"Your Majesty are you still there? Princess Jenna?"
I snapped my head around. I realized where I was immediately I was still in the palace. Great now I was going to be late for my meeting with Septimus. I began to run I looked back wondering who had called my name, but I honestly could careless. Finally running short on breathe I saw him in Spit Fyre's dirty stall. I flew into his arms and held him close.
"Happy birthday Sep!"I stood up and looked around, "Of course when you could be doing so much you choose to clean your disgusting dragons stall! And on your eighteenth birthday!" I gave him a playful punch but something didn't seem right.
"Well hi to you to Jenn and happy birthday back! And as a matter of a fact yes I am cleaning his stall because the only thing I have today is watching you pick your future husband… Is that not correct and then you'll be our queen oh yes great." I was torn back .Was MY Septimus mad at me? It wasn't my fault I was the queenling but how he said it, it almost torn my heart right out but I wasn't going to take that from him of all people.
"You act as if I signed up for this stupid job! Yes umm ya sign here and you get a palace, people almost always trying to kill you, a magic boat, and oohhh ya we get to choose your husband for you!" I screamed back at him. We stared at each other for a few moments and both broke into rib throbbing laughter and I fell back into his arms.
"It starts at twelve.. and.. I'm gonna need you there for support and everything you know. Its not every day you pick your husband" I tried to smile make it light hearted but I couldn't pull it off Sep knew my to well I turned around and made my way back to the castle, "And its called a Fated Ceremony!" I yelled back in the strongest voice I could but as I almost turned around to wave a single tear fell from my eye I forced myself to run back.
"Mother I just don't think I can do it" I looked to see what time it was, "I only have thirty minutes and I have absolutely nothing to wear!"
My dead mother Appeared in front of me, " Your in the queens room what did you expect. Your dearest mother to have nothing up her sleeve?" I smiled back at her, unlike Sarah Heap, my adoptive mother, Cerys always knew what I was talking about she had been through everything I've been going through recently.
"When I picked you fathers name out of the pot a just knew it was him! And so." She led me to a small trunk at the darkest corner of the room. The Queens Room was amazingly small for me to not have seen something so obvious before.
"Inside is the dress all of us have worn to do the draw since the beginning of the castle I hope you like it. I must go. Be dressed and ready and I will see you down there." I watched her float to the door and right before she left she said, "Don't be nervous I've yet to meet one of my ancestors that the draw hasn't worked out for!" She smiled her beautiful smile I shared and got up to get ready, after all I had a little under twenty minutes.
I opened the trunk inside lay the simplest satin white gown I had ever seen in this castle I slipped into it and it fit perfectly like a glove. I put on my shoes and brushed my long dark hair that was kind of a lead on I wasn't a normal Heap like when I was young and didn't know I was adopted I had for such a long time for my hair to became the beautiful straw colored gold like the rest of my families. I carefully put on up my golden circlet and headed down toward the Throne room where every one awaited me. The closer I got the louder the room became.
It was so loud it seemed every one in the castle was there I looked around for my family. I saw all five of my brothers (Simon hasn't been around since Septimus came into the picture and Nicko was out at sea with his wife Snorri). Sep locked my eyes. God I loved him so much what if I picked a random strangers name how embarrassing or if I picked Sep's. I weighed my options and both were equally humiliating.
The grand clock rang out into the castle marking twelve o'clock. I looked away from Septimus and towards the thrown were I was one day to sit with my husband.
"Welcome young Queenling I am Queen Ethainia your mother's mother and now if you would pick a past queen to help aid you in your draw." My grandmother spoke clearly her voice radiating to every one in the room I thought for what felt like minutes but I knew I was quicker than that.
"I would like thy aiding of Queen Cerys my biological Mother in my draw."
Every one watched as a shimmering light radiated down as a silhouette of a woman holding a golden coldren began to take form in the middle of the room I held my breathe as I felt all there eyes shift back to me.
Queen Cerys walked toward me holding the Fated pot.
"this is it" I thought. She stopped in front of me setting it on the table.
"Now you must pick two stones and hand them to Queen Cerys. She shall then ask the one that will help lead the castle with you to make itself known. In the end the final choice is not your or hers but fates. " As Queen Ethainia finished I never felt more humiliated in my life of course nobody but fate would choose.
My breath quickened as I reached into the pot and grabbed the two stones i grabbed the two warmest I could fell the ones that almost came to me and handed them to Cerys.
On the first was PETER NIALL and scribbled on the second was SEPMTIMUS HEAP. I nearly fainted.
"I've seen how you look at him but what may really surprise you is how he looks at you when your back is turned," She looked me gently in the eye, "LEADER SHOW YOURSELF" Then names on the stone began to glow and become larger until everyone could see and then I hit the floor.
