Free The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist Page B

final ringing crescendo, the trumpets cease and the doors to the courthouse open. Soldiers file out and surround the steps. The Guardians come next, clad in emerald green robes. I pay them little mind, though, as we all wait to see the royal family. Crown Prince Andrei comes out next, followed by King Fennrick, who wears an ornate crown   bristling with opals atop his head. And finally, Princess Wilhamina emerges from the courthouse.
    Like the rest of the crowd, I gasp in awe. Her mask and dress, adorned with more jewels than I can begin to count, glitter in the sunlight. A thick necklace made of jeweled keys hangs around her neck. As she steps forward to take her place next to her father, several people raise their fans to cover their eyes.
    “Please, Masked Princess!” The man next to me holds a gaunt little boy over his head. “My son is ill. Only look at him, and he shall be healed!”
    “Healed?” shouts a haggard woman with stringy white hair. “The princess can heal no one. A curse is what she is! Raise your fans! Protect yourself from the Masked Princess!” She holds her fan over her face and continues railing against the princess until two palace guards appear and drag her away.
    I cast a look back into the crowd. I can see Cordon, but he hasn’t located me yet. I push forward, until I’m standing behind several Maskrens who are lined up only a few feet away from the row of soldiers.
    Silence falls over the crowd as King Fennrick raises his hands. “Citizens of Galandria!” he says, “It is my great honor to celebrate the sixteenth birthday of Princess Wilhamina with you in our esteemed capital, the illustrious city of Allegria! To all of you who have journeyed many miles, I bid you welcome and I thank you, for it does me great honor.
    “Today I come to you with the most joyous news. For months you have been hearing of an impending war with Kyrenica. Yet I say to you this day, fear not! For I have secured peace for our great kingdom. King Ezebo and I have pledged our mutual determination to avoid an escalation in hostilities. As a symbol of our goodwill, King Ezebo has pledged his son, and I have pledged my daughter—your own Princess Wilhamina—in a commitment of holy matrimony. Now the House of Andewyn and the House of Strassburg, at odds with each other for a century, shall be bound together for all time!”
    I look around and see many shocked faces. “The princess should never have to marry a Kyrenican dog!” shouts a wo-man nearby. But most people in the crowd don’t hear her as they erupt into cheers, drowning out the king. My attention strays from him to Princess Wilhamina. Her shoulders quake and I wonder if she is happy over her betrothal. Or has love been unkind to both of us today?
    I’m still wondering when I hear a whizzing sound above my head, and something small and red lodges into the banner hanging above King Fennrick.
    It’s not until a red arrow strikes the palace guard in front of the king that I understand what is happening.
    “It’s an attack!” a guard shouts.
    His cry is followed by the screams of hundreds of terrified citizens trampling each other as they attempt to flee the packed square. Not too far off I hear the sound of an apple cart being upended and crashing onto the cobblestone street. The palace guards quickly form a wall and cover the Andewyns, pinning them to the ground. A guard is screaming that they need to get the royal family back into the courthouse.
    More arrows fly toward the Andewyns. While everyone panics around me, I am frozen where I stand. Through a gap in between the guards I see the Masked Princess. Her jeweled mask is hanging askew, exposing half her profile. Instinctively, I begin raising a hand to cover my eyes, but stop when it strikes me that her face, feared by so many in our kingdom, reminds me of—
    “Elara!”
    It’s Cordon’s voice I hear. But when I turn, it’s Gunther from the orphanage I see. His steps are determined as he