Chosen by the Princess

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The informal throne room near her mother’s chambers was not nearly as imposing as the one used for formal occasions. In the grander room, the queen would greet visiting dignitaries and noblewomen or meet with commoners who had managed to gain an audience with her. A few times each year, Queen Rona would hold court there and decide whether or not prisoners should continue to stay in the dungeons--catacombs and labyrinths of cells beneath the castle--or actually be released. Most of them would have already spent more time in the unsanitary, disease ridden prison than anyone cared to measure by the time the queen saw them.

Kit preferred to meet with her mother in the smaller chamber because it usually meant a more select audience. Though she was certain members of the Royal Council would be present, she didn’t know for sure if it would be all of them or just those closest to the queen by blood or loyalty.

She still wore the same pink gown she’d had on earlier, but Avinia and Isla had worked her hair up on top of her head so that it was more presentable. The pearl tiara graced her crown, and she knew her mother would appreciate it because the diminutive size made it even more clear who was in charge, just as Queen Rona preferred.

Kit proceeded to the throne room accompanied by two members of her guard. One was the second in command, a tall fellow by the name of Galter, with broad shoulders and dark blond hair. The other was a man she’d seen before whose name was unknown to her, but he had kind brown eyes above a rather bulbous nose. His muscles were large and strained against his gray uniform, and while Kit was intrigued by his physique, she couldn’t imagine getting around such an intrusive facial feature. It occurred to her that everyone was a prospect now that her Exploration was about to begin.

The distance from her own chambers to the queen’s was vast. In the wrong shoes, Kit often felt the same way she used to when she would go on long hikes through the forest near the castle. The scenery in the gray marble hallways wasn’t similar but it seemed to take just as long to make the journey to her mother’s rooms as it had for her to find her way through dense woods. Castle Wrenbrook was massive, probably the largest structure ever built in all the world, and the halls meandered for miles with expansive staircases leading up and down to turrets and catacombs such that Kit realized she’d likely never know the full footprint of the structure. What she did know was, if she intended to be punctual when visiting her mother, she needed to leave her chambers with at least a quarter of an hour to spare. Today, she’d left with a few extra minutes, so she didn’t walk quite as quickly, and when she met others in the hallway, be they noble persons who shared the castle with the royal family and council members, or servants, she spoke to them for a few moments, a habit that drove her mother mad and endeared the princess to her sweet father who did the same. Everyone she stopped to speak to also appreciated Kit’s kindness.

Two armed members of the Queen’s Guard stood on either side of her mother’s large golden, intricately carved doors which soared above Kit’s head. They were dressed in similar uniforms to the Princess’s Guard, though the stripes down the side were more of a deep maroon than purple, and the patches on their shoulders identified them as members of the Queen’s Guard. Knowing the princess was expected, one soldier on each side pulled open the heavy doors, and Kit smiled in thanks, though they only scowled in return. She turned to look at Galter one more time. He nodded his assurance that he would wait for her in the hallway, as her guards did every time she was delivered to her mother.

Inside, Kit’s pink satin slippers treaded lightly on a red and gold embroidered carpet that stretched across the white marble floor the same width as the double doors. Her mother was seated on her throne. This one, though slightly smaller and less elaborate than the one in the formal throne room, was made of solid gold with red velvet cushions and jewels across the top of the backrest larger than the ones that adorned Kit’s most regal crown. Her mother sat there now, on the edge of her seat, a golden crown with spikes that reminded Kit of splintered wood atop her dark hair, her face unsmiling, her fingers wrapped around the ends of the armrests.

Kit curtseyed low before her mother, as she and everyone else who came into the queen’s presence was required to do. She recited the same obligatory greeting as well. “Hail Rona, Empress of All the Lands East of the Galacial Mountains and Queen of the Provinces South of the Compazional Sea, my sovereign” adding only, “my mother,” to the end as was her personal requirement.

“You may rise, Princess Katrinetta.” The queen’s voice was deeper, more forceful than her daughter’s, but Kit had grown accustomed to Rona’s direct way of speaking many years ago. Still, she remembered being a small child who visited her mother infrequently and being frightened of the way her speech reverberated off the marble floors and stone walls. Today, she wasn’t afraid of her mother, but she was apprehensive about what the ruler had to say.

