Chapter 1
How could he do this to me?
Prince Tobias stood on the canopy overlooking his family, his military, and the people who shall now address him as King. I was where I belonged: on the ground with people of my status. My camp of brothers were not far but dispersed amongst the crowd guarding civilians in the method and formation that was ingrained in us from years of training. Despite the throne pretending coronation days are all jubilee and drinks frothing over, the castle staff are told a different story. It was because of us things had order and played out as they were planned. Otherwise…
The position of power had just shifted. From Prince to King. But, then again, rapidly, without allowing anyone to catch their breath. The people were supposed to watch his coronation and speech passively and have little to no involvement besides cheering or applauding. Prince Tobias’ birthday was supposed to be a celebration of him and the youth and strength of his empire.
So, why was everyone staring at me?
A mere guard in his legion. Not renowned, not powerful in legacy, money, or influence. A nobody, who now had stolen the attention of everyone in attendance as the new King had just been crowned.
What made it worse was that everyone had grown silent. They were waiting for a response.
I panicked. I couldn’t even remember what had been said.
“On the subject of selecting a Queen befitting this honorable title and with the skill to handle the pressure and the enviable duties. A Queen with a valiant heart and dependable force the people of this Kingdom deserve. Well, there is one person I would extend that offer to.”
There was no way he said that.
“There is hardly a person on this earth who can fill the shoes of my late mother, long live Queen Alexandria, but despite these challenges, I see progress with her next to me. My father selected a civilian to be his partner in marriage and in doing so showed me that there is power in adversity. My Queen, if she will take me, represents the wants and needs of all of you in and out of these castle walls.”
Please no.
“She will bring progress and forward thinking to this kingdom. Ms. Raugh, will you do me the honor of joining me up here?”
I hardly had a choice. If I denied the King on his coronation day in front of this crowd, it would only call into question the King’s Guard’s loyalty to the new regime he was responsible for building. That was the last thing anyone needed.
Besides, what were the chances he’d order my immediate execution on the spot just for refusing him?
I cleared my throat and bowed my head in respect. I could hardly look at the people staring at me. The expressions on their faces were telling.
Her?
How is this allowed?
It had been the priority of King Duncan, King Tobias’ father, to set his son up with an eligible princess over the course of the past year so that surprises like this would be prevented. All of the girls in the running for the most respectable position of power in this country happened to be in the crowd today. It was one big happy horrible party. It seemed like they would kill me with looks alone.
I was a nobody taking their crown from them. A crown they worked hard to get and honestly deserved more than I did. They were dressed appropriately for the occasion. Their dresses pulled their bodies into hourglass shapes. The embroidery glimmered and shined in the Genevieve sun. Their tutors were no less harsh in receiving me. Their faces were caked in white powder and fake beauty marks. They had no physical strength, but I didn’t doubt they’d try to skewer me with the pins in their hair or take me down with their palm fans.
I was in my regular skintight black fatigues. I was the tell-tale image of a member of the King’s Guard. As tradition called, as was customary, the guard’s duty was to protect the King and his Kingdom. I did not belong by his side or separated from the people I’m sworn to defend.
It felt wrong as I did it. It felt like tearing myself in two. I walked through the crowd, and it parted for me. Everyone was eager to see who their King had chosen to wed. They didn’t believe it was me, but that I was leading the true lady practically glowing and flowing on her femininity and delicacy.
No one followed. I alone moved through the crowd with my sword at my side and my boots clunking against the gravel.
I expected there to be outcries of discontent, but I still flinched when I heard them. By the time I turned around, two shadows of black swept through the crowd and silenced the protestors before a riot could catch on and start a fire.
I turned around and faced the sandcastle that was the Kingdom. Its columns were the recognizable color of tan that made everything look golden. The floors were marble, and the ceilings were high. I’d walked these corridors countless times, but this time was different. It felt so much longer of a walk than it did before knowing my presence was desired.
My footsteps echoed on the polished floors in the empty hallways. The sound reminded me of a ticking clock.
