Elzilaura requested to be alone after the rituals were completed.
The rest of them were getting ready for dinner. While she was meditating, Queen Monandra had word with Kanunia. "I hope you have no ill feelings against my blunt comments earlier. I had to say what I had to say."
"I take no offense, your majesty," Kanunia claims. "You are right. She is my little sister but I must learn to trust her more. She is no longer a little child. She is now our Crystal Princess."
"Yes, and she will be Queen soon," Monandra adds. "And you will now have to follow orders from her and not you dictating. It's not the natural order of things but it is what is destined to be. I hope this is not hard for you to take."
"Certainly not," Kanunia says. "For I know my place."
"I am impressed by you." The Queen commends her. "How I wished our family is just like yours. As you all know the Ludinian royal family has always been at odds with each other.
My younger siblings disapprove of me being my father's heir. My children have never shown solidarity and filial devotion."
"All I can say is that all families have their problems," Kanunia says carefully. "In time, your problems as a family will be resolved."
"Thank you," Monandra says. "I must apologize for placing my own family in a bad light. Even though they can be difficult, my children are smart and thoughtful at times. I hope you do not think ill of them."
"No worries your majesty. I never judge anyone based on other people's opinion of them." Kanunia affirms
"You impress me even more. How I wish we could converse more but I have a meeting with my ministers. Let us continue this some other time."
"I will look forward to it your majesty." Kanunia curtsies and they soon part ways. She then checks on her beloved sister.
"Ella, may I come in". She whispers at the door as she knocks.
Ezilaura then allows her into the room. The elder sister randomly hugs her younger sister. "Congratulations, you finally made it."
Elzilaura replies. "I could not have done it without your support and faith in me." Both of them let go of the embrace.
"So, what now? What are your plans?" Kanunia asks.
"I wanted to meet with you guys to arrange everything but that could be done in the morning. For now, Queen Monandra says there will be a simple dinner so we can meet her family."
"All right then, I will inform the others," Kanunia says. "Right now, we can start preparing for dinner."
"Yes, please inform them tomorrow after breakfast before the allies arrive." Elzilaura commands.
Kanunia bows and gleefully leaves. She knows her sister is no longer the little girl she used to play with. She is a confident woman ready to be queen.
As she proceeded, she encounters Harrion. "Well, you're in a hurry." He utters.
"Yes, I have my tasks. Our crystal princess wants to have a meeting in the morning." Kanunia explains.
"Oh, I see. Let me help you disseminate the information." Harrion offers help.
"Sure. You may share the information while I go find the Queen's secretary or any member of her staff." Kanunia seemed shaken.
"I hope you're not avoiding me." He seemed a little annoyed.
"Not at all. I just need to complete some tasks. I don't want our princess to think I'm being too lax with my duties just because we are sisters."
"Perhaps, we can spread the information together." Harrion claims.
Kanunia exhales. "All right, Harrion. Let's go."
Harrion walks side by side with her. He tries to converse and slowly she seemed to open up. Soon, the awkwardness between them was forgotten.
During dinner, the last to arrive in the dining hall was Queen Monandra and Princess Elzilaura. All of those in attendance clapped as well as congratulatory greetings for the princess when they entered the dining hall. As they seated, the rest followed and dinner was served.
"Your highness, crystal princess, allow me to introduce my husband, Prince Reuviom." The old man bowed his head. He spoke in Ludinian. "Pleasure it is to meet the princess." This was the custom greeting of Ludinians. Luckily, Elzilaura knew how to respond. She replied in Ludinian as well. "True pleasure is in meeting you."
Monandra continued. "And these are my children Prince Ederi, Prince Marnam, Princess Diamora, and Princess Casinaia." The children gave the same greetings and the Princess gave the customary reply.
As they were eating, Reuviom asked "How is it that you are fluent in Ludinian?"
"I know the standard greetings but not so much fluency in the language." Elzilaura politely responds.
"You spoke so well. Just like a Ludinian." Princess Casinaia comments.
"Thank you, royal highness. You are most kind." Elzilaura returns the compliment.