Kit glanced over at the lesser thrones to the right of her mother. Smaller, less adorned, and with no armrests, they seated a few members of the Royal Council. Kit bowed her head to her relations. Zora, her mother’s aunt, whose white hair testified to her infinite wisdom, smiled in return. Nill, who was both Queen Rona’s sister and Avinia’s mother, looked nothing like the queen. Her light hair was the same color as Avinia’s, though she was shorter and slightly plump. Two other council members were present as well, both duchesses, like her aunts, both of royal blood, and of some distant relation to Kit which she didn’t quite understand. Their faces reflected kindness and sympathy for what Kit was about to endure while her mother’s expression was nothing but business as usual.

Kit waited for the queen to gesture for her to be seated on a bench at the foot of the dais which raised the throne several inches off the floor. Kit took her place on the seat, brushing her skirts out around her legs and trying not to fidget as she waited for the queen to gather her thoughts. Sometimes, she knew this process was only to make her, or whomever Rona was about to address, nervous--not because the queen didn’t know what to say. Today, Kit expected that was the case, so she began to count, a way to pass the time without letting her anxiety override her.

At thirteen, her mother cleared her voice. “As you know, your Proem Ceremony is to be held the day after tomorrow, the day after your eighteenth birthday.”

“Yes, Mother, my Queen,” Kit replied, swallowing down the fear that threatened to climb up her throat.

“I regret to inform you there has been an issue with the royal physician, Mikali, and the council members and myself have been meeting in order to come up with a fitting solution. Never in all of our years has such an occurrence taken place. It is unprecedented, and we have searched royal decrees to find an answer but fallen short.”

Kit stared at her mother, her mouth agape, for almost as long as it had taken Rona to speak in the first place. It wasn’t until Zora cleared her throat that Kit was able to look away. Trying to determine what sort of problem it might be, and what sort of remedy they might provide, made her even nervous. She’d already been anxious at the idea that the elderly physician would be performing her Proem in less than two days. Now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Zora’s tone was more empathetic. “It seems the physician’s age prevents him from performing the ceremony, child.” She tipped her head to the side and gave Kit a moment to ponder how that could be. “As you may remember, he had difficulties at the last Proem Ceremony, that of your cousin, Isla.”

Of course, Isla had told her how she’d felt next to nothing during the ceremony and how it had been during her Exploration that the true discomfort she’d been expecting had come to pass. Kit nodded her head.

“We have discussed the possibilities of having the physician perform the ceremony using something else, some other device, but the law clearly states that the Proem must be completed by a male’s member. It cannot be a substitute device.” Rona seemed exasperated.

Not wanting to let her naïveté embarrass her, Kit pondered exactly what her mother was saying, though she wasn’t exactly clear. She kept her lips closed and her ears wide open.

“We thought perhaps another man could be chosen to perform it, some sort of a lottery,” Zora continued.

“But I know my daughter well enough to understand that solution would not be a wise decision. You would become fascinated with that man, and that is not what the Proem is about. Remember, this is a medical procedure. It is a ceremonial removing of the barrier inside a woman’s body, that which separates her childhood from adulthood, and symbolizes a passing into a phase when she deserves to be completely pleasured in whatever ways she desires.”

That much Kit understood in its entirety. She nodded again.

“We have thought of a possible solution, but it is an involved process, and it may not be wholly lawful.” It was the first time Nill had spoken, and her gentle voice was a comfort to Kit in her overwhelmed state.

“We propose that it be a member of your guard, chosen in secret such that no one will know precisely who he is. He shall perform the Proem Ceremony under the direction of Mikali, and then you shall never be aware of who served you in such a capacity, thus preventing you from developing any unnecessary emotional attachment to him.” Her mother presented her with the solution as if she were stating a medical diagnosis, and Kit raised both eyebrows, trying to determine exactly how what she described might be done.

Zora spread her long white gown around her knees and took a deep breath. “We would ask any members of your guard who may be interested to present themselves to the physician to ensure they are disease free and clear of any ailments that might prevent them from performing the ceremony.”

“Since they are all inspected regularly, Mikali would know if any were of questionable health,” Nill continued.

