The silence that followed reminded Solace of the time his head had been slammed into a door frame. High Priest Tanner had been angry about something, grabbed Dunn by the hair, and bounced him off the wooden frame. Solace rubbed the bridge of his nose in memory.

That was in this room, actually, he recalled, focusing his gaze on the door across the room. A knight he recognized stood in the doorway, biting his knuckle. Sir Davis shook his head and hurried away. 

Floritan burst to his feet. "You will not be considering that thing equally!" he shouted, stabbing a finger at Solace.

Slightly irritated at being called 'that thing' Solace considered throwing something at him.

Charlotte slapped the table hard enough to bounce their dishes. "Solace is the rightfully born prince of this kingdom."

"He's soulless!" another woman shouted.

“He’s an imposter!” someone else accused.

"Soulless. I keep getting called that, but I don’t particularly agree with that assessment,” Solace said, though his voice was drowned out by the cacophony of shouting now filling the room. Gwain heard, though, and looked at Solace with a hint of sympathy as if getting drowned out by other people was a common occurrence for him.

The blonde at the other end of the table bent forward and slowly sank back into her seat. She was laughing so hard that her face had turned bright red. The dark-haired young man next to her turned with an admonishment, but she wasn't listening.

In his past as Dunn, Solace recalled that doing something shocking was the best way to gain control of the situation. He'd already stood up. He was already in this competition whether he wanted it or not, and letting everyone yell and not take him seriously wasn't going to help him win. Though he wasn't sure if he wanted to win still.

Taking his wineglass, Solace chucked it as hard as he could. The wine splattered in a trail as it followed the glass toward the middle of the cleared area beneath the stage. It shattered a few feet from Floritan and the man who bore a resemblance to Gwain. The man's expression was so furious murder was probably on his mind.

The room fell silent. All eyes turned on him again instead of arguing with their neighbors or shouting at the front table.

"The level of disrespect you all display is astounding. The king decided I would be included. Thus, I will be included. Screaming and calling names will not change that." He heard a snort from the blonde at the other end. She really was choking to death on her giggles. "Speaking of calling names, if anyone calls me soulless again, I will retaliate."

Gwain was staring at him with wide, awe-filled eyes.

"Your Majesty," Solace turned to Gwain with a gesture that he could have the audience back.

"Thank you," he said and cleared his throat. "As Solace said, these are your three candidates. They will be considered equally."

The room burst into shouting once more.

Solace tried to catch himself with his hands on the table as his legs gave out. His tumble knocked over Charlotte's drink as she dove to catch him. Pulling himself up by his arms, Solace collapsed back into his chair, covering his face with one hand in irritation and embarrassment for his lack of stamina. "I walked to Grafton," he muttered. Fifteen days on the road, and now he couldn't even stand for one full minute.

"Take him back to his room," Charlotte told Marigold and Lorrie.

They didn't need to be told twice. Marigold took his chair and crossed the stage behind the other two candidates. The blonde was still wheezing silently. The dark-haired man was the only one left standing, clenching and unclenching his fists. He turned to glower at Solace as he passed.

He kept his eyes covered as they passed the lower table to the hall door. A ripple of disturbance followed him out the door.

Once they were in the hall, Solace dropped his hands to his lap. "That was foolish."

"I had no idea they would do that!" Marigold twittered breathlessly.

"Of course Her Majesty would," Lorrie said curtly. "This is her best chance to get one over on Archduke Harthford."

"Great," Solace muttered. However, he spotted the mirror and quickly said, "Wait, stop!" When Lorrie stopped him, he stood from his chair and went to the mirror. "Huh!" he said, seeing himself fully for the first time. She used to draw sketches of his face to show him what he looked like in full, but he’d never believed them. That young man at the end of the table had resembled those drawings. So did Gwain, and another man who had been sitting at one of the lower tables.  Surely, you’re exaggerating features, Dunn would tell his lover. But no… This face was every bit as beautiful as she’d depicted. Where had he put that drawing? He’d hidden it somewhere the High Priests wouldn’t find it. Along with something heretical he’d been writing…

That blonde woman at the end of the table had resembled her quite a bit, now that he recalled. But she had dark hair and eyes; not sunlight and clouds.

Marigold laughed. "Vain?"

Solace smiled at the two women, "I'd never seen myself before, and no one else got the chance. Someone needed to admire your work."

Marigold flushed.

"Flatterer," Lorrie muttered, but she didn't look displeased.

He took his seat again and relaxed some as he was rolled back into the junction with the west hall. They nearly ran into two middle-aged men as they were hurrying down the stairs. They looked panicked and hastily stumbled out of Solace's way. "She's still toting that thing around?" one of the men asked once Solace was passed.

Solace turned in his chair to give them a word, but they were already making great speed down the hall to the north, whispering urgently to each other.

Arriving at his door, Lorrie opened it for them and closed it behind them as Marigold continued into his bedroom. It still amazed him that he had three rooms to himself—rooms so large he couldn't reach another wall unless he stood in the corner. His bed was big enough that he had to spread his arms to reach across it.

He collapsed onto the bench where Marigold had done his hair and looked out the window as Lorrie went to pull the curtains closed. "It's dark outside..." he said, worried. “Has the miasma come back?"

