“Yeah we are!”
I didn’t even use the letter opener. I clawed the thing open with my nails and pulled it out, then read it aloud.
“‘Dear Kaelyn, I am writing to you on behalf of myself and my partner, Prince Zawne, regarding your foundation, GMAF. We have been following your work closely—how you have been building new schools, quietly campaigning in the capital for social change among the lower classes, beseeching the clan heirs for their support in using Decens-Lenitas for the betterment of the people, assisting in natural disasters, and organizing wildlife protective services. And honestly, we are amazed at what you have accomplished. We are beyond impressed. I must say, Kaelyn, as the First Daughter of Gaard, you have gone above and beyond your station to help the people of this great continent, and indeed the world. Prince Zawne and I would like to invite you to Sud Cottage for dinner. We have a proposal for you. We hope to see you tonight at six p.m. sharp. Yours truly, Lordin.’”
The three of us were speechless. I placed the letter gently on the table and looked at my friends. “What do you think?” I asked.
Nnati nearly screamed, “You need to buy a new dress and get your Gaard butt over to Sud Cottage tonight! That’s what I think!”
“Me too,” Tissa said. “This is such an incredible opportunity. Lordin—I mean, Lordin! We have watched her on our visins since she was a little girl working with the rural farmers of Gaard because she wanted to help others. This is the girl the whole world watched blossom into a beautiful young woman with a kind heart. Lordin, who was courted by the most eligible bachelor in Geniverd, and then tamed him. This is the person we are talking about, Kaelyn. We’re talking about the Lordin. It’s sure to be one heck of a proposal.”
My legs bounced restlessly under the table. I was excited, nervous, intrigued, scared—all the emotions at once. “What kind of proposal do you think it is?”
Nnati considered my question as he rubbed his chin, clean-shaven and professional in a bow tie, as always. “Lordin said she has been following GMAF’s work, and we all know the kind of humane causes she supports and projects she runs. It must be a merger or a funding campaign. Maybe she wants to help us reach more people. Our views are basically the same as hers. We both want to help make a better world.”
Then Tissa’s face lit up, and she leaned over the table. “Do you think Prince Jaken will be there too?”
I laughed, seeing the heat in Tissa’s face at the mention of Prince Zawne’s older brother. “I’m not sure, Tiss. Maybe.”
Tissa settled into her seat, and a dreamy look dulled her face. Tissa was a girl born under the most common of situations in the most common of places, and maybe that was why she had a deep reverence for the princes of Geniverd. When her eyelids fluttered and she sighed at the thought of Prince Jaken, I knew it wouldn’t have mattered which prince we were talking about. Sometimes I thought she was attracted to the royalty more than the people themselves.
“I know Jaken is married,” Tissa said. “Even so, I’d love to go on a date with him. Just one date, nothing serious, no physical contact. He’s just so handsome. I just want him to treat me like a princess for one day. Just one.”
Nnati raised his hand. His smile was devious. “I’d also like a date with Prince Jaken,” he said, “but can mine have touching?”
We all laughed. “Nnati,” I said, “you’re such a dog!” But I didn’t mean it. Nnati was great, playful, classy. Hiring him and Tissa had been the best thing to happen to me since moving to the capital and starting GMAF. I loved them both like family. Well, I saw them more often than my own family. I didn’t know what I would have done without Nnati and Tissa. I didn’t feel like royalty when I was with them. They made me feel like just another person, like another normal citizen of Gaard. It was, in a way, a vacation from my pampered life back in NordHaven.
“But in all seriousness,” Nnati said, deepening his voice and raising an eyebrow, “I like the idea of working with Lordin, and at the same time, I don’t. It will be great if she agrees to work with us on our terms, but I don’t want to get too tangled up in the upper-class workings of Decens-Lenitas. My pardons, Kaelyn, I know it’s your foundation and your rules. It’s just the whole paradox of the more ‘esteemed’ points of the moral code upsets me. I don’t want to start helping the upper-class people. You built this foundation for the commoners, for the wildlife, and to keep your mama’s memory alive.”
“I understand,” I said, “but I don’t think it will be a problem. I, like everyone else in Geniverd, have been following Lordin’s work for years. Even though she is now marrying Prince Zawne, her dedication to the homeless, the needy, the lost children, it hasn’t changed. Her programs are still running. Perhaps she wants to join forces.”
I stopped, a sudden look of bewilderment in my eyes. “Could …?” I licked my lips nervously. “Could it be that Lordin wants to pass the torch? She may become queen next year.” I blinked at Tissa, totally shocked by my revelation. “This could be huge!”
Tissa and Nnati beamed at me.
“You better get ready,” Nnati said. “Take the day off, Kaelyn. Pick out your dress. It better be a cute one. You have a date with Lordin and Zawne tonight.”
I was sweating in the courtyard of Sud Cottage that night, not only because of its grandeur—though it was only a quarter of the size of NordHaven—but because of my nervousness at meeting Lordin.