Servants of the King ambushed me before I could make it to the balcony and shut me in a bedroom. They typically wouldn’t be able to surprise me, but I was off my game today. I was in such a shock I didn’t think I was in control of my own body. The door clicked shut and I swallowed a dry gulp of air.
On the bed behind me were clothes laid out and a note on top of them.
Try not to let anyone take these off of you before I do.
I tossed the note to the side and examined the clothes chosen for me. They wouldn’t help my image in front of the crowd. I could still see those daughters of Lords and nobility in their stunning feminine dresses. Wearing my fatigues, I’ve had many question if I was even a girl. I just wasn’t the image of a perfect Queen. I didn’t fit the bill, and I never did. Prince Tobias knew that, and he chose me anyways. I had to hope his ridiculous plan wouldn’t backfire on him.
I walked into the adjoining room wearing my new clothes: a matching blazer and trouser set in the color of the castle. I didn’t expect company, so when I looked up and saw my parents, I almost cried. My parents hugged me as soon as they saw me. My mother had tears in her eyes, likely because she didn’t think I’d ever get married. My father was much taller than me. Much taller than anyone in the room. He looked down at me with love in his eyes.
This was already much more than I could handle. I could see the back of the King out of the window and although he couldn’t see me, I shook my head at him in disbelief. I was in awe of him.
One of the reasons he and his father didn’t get along was because King Duncan shut Queen Alexandria up in the castle away from her home and everyone she ever loved. Prince Tobias never met her family while she was alive. It took a grand escape from the castle in order to correct that oversight.
King Tobias’ reign had lasted less than a day and already he was improving on what his father had done. The fact that my parents were here, a week’s ride by carriage from their farm in a poor village to see their daughter get married made my heart race.
My father asked if I was ready and I nodded. He took my arm in his and walked me out onto the balcony. The crowd gasped almost as if they didn’t believe this was really about to happen until they saw me in what could be seen as a wedding gown, one fit for a member of the King’s guard.
I turned and smiled at my father. He did not seem ready to let me go but eventually he released my arm. I turned to face my husband, the King. Behind him stood the former King, Duncan, who looked marginally less thrilled to see me there than his son did. I owed all of this to King Duncan. He brought me to the castle at a young age and was a father to me in place of the one I left behind at home. He had to have known this was coming, still he was going to hold on to the delusion that it wasn’t for as long as he could.
King Tobias took my hands, and I stared at him. It never failed to shock me how much of a remarkable person he was.
With my sword at my side, King Tobias and I were pronounced husband and wife. The crowd cheered and King Tobias kissed me. I allowed it. King Duncan moved swiftly to my side and turned me to face the people. Like he’d done with his son before in the peaceful transition of power, he wiped my shoulders off, raised the crown to bask in the sunlight of Genevieve, and bellowed, “Now and forever more this crown belongs to Roy, Queen of Genevieve: Protector of the people.” King Duncan placed the crown that once belonged to his wife on my afro hair, and the music began to play.
The King and the Queen’s first duties were carried out not long after the coronation. King Tobias and I sat in our official thrones in the courthouse to talk directly with our most devoted followers. We would break tradition a little bit.
According to the gentle transition of power in Genevieve, the King and Queen hand down their crown to those that inherit them. It was important for King Tobias to honor his mother in her absence. He invited the most revered storytellers and performers to an intimate interview with the two of us. King Tobias despised how secretive and unattainable his father’s reign was. This was his idea of setting things right.
The interviewers faced us in a room alone. Anything said in this room, intentional or not, would be read by citizens in faraway towns. It would be how they remembered us. Their only information about their newly elected leaders responsible for their health and wellbeing and the prosperity of the nation they reside in. This was my first day. It was a lot of pressure.
“Here’s an ice breaker,” one of the reporters said and I stopped panicking briefly to pay attention. “Say your children are eighteen and they inherit the throne from you. You’re retired and house hunting. What room of the house can you absolutely not live without?”
