36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1So9hsItfNIn a quiet corner at the edge of the world, there lay the grand Kingdom of Celestia, where the law of succession was unlike anything else around the world.
The kingdom was unique in every small detail, but the way they chose the heir stood over everything else.
Here, the royal crown itself would select the heir to the throne.
This crown was an object dipped in magic—it would levitate onto the head of whoever deserved to be the heir—the crown finding its place on the ruler.
It was the day of the grand ceremony, which was taking place inside the gigantic palace in the centre of the kingdom.
The main hall was decorated beautifully, with fairy lights dangling from the huge pillars at the edges of the walls, each light flickering on and off each second.
Balloons and streamers hung from the high rooftop, each one placed delicately near the next.
The royal children—two princes and a princess, stood at the front, with the children of the highest ranking nobles close behind.
The rest of the people were crowded excitedly inside the rest of the hall, each one curious to see who their next ruler would be.
The crown would only choose someone with royal blood—usually a direct royal child, sometimes a noble who was also a distant relative.
The royal and noble children looked at each other with nervous faces, a unanimous question floating in all their minds:
Who would the crown choose?
The mood of excitement in the hall was contagious, spreading from the nobles to the common people, from the children to the adults.
"I hope it's Princess Laura. We haven't had a female ruler in a while," someone whispered in a hushed voice.
"No, Prince Charles is the eldest. He deserves the throne."
"We'll see, It could even be a noble,"
The trumpets blew loudly as the current ruler, King Edmond, drifted inside clutching the crown proudly in his hands, a faint smile stretching across his quivering lips. This was the official start of the ceremony in Celestia.
Everyone cheered merrily, and the king stepped to the front, nodded solemnly at the admiring crowd, and began to speak in his iconic practical voice,
"Good Evening, everyone.
Thank you so much for joining us today. This ceremony is an honour to the traditions of our ancestors. For those of you who are too young and don't yet know how the tradition works, let me explain the rules—so that tomorrow you too can tell this to future generations. I will release the crown, which will land on the head of the chosen child.
The heir will then have a special party in their honour which will take place in the dining hall next door.
Dinner is being prepared carefully by our best chefs at the moment. Therefore, the party is ready, yet we don't yet know who the celebration is for. Let us find out,"
His shoulders sagged as he let go of the crown with a slight glance at his children. He obviously hoped it would choose one of them.
A smile stretched across his lips as the crown began to fly. His face looked emotional—he was probably remembering the moment he was chosen as heir.
Everyone fixed their eyes on the gorgeous crown soaring beautifully through the air, each person hoping for a different child to be chosen.
The crown gleamed golden, with bright red rubies glistening at the top.
It levitated forward, skipping past the royal children, ignoring all the nobles, and flying forward at top speed.
Where was it going?
It skipped past everyone to the back of the room, landing right on... my head?
But I was just an ordinary servant girl...
How was this possible?
I wasn't related to the royals either.
The king looked at me with a strange expression, and then I heard him giggle nervously.
"Oh, maybe there was a mistake. Let's try again. Give me the crown, Sophie."
I walked forward, blushing bright pink, but before I could take the crown off, the king snatched it right off my head.
He tried again, but the crown landed right on my head once more.
"Maybe you should go outside and help the chefs prepare for the party." he muttered, looking at me with raised eyebrows
I nodded shakily, hurrying outside into the next room, where the party was being prepared.
Why would the crown choose me?
My heart was thumping as I sat onto one of the chairs next to the grand table in the middle.
"What happened, Sophie? Did they kick you out or something?" asked Erica, a young chef who also happened to be my friend, in a teasing voice.
"Umm... " I couldn't get myself to speak the truth, "No, I just got bored."
"Well, who did the crown choose this time? I'm hoping for a noble. They'll be less arrogant than the royals,"
"I left before I found out,"
"Eh, we'll know in a few minutes,"
Suddenly, I heard a loud thump from behind, and when I turned around I saw the crown breaking through the door of the old hall and soaring towards me again. And it landed on my head...
The whole crowd filed in after it, and Erica looked at me with an eerily joyful expression, but there was also some fear inside it.
King Edmond told everyone that the party was canceled, and after they all left, he yanked the crown off my head, but he didn't say anything.
"Bring me a cup of tea," said Princess Laura, raising her eyebrows.
But she didn't look angry, she almost looked like she pitied me.
Suddenly she whispered, "I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this drama just because the crown stopped working."
Why was she talking to me so nicely?
Was she scared of me?
She sure looked like it...
I cleared my throat and went to grab her a cup of tea.
I couldn't sleep at all that night, my mind clouded with endless possibilities.
What if the crown wasn't broken?
What would they do if that was the case?
But I wasn't even related to the royals...
....
I couldn't get any information on this matter despite all my tries over the next few weeks.
They seemed to be keeping this situation really quiet.
But I knew they were secretly talking about it.
A lot.
I had been working with them my whole life.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Would they break the tradition to make one of the royals their heir?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY45WIZsEf
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