S.L. Dove Cooper - Among the Glimmering Flowers

Acknowledgements

Many thanks, first of all, to everyone who encouraged me to turn The Princess who Didn't Eat Cake into the longer (and only superficially comparable) story it is becoming and to everyone who encouraged me to follow the storyline where it wanted to go and stop trying to stuff three books' worth of text into a single volume. You all know who you are! And thank you so much because, if it wasn't for you, this book would probably still be lurking in the back of my mind, refusing to become shorter and refusing to be written because I can be too stubborn for my own good sometimes.

To Claudie Arseneault for her wonderful editing and sharing her marketing genius. Claudie, thank you so much. Your insight and enthusiasm is boundless and this story wouldn't be anywhere near finished without you. <3

To Panth, who helped me work out the weird and quirky nature of castle remodeling and sensible door locations. Panth, you are the sweetest and loveliest, always putting up with my silly questions and pointing me in the right direction about all things castle and fabric-related even when they're not really in your field of expertise. Thank you so so much for your enthusiasm and support throughout the writing of this book and always listening to my rambling about the plot. I adore you. You're amazing.

To Becca Lusher, who was gracious enough to put up with Princess Sulkisocks throughout every draft and half-draft and who did her absolute best to stop me believing ponies are nice creatures. Any remaining issues in the depictions of horses and daily stable life are entirely on me. Becca, thank you so so much. Those chapters would have remained a mess without you. And I'm very sorry for not delivering as much kelpie-sightings as I'd led you to believe. (There will be more kelpies! Probably.)

I also owe a lot of thanks to Sue, for putting up with my sleepy story ramblings in tiny text windows that aren't at all suited to long missives, and to Aliette de Bodard, who graciously read through the first couple of chapters to assure me that it did work structurally. Thank you both so much! <3

Many thanks to Anonymous for being one of the main inspirations for this story. ILU! I couldn't have written this story without you. Thank you so so much for all the love and support you've given me over the years and for always being there for me. You are the best and brightest.

I'd also like to thank my family. Thanks to my experiences online, coming out to you as asexual and demisexual has been one the scariest and most terrifying things I have ever done, even though you're all some of the few people I know who have never teased me about being asexual or demisexual even before any of us knew these terms existed. Thank you for always being there for me. You lot mean the world to me and I am so proud of you all. You are amazing and I love you all deeply. I can only hope to one day be as wonderful and strong as any of you are.

Thank you also, to all my Patreon patrons, whose generous support and enthusiasm throughout the months has helped make this book a reality. You all are the best fans and the loveliest people and I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much for believing in me. I hope this book was everything you dreamed it would be while I was talking about it with you and sharing updates about it.

As always, my thanks also to you, dear person reading these acknowledgements, for picking up and reading this book. I hope you've enjoyed it!

Thank you for reading!

If you've enjoyed Among the Glimmering Flowers and have the time to do so, I'd really appreciate it if you left a review to help others hear about it. You can also check out more of my work.

More Books as S.L. Dove Cooper

Novels

Among the Glimmering Flowers

Novellas & Novelettes

Courage Is the Price

The Shimmering Prayer of Skiurq

Collections

Feather by Feather and Other Stories

He Must Go Walk the Woods So Wild

About the Author

S.L. Dove Cooper (she/they) is a queer author and editor. She spends much of her time exploring asexuality and aromanticism in literature, finally having found a good use for her MA in English literature and creative writing. She currently resides on the European continent and her idiom and spelling are, despite her best efforts, geographically confused, poor things. She has been chasing stories in some way or another since she was old enough to follow a narrative.

Connect with S.L. Dove online:

https://www.dovelynnwriter.com

https://www.patreon.com/dovelynnwriter

http://twitter.com/dovelynnwriter

Among the Glimmering Flowers

Published by Dovelet Books

Copyright 2018 S.L. Dove Cooper. All rights reserved.

Cover design by S.L. Dove Cooper.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This file is licensed for private individual entertainment only. The book contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into an information retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photographic, audio recording, or otherwise) for any reason (excepting the uses permitted to the licensee by copyright law under terms of fair use) without the specific written permission of the author.

Chapter 23

Felicity

Sionen and I had plans to utilise the day to our best advantage. Several visitors had arranged to stay beyond the duration of the feast. Having come from farther away, it was a chance for them to engage in trade negotiations and political manoeuvring. One of the families who had permission to stay in guest quarters in the castle was a lady whose company I had quite enjoyed while playing card games. Lady Meriwether had been quiet and focused on the game rather than on currying favour with anyone. Shed agreed to spend time with me this morning and I hoped that we would get along as well as Id imagined the night before. I was eager to spend time with someone my own age whom I did not know.

I love Sionen dearly, you must understand, but we knew each other extremely well and it can be a chore to spend time only with one another. Besides, if I had unofficially entered society, it was a good time to start building the connections and friendships that I would be able to use when I was crowned queen. Especially if it meant I might yet have a chance of making a true friend.

We made our way to the chambers in which Lady Meriwether was staying slowly, as we were too dignified to run. Rather, Sionen was too dignified to run and I too keenly aware that my actions would not find their way solely to mothers ears. It was also far too busy in the halls to make running in a dress with a train a good idea. Around us, the halls were a flurry of activity with servants dashing to and fro with all and sundry. Several were carrying trunks for the guests that would already be leaving today. Others were carrying fresh linens or trays of food, only to vanish without a trace between blinks. I would rather not have someone trip and fall on my dress. Theyd be hurt and mother would be furious. Not to mention someone would have to see if the dress could be cleaned and salvaged.

When we finally arrived at Lady Meriwethers chambers, it turned out that neither she nor her companion, Patience, had had breakfast yet. Meriwether had a delicate stomach, so the cooks had had to prepare something new specifically for her. It ought to have been ready at the same time as everyone elses breakfast, but for reasons I no longer recall, it was not. I was most put out at the time, though I admit it was for selfish reasons rather than outrage on Meriwethers behalf.