Prince Ederi then asked. "And do you know of our history as well?"
"I do know that the Ludinians are descended from the Lamradians who lost their planet and a member of the royal house of Fliska who established the Ludinian settlement."
Indeed, it is our humble beginnings, Princess." The firstborn prince claims. "But let me share more for the benefit of our other guests." He then continues.
"A Fliskan prince who happened to become an explorer was lost in space and was rescued by wandering Lamradians in search of a new home. They accidentally destroyed their planet by depleting its natural resources. In return for their rescue efforts, the prince helped the Lamradians in their quest instead of going back to his planet.
On their journey, they seemed to have been sucked by a black hole. To their surprise, they were actually on the surface of a desolate planet. The prince then discovered the energy within the planet was due to a power gem. He was able to control the power and brought it back to Fliska. The queen gives him the gemstone and does the linking so he may officially control the power within. He goes back to his Lamradian friends and they make him their new leader with his powerful gem.
The Lamradians wanted to call their new kingdom New Lamrad but the new King with his Fliskan attendants wanted to call it Fliskana. Realizing that they must all compromise, they named the planet Ludin from the words Lushada and Adinmaki from the ancient languages of both Fliska and Lamrad. Both meant hope for all.
The royal house of Ludin carries almost the same titles as the Fliskan royal family as we have descended from your bloodline. However, the line of succession in Ludin is different. Our law states the birth order regardless of gender determines the act of succession unless otherwise, the reigning monarch makes a different decree."
"Bravo my son." Queen Monandra raised her cup for her firstborn and then takes a sip. "You are ready to be King of the history classrooms." Everyone laughs.
"I am your firstborn. Who else would succeed you?" He asks. The other siblings clear their throats in response. Prince Reuviom just laughs.
"Only the humble of the heart can succeed me. That I promise you." Queen Monandra takes another sip. "As you have so mentioned, birth order determines the act of succession unless otherwise, the reigning monarch issues a decree." Prince Ederi tones down.
Queen Monandra has been ruling over Ludin for quite a long time. She had been crowned a few months after Azestina's coronation. Monandra is the eldest offspring of the late King. Her father died when she was sixteen and was one of the youngest monarchs ever to rule their realm. It was rumored that the late king was in favor of his younger sons.
Everyone was waiting for the official decree. On his deathbed, the king suppressed the rumors by declaring Princess Monandra, his eldest offspring, as his heir apparent.
Lord Ovded then utters. "Whoever succeeds you, Queen Monanda will uphold the honor and grace of this royal house."
The Queen nods in approval. "Well said, my Lord Ovded. I hope you consider securing your bloodline as well."
"I will consider it in the future your majesty." He sternly answers. "Perhaps when we have helped our Crystal Princess here regain Fliska and be rid of Nybos."Everyone cheered.
After dinner, the royal family invites the guests to their palace garden. It was indeed a winter garden and in the middle was a beautiful skating rink. Some of the guests joined Queen Monandra's children in skating. Not for long, a Ludinian couple performed an ice dance routine and all the guests stayed to the sides.
Elzilaura was walking with Kanunia and Dazifae when she allowed her companions to wander off as she too intended on exploring the garden. Kanunia reminds her to be careful.
When she was alone, Elzilaura stayed near the main pathways when the two princes of Ludin came and gave her a garden tour.
Kanunia tries her luck skating when Harrion comes out of nowhere to assist the lady. Spending a lot of his vacations in the polar regions of Fliska and Craiine, he knows a lot of winter sports that surprise Kanunia.
Ranued admires the winter plants only found in Ludin and then encounters Dazifae whom he accompanies. Not for long, they were joined by Queen Monandra's daughters who showed them to the greenhouse.
Zyric stays for a moment near the edge of the skating rink together with Alednos. They watched the skaters, especially Harrion and Kanunia. When the couple glanced at the two gentlemen who were intently looking at them, Harrion and Kanunia simply got distracted and both fell on the ice.
Zyric then preferred to rest and decides to leave the garden. Alednos stays behind to appreciate the garden just like the other guests. He caught up with Dazifae and Ranued with the princesses of Ludin.
