Author's Note: Excluding author's notes, turns out I have over 5,000 words so far~ So happy~ I cheated with this chapter, kinda, because I gave up looking for how a coronation goes.


Divided Realms

Chapter 3: Coronation Ceremonies are Tiresome


I almost wanted to laugh at Elesis' irritation. She looked so irritated, so annoyed, and when she tried to hide it, I almost felt sorry for the people who talked to her! At least Arme was better at this than Elesis was!

The coronation ceremony began just as the sun began to sink below the horizon. Loud, blaring trumpets were sounded, seemingly out of tune, or maybe that was just me. The trumpeters looked quite gaudy in their outfits, but I stifled a laugh; I didn't wish to seem rude.

At least this ceremony was outside. Inside, it would've been quite warm, what with all the people that was in attendance. The chairs could have been more comfortable, though, but I guess that couldn't be helped.

"How long is this going to last again?" Ryan whispered to me.

"Um, perhaps thirty minutes. I heard the new king would have to attend to some important matters after this, so it was decided the coronation would be kept short this time," I whispered back.

"Don't they usually take longer, what with all the extra stuff?" Ryan asked.

"Like I said. . ."

"I know, I know. . ."

"Ssh!" I looked around a bit to see who that was, but could not see. I decided to just keep quiet anyway, as did Ryan.

I saw the representatives I knew that were on stage lined up; Elesis, Ronan, an elven elder, Arme, Lass, and Jin. It was odd but I didn't feel at all mad or even mildly annoyed that I was not chosen to represent the Elven Corps. Weird.

The representatives stood up when this mid-aged man came up onto the stage. So this was the new king. . .

There was an odd air about him that gave me a feeling of dread, but I tried to ignore it.

"Cold?" Ryan asked me. I shook my head no, and decided to watch the coronation.

The new king and Kanavan's adviser exchanged words or something (I didn't pay attention), then Ronan came up and knelt in front of the guy.

"The Kanavan Royal Guard swear under oath that we shall protect you from any and all harm," Ronan said. "We are your Royal Guards; at your word we will fight for you, we will protect you. We are your shield and your sword and will never betray you under penalty of death." Does the Royal Guard Master make this oath or something to all the new kings or queens? Probably. Personally, I wouldn't like to swear such a thing to someone like this.

I noticed that no one else did this kinda oath or something, so I simply assumed that they were only here as just representatives. But I thought they'd do something more. . . Oh well.

Ronan then got up and stepped aside, allowing the new king and the adviser to step forward to the front of the stage.

Off to the side, a young woman came up. In her hands was a velvet red pillow with gold lace along its sides. An intricate gold crown rested on the red velvet with many tiny gems decorating it. There was a single, larger sapphire in the front of the crown. I don't get why royalty just loves something such as this. Was it just to show off the wealth?

The woman knelt, carefully holding the crown up above her head. The adviser picked up the crown in his hands and turned to the new king, who then knelt.

"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the kingdom of Kanavan the rule of law?" the adviser recited. "Will you maintain and preserve the peace of the land and to punish those who dare to violate the peace? Will you. . ." I started to tune out the words, feeling as if they were starting to repeat themselves.

"Lire?" Ryan whispered to me.

"Huh," I answered back, feeling slightly drowsy.

"Wake up."

I opened my eyes. I feel asleep? When?

Looking around, I noticed that almost everyone was starting to get up. Oops.

"I-I slept through the coronation?" I asked Ryan.

"Yeah, you did," he answered. "Luckily, you don't snore." I lightly slapped Ryan.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I whispered to him, feeling a slight flush. I couldn't believe I slept through this!

"Well, it was boring," Ryan admitted, then kissed me. "Let's just go back to the Elven Forest."

"Sounds like a good idea."

The two of us got up and went over to the castle's gates.

"Hey! You!" a voice yelled behind us.

Alarmed, I turned around, afraid someone had noticed I was asleep.

It was Elesis.

She halted in front of us, seething.

"You slept through it!" Elesis cried out.

"So?" I tried not to let a blush overtake me, knowing that someone had seen me sleep.

"I wanted to do that! But nooooooo, I had to stay awake!" Then I realized Elesis was pretending to be angry at me. "It was so boring I wanted to die!"

"Well, at least you didn't fall asleep, or otherwise people will think badly of the great Savior of Bermesiah!" I told her, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah well. . . Well. . ." Elesis looked behind her suddenly. "Crap, I gotta go, this new king is kind of demanding. I'll getcha later, promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, go on, ya hot-head!" I shoved Elesis in the direction of the castle. "Ryan and I are heading back to the Elven Forest, we're doing some last-minute preparations for our wedding in two weeks."

Elesis nodded, a genuine smile on her face. "I can't wait, though I'll be dreading wearing something as poofy as that dress you showed me!"

I smiled back. "And imagine the wedding dress you'll have to wear!" Elesis groaned loudly.

"Imagine me in a wedding dress!"

"I can! And you'll look sooooooooo pretty!" I giggled at the thought. But the dress she tried on, she looked quite beautiful! If only she dressed up more, but oh well.

"Elesis, weren't you leaving?" Ryan asked, ruining our fun.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving." Elesis turned to leave, then said, "I'll see you guys in two weeks." Then she left, running.

I smiled. "You too, Elesis. . ."

"Well, shall we?" Ryan held out his hand, which I took.

"Let's head back before it gets too late," I said, and the two of us ran.

We ran through town, just like how Elesis and I ran through town earlier before, and then we were out, heading into the forest, which became a lovely clearing after about thirty minutes of running.

Ryan and I were breathing hard when we stopped.

"Whoo, we ran so far!" I cried out, and let myself fall onto the soft grass, still panting..

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Ryan sat down on the grass next to me. I could faintly hear his heart racing amidst the soft breeze that had started.

"The night is so beautiful, isn't it?" I said, looking up at the sky. The reds and oranges and yellows of the sun were starting to die, leaving behind blues and purples of the natural night sky. I could see some white pinpoints of stars appearing, twinkling softly.

"Odd," Ryan said. I looked at him questioningly.

"The sun set during the coronation, Lire. . ." Ryan whispered. I could hear the slight fear in his voice, and realized what that could mean.

"Oh no. . . No. . ." I quickly stood up. "Please, don't tell me. . ."

Immediately, Ryan turned into a wolf and I climbed onto his back. He ran swiftly into the woods that would soon become the Elven Forest.

It didn't take long before we saw why the sky still contained those bright, warm colors, confirming my fears.

The Elven Forest was on fire.