The next day, the palace was filled with preparations for the Crown Prince’s coronation. Everyone was occupied with getting ready, while the servants cleaned the palace. Members of the royal family and their guests dressed up in preparation for the big event.
After the rituals and the speech, the coronation finally came to an end by mid-afternoon, and everyone moved to the grand hall for the party.
Freya stood in the corner, her eyes scanning the crowd and guests. She held her drink close to her chest, unsure of what to do with it. The girl couldn’t wait for the party to finally end so she could go back to her room. When her eyes fell on Rowan laughing with other men, she bit her lip.
Could she live as Princess Lirien had suggested? Forget everything else and just do what made her happy for the time being, and when they returned to Avon, act as if nothing had happened.
"Freya!"
The young girl jerked when someone touched her shoulder from behind. It was the princess, who was now smiling brightly, clearly excited to see her.
"Princess Lirien," Freya bowed, giving her a friendly smile.
The princess waved her off dismissively. "Call me Lirien. We’re closer than that now." Leaning closer, she whispered to Freya, "We share a secret." When she pulled back, she started laughing.
Freya joined in, noticing how excited the princess seemed. "Are you that happy to see your brother become king?"
"Pfft," Lirien nudged Freya. "I don’t care if a horse was crowned. My parents are leaving the palace tonight! They think Conrad is capable of handling the kingdom’s affairs." The girl clapped gleefully.
Freya chuckled, now understanding why the princess was so happy. Her freedom would finally be returned to her.
"That’s good."
"Good?" Lirien wagged her finger. "It’s great! Perfect! Marvelous! And we should celebrate." As a maid walked past with a tray of drinks, Lirien ran after her, grabbed two glasses, and downed them. Taking two more, she returned to Freya and offered her one.
Freya declined with a smile. "I haven’t finished mine," but the princess wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She grabbed Freya’s drink and placed it on the nearest table.
"Freya, tonight is the night we live! Drink and come out of your shell." The girl pushed the alcohol forward, and some of it spilled on Freya’s dress.
Freya took hold of the glass, trying to clean the stain off her dress. She raised it to her face; even the scent of the wine was too strong.
"Um-Pri-I mean, Lirien, I can’t... I don’t really drink."
"Shh!" Lirien put her finger to her lips. "Your problem is you overthink everything. Just drink already."
Freya pressed her lips together, then brought the glass to her mouth. She tasted it first with her tongue, scrunching her face at the bitter aftertaste, but then sipped again, finding herself gulping down the entire contents.
"Now, this is it!" Lirien shouted, causing other guests to turn and stare. The princess was already drunk, evident in her unsteady movements, as she held Freya closely to keep her balance.
"It’s time for the hunting game," she chanted, dragging Freya out of the hall.
Freya looked around nervously, walking closely beside the princess. "Hunting? But it’s late, and I don’t know how to hunt."
The princess paused, holding her stomach as she threw her head back and laughed. "Who said you were going to hunt?" Seeing the confusion in Freya’s eyes, Lirien continued, "You’re the prey. It’s a fun game we do around here. Maidens run into the forest, and men chase them. Whoever catches a maiden gets three wishes granted."
Freya found the game absurd. She opened her mouth to decline, but her head began to spin. She touched her forehead.
"I’m thirsty."
"Of course you are. I am too." The princess ran back inside the hall and returned with three glasses of alcohol. She gave one to Freya and held two for herself.
Freya quickly drank her glass but still wasn’t satisfied. She grabbed the second glass from the princess and gulped it down. By this time, both girls were seeing everything in beautiful colors, and the world looked ethereal in their eyes.
The voices of people sounded muffled in Freya’s ears, and all she could do was smile whenever someone looked at her.
"Now, back to what I was..." The princess trailed off, forgetting what she was going to say. She turned to look at Freya, and both girls started laughing uncontrollably as if something funny had happened.
Freya raised her hand. "I want to say something, I know... I don’t know," she shook her head, and their loud laughter echoed outside.
The first person to see them was the younger prince. He made his way over to the two girls. "Lirien, you’re drunk. Go back inside."
"Oh, look, it’s my brother. Welcome, Gerald," Princess Lirien waved, and Freya waved with her.
Freya frowned, then walked up to the prince and sniffed him closely.
"Burning leaves... that’s—"
"He was smoking," Lirien whispered, though her voice was very loud.
Gerald frowned. "Stop it!" he scolded, but the princess was too drunk to understand. The younger prince watched Freya from the corner of his eye, wondering if she’d say anything else.
"Smoking..." Freya drawled, then began laughing again. "There’s no smoke without fire."
Their loud laughter caused a small commotion, attracting everyone outside.
"Lirien?"
Princess Lirien turned when she heard her brother’s voice. "Oh, it’s the new King. Long live King Conrad and his wives."
Freya covered her mouth, giggling. "Two crowns for two queens. Long live the king and queens!" The two girls burst into laughter again.
Rowan, standing in the crowd, rubbed his temples tiredly when he saw Freya not only drunk but attracting attention.
"Who gave her a drink?" he asked no one in particular. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"It was probably my sister," the Crown Prince replied. "She’s always a bad influence."
Freya stopped laughing when she realized everyone was watching her. She ran to Lirien and tapped her shoulder.
"Look, look, the hunting game is starting... They’re ready to chase us." She pointed at the crowd.
"What hunting game?" Rowan’s frown deepened. He didn’t know what it was, but he was sure he didn’t like the sound of it and it was a bad idea.
The Crown Prince rubbed his eyes. "It’s a game my sister invented. Maidens run into the forest, and men chase them. If you catch a maiden, you get three wishes granted."
"No," Rowan shook his head and started walking toward Freya. "Freya, come here."
Freya squinted. "Look, it’s Rowan. He wants to join the game."
"Yay!" Lirien shouted. "Everyone, come join!"
"Freya, don’t." Rowan’s eyes darkened with anger when he noticed men ogling at her. He knew for sure they would try to hunt her, and the mere thought of Freya being chased by those men made his stomach churn. But the girl was too drunk to listen.
Freya stomped her foot. "You don’t tell me what to do! Lirien, raise the flag!"
The princess looked around. When she found a glass on the ground, she raised it. "Let the hunt begin!"
"Freya, don’t—" Rowan’s words hung in his throat as he saw Freya lift her dress.
"Catch me if you can!" She dashed off, running straight into the forest. Other maidens nearby joined her, racing into the woods.
It didn’t take long for the men, seeing an easy chance to have a maiden in their beds, to run after the women.
"For the love of..." Rowan cursed under his breath, raking his fingers roughly through his hair.
Princess Lirien started running but stumbled over something, causing her to fall. She waved her hand. "Run, Freya, win for us! You’re our only hope!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
