CHAPTER THREE: COMING OF AGE

"I quite like this one, Father." Princess Valance pointed at the pastel pink dress. "Isn't it precious? What do you think?"

King Valance glanced at it, then shook his head. "No soft colors. I thought I told the tailors that before they made the dresses."

"Why no soft colors? It's a darling dress."

"No soft colors, period. The Valance family has worn bold colors for generations because we are bold in nature. Soft colors reflect weakness." He pointed at another dress. "That is a dress worthy of a Valance body."

The two of them stood before a raised platform, which was decorated with three rows of dresses in an array colors. King Valance was pointing at a dark red outfit, with orange lining at the bottom of it.

"It reminds me of a fire," he said. "Fierce orange topped off by wavering crimson, crimson with a bloodlust. The flame that warns those in its path of a Valance on approach."

"I don't know if I like it, Father."

"Well you are not getting the pink one. Choose something else."

She frowned and looked down the first row. There were no good outfits in it, so she looked at the second row. The only remarkable dress in the second row was the one her father seemed to be enamored of. And the third row was host to the pink dress she was forbidden from having.

"You're right Father. The red one will work."

"Of course it will." He turned to face the royal hands behind them. A pair of older women stood at attention, eager to please the family. "You two, take my daughter and help her into the dress. See her to the balcony when you're finished," he told them. "And be quick about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said and bowed their heads. They rushed to get the dress and herd Princess Valance to a mirror in the corner of the room. King Valance was pleased by their swiftness, and stepped out of the room. He walked down the hall to the royal bedroom, where he lay his head every night for slumber, and found an imperial guard there. The guard wore the trademark silver armor of the Chrome Empire, which King Valance reigned over, and brandished a gray spear. The spear was mostly ceremonial—it could be used in battle, sure, but it was an awkward weapon compared to the pistol the guard had hidden in his inventory.

"Your Majesty," the guard said, and bowed. "The people await you."

"What are their numbers?"

"In the thousands, no doubt."

"Excellent," Valance said, and strode from the entrance of the bedroom to another set of doors, these ones transparent. They swung open and led out onto a pure white balcony, with a low banister running along its edge. The balcony was a semicircle, extending away from the royal bedroom like a spotless dinner plate cut down the middle.

From the balcony, King Valance could see thousands of blockheads standing in the marketplace below. He looked down at their numbers, knowing they were all his subjects and existed to serve his empire. And they looked up at him, a powerful monarch standing in front of his grand castle. The building was massive—hundreds of thousands of bricks, most of them silver or white, and adorned in the windows with rosy curtains. It was the unmistakable dwelling of the Valance family, which had ruled the Chrome Empire for as long as any historian knew.

At the sight of King Valance emerging onto the balcony, the marketplace erupted into a festive roar. The thousands of blockheads below began to cry out in reverence for their king, clapping and shouting and holding up their beverages. Whether or not they liked him was irrelevant—they could be an empire of rebels and would still show loyalty, knowing the king could have them all systematically executed in the span of a month or less.

The king raised a hand for silence so that he may speak. The immense crowd below died down from an ocean's worth of crashing voices to the sound of a lapping tidal pool. They gave him their attention, eager to hear his latest address.

"My people," he began. "Thank you for all coming out today. Seeing so many commoners in one place reminds me how faithful and strong this empire is. With you as our workers, I as our leader, and the Golden Brick as our guide through this frightening and uncertain world, the Chrome Empire shall surely be as timeless as the land it was built upon." His opening was met with an interlude of applause. "And as you all know," he continued, "this land is rightfully ours. Yet there are creatures of the night, unholy creatures indeed, that we must face each day to hold the empire together. Zombies." The mere mention of the word garnered disgusted shouts from the masses below. "Please, please," the king said. "Your hatred is not misplaced, but I must continue. Our scientists have been hard at work devising new measures of defense against the undead menace. Today, you will see the newest weapons the royal army shall wield."

