Page 19 of Of Diamonds and Vengeance
“What could be grander than the palace of the High King?” I’d asked, and she’d laughed merrily, brushing my hairback from my face.
“You’re right, my pearl.” My father had spoken from the doorway, making my mother huff fondly. “Only the best will do for my daughter. We’ll ensure you wear the diamond crown, ruling as queen beside the High King, hmm?”
I’d seen the genuine promise in his eyes. He surely saw the benefit of his daughter marrying the king; what lord wouldn’t? But it was his softer promise that night as he tucked me in that shone as brightly as a diamond in my memory.
“While I’d be quite pleased to see you crowned queen, little love, I want you to know that’s not what’s most important to me. I want you to find love and happiness in your marriage, like I’ve found with your mother. So if the day comes and you change your mind, I will always support your choice.”
Knowing that even as lord, he still valued my happiness over his political power, I knew I had been immeasurably lucky to have him as a father. If Azurill hadn’t taken him from me, I would have had a future of love and happiness, instead of one full of strife and fear.
Chapter Eight
Jacinth
“So, what should I expect tonight?” I asked, making my way to the ballroom.
“Dancing,” my shadow replied gruffly. His purple braids had small diamonds placed within them now, and he’d switched from armor to more courtly attire that would blend in as he followed me around. The blue suit jacket was trimmed in silver and had a large diamond on the back, delineating the guards even as they blended in.
I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes back at him.
“Thank you, Alfrikr, I would never have figured that out,” I replied sarcastically, giving him an overly bright smile I knew he’d see the truth of.
He huffed, but I noticed a small smile curling up before he caught himself. We continued walking for a moment before he heaved a put-upon sigh. “The High King will use tonight to dance and speak with each of the competitors. He can’t really get a good first impression just from you all being introduced to the court.”
“So he’s trying to get an idea of what we’re actually like?” I asked, my eyebrow rising.
“Basically.” He nodded once in confirmation. “He can still only get so much from a limited interaction, of course, but this is your opportunity to catch his attention.”
He eyed me speculatively, and I couldn’t help feeling that same self-conscious need to hide.
“What?” I eventually snapped, and he actually laughed a bit. I hadn’t been sure he even knew how to do that until now.
“That,” he said, as his smile widened. “You put on a good show of courtly grace in the throne room earlier, but alone, you seem much more…”
He trailed off for a moment, tilting his head to the side as he thought it over.
“Authentic.” He concluded with a satisfied smirk, even as my stomach dropped. “If you want a piece of advice?”
I nodded eagerly. If he knew the king well and knew what he was looking for, I definitely needed that information. Knowing how to play this to ensure I got his attention would be a definite boon.
“Az will like that. Show him there’s more to you to than a title and a pretty face.” Alfrikr informed me, making me frown slightly.
Him wanting someoneauthentic, versus a pretty but empty-headed wife on his arm, didn’t quite fit with the pompous asshole I always imagined him to be. Maybe he just didn’t want to be bored.
I certainly couldn’t show him therealme. That would end with me quite dead, after all. But I could show him a facsimile of my authentic self. It couldn’t hurt to show himsomeof the truth of me, if it would entice him, just notallof it.
Alfrikr shadowed my steps as the noise coming from the ballroom grew louder the closer we got to its doors. My heart was beating twice as fast as the steps that brought me to it. My breath caught in my throat as I walked through the open doors and got my first glimpse of the room inside.
I’d heard plenty of legends about the Sacred Gems, of course, but never in my life did I think I would ever see them.
The circular, domed room was at least ten stories high, making those of us on the ground look like ants in comparison. But the height was necessary to fit the large centerpiece. The palace had supposedly been built around this very spot, and the high kings became the sworn protectors of the stones that now dominated the middle of the room.
Gigantic gems, of a size I didn’t even know were possible, stood before me. Diamonds dominated the arrangement, but every other gem that we drew magic from was also present. The kaleidoscope of colors in varying sizes was all pointing toward the sky, growing straight out of the ground and coming up through the floor. The most massive piece was a diamond larger than many buildings, and bigger by far than any of the others, in the dead middle of the bouquet of oversized jewels.
Some, like the shining pink pearl that caught my eye, was a rounded, not quite full circle, growing from the ground like a giant mushroom cap.
Above them, the ceiling had a circular window in place, allowing the moon to shine down and illuminate the gems. It allowed different colors to shine within the facets of each side of the jewels and project around the room, casting a variety of shades on the walls and floor. The domed shape of the ceiling meant it appeared like the arches surrounding the room were swaying towards the gems, drawing every eye in the room to that one point no matter where you tried to look.
Legend said that the gems were a gift from the gods, the tool by which the Elves had been granted magic, and looking at the magnificence before me, I could very well believe it. These were not normal gems in any way, shape, or form. There was something otherworldly about them, besides their abnormal size.