Before retiring to bed, the queen of Ludin and the crystal princess chanced upon each other in the hallways. Queen Monandra invites Elzilaura to her office.
Along the way, they encounter Zyric who bows before them and bids them good night.
Monandra sneers at Zyric once he walked past them. She began to confide in Elzilaura. "Do be careful, my dear. I do not trust your general."
"Why do you say that your majesty?" Elzilaura asks.
"He's too charming," Monandra replies even before the princess could finish. Elzilaura tries her hardest not to burst into laughter. The Queen of Ludin continues.
"It's distracting to work with someone like that. I had a very endearing general once. I wanted him and he wanted me but we know that my father will disapprove. So, I let him go and he married someone else. I envied him until I had a family of my own. Now, I couldn't even remember his name." She arrogantly flings her hand in a gesture.
Before Elzilaura could respond, they arrived at the door of the office. "Oh, here we are." The Queen says as she opens the door.
She then approaches her desk and shares with Elzilaura her gift. "I am sure that you are aware that linking to your gem allows you to discover your gift." She pulls out a pen from the drawer.
"A traveler once said he visited a planet with the people saying that the pen is mightier than the sword."
"He must have traveled to Earth" Elzilaura claims.
"Oh, so that is the planet," Monandra replies. "This is as mighty as a sword. It's a pen sword!"
Elzilaura was confused and seeing her expression, the Queen knew she had to show it. "Allow me to demonstrate." Monandra clasps the pen with two hands towards her chest. Immediately, it transforms into a sword. The princess was in awe of what she witnessed.
"I use it as a pen most of the time but when my life is in danger, I use it as a sword." The Queen explains. "Here you may touch it if you like." She extends the sword near her guest. The princess slowly touches the handle. "Amazing! I thought the shower of light was the gift."
"No, it is only a blessing. The gift that they speak of eventually shows up from nowhere once the linking is done. Here in Ludin, we call the trial of light the Sardonyx Sheathing. If the first phase of the test in the trial of light is the shielding from harmful light, the last phase of our tests is the sheathing when we are enveloped with the power of the gem. If we succeed, we live through the sheathing and the gifting is explained to us."
"I see," Elzilaura says. "When did it show up for you?"
"Immediately after I passed, I woke up the next day and saw a pen on my desk. After my coronation, I witnessed it transform into a sword as I laid it down after I finished signing my first decree as Queen."
"Oh". That was all the princess could say in her astonishment.
"But it differs from one monarch to another.
I found a diary by my great-grandmother, a reigning Queen of Ludin. A few months after her coronation, a fruit tree in the royal gardens began to emerge. The tree bore seedless fruits which are said to have cured minor discomforts such as common colds, nausea, and headache. When the queen died, the tree was struck by lightning and burned down.
This Queen also narrates in her diary that her father too had a rare gift. A few days after he passed the Sardonyx Sheathing, he found a sword in his bedroom. He thought it was a gift from someone who wanted to remain anonymous. One day, he discovered that the sword can cut through metal when his life was endangered. The sword still exists today and is kept in a vault however, its metal-cutting ability is already lost."
Elzilaura was happy to hear these wonderful stories. "I hope one day I will receive a beautiful gift as well."
"When that time comes you know it is truly special," Monandra reassures. "You will recognize it immediately. But the greatest gift I have ever received is motherhood. My children are my greatest joys in life even though raising them proves to be a challenge."
Elzilaura agrees. "Yes, your majesty. The greatest treasure one could ever receive that cannot be easily taken away is the love that comes from your family. I learned this when I lost my mother so suddenly. I was devastated when she passed on but her love keeps me afloat. Her kindness and her hopes keep inspiring me to move forward."
"True enough Crystal Princess." Queen Monandra affirms. "And wherever your honorable parents are, I am sure they are proud of you. Well, it's getting late. Let us turn in for the night. Tomorrow, more business as usual."
"Yes, your majesty. Pleasant dreams and good night." The crystal princess curtsied before she headed off to her room. Though she was tired, she was filled with curiosity and excitement regarding her gift.