Solace awkwardly tapped his fingers on his thigh as Charlotte settled into the seat to his left. He would have hurried to stand as well, but Marigold had pushed his wheelchair in too close to the table and locked it in place.

The queen immediately leaned over, pulling his face in to kiss. "You look absolutely stunning!"

Pulling away, Solace deflected, "Not through my own efforts." Her public displays of affection were overwhelming and he wanted her to stop, but wasn't sure how to ask since he'd never been in a situation like this before.

Gwain said something that Solace didn't hear, but Charlotte turned away to address it.

In that moment, a servant swept in and placed a salad in front of him, startling Solace into jumping. The young man flinched at the sudden movement and nearly tripped off the stage before fleeing in terror.

"Use the fork on the far left," Marigold prompted.

Solace had half a mind to throw all the forks, but he was hungry, and this salad had a different sauce and colored vegetables in it. He took a bite and was surprised by the tangy purple thing.

Charlotte turned back to him. "How was the remainder of your afternoon?"

"I sat under the tree on the hill."

"In the sun?" she gasped. "Dear, be careful; your skin will burn."

Solace looked at her for a moment. Could the sun burn him? Perhaps it was possible. The people here were far more accustomed to it than he was.

"I've asked my dear friend, Countess Kirkland, to be your tutor. She will meet you tomorrow."

He nodded. "I look forward to it." His gaze traveled the crowd. "Is this how you eat dinner every night?" People at the closest lower table had noticed him and stared agape.

"Mostly special occasions," Charlotte said.

"What was the special occasion?" He took another bite of salad.

"You, of course! It's your birthday!" Charlotte leaned on the arm of his wheelchair. "We do this every year."

He lowered his fork to give her a deadpan look. "Surely you're joking."

She pouted. "You won't believe your mother?"

He took the last bite of his salad, set his fork and knife on the bowl, and crossed the way people at other tables had done.

Charlotte sighed. "It does happen to be your birthday. It is also Blessing Day." She tipped her head slightly as she gazed at him momentarily, then smiled.

Solace furrowed his brow. "I've never heard of that day before. What comes before it?"

"Hounds."

Solace shook his head. "Then today should be Calling."

She gave him a puzzled look, then waved the topic away. "At the end of the meal, you're to stand with the others."

Solace could sense something mildly predatory in her smile now and immediately wished he could be elsewhere. "And if I do not stand?"

Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "Solace Callahan. This is your birthright, and I'll not have you giving it up so easily. You are intelligent. Lack of knowledge can be rectified, but stupidity cannot. Your father may have doubts, but I can clearly see you are more than capable."

He smiled nervously at her. "Though I’d like to know what I’m volunteering for."

A servant came in from the side, and Solace had to control himself not to jump. He hadn't sensed the man nearby. His empty dish was whisked away, and a new one replaced it. The man was gone just as quickly as he'd come. Solace closed his eyes and took several steadying breaths.

“You’re not volunteering. You’re announcing your candidacy for the Crown Competition.”

He still didn’t understand what that meant but suspected it was not something he wanted to be involved in. The second course was a large plate, but only a small slab of meat with a couple spears of asparagus sat upon it. He only recognized it as meat because they’d been given it once a year at the clinic. It had been rubbery and hard. Boiling it for hours had been the only way to make it soft enough to chew. Sometimes, they’d eaten the dead out of desperation since there were plenty of corpses and mushrooms if the shipment of potatoes hadn’t come in.

The salad had been filling enough for him, but it seemed a shame to let food go to waste. When he put a fork to the meat, it fell apart.

"Your table manners are impeccable," Charlotte commented.

He recalled his lover nagging him about sitting up and not slurping. Multiple people in the clinic had been children of nobles and insisted on Dunn’s manners.

Solace placed the small piece of meat into his mouth.

Everything else in the room faded out.

"Solace?" his mother asked, leaning in.

He set his fork and knife down.

"Do you not like it?" she asked.

He shook his head and swallowed as he stared at the meat on his plate. "How... Can something taste so good?" he asked in wonder and looked up at her.

Unable to hold it in, she burst out laughing.

Solace tuned her out for a moment. He needed some time to process before he had another bite. Taking his fork and knife again, he prepared himself.

Gwain leaned over to his wife to say, "Floritan is very concerned. Uncle doesn’t know either."

His mother sighed in annoyance. "You know how I feel about Rex, and Floritan is always nervous when things don't go his way."

"You nominated Gwenivar, too," Gwain said.

Reaching for the wineglass set across from his plate, Solace took a sip. He’d never had wine before, either. That had been a luxury reserved for the rich and High Priests. All the water in the clinic had been created by magic.

His hand paused, holding the glass up as he contemplated it. Magic. I could do magic. How?

As Dunn, it had been as easy as breathing. Now, Solace couldn’t remember the first step. What happened to my memories? Is that why I’ve accepted being called ‘Solace’ so easily?

He set the glass down carefully. He did not like the wine, he decided.

"Oh, I've eaten too much," the queen sighed. Gwain had turned back to the man on his other side. "I usually share my meal with you." She looked at him with a sad smile.

“I hope they don't bring out more. I can't eat it.” Solace felt bad about refusing food. After all, he recalled going days without any at all.

She reached over to touch his cheek. "There's dessert. You won't even try?"

Solace smiled at her. Admittedly, it was an opportunity to taste something new, but he really was full.

"How about just a bite?" Charlotte asked.

Unable to tell her no again, Solace sighed and scratched an itch in his hair with one finger. He encountered a several-centimeter-long raised scar on the back of his head and explored it momentarily as he answered, "Just a bite." When did I get this?

"You're going to have to tell me which dishes are your favorite," Charlotte said.

He stared at her, overwhelmed by the idea, which only made her laugh.

Again, the servant startled him when the man ducked in, took his empty plate, and disappeared. Another servant replaced the queen's plate with a small dish of something brown and jiggling. She dabbed a bit onto the spoon and lifted it toward him, hand beneath to catch any drips. "Open up."

Disliking being treated like a child but seeing no way out of it, Solace leaned forward to take it and sat back in contemplation. It was incredibly sweet with a bitter aftertaste. He liked it, but he liked the fruit better. He sipped his wine and mused on that. "It tastes better with this." He sipped again.

The queen smiled at him, taking a bite of her own. "Chocolate pudding. It's my favorite."

"I will keep that in mind. Of what I had today, I think the kiwi stood out the most."

Charlotte was all smiles. "I shall keep that in mind." She offered him another bite, and by the look in her eye, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Thankfully, Charlotte didn't make him eat any more after that, and the servant took it away. A few more minutes and the king stood. Immediately, the room went silent; all eyes turned toward him.

Solace sat quietly, watching Gwain's small mannerisms. His finger tapped against his thigh in a way that could have been taken for impatience, but Solace recognized the gesture, knowing that he, too, did it whenever he felt nervous. Gwain cleared his throat slightly and took a sip of wine. “Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate Blessing Day and my son’s birthday.” He glanced briefly down at Solace, then at the crowd. "As you all know, the Crown Competition begins tonight.

"The rules are that our candidates have two years to make a major contribution to Durshand. They cannot sabotage each other's efforts directly or indirectly." Gwain looked a little pained at that rule. "Lastly, by the end of the competition, they must be married to someone."

Gwain hesitated, then said, "Our candidates, please stand."

Charlotte poked Solace's thigh. Marigold unlocked his chair and slid it back.

Knowing he would regret it, Solace stood a second after the two at the other end of the table.

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