I snorted. This was the first question they ask a King and Queen? It was ridiculous. Besides, there was no way Tobias could answer. He’s lived in a palace his whole life. He hardly knows me.
“The kitchen,” he answered.
“The shed,” I answered at the same time. We stared at each other. The reporters stopped scribbling and looked up from their notepads.
“No,” we both challenged each other. I answered honestly, and I supposed, so did he. I rejected his answer like a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t need a kitchen to be happy in a house. But, then again, I complain about almost every meal someone else makes for me. I can’t stand dry, stale, overcooked, or anything less than fresh and crisp ingredients. I would never have picked the kitchen to answer for myself, but when I stopped to think about it, I could see where Tobias got that answer from. I’d found myself in the kitchen more often recently. I spent hours in there cooking and contemplating, well needed time alone, without giving it much thought. It was just what needed to be done, not necessarily what I wanted to do.
Tobias rejected my answer immediately too. He denied that he was a shed type of guy, even though he confessed to me when we were alone that he’d rather live in a log cabin in the woods and become a hermit than be King to a large body of people depending on him. He was absolutely someone who needed a shed, a man cave, someone to paint his insides on a small and controlled space where he had absolutely all of the say on what happened, what was made and what was destroyed. That was his personality. There was no doubt in my mind.
We smiled at each other, embarrassed. Neither of us bargained that such an underestimated question would prove how well we knew each other. It was testing our relationship, which both of us thought was stupid. King Tobias never grew out of his crush on me. There was never a doubt in his mind that we’d end up together. Me, on the other hand, never saw this coming. The girls who expected to be standing where I was standing would have the perfect answers, look the part, and wouldn’t crumble under pressure. I knew I didn’t deserve to be there, besides perhaps standing guard just behind him making sure no one threatens the true and rightful heirs to the throne. I expected the first question to expose the cracks in this relationship as I was doing my best to catch up but was falling dastardly behind.
Instead, it just applied salve on my strained muscles. King Tobias had care and attention towards me. He had my back, and I could be grateful for that. He really thought of everything. King Tobias thanked the reporters for their work and sent them off with Cameron in royal carriages to spread the news to the farther regions of the kingdom. The heralds would tell everyone the eighteen-year-old King married his personal bodyguard.
Onto the next official agenda as the royal couple; meeting with the common man. The first camp, the King’s most trusted soldiers and bodyguards, sat with us as our official elected castle masters. The council for the King was in attendance, filling out the seats in the courthouse on the sidelines watching. Always watching.
Men and women in noble families walked down the aisle towards us with gifts, coins, and questions or requests. We had a limited time for this intimate get-together, so those with higher status and more valuable gifts were guided towards the front of the line.
A man in a purple suit lined in gold stepped up to King Tobias and me after we’d offered advice to the last merchant. This one had a gold tooth, and he was wearing a ridiculous hat with an oversized feather tucked in its ribbon.
“Isn’t this a sight,” the man’s gold tooth almost blinded me when he smiled.
“Howard,” King Tobias’ intonation declined at the end of announcing his name which I took to mean he wasn’t a friend of the castle but someone who is tolerated due to his wealth. “I welcome you back to the castle. I take it the canning business is coming along nicely?”
“Your majesty, that is quite right.” Howard was chewing something like a piece of straw or tobacco. I couldn’t stop looking at his tooth cap and tried but failed not to frown with disgust at Howard. “You know, we’d be doing a lot better with a bit more space down on the docks.”
“You already know I can’t do anything about that. That is the city’s right to regulate space for all of its merchants.”
“I know, I know,” Howard bowed his head. He was giving me the impression of a raccoon. When Howard took off his hat in respect to his King, he revealed his receding hairline. The few hairs that were left were combed over and gelled down. “It’s just that they’re taking their sweet time with the decision. I brought something that might convince you to put a good word in on my behalf.”
