Her hands were yet to caress the young buds of the roses when a distressed Emmah cried out.
"Crown princess, I know that I am not as blessed as you to be born from a noble family but that doesn’t mean you should ruin my honor and that of the crown prince. I might be a weak insignificant woman with no roots but I will never be a mistress."
Her halo shone brightly once again and very quickly, murmurs in Emmah’s defense traveled at lightning speed, reaching the ears of the king and queen. More than a few disapproving and hostile glances were shot at Sigrid’s back.
She turned her head around and replied, "You are also an engaged woman that sat by quietly while some very misguided or ignorant people suggested that you be married to my husband. What does something like that say about your reputation and that of the crown prince?"
All those that had been defending Emmah suddenly recalled that Sigrid had indeed mentioned that Emmah was engaged.
"Your highness, I have no idea what engagement the crown princess speaks of." Emmah denied with quickness.
"Oh, is that true?" King Raff asked.
"I tell no lie your highness, I have never been engaged before and I have been exploring the land of mist for two months, I do not know about any engagement of which the crown princess speaks." Emmah replied with strength.
The weakness in her voice was gone and not once did she cough, a thing that some sharp eyed people like the queen noticed.
"I arranged the engagement." Sigrid admitted loudly. "It was a reward for your mother in return for all her work for our Thorin duchy. I even chose one of the highest earning shop keepers for you, he has neither main or secondary wife. He has no bastard children, a house in the capital, and farm in the country. Which of conditions is to your displeasure?"
With clear logic, Sigrid poked holes in Emmah’s words and the courtiers once again whispered and mostly nodded. For a commoner, that kind of marriage was more than great.
But not everyone bought into what Sigrid was selling, especially those that were firmly under the halo’s grasp.
"Crown princess, a divine messenger cannot be married off to a commoner, that is an insult to her reputation." Prime minister Windrider opposed. "My king, I suggest that such an engagement be terminated immediately. What if the divine messenger is angered and decides to leave Eldoria? We cannot...."
"Oh shut up Windrider." Sigrid groaned.
The nobles gasped, including the king and queen. More than a few jaws in the hall dropped open as shock hit everyone.
Prince Roland could not even recognize the new Sigrid, she was vastly different from the old one, still domineering but with a different quality he could not put a finger on.
He started to walk in her direction with the intention of stopping her from saying anything further and apologizing to the prime minister.
Sigrid placed her hands over the flowers and a cracking noise was heard, suddenly the young flowers doubled in size and height, growing rapidly as if by magic, which everyone realized it was and once more, communal shock engulfed the people in the hall.
The king and queen stood up for they could not believe what they were witnessing, everyone was caught by surprise that they did not notice when the lord mage entered the hall and made his way to the front. He stood at the base of the stairs, waiting for Sigrid’s little magic show to end.
Everyone else held their breath in, maintaining silence, afraid to say the wrong thing. They did not even know what the right thing to say was and simply remained in place as a myriad of emotions and thoughts passed through them.
It was one thing for a woman to have the gift of magic, it was another for that woman to happen to be married into the royal family, after all the decision to strip girls of magic at birth was because one female mage almost caused the ruin of the kingdom. It had taken a rebellion and the sacrifice of a group of brave knights and mages to turn things around.
The air was heavy with expectation as the nobles looked to the king for a decision, but the king was speechless and he was looking at the queen whose expression mirrored his.
"She...she..magic!" Someone exclaimed.
The heavy silence was broken and the nobles started to whisper, their low hums of unease echoed through the hall. It was quite different from the way they had reacted to Emmah, nobody was falling onto their knees to beg the king not to behead Sigrid.
Emmah was the most troubled person in the hall for she had just declared herself a divine messenger which would have worked well if she was the first female mage of Eldoria, but now, the crown princess had magic too, so where did it leave her?
Her halo glowed, a sharp light separate from it and shot into the head of the kingdom’s chief advisor, Sir Reese Acton.
It was him that spoke up first in a loud voice. "Your highness, " he began, his voice snug with emotion, "The crown princess is a woman with magic, she has just proved it herself. It is forbidden for a woman with magic to marry into the royal house. I suggest that her relationship with the crown prince be terminated and she be beheaded for the crime of deceiving the king."
A collective gasp rippled through the room. The nobles exchanged shocked and fearful glances, they erupted in murmurs again.
Duke Thorin took to his feet and boomed, "What a load of hypocrisy Acton, I am disappointed that this has come from your mouth when only a few moments ago you were on your knees, begging the king to spare the life of another woman that has magic. Not only did you do that but you also supported those that thought she be married to the crown prince. You appear to espouse certain virtues, yet your words betray a different creed."
Lord Acton winced, and he looked at the floor to hide the shame in his eyes. He did not miss the judgement from those closest to the duke and some nobles.
Another light from Emmah’s halo hit it like a bullet and he raised his head.
"This is different, she is married to the crown prince, she should have reported it to the king immediately if magic was awakened within her.
"Yes," the prime minister said in support of Sir Acton’s words.
"And what would the king have done about it?" Duchess Mila quizzed.