Rangers of Linwood (The Five Kingdoms Book 1) (23 page)

“For hundreds of generations,” Ryder said, “it has been the greatest honor of the Rangers of Linwood to take part in the crowning of a new monarch. Today is no different. It has always been the leader who crowns the ruler, and today, I, as leader of the Rangers of Linwood, am beyond honored to place the crown on your new queen, Tesni.”

With that, he placed the orb once more in Tesni’s hand, showing the people, all those who had not seen and had doubted, that Tesni had the right to rule. As the glow faded, he helped Tesni up to sit on the throne. Once she was sitting there, he took up the crown, intricately woven vines of gold with leaves of emerald and green enamel set in silver, and set it on her head.

In front of Tesni, men kneeled down. Women curtsied. Tesni held up the orb and smiled.



Tesni found herself forced to dance throughout the night. Unsure of some of the more formal dances, she simply begged her partners to be gentle, reminding them of the injury that she had sustained in the final battle. They were more than happy to oblige her and lead her, carefully, through the steps.

Her favorite dance partner, though, was Rowan. The council had balked, at first, at the idea that their queen intended to wed this man, for not only was he a Ranger, but he was also not of noble birth. He was an orphan.

To Tesni, though, he was enough, and she had been swift to remind the council that she, too, was a Ranger in her own right, having earned her bow, and that she had been raised as less than noble, herself. Besides, she was deeply in love with Rowan, and he with her. She informed them that she was going to marry him whether they approved or not, and any amongst them who chose to try to stand in her way would find themselves with an arrow up their backsides. Half in fear, half in awe, the council had chosen to let her have her way.

And now here she was, dancing with her fiancé. He twirled her around, brought her punch and cake. They laughed together, and set a wedding date for the first day of autumn.

For the first time in her life, Tesni knew exactly where she belonged.

Epilogue

Five years had passed since Tesni’s coronation. Arya had given birth to a boy, Finn, who was now four years of age. Now, Tesni was about to make Finn an uncle, and Ryder and Arya grandparents, as she labored to give birth to her and Rowan’s first child. Though she had been under pressure to produce an heir immediately, Tesni had chosen to wait, so that she and Rowan could get used to being married to each other as well as to ruling Linwood together. Now, her screams echoed throughout the palace. Arya, Enid, and Fiona were with her, as Ryder and Rowan paced back and forth outside.

Arya darted out of the room. Ryder and Rowan looked at her expectantly. She just ignored them and fetched some more hot water. Later, Fiona, too, ignored them as she came out to fetch some more towels.

Finally, a different cry filled the air. It was the cry of a baby. Rowan and Ryder stood, watching the door carefully. Minutes ticked by into more than half an hour. Finally, Enid, Arya, and Fiona all stepped out. “Well?” Rowan asked.

“You have a daughter,” Enid said. “Congratulations. She’s as healthy and adorable as she can possibly be.”

“A daughter,” Rowan repeated. “I have a daughter…”

Rowan and Ryder darted into the room, where Tesni sat up in bed, lovingly cradling a tiny bundle. She smiled up at them, clearly exhausted. “Hi.”

“Hi…” Rowan approached the bedside. He sat down next to Tesni and looked down at his daughter. “She’s beautiful.”

“What’s her name?” Ryder asked.

Tesni and Rowan smiled at each other. Then Tesni looked down at her newborn daughter. “Nia,” Tesni said. “Her name is Nia.”

“The name means bright,” Rowan said. “Considering the fact that Tesni’s name means ‘warmth from the sun’ and her nickname was ‘Wits,’ the dual meaning of ‘bright’ seemed highly appropriate.”

Arya came back into the room with little Finn. The four-year-old sat on the bed next to his sister and looked at Nia. “Baby,” he said.

“Yes, Finn, baby,” Tesni said. “This is Nia. She’s your niece.”

“Hi, Nia,” Finn said, poking the infant on the nose. Nia just squeaked and kept staring ahead. “She’s boring.”

Tesni chuckled. “So were you when you were just a baby,” she said.

“Nuh-uh,” Finn said. “I was never boring.”

Tesni laughed. “Oh yes, you were, Finn. I remember it far too well. You will just have to wait a few years to play with her.”

They stayed there and talked for a few hours. Eventually, though, Tesni was just too tired. In a week, she would present her daughter to the people. Linwood had a new princess. For now, though, she was just a newborn infant. Tesni fell asleep, and Rowan carefully took Nia from her arms. The others left, then, and Rowan set Nia in her bassinette next to Tesni’s side of the bed before going around and crawling into bed next to his wife. The sun was setting and it had been a long day. Tomorrow would be a new one.