Howard took out a folded piece of parchment out of his suit lining. Tay took the opportunity to move from his post behind the thrones to retrieve the paper, so King Tobias never had to get to his feet. Howard looked between Tau and King Tobias nervously, like he had a specific way he thought this would go and so far, it wasn’t. “You’ll see on the map where my property line ends. That’s where I am reaching a standstill with the local government. I circled in red the expansion I proposed. There’s plenty of space left over for foot traffic, tourists, and docking boats. The way I see it, it’s really simple.”
King Tobias sized up this old friend to the family. “No,” Tay said. The murmuring in the courtroom stopped. Guards like Tay typically never spoke at royal functions like this. That right was reserved for the royal family and the council. Tay was overstepping his place, and everyone knew it. Masters in their field are expected to say one remarkable phrase and then fade out of the spotlight. Tay was speaking like he was King himself and didn’t owe any of these people respect to be addressed by their title. “No. This map was forged. Where did you get this?”
Howard was struck dumb. When he did not answer, Tay continued.
“The map for the docks has a humble family business of making small trinkets out of conch shells where you circled on the fake map.”
It was apparent this wasn’t at all what Howard wanted out of this exchange. He snorted innocently, “Is that so?” Howard held his hand out to retrieve the map, “Well isn’t that peculiar? I’m glad you caught that, kid, before something bad happened.”
Rabe wasn’t a master, but he was in attendance. He came up to me where I sat in my throne and whispered in my ear.
“No,” I told him and looked down the line. “Bring them.”
We waited for a couple to be escorted to the front of the line, standing side by side with Howard.
“State your business,” King Tobias spoke to the couple.
“Yes, your majesty. My name’s Spencer and my wife’s Alfie. We own a small shop on the dock next to the cannery. This man,” he pointed a finger at Howard, and he rolled his eyes as though to communicate that the ordinary man, Spencer, was telling lies. “Keeps threatening me to sell my business to him. He once told me he was going to burn it down with me inside.”
“Please,” Howard laughed lightly. “Your majesty. This is ridiculous. Some down-on-their-luck shop-owners are playing the victim for a payout. There is absolutely no legitimacy behind these claims.”
“But there is,” Tay stepped down to Howard’s level, holding the map up to his face. “This isn’t a forged map. You made this map. It’s a very difficult thing to do, especially for a man supposedly using time well spent manning a successful canning fishery. Copying a map by hand is time intensive. One would hope you would be using that time to improve on what you already have instead of coming up with schemes to bypass the long arm of the law.”
“Howard,” King Tobias was annoyed. He sounded like he was trying to get a toddler to admit what he did wrong. “You forged a map just to drive these people out of a shop praised by the community?”
“I-” Howard realized that he couldn’t laugh his way out of this one. “I’ve been pushed to my limits. I can’t afford to settle my bets. I made this investment before the expansion was approved, now my backers are pulling out and requesting their money back.”
King Tobias observed both parties. “I have the perfect solution for you.” I looked down on Howard with disdain. “The Finey’s will give up their shop for you.”
Alfie Finey cried out, wailing, at King Tobias’s ruling. Even I had a problem with his solution. King Tobias held up his hand and Alfie sucked down her reaction and quieted down.
“In return, your canning business will become a joint collaboration with this family’s legacy. You fish. Everything you can’t sell; you give to them. You can, with the extra space, and the Finey’s will repurpose materials from your catches that will grow their business and make sure it thrives with your support.”
Howard looked like he might flip a table. Spencer Finey had a gleam in his eye. Not many influential people in his life stuck their neck out so the little man could get a leg up.
“Anything else?” King Tobias asked the three of them.
The two parties bowed and said, “No, your majesty.”
The people were escorted from the courtroom and when we were alone, I turned to Tay.
“What was that?”
Tay looked like he was falsely accused.
“We can’t just openly contradict and challenge known long-time allies to the throne. There are eyes and ears everywhere. I know you’re doing your job, but you have to be more sensitive. We almost started a riot over what should have been one man complaining then leaving.”
Tay didn’t say he agreed or that he promised to do better in the future. He just went quiet and looked at his feet.
