No Rest for the Wicked or Moral

[Nocte Luna]

Geneva hurried into the dining hall, quickly making her way across the floor to her chair at the table. Her father sat, waiting politely for his daughter.

“My dear, what caused you to be late?”

“My apologies, father, my studies were keeping my attention and I lost track of time.” She gave a little curtsy before taking her seat, food brought forward almost immediately.

“Ah, so your studies are going well, then?”

“Yes, they are,” Geneva served herself a small amount of each food, taking a bite before responding again, “I used to believe that being a ruler meant sitting on a throne all day, but truly, there is much, much more. It is quite a bit of work, whether anyone cares to realize that or not.”

Thomas nodded, giving his daughter a smile. “That is very perspective, Geneva. You have grown in the past few months, whether you realize it or not.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes before helping themselves to yet another serving of food.

“Geneva, there is a reason why I asked you to attend this dinner. I believe you should be aware of this at the earliest possible time, so it does not come as a surprise.”

The princess nodded, taking a forkful of fruit from her plate and letting the taste melt in her mouth.

“As your twentieth birthday is about six months away, we will begin a search for your partner after your birthday.” Thomas said, patting his mouth with his napkin.

“A-alright, that is…fine, I suppose.” Geneva stuttered, swallowing a piece of fruit almost whole in surprise.

“Should you have any possible suitors, you should inform me around the time of your birthday. Until then, you shall be sent on a number of diplomatic missions to surrounding nations, starting within our own country, to see if there is anyone who you could possibly marry. Your brother was in the process of courting his potential wife, and was going to propose..” Thomas’ voice trailed off, leaving Geneva with feelings of sadness remaining.

“But that is of no concern right now. Your journey will begin in three months, so you have plenty of time to prepare.”

“What about the previously attempted journey? Should we be so quick to forget what happened?”

“Do not worry, my dear. Investigations have been taking place for the last several months. We have determined the reason why such an act occurred, and have ensured that it will not happen again. Do you remember that woman from Helal?”

“Yes, how could I forget that evening at the ball?”

“Perhaps your depression has left you without knowledge of the happenings in the castle. Her name was June, and we had begun negotiations, however, it turns out a few of her people instigated the attack. She claims her people had nothing to do with it, but it was, in fact, her citizens who decided it was the appropriate response. The Helal people are now confined to the mountains, and they are not allowed on our grounds anymore.”

“Oh.” Geneva said, a frown sweeping across her face.

“Believe me, it is for the better. I had intentions of listening to them, but never giving them land. Leaving sooner rather than later diminished their hope quickly.” Thomas said, finishing his plate.

Geneva finished the rest of her meal in silence, listening to her father go on and on about his work and all the problems he had to solve. It wasn’t boring, per say, but it didn’t intrigue Geneva like other topics.

After dinner, both father and daughter took a walk outside, stars gleaming brightly far beyond the dim lights of Marrford, which seemed miles away. The stone beneath their feet was cold, still trapping the winter chill.

A short while later, Thomas made his way to the marble staircase, leaving Geneva alone to rest her weight against the stone balcony, moon pouring light down onto the shadowed gardens.

Nothing felt as peaceful or serene as those few moments where she stood, letting her figure eclipse the doors behind her.

Time passed, and the princess found herself growing tired after the hours spent working. Geneva took each step slowly, climbing her way to her bedroom and loosening her corset just enough so that she could fall asleep, surrounded by her layered skirts.

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,
Wow, it's been a while. But here we are again, me with a new chapter, and you with (finally) something to read. Believe it or not, this was done six months ago...I think. I reopened this document and didn't add or revise anything. Hopefully I remember where this is headed and I finish what I want to.

Love (after all these months) from,
NL

[Ranger of the North]

...she handled that surprisingly well. o_o

[Nocte Luna]

“Princess Geneva?” It was barely 6 AM and someone was already incessantly whispering beyond the wood of her door. Geneva groaned and picked herself up from bed. “Princess Geneva?” Geneva answered the door, trying to flatten her hair from its ruffled, sleepy state.

“Good morning, princess.” Percy Iles stood in her doorway, beaming pleasantly.

“Sir Iles, I wish I could be as delighted as you are at seeing me this early in the morning.” Geneva was getting closer to deadpanning every second, trying to ignore the broad grin across her tutors’ face.

“Princess, you do have a breakfast to attend this morning, and it would be rather unfortunate if you were late. Your father would be very disappointed; he believed you had a productive conversation last night.” The smile on Iles’ face was beginning to look painful.

“And when is this breakfast?” Geneva asked with a soft frown.

“Seven thirty, you are to arrive at seven for pleasant conversation.” Iles turned and left, leaving Geneva to close her door and exhale. Breakfast was typically a casual meal for the family, and seven in the morning felt half as appropriate as eating a fancy dinner later in the evening.

