother and father. It was the most beautiful spot on earth to my eyes at age seven, and it still is. I love Lusainne with that indiscriminate love that surpasses poetic rumblings of its pastoral beauty. That is to say, I love the kitchens as much as I love the turrets. I suppose I've always taken my home for granted until today. I thought there would always be a Tolmeran of my family at the castle. There, a new grief penned. I will be the last of my line for without Briony I will never marry. So many long years ahead of emptiness, but I will not leave her. What is it that draws me so to this land above all others? Nabor is as beautiful, and our summer home in the south is as appealing in its own way. I think it is the castle that draws me. It nestles atop green rolling hills on a higher elevation than the city itself. It is situated so that the roads approaching the castle have a clear view of the gardens and towers a league off. The castle itself is built of white stone quarried from Blanching. The castle stands above the city, and seems to look down upon it as it dots the hills below, and spreads out over the valley crisscrossed with rivers to the east, and tributaries spilling into them elsewhere. Leagues northward the castle is framed by a mountain range that smoulders purple in the distance. This range provides the natural boundary for Toligere. I often dreamed of leading a band of knights over those mountains in exploration. Tall trees cluster together across the hills like friends talking in the deep green meadows where our flocks graze spring to fall. I know every hollow tree, and every tree easy for young legs to climb. Outcropping rocks dot the meadows and some paddocks are delineated by low walls of this same rock. In winter, snow blankets the pastures and lands with white lumps and drifts against trees and rocks for charming effect. A long bridge spans a deep ravine and ends on the castle grounds outside the main entrance. The only road leading directly to the castle, which later joins the bridge, branches off the main thoroughfare running east to west and north to south. Smaller roads cut a wide swath away from the castle and gardens, and even the city streets are laid in a grid around it. So, the castle is the center of Toligere, and the center of Lusainne. Enough rain falls to maintain the green of spring and summer, and a light breeze plays across the grounds, keeping the sun from withering the crops that dance with the winds on outlying farms. Large wooded areas lend their beauty and mystery to the land as well as provide game for the sport of kings. It is an idyllic place to grow up, and I should know. Though I am no prince, I was born in the castle and know the dip and rise of every green hill around it. My life was not all play, as might be expected of a child born to a castle. No, my family was not given to idleness or leisure either. I come from a long line of most serious men and women who have served castle, king, and the country of Lusainne all their lives. Perhaps it is the service ingrained in my bones from ancestors long past. I have been apprenticed to my father who is the official court scribe, second chancellor and advisor to the king, from my early youth. He has taught me since birth how to conduct myself among the royals we serve. Part of my life is also knowing how to keep both careful and accurate record. My family is descended from royalty, but removed far enough to be assured of no ascension to the throne. Both men and women of my family did marry into the royal line time and again to keep the tie strong. This was done only after several heirs in a direct line were born. My own grandmother was sister to His Majesty the King's father. Since the present King has a long line of brothers standing between us and the throne, and no heir as yet, our family had been able to offer loyal service to the king without rancor. King Alain is a good king, and a wise ruler. My father talks endlessly of his abilities. I have come to know and appreciate his care of every detail in the kingdom. I cannot fault his judgements and yet . . . The city was decorated with streamers because news that Queen Shanna, who had long awaited a baby, was due to deliver. Lyrics were being written for the heir, and music composed. I had escaped the castle to avoid the general tumult of music mixing with the sounds of everyday life. From Bakery Row, smells wafted on the air tantalizing the taste buds. Other smells of marinated meats, and slow baking roasts and hams vied for first place out on the castle lawn where tents and pavilions had been set. Candies, confectionaries, and other delicacies called for their share of attention. The shop windows in the city itself had been lined with people who stood outside watching the artisans work on their creations. There would be a fair to celebrate the birth of the new heir. There would be great excitement when the riders in livery rode out of the castle with saddle bags filled with coins to toss amongst the crowds as they heralded the birth. I had waited with my father and the King for as long as I could bear to be cooped up indoors with all the racket. The courtyard was nearly as loud. Folks scurried with yards of silk and fine linens, setting up trestles and tables for the feasting later. Cooks from the kitchen carried large platters to the tables. I managed to grab a handful of sweet tarts from a laden tray and the only thing that kept my ears from being boxed by the cook was the same laden tray. We all cheered when riders galloped out of the stable yard and clattered across the bridge. The people in the courtyard gathered round the riders in spite of flashing hooves. A rider was forced to announce, "The King and Queen announce the birth of her Highness Briony Catrin Regina Lusianna," and threw a fistful of coins to us. Amid the yells and cheers I found myself nose to nose with the kitchen drudge scrabbling for my share. It was a free-for-all, but as I was all of seven years old, I dare say I gave as good as I got. I know that several shiny coins of the realm made their way into my pocket. At first, I think many people were disappointed that the princess was not a son, so that the royal line could be assured. King Alain when announcing the birth to the court declared that Briony was his heir. That meant that she was to succeed him as queen whether or not he ever had a son. The people in the city knew nothing of this, but they would come to know. Later, after I had spent some of my coin on refreshment, Her Highness was presented to the court. I made my way to the Great Hall to see her. The Princess was beyond all expectation, the most beautiful of all babies in the kingdom. That's what most people said around me, so it must be true. To me she looked a little red, and aside from the abundance of hair on her head, I couldn't see much to recommend her. Still, I could not have been more flushed with pride in her if she had been my sister. All around me folks were bragging about her clear, unblemished, creamy skin. They said that the red in her cheeks was the barest hint of rose blushing through the cream. Later, when I saw her eyes, I had to agree that they were a definite and clear blue, like the summer sky above Lusainne. Her hair was what I liked the best. It was the color of dried wheat stalks, a lighter version of Queen Shanna's, and unlike her father's or mine, our hair is very dark. There was so much of it the royal nurses had to tie it back in a pink ribbon to keep it out of her eyes. It was curly and thick, but I liked it that way. When I held her for the first time, I was enchanted with the way it curled around my fingers as I held her tiny head. Very shortly she had enslaved the entire kingdom with her smile. We all made fools of ourselves just to catch a glimpse of her smile for us alone. One would think that the Princess would be willful and spoiled with so much officious attention and adoration, but it was not so. Remember, I watched her grow from a baby. While she could be naughty, mischievous, and demand her own way with the best of us, she never chose to hurt another, or place herself above the needs of others. While some of this attitude was training from her father and mother, most of her generous and uncritical nature was pure Briony. Aside from her amazing beauty and charm, Briony abruptly demonstrated her extraordinary abilities before her first birthday. She had long been burbling the sweet gibberish babies spew forth, that their parents call talking, but the Princess, shortly before her birthday, abandoned it and began speaking in clear, intelligible sentences. Her first sentence to me was, "Bonil, play with me." Very well, in the interest of accuracy I must admit she left out with, but her meaning was very clear, and it was as imperial a command as any I heard from her father, or her mother. Her first birthday celebration was one of great festivity. Most of the court doted on the little princess. I was certainly no exception. There were likely to be more coins tossed, and sweets to be bought. The entire kingdom seemed to show up for the event. It was a week long festival. Every year after that an undeclared holiday sprang up on that day. It seemed to tie in with spring, and all the delights of the season.
Click here to Buy this Book from Secure Shopping Cart |