The festivities continued all night. The city of Ylsse, connected to the castle by a bridge over a moat, lit up with lights and music as the celebrations of a prosperous new reign began. Inside the castle were Lords and Ladies attending the royal festivities in the grand hall. They roared in applause when we entered together. King Tobias grabbed my hand and raised it in the air.
The King was accustomed to this party atmosphere. I was used to observing it while monitoring everything and standing in a corner or a shadow. I already missed the time when I was unnoticeable and could blend into a wall seamlessly. Those days were over now.
The singers and the band stopped playing to stand up and welcome us. After we’d thanked everyone for congratulating us, the cheers rose again for King Duncan. His close friends were patting him on the shoulders now that the weight of the Kingdom was off of them. No one clapped for my parents because they were farmers. I escorted them away from the crowd and to the table where we were to be seated and observed by the elite of society.
The singers and the band sat back down and started up the music.
All types of people came up to our table. I knew none of them. None of them knew me. I tried to nod and smile but meeting all of these people was draining my energy. I had very little of it to begin with. The one saving grace I had was the King. Tobias was a natural with these things. Maybe because he grew up knowing these people even though he put up this front of a spoiled brat who was severely ill prepared to don the crown and all of its responsibilities by the age of eighteen.
I had some catching up to do.
Was this how Alex felt? Being an outsider in the castle? Without even her family to remind her what life was like for the average person. I’d never seen so much food in one place besides the canteen, or smelled so many fragrant smells, besides perhaps in the bunkers.
“Why did you bring me here?” I whispered to King Tobias so that no one could hear.
“Roy, I need you here. You need to be a leader. Not me.”
“Leader,” I scoffed at him. “I’m not a politician. I don’t know how to do any of this.”
“What are politicians?” King Tobias asked me and took a sip of wine. “They’re just people with ideas. And your ideas are the best I’ve ever heard.”
“Then you need to find yourself in better company.”
“Congratulations!”
Hector was behind my chair. I rose out of my seat to hug him, then I pushed him away from me.
“You were behind this,” I pointed a finger at him. The reality of the situation was coming to me belatedly. I studied the faces of the two boys beside me to confirm what I already knew to be true. “The both of you.”
There was no denial. Ever since I encouraged Hector and Tobias to get over their differences, they’ve been spending a lot more time together than I thought was possible. Hector was promoted to Battalion Master so it made sense that his position would be congregating with the future King, since it’s his Kingdom that Hector is trusted to protect. It was just strange because I knew they couldn’t stand each other as just people existing in the world. Which was even more strange because they were perhaps the two people, I cared the most for in this whole world. King Tobias and Hector always avoided being in the same room together, so the fact that they orchestrated this grand plan together was not only hard to believe but worrisome.
“The trainees,” I was staring at Hector. Hector went behind my back to teach the trainees a special arrangement just for my proposal when they were supposed to be learning the moves for the coronation routine. Hector and King Tobias, the two of them… I really could never tell what to expect when those two minds got together.
“You don’t mind if we ditch early?” Hector asked with a drink in his hand. “Roxana and I wanted to see if the shanty down at McMillers is as good as everyone says.”
I shook my head at Hector. “Enjoy it for the both of us.”
My mother and father had not touched the food on the table. They looked so uncomfortable there. I thought I could understand their apprehension, being the common folk in a room full of upper-class lords and ladies.
I was raised with my father’s principles. He would not eat the food on his plate unless everyone had sat down and began eating. He was also not used to eating food he took no part in raising or cooking. King Duncan had never made a meal with his own two hands. It was a part of the station to expect food to appear out of thin air here whereas acquiring food was expected of the farmer.
King Tobias could tell I was uncomfortable. I told him in advance that there was no place for my parents here, but he insisted that they move to Ylsee and start supplying food closer to the capital of the Kingdom.
The two of us shared an unspoken moment.
If we didn’t do something, who would?
The merchants and lords were mingling. This was typical. Hardly anyone actually ate at these events. Food just got in the way of planting seeds, luring out secrets, and spreading rumors.