"What?" Marigold asked as she finished putting his wheelchair in the corner. "Miasma? There’s no miasma near here. It's simply nighttime." Marigold leaned on his shoulders. "You sound so scared!" Suddenly, she gasped. "Lorrie! We've never taken him outside at night!" She came around and pulled his hand. "Come! Get in your chair!"

"Marigold!" Lorrie admonished, but Solace was already on the move. Marigold's excitement had gotten him curious.

"Isn't it dangerous?" he asked as Marigold rushed to open the door to his sitting room again. Pushing him out, she hurried to the next door. The hall outside his room had gotten significantly darker; nearly all the lamps were put out for the night.

"Not at all!" Marigold said cheerfully. In the hall, she practically ran with his chair.

Solace clutched the arms in mild terror at their reckless speed. Reaching the doors to the patio, Marigold left him to open them. The air outside was unexpectedly cold. Lorrie hurried up beside him and draped a blanket over his front. "Marigold! It's chilly out!"

Coming to his side, Marigold grinned. "But it's his birthday! I want to show him the stars!"

"Ahh..." Lorrie looked down at Solace, her expression twisted slightly. "Go on, then, but not for too long. Her Majesty would have our heads if he caught ill."

Solace pulled the blanket closer around himself. It was terribly cold.

Marigold took the handles of his chair. "Get ready." She pushed him onto the patio. The darkness engulfed them quickly, but the air was alive with chirps and buzzing. The breeze from earlier in the day still shook the greenery but now had a very chill bite. The darkness, however, was of a different quality than miasma. He could clearly see the hill he'd sat on earlier, glowing in a pale white light. Two guards stood on either side of the patio door. They looked nervous as Solace looked them over. They wore the same uniform color as Reed and Patrick: grey and white. The ones in the dining hall had been in dark blue.

Marigold rolled him out from beneath the awning, drawing his attention back to the landscape as pale light fell across him.

Solace snapped his eyes upwards and gasped.

The expanse above wasn't darkness at all but sparkled with countless lights. The crown jewel of the heavens glowed as a pale crescent. Something shot across and disappeared.

"A shooting star! Make a wish!" Marigold said.

"I... couldn't..." Solace whispered in awe. Tears stung his eyes. "This world is... everything I ever wanted."

Even in darkness, there is light here! I'm only missing... her.

His chattering teeth alerted Lorrie that it was too cold to remain outside. Solace didn't want to go back inside, but he had no choice. Marigold wheeled him back down the hall at a much saner pace.

Back in the bedroom, Solace began removing his coat.

A tap on the outer room door interrupted them.

The maids exchanged looks before Lorrie went to answer. A moment passed before she returned. "Lady Petunia Betherwethers wishes to view His Highness," Lorrie reported.

"Oh, did she bring her entourage?" Marigold asked as she began putting Solace's coat back on.

He moved away. "Excuse me, but do I have to see them?"

The maids looked at each other again.

"If you're serious about being included in the competition, you probably should. Lady Betherwethers is head of high society and fashion through you," Lorrie said.

Solace sighed as he finished shrugging the coat on. "Let them in, I guess. Politics are a disgrace to humanity." Not that he had much of a clue as to what the Crown Competition was.

Lorrie left, and Marigold rearranged his hair before opening the bed chamber door. He returned to the barren sitting room. Four women had entered. They wore muted colors, though their dresses looked dazzling.

"Oh my!" the shortest woman gasped, snapping her fan closed. "Better than I’d hoped!" Approaching, she reached out her hand to touch his coat.

Solace caught her wrist. "Why thank you, but I believe my maids deserve the praise, as it was their work."

The woman, her curly brown hair stacked to offset her height, snapped her bright green eyes to his face in shock. "I'd thought for sure it was puppetry of some sort, but you do speak!" She leaned closer to look at his face, gaze flicking across his features, studying intently.

"What an absurd idea. Or do you suggest I have a team of tiny people standing behind me at all times?" Solace released her hand, and she retracted it to her breast. He assumed he was speaking to Lady Petunia since she seemed to be in charge of the little group.

"I suppose you are not mistaken," Petunia said with a coy smile. "How fascinating. Just as a solution to the succession problem was reached, you suddenly come to possess a soul. Were you hiding it this whole time?"

He stared at her, tapping his finger against his thigh. "I don't believe I understand your question, nor do I care to. It has been a long day. I would like to retire.” He glanced toward the other three girls who stood frozen near the hall door.

Petunia began to circle him slowly. “How rude.”

“I’m tired. I don’t care to amuse you.” Solace turned to look back at her, uncomfortable with her standing behind him.

Her fan tapping against her chin in thought, she said, "Her Majesty must be right pleased." She stopped in front of him again and stepped closer. "I'm hosting a tea social in a week. You will attend."

"I’d rather not," Solace responded coldly.

She laughed derogatorily. "Highness, this isn't a request." She turned away with a swish of skirts and exited, taking her entourage with her.

"What a bitch," Solace said as Lorrie hurried to close the door.

His maids gasped.

"Who taught you that?" Marigold demanded.

"Probably Reed," Lorrie said, sounding scandalized.

Solace shrugged off his coat and headed back into the bed chamber. "Please, ladies, I'm exhausted, and that's the least of the curses I know." He didn't want to deal with any of this. His problems kept compounding the longer the day went. First, everyone's fear, then the competition, and now Petunia's party? What next? He knew he shouldn't ask questions like that. It invited trouble.