King Valance gave a discreet hand signal at his side, cuing the next scene in the address. Soldiers poured out of the castle doors below, taking up formation beneath the balcony so that the marketplace could see the empire's new armed forces. A few soldiers trotted out onto the balcony as well, standing in stoic silence next to their ruler. The soldiers were all armed with futuristic weapons, with their white and light blue color schemes that implied purification of an unclean land.

"Today!" King Valance roared. "Today is the beginning of a new era, one where zombies shall no longer decimate towns and leave the inhabitants of the countryside living in fear. Today marks the beginning of a time where the zombies shall be justly cut down by the dozens, by the hundreds, until their numbers are no more! Today," the soldiers clicked their weapons, "is the beginning," they pointed their weapons at the sky, "of the era of the laser!"

The soldiers on the ground below, as well as the ones standing next to King Valance, fired their laser rifles into the sky. The weapons weren't noisy. They discharged with crackling hisses that hinted at the complex electronics within. The spectacle excited the citizens, and they boomed with joy louder than before. The zombies, a seemingly endless threat, were now surely doomed.

During the lull in the speech, King Valance looked back into the royal bedroom. His daughter stood there in the dark red dress they had selected, watching quietly. He waved her forward, and she began a reluctant walk out onto the balcony. She was frowning.

King Valance rushed to meet her before the masses saw her expression. "Smile, damn it." He placed a hand on her back and straightened her out. "Do not slouch either." The two of them walked up to the head of the balcony, and the crowd quieted down.

"And on a more romantic note," he told them. "My daughter, Princess Valance, is now of age to begin searching for a husband. The Golden Brick knows I shan't live forever, and the throne needs an heir. So, residents of the Chrome Empire, I invite you all to behave as excellently as possible. Perhaps my lovely daughter shall be wooed by one of you."

None of them would marry her. None of them had a chance. King Valance would be the one to choose her husband, bringing in wealthy, royal bachelors from neighboring kingdoms and free cities and choosing from the lot of them.

The masses clapped as the king and the princess retreated to the royal bedroom, finished with the address. The soldiers on the balcony left the room, and the royal family was alone.

"You slouched," said King Valance.

"I tried not to."

"And this dress," he walked in a circle around her. "Have mercy on my soul. It is entirely unflattering on you."

"It is?"

"Did you even look in the mirror? Your rear is as flat as the Undulo Wastes aren't." He shook his head. "Our lineage will surely end with you."

"Father!" she cried. "You're the one who chose this dress."

He struck her in the side of the head. "Do not raise your voice to me," he said as she hit the floor. She tried to rise up but he kept her down with a foot. "My daughter, sometimes I think you're forgetting your place in this family. I am the king, you are the princess." He took his foot off her. "Now darling, you know I love you."

She sniffled. "Yes Father."

"You know I do what I must to raise you correctly."

She nodded, but kept her eyes on the floor before her. "Yes Father."

"But sometimes you step out of line, and that can't be tolerated."

"Yes Father. I understand."

"Good. Now get up, you're royalty. You can't lounge around the floor like that."

She stood up, revealing scuffs on the front of her dress, but did not dare face her father. She avoided eye contact altogether, knowing the king placed great personal emphasis on the balance between submission and power. To look him in the eyes after the exchange would be disrespectful. It was a philosophy he employed in his ruling policies as well as family tradition.

There was a knock at the door. King Valance called for the person outside to come in.

"Sir?" an imperial guard said, opening up the door and sticking his head inside. "Everything okay in here?"

"Of course. Please tell me you came with more to offer than that."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The diplomats from the Free City of Relifour are here."

"Oh, excellent," the king said and broke off into a brisk walk. "Show the princess back to her room, please."

"Yes sir." The guard sidestepped for the king to move past, then entered the room. He walked over to Princess Valance and stood straight with discipline. "My lady."

She turned in his direction, but hid her face. "Take me."

They walked out of the bedroom and started for Princess Valance's chamber. She would cry in there, and feel utterly useless, and think sad thoughts. She doubted her ability as a queen-to-be, doubted her ability as a now-princess, and doubted her general worth as a person. Her father blamed her for too much, and it weighed too heavy on her conscience.

But relief would come soon enough.