Geneva decided her outfit from the previous day was less than satisfactory, so she quickly changed into a less wrinkled ensemble, making sure her hair was neater and well-kept before relaxing for a moment. She debated wearing her tiara, but often felt it was unnecessary, besides, it was too formal for a breakfast anyways.

Partway through her mental debate, a knock sounded at the door, and Geneva, being too passive to open it, simply answered and asked whoever was outside to come in.

Gley pushed open the door, poking his head in. “Princess, I’m supposed to accompany you, so if you will, I think everything is ready for you.”

Geneva got up quietly, making her way to the door and letting Gley walk her downstairs to the dining hall, where people were already milling about, taking water from passing servers. Geneva frowned. These were not just any people, they were all men. Based on only the dialect she could hear, they weren’t just from Ferevor, but the higher voices that carried through the room sounded like those of the Vaelie family, and the punctuated sound of the Bella Cabernale’s consonants were distinct in those from the south.

“What is all this, where is my father?” Geneva flipped around, heading towards the door, but Gley grabbed at her arm, pulling her closer to the center of the room.

“May I have your attention, everyone?” Sir Cartain appeared from the kitchen, making a sweeping gesture towards Geneva. Geneva’s eyes went wide as all the attention in the room switched to her and her breath caught in her throat. “Princess Geneva Ederny!”

Applause flew across the room and Geneva stood, trying to not look as uncomfortable as she was. She gave a little wave and a curtsy, a polite smile unfolding over her lips. She gave once last glance around before she was surrounded by men she didn’t know. They were all laughing and smiling as if she had make some sort of joke.

Immediately off to her left, a man with greying hair asked Geneva something. “Excuse me, could you repeat that?” She asked, not able to hear over the loud talking and everyone surrounding her. Gley had turned towards the small crowd gathering, trying to keep a good radius so no one would touch Geneva. Most seemed to be respectful of the distance, but Gley still had to push a few hands away from Geneva’s wrist.

“Excuse me?” Geneva asked for the fourth time, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She straightened up, starting to frown, and addressed the crowd. “Excuse me, everyone.” She let her voice ring out and fill every corner of the room. “Excuse me.” The talking died down and all eyes were on her again. “If there could be some sort of line so I could talk to whomever wishes to speak with me, I would greatly appreciate that.” Gley immediately began herding some of the crowd into a line. “Thank you. Now, let’s discuss, shall we?”

The discussions Geneva had were mostly short conversations, but through a number of inquiries of her own, she was able to find out that her father had organized the breakfast in hopes of finding her a suitor. Of course her father would be the one to rush a process he didn’t understand – marrying in to the royal family was much different than growing up in it. However, as questions got stranger and Geneva began to grow less patient, it was hard to not feel so angry. Sir Cartain and Gley had been working to keep her comfortable – fetching chairs when she didn’t feel like standing after an hour, restocking her plate of pastries she decided to indulge in, and keeping the line from pushing forward too much.

Finally, after almost two and a half hours of conversations ranging from two minutes to twenty, Geneva heard the doors open and she turned to see Captain Blakely strut in. Gley rose to his feet. “Captain, the situation is under control, why –“

“Princess Geneva, you have other meetings to attend to. Your presence is required elsewhere.” Captain Blakely offered Geneva a gloved hand and she accepted, overturning the pastries on the floor and hurrying out of the room. Her father had not yet shown up and she had half wondered if he was alright.

Geneva hurried out of the room, Captain Blakely at her side, matching her short, fast strides. Once they left the room, he turned to her, one eyebrow raised. “So, are you glad to be out of there?”

“Of course I am, that was utterly ridiculous. I need to have a word with my father.” Geneva shook her head.

“You’re welcome, Princess Geneva. You seemed awfully bored, I thought you could use another meeting to attend.” Geneva was already walking away.

“So you expect a thank you?” She asked, back to Blakely.

“Yes, of some sort. I did just save you from all those horrible suitors.” He followed her with crossed arms and a slightly smug expression.

“Look, I could have left anytime I liked. I just wanted to see what sorts of people my father wanted to invite to such an event. I’m not helpless and I don’t need saving.” Geneva’s speech filled with contractions as she struggled to keep herself from growing more frustrated.

“Princess, I-“ “Captain Blakely, I can take care of myself, thank you very much. You are excused from my service while I take care of matters on my own.”

Geneva cut across his path, heading upstairs with no spring or hurried manner in her steps, thoroughly annoyed.

[Nocte Luna]

Dear Reader,
Hey, I did the thing! I wrote a new chapter good for me!

I also have started chapter 26, however, unless I get it done in the next hour, then I'm not going to be able to post anything tomorrow. I'm very busy, unfortunately.

But in other news - this the official halfway point of a novel! I hit 25,000 words while writing this chapter. I think this will be a 1,000 words per chapter kind of book, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm just glad to know that I've made it halfway to a novel.

Thanks for any/all who read.

Much love,
NL

[Ranger of the North]

Congratulations to you! c: