Queen Candidate

The Kingdom of Shiv-an. The biggest and most powerful kingdom in the eastern isles. It is composed of thirteen regions governed by feudal lords. But the feudal lords are the lowest rank of the elites. The highest of the elites: the members of the parliaments, the king’s advisers and the monarchy, are all residing in the city of Siobhan. It is the capital of the kingdom and rightfully so. It is strategically located in a fortress-like cove with the mountains surrounding it like walls. Only the biggest and toughest ships can enter the cove because of the harsh waves and currents at the opening. It has been three centuries of constant threats of war, both from rebels and foreigners, but no one was able to penetrate the city. There haven’t been any wars for decades now and the city has transformed into a center of trades. The cove is still not safe to be made as ports, but merchants found ways to bring all kind of products from the different regions.

Although the opening of the cove is unfit for regular ships, the waters within the cove is generally calm and so, the third king from three centuries ago, built the monarchy’s castle in the middle of the sea. It was an artificial island that held the monarchy’s centuries of history and connected to the port by a stone embankment. Now, the sixteenth king, King Eoin Fearghal with his queen and two mistresses, along with his six children resides in the castle. The king has always been loved by the people but his first son, the crowned prince Aidan, is already at the right age to be king.

There were rumors that Aidan needs to be married before he is to be crowned as king. The thing is, queens are only chosen from the four main families of the King’s inner circle: the Diarmid, Simnel, Ruairi, and Killeean. Among these families, only Simnel and Killeean have daughters. But the Killeean’s daughter is only six years old, unlike the Simnel’s first daughter who just turned 21, the marriageable age for girls. It is then expected that an announcement for the coronation of a new king will be announced at the Earrach festival.

The Earrach festival is an old tradition being held at the beginning of spring. It is one of the few gatherings where the commoners can interact with the monarchy. As such, even people from the outskirts of the kingdom visits to catch a glimpse of the royal family. One of the activities during the festival is an arrow shooting contest. Anyone can join the contest but among hundreds, only the five best will have the chance to show their skill in front of the royal family.

The royal family is seated on the platform facing the shooting court while the fourth contestant let go of his last arrow. So far, all the contestants have been getting perfect scores, except for the first one who was too tensed that he didn’t even hit the target on his last arrow. The fifth contestant is obviously a woman but she’s wearing a cloak with the hood covering her hair and another cloth is covering the lower half of her face. No one cared that she’s the only woman who was able to reach the last stage of the competition, a skilled woman is common in the kingdom. No one cared that she seems to hide her face, but everyone watched in awe as she hits the bull’s eye with every pull of the bow. She isn’t just skilled; she is obviously better than the other contestants.

Everyone cheered as she let go of the last arrow. Even the king stood from his chair to clap his hand. It was no question that she won. King Eoin walked towards the edge of the platform as the winner was ushered in front of him. It was a tradition that the winner shall be granted a wish by the king.

“That was brilliant!” the king exclaimed. “I would willingly grant you a wish. Tell me child, what is it that you want?”

The woman moved to pull back the hood of her cloak. The strands of her red hair immediately swayed with the wind. Everyone held their breath as she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of sapphire eyes that seems to glisten with the afternoon sun. She pulled down the cloth covering her face. She is slightly tanned and there is a certain sharpness along the edges of her small face – or was it the glint of her eyes? There is nothing delicate about this woman – not in her looks or her movements. She looked directly at the king without any fear or hesitation.

“My name is Sonechka Diarmid. I wish to be queen,” her voice is low and full of determination. It wasn’t a wish. It was a declaration.

The king stood dumbfounded. The Queen, still projecting a perfect image, covered her mouth as she gasped. Princess Sersha, as emotional as she is, abruptly stood from her chair. Aidan, who always had a stoic face, frowned. Eoghan, the second prince who was until moments ago is slouching at his chair in obvious boredom, leaned forward with an amuse smirk on his face.

The selection for the next queen is about to start.