Title: CourtAuthor: Cat PatrickDate of Publication: October 23rd 2014
For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.
Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?
HAAKON
Before he was the enemy, James Haakon
McHale III was just a seventeen-year-old in what most people knew as the state
of Wyoming, wishing he was somewhere other than the predawn forest with a rifle
in his grip.
“It’s colder than moonlight on
a tombstone,” Haakon muttered, blowing on his fist. His thick-soled boots
swish-thumped on the hard earth as he skillfully avoided twigs, rocks, and low
branches.
Alexander Oxendine—youngest son
of the Duke of Wind, wide receiver, video game button masher, and Haakon’s best
friend—laughed into his collar. It could’ve been mistaken for a cough.
“It’s colder than a whore’s
heart,” Alexander said, his tone cautiously low. They were the youngest members
of the hunting party, and were only allowed to take part because of their rank.
Haakon could think of a thousand superior privileges.
He glanced around to make sure
none of the other men were paying attention—especially his father. Smirking, he
said, “Colder than a polar bear’s balls.”
The pair stifled laughter.
“Than a witch’s—”
“Too easy.”
“Colder than a dead woman’s
touch,” Alexander said.
Haakon checked again, dialed
down his voice even more, and said, “It’s colder than Gwendolyn Rose’s kiss.”
“Quiet!”
It was Haakon’s father:
dictator, fun-spoiler, and—regrettably for his son—the tenth ruler of the
Kingdom of Eurus, also known as the Realm, the monarchy hiding in plain sight
in the depths of the Democracy known as the United States of America.
Every schoolchild knew the
story. In 1670, after Joseph Dyer’s wife died in the Great Plague in London, he
brought his five daughters to what would become the United States one hundred
years later, seeking a better life. But it soon became apparent that his family
would never thrive under strict Puritan rule in New England–which banned higher
education for girls and taught submissiveness above all else, and which
centered around extreme religious beliefs that were counter to Dyer’s own.
A friend, John Seymour, who
was—controversially—married to a Native woman, suggested that they set out
together in search of a new home deep within America’s treacherous unknown. Seymour’s wife
had been attacked; her family persecuted. Seymour believed that rather than
fighting the Natives, they should live in harmony with them.
Dyer, Seymour, and several
other men and their families snuck away. After a long and dangerous journey,
together they created their version of paradise: a kingdom that blended the
best of England with Native cultures. Dyer was thought of as the Father of the
Realm, and Seymour’s Native wife, who ensured their survival through tribal
relations, the Mother.
Rather than cause a revolution,
the founders decided to keep the kingdom secret. Inside the borders of what
they’d eventually stake claim as Wyoming, they’d follow their own rules.
Outsiders wouldn’t know they were different because they wouldn’t understand.
Outsiders weren’t to be
trusted.
Dyer’s youngest daughter,
captivated by the ancient Greek she wouldn’t have been allowed to learn in
Puritan society, named the new kingdom Eurus, meaning east wind. She pronounced it “air-us.”
“But
the winds here blow from the west,” Haakon had asked his father once—before Dad
was King James. That was when it was okay to ask questions. When curiosity
wasn’t an imposition.
“That’s
right, Haakon,” his father had replied, straw between
his teeth. They’d gone on a walk together. The sun was setting on an easy day.
His dad had pointed toward the eastern horizon. “The wind here does primarily
blow from the west, but our founders blew in from the east. That day, the wind
changed directions.”
Haakon
frowned away the memory of days never to return, and refocused on the trees. He
walked as soundlessly as he could in his camo fleece jacket and vintage Levi’s,
his rifle nestled in the crook of his left arm, a round in the chamber. He was
on the left edge of the group, three rows behind his father. Evenly spaced gaps
between them, the men were like migrating geese, locked in formation.
Geese
hunting deer.
“Were
you drinking last night?” Haakon’s father had demanded on the way to the
meeting point that morning. “Is that why you’re so tired?”
“I’m
tired because it’s so early that the birds aren’t even awake yet.”
“Good.
Because you know what the consequences will be if you start drinking again.”
They’d shared the backseat of the armored SUV; Haakon had done his best to
preoccupy himself with his cell phone.
“Yes,
sir, I know.”
“You
need to turn that thing off before we arrive. And when’s your next haircut? You look
slovenly.”
Will you just get off my back? Haakon
had thought at the top of his lungs. What he’d said, though, was simply, “Yes,
sir.”
There,
in the forest, Haakon toyed with the idea of raising his gun and shooting King
James square in the back of the head. Right there under his hat, just above the
rise of his custom down hunting vest. He could do it. Even with the others
present, he knew there’d be no trial, no trip to Corby. But offing his father
wouldn’t solve anything. In fact, it would make life a lot worse. Because with
his father gone, Haakon would be in charge.
Haakon
would become the King of Eurus.
The
thought made him want to puke.
Giveaway!
--------------------
About Cat Patrick:
Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters, and is on Twitter @seecatwrite, or Facebook at authorcatpatrick.
Cat once…• Interrupted Warren Beatty’s lunch to snap a picture with him.
• Appeared on a game show, but not as a competitor.
• Climbed a 50 foot tower and rappelled back down. (At least she thinks it was 50 feet.)
• Met Muhammad Ali.
• Was on the high school golf team.
• Got a tattoo.
• Was pooped on by a dolphin.
• Performed a high kick routine to Personal Jesus.
• Interviewed Carmen Electra.
• Worked as a “concessionist” at a movie theater.
• Met the guy who created Sonic the Hedgehog.
Cat likes… Crunchy snacks, decaf nonfat lattes, mint chip ice cream, Alan Rickman, zombies from afar, traveling, reading, easy hikes, challenging plotlines, stargazing, silly hats, and boots.Cat dislikes… Talking on the phone, socks with holes, zombies close up, the flu, mean people, touching ice, copyedits, flying, spiders, squeaky windshield wipers, black licorice, and salmon.