“Then, the physician would randomly choose twenty of those who volunteered, assuming there maybe more than that. Those twenty would all be blindfolded and covered so that no one may know who they are, not even the physician. He would then arbitrarily select one of them to perform the ceremony while the rest wait within an area where it would be impossible to tell who had been selected. Once the procedure was over, the only person who would know who performed the Proem would be the man himself. We will ensure that he understands, should he speak a word to anyone, he will lose his head.” The queen seemed satisfied with her explanation, but Kit still had several questions.

She reflected on what the council members and her mother had stated for a moment before drawing in a deep breath and asking, “May I make inquiry?”

“Of course,” Zora said at the same time her mother said, “That’s not necessary.”

“Rona, dear, allow the child to speak,” Zora pressed, gently. “She is frightened, can’t you see?”

“There’s simply nothing to be frightened of,” the queen protested. “It’s easy enough. You shall lie there while he enters you, and then the ceremony is over. Once your Clearing is complete, you may lay with whomever you choose for the next three years before your Choosing begins. What is there to fear?”

“Forgive me, Mother,” Kit replied, clearing her throat and running her hands down the length of her skirt again. “I was only going to ask how Mikali would assist. Would the guard be blindfolded during the ceremony? Wouldn’t he need to see?”

The ladies considered the second question quietly before Rona shrugged her perfectly straight shoulders beneath her dark gown and said, “I suppose we could make it so that he could see if necessary, but his face would need to remain completely covered.”

“And you do not think I know the members of my guard well enough to recognize who he is?” Kit’s mind flickered through the familiar faces, the ones who accompanied her through the hall, watched over her while she was in the garden or the library. What would it be like to know that one of them had been inside of her, and he was the only one who knew? Would she constantly question who it might be? Would he slip up and give himself away?

“We will make sure he is unrecognizable.” The queen seemed confident in her resolve. “And Mikali would simply ensure the ceremony is performed properly.”

“Would the guard be exposed to the crowd? Or would he only reveal himself beneath the sheets?” Kit wondered

“What difference does it make?” Clearly the queen was growing exasperated with her daughter now.

“I should think a lesser number of guards would wish to take part if they were about to expose themselves to the entire Royal Court,” she argued. “Also, would Mikali exclude those who are already wed?” She knew there were at least a few members of her guard who had wives, and she couldn’t imagine having one of them perform the ceremony.

“Fine, he does not need to be exposed. That can happen beneath the sheets. And yes, of course, no married men will be involved.” Rona answered quickly.

That would leave forty or so gentlemen who may be eligible. Would even half of them step forward? She had no idea. Since it was her understanding that most men did not receive the same sort of pleasure from s****l relations as women did, she feared none of them would want the duty. Of course, this was not a s****l act, she reminded herself. It was simply a medical procedure….

“We are settled then,” Rona said, dismissively. “This is how it shall be done. I shall sign a decree. And then… we shall set about finding a healthier physician. After all, you do have younger cousins who will require the procedure someday. I hope that you will also have a daughter in the coming years. It shouldn’t do for her to also be afflicted with this unconventional method.”

The fact that her mother found their solution so distasteful made Kit wonder if this was the right answer or not, but there was nothing she could do to change it now. “Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me, Mother?”

“No, that is all,” Rona replied and gave her daughter a dismissive nod.

Kit rose, a few questions lingering in her mind that she dared not ask now that her mother had given her leave. The rest of the council, even those who had not spoken, gave her reassuring smiles as the princess curtsied to her mother and then backed to the door. The guards beyond opened it so that she could make her way through without turning her back to her mother.

In the hall, Galter and the other guard waited for her. She knew the doors were thick, but she thought perhaps they had some idea what was discussed as they would not look directly at her, and their cheeks were slightly pinked. She looked at each of them again and then redirected her eyes to the long marble hall in front of her. Could she in good conscious walk alongside her guards knowing that one of them knew her so intimately? She had no idea how she might do such a thing, but she would have to discover a way to put it out of her mind as she had little control over any of it, like most aspects of her life. Once her mother had made up her mind, there was no going back. Kit wondered what would be worse—the guard or the physician--and decided that either choice was horrid.