Golden (excerpt)

By: Claudia Ly

Afternoon Tea

21ºC with light winds

Ila

The sea breeze blew Ila’s hair into her face as she arrived on the balcony. There was a small table set with finger foods and tea cups. Her mother had told her a couple days ago that the Montagues would be coming over to discuss kingdom trade and also their futures. Sweeping her hair out of her face, Ila seated herself at the table and waited for her mother to arrive with the guests. 

After waiting for what seemed like half of her lifetime, Ila spotted her mother, the Baian king, and a head of icy blond hair approaching. She rose from her seat and curtseyed as King Julien and Prince Vincent walked in. “Your Highness,” she greeted politely as King Julien smiled at her. “Luke.” She glared at Prince Vincent and if looks could kill, his body would have dropped dead right there. 

“Ila dear. There’s no need to address Vincent by his middle name. You two have been friends for a long time,” the king gave his son, who seemed to almost tower over him now, a pat on the back.

“With all due respect sir, I’d rather not.” she smiled, sitting down next to her mother. Their friendship didn’t seem to be at the stage to even address each other by first name anymore. Ila shot Vincent another glare and grabbed a sandwich off of a plate. 

☪

The balcony was full of chatter. Her mother and King Julien were engrossed in their own conversation. “How have the mines been looking?” Ila overheard her mother ask while bringing her tea cup to her lips. She saw the king’s expression turn solemn. His voice hushed as he leaned over to whisper into her mother’s ear. Her mother gasped and quickly glanced over at her. Ila was confused, but kept eating her sandwich. Other than greeting him, Ila hadn’t said a word to Vincent. She’d rather avoid any type of conversation because she didn’t feel like putting up with all of his insults that would make her lose brain cells. Instead, she just decided to distract herself by eating. As she was eating another finger sandwich, Vincent kicked her in the foot. “Hey if you keep stuffing yourself maybe you’ll finally be a pig!”

The sandwich stopped halfway to her mouth. Ila looked up to blankly stare at his face. “Have you been eating tools?” 

“What?” Vincent’s eyebrows furrowed with confusion and then his expression changed, realizing what she had meant. Stupid. 

“You look like a tool, dumbass.” Ila picked up a grape and threw it at his face. He slapped it away and leaned back in his chair. “At least I’m handsome. I’ve got girls lining up who want me to go out with them.” 

She wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. She had known him since he was thirteen and he had transitioned from a shy teenager to a cold young adult who always seemed to have a different girl on his arm. Not that she ever kept up on news about him. He was twenty now and that was all he cared about? That was annoying as fuck. “Am I supposed to say congratulations Montague?” 

Vincent rolled his eyes. “And what about you Baudelaire? I can count the amount of people lining up for you on one hand. Oh wait! There’s no one.” She didn’t even bother to answer. Ila finished her sandwich and picked up a blueberry scone. She took a bite when her mother spoke up. 

“Ila. Vincent.” 

They both looked up to meet their parents’ eyes. 

Ila swallowed her food, “What is it?”

Her eyes widened as her mother began talking. Arranged marriage? Ila glanced over to Vincent and he didn’t seem fazed by the news. “We think that this marriage would be best for both kingdoms,” King Julien said. 

Suddenly the scone she was eating became tasteless. “You can’t possibly believe I’d actually marry him. I’m all for doing what’s right for the kingdom, but this?” Ila stood, putting her hands on her hips. She glanced at Vincent, in any miracle that he’d protest along with her. He had a stone cold look on his face. Of course he did. He was probably incapable of feeling much. While fiddling with one of the rings on his fingers, he spoke up. “If this arrangement is the best for my future kingdom, I see no problem with it.”
Ila couldn’t believe it. Mr Player was alright with this. Did he literally not just brag about having different girls lined up who wanted him? Never in her life did she think that something like this would happen. Ila knew arranged marriages were part of royalty, but her mother had been pretty adamant on letting her decide who she wanted to marry. 

“Listen,” the queen said, “the marriage is final. You both will spend one month together getting over this immature,” she gestured between them, “act between you two and fulfill your duties as heirs.” Ila was stunned, but she crossed her arms and turned to her mother. 

“Mom! I’m eighteen. Surely I can find a husband on my own. You don’t need to play matchmaker for me.”
“Ila Mae Baudelaire. This is not matchmaking. We will talk more about this later,” her mother scolded, “Now are we in agreement?”

“Yes, your Highness.” Vincent said from across the table. Her mom smiled and turned to her. “Yes mother.” Ila grumbled. 

You can access the full excerpt: here.

This piece is currently a work in progress as it is going through revisions and editing. The final piece will differ from the presented excerpt.

Playlist

The official playlist for Golden. I curated this playlist to fit the story of friends to enemies to lovers. I hope you enjoy!