Princess of Faerl
36. The Banquet

*Elentari*

We got back to the castle and Lily was stuck to my hip. It was kinda cute, though what I found cuter was the fact that Stacie and Aranelda were stuck to each other like glue as well. I don’t know if he told her, or will tell her about their fate bond. Maybe he’s waiting until she’s eighteen. That’ll be next year. The gates opened for us and Lily, along with all of her siblings, let out a chorus of ooh’s and aah’s. I shook my head a bit, but I understand the impressive nature of this building. It was probably more so for them, being fairies with their natural connection. They probably felt the spirit of the building, the fact that it was somewhat alive.

The staff ushered us into the large dining room. It seemed to have grown since I last stepped foot here. I mean, it was large before, able to seat around a hundred people if need be, but this is massive now. There were multiple tables with one head table. Currently, the head table has chairs on both sides across its length. I looked at Belle, “Why did the room change so much?”

“Your coronation is in a couple of days, there will be a feast after. We needed to be ready.” Her smile was radiant with pride. “Though we would like you to pick out the decorative colors for it and the theme.” I nodded, mouth slightly agape.

“Could we… possibly make it a birthday party of sorts for myself and Aranelda? I mean, I didn’t really have a birthday party and neither did he. I don’t feel it’s right for the coronation to be all about me, either. He’s being crowned too, right?” Belle gently patted my hand.

“All things in due time, my courageous child. Your brother will be more than honored. Do not fret. It was supposed to be a surprise.” I let out a sigh of relief. It had been overwhelming that everything was all about me, and not really about my brother. It wasn’t okay with me. I turned my attention to Lily. She looked like she had all the questions in the world about the castle; me, my brother, and my parents. Her curiosity knew no bounds.

“Uhm, Silk?” She started to ask, scrunching up her nose and gasping, “I mean, Princess Elentari?” Her eyes were now riveted to the floor and I could feel anxiety crashing off her in waves.

“It’s okay to call me Silk. That’s actually the name of my sprite spirit. So it’s still part of me.” I offered her a kind smile, “What are you curious about?”

“I just. Why me? I’ve never been anyone or anything of note, nothing particularly special. I’m just a fairy that went to school with you.” Her face was super serious and I could barely keep my giggles to myself.

“Oh my, well, if you had told me two weeks ago you were a fairy, I would have offered you some of my medication. Two, up until this week, that’s the same description I would use for myself. The only reason I don’t right now is too many people tell me to shut my pie hole and stop downplaying who I am. I won’t say those exact words to you, but look at your family. You’re the eldest. Look at your accomplishments and the hope your family has for you. Would they put that faith and hope in a nobody?” Realization swept over her and she held an expression of extreme thought. She almost looked constipated. “Don’t think too hard about it, I think I see steam coming from your ears.”

She blushed a bit, nodding, “Okay, so I won’t downplay who I am, and you don’t downplay who you are, deal?” A cheeky grin took the place of the constipated expression. Now I really couldn’t stop giggling.

“Sure Lily, we’ll go with that.” Moving to the table, we all picked our seats. Lily and her family sat across from me, starting with Lily, and wrapped around the table with her parents sitting next to my twin. In the other direction, Belle, Alaric, Dad, Alisee, Stacie, Scottie, Eliza’s parents, then Eliza and her family. Audra and Manic also sat across from me in the sea of fairy children.

“Dear guests,” Alaric raised his glass and addressed everyone present. “We are pleased to be able to share this moment with you. Be it through positive interaction or negative interaction, the two young ladies here today, and their families, represent the ends of the kingdom we must unite. Hopefully, today we can build bonds, secure understanding, and work towards a truthful, and fruitful, understanding to face the coming trials.” His voice boomed and was completely mesmerizing. Once he was done talking, I stole a glance over at Eliza and her family. I felt bad for a moment as her father was glaring at her, assuming she was the negative interaction. Presumably, because she wasn’t sitting next to me.

“Today, we celebrate Elentari and her accomplishments, but also, we celebrate the return of Aranelda, our lovely boy that was stolen from us at his birth. Our hearts were empty, as parents, and in the span of a week, we were given our gifts back. I pray to the God of Gods, the true creator of all, to bless our family as we have followed Selene for so many generations. Protect us from the greed and insolence of deities that have decided they are the creator. Let us toast the Prince and Princess of Faerl, both raised away from home, in humility and through trials we would never have wished for our children, as they are now where they belong with an understanding of the world we will never be able to grasp. May this understanding grant them wisdom beyond what we could imagine, leading us into a brighter future. I would also like to announce that everyone here is invited to our banquet in two days’ time. We will officially announce our children and my successor.” Belle looked to the parents of both of the girls I chose, “I hope that we can work together to unite all Fae kinds, as together we are stronger. Together we can keep our world safe. Together, we can fight Chaos that threatens our very existence.”

With that, Belle sat down, clapped her hands, and dinner commenced. Aranelda had the widest eyes of all of us. ‘Wait, can I eat any of this? I don’t have to wait till everyone is done? I don’t need to wait for the leftovers?’ His questions through our mind-link were painful reminders that he had it worse than even I had. He had been abused by Hades, tormented, and starved.

‘Eat to your heart’s content, nin gwanuning. This food is for all of us. You are no longer with that evil deity. You are free.’ My heart was breaking for him. Pain filled my eyes as he stared at the food. ‘I promise, it’s okay.’ That little bit of encouragement and he slowly lifted the food to his mouth, a slight moan escaping his lips as the food touched his tongue. Funny looks were shot his way but then were quickly diverted when my glaring eyes met them.

Moments later, a portal ripped open in the center of the room. Surprised, I looked up to see Alke followed by Hephaestus carrying what looked like multiple weapons. I blinked in confusion. I had been told the weapons would take a while to make, and they would be in the training room once they were ready. Hephaestus looked different. He wasn’t covered in soot and dirt. He looked like he was actually trying to look nice? He and Alke bowed to us. “Your Majesties, pardon the intrusion. We were unaware there was a banquet being held, we would have come at another time.” Alke was the first to stand after talking. It felt like an eternity until Hephaestus stood. I was excited to see the weapons he was carrying.