Tobias and I stood at our table and clinked our glasses together.
“Speech! Speech!” The crowd started to chant.
We waited for the drunken excitement to die down and King Tobias said, “It is my wedding day. As my first order as King, I demand all of you enjoy the Majesty’s feast so painstakingly provided to you by our hardworking staff.”
Everyone in attendance cheered and did as instructed.
“As it is my first day as Queen, I would also like to make a declaration.” I waited until I had everyone’s attention, then gestured to the waitstaff’s door. “Staff! Staff! Please enter.”
The door opened. Obediently, the kitchen and cleaning staff filled in the main dining area, bowing their heads politely, almost as if expecting to be scolded. They knew a hard life where they were ordered around, treated poorly, and expected to be invisible. It used to be my job as a guard to not distract from the King and Queen. I felt more of a kindred spirit towards the kitchen staff, cooks, servers, and cleaners than I did towards anyone else in this room.
“As the speaker for the people, I would like to start my reign by putting an end to this caste system. We are so grateful for the work of all the staff and as is customary in my house, welcome them to enjoy the feast with us.”
It seemed the nobles were not drunk enough to blindly accept this idea with frivolity. There was a standstill in the dining hall. Even under threat of immediate beating and embarrassment for disobeying an order from a queen, the people in attendance were quiet and still, waiting for someone else to lead the charge on making the judgement call if they were allowed to eat with someone of a low class.
I smiled pleasantly, a little proud of myself for making everyone uncomfortable. I made a noise as if to challenge their stance on this issue.
No?
I took some mutton off of a tray and bit off a delicious bite of it. I climbed down off of the stage and walked over to the band that had been playing music. I tapped my foot into the tempo of a song, and they readied their instruments. Still chewing on my food, I opened my mouth to sing.
They looked at me like I was a drunken hillbilly who just walked into this elevated congregation of wealthy people like a smelly diaper. If Hector got to enjoy a pub, why couldn’t I bring the pub to the palace?
I laid it on thick for them, giving them a performance of a lifetime. I took trays of food and drink off the servant’s hands and placed them on the nobility’s unprepared arms. I danced people out of their chairs and let the staff take a load off.
I danced up to the table and took my mother’s hands. We danced together down on the dancefloor and the singers returned, replacing my vocals. The others joined in, welcoming the absurdity and accepting the ordinance to take the system and flip it on its head.
This was the atmosphere my parents could welcome. It was like a slice of home. They didn’t have a staff or waiters in my small village. The person behind the bar usually owned it, cleaned it, organized events with it, and decided when it opened and closed. With as many hats as each person in the village wore, there came a day where they’d all take some well-deserved stress off and party.
I wore the hat of a soldier, a wife, and a Queen all in one day. I had a lot to sweat off on the dancefloor.
I danced with my husband, Tobias, and it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Tobias and I went way back but our connection was more complicated than I expected anyone would ever fully comprehend. The way we liked to dance behind closed doors was inappropriate. Coming from me, who was currently encouraging the wait staff to boogie with lords and ladies, the people weren’t ready for the kind of 21st century dancing Tobias and I preferred.
Still, we tested the boundaries. Neither of us were restricted, thanks to his foresight of not forcing me into a tight bodice and corset. It was not the kind of dance Queens and Kings should have been dancing but we were the new age. This was his eighteenth birthday, and I was going to make it count.
At the end of the night, I accompanied my parents to the bedroom King Duncan gifted me when I first arrived at the palace. Because of its size, to newcomers like my parents, it would be easy to get lost inside. I thought I should make sure they were settled before I spent the first night in the palace in the King’s quarters. I didn’t ever want that time to come. Talk about pressure. I wanted King Tobias and I to be different people where we could court each other on the down low. This was our second date, and we’re already married and consummating the marriage in his dad’s old bed.
I shuddered involuntarily.
My father took up much of my twin sized bed with his gargantuan body, but my mother didn’t seem to mind. I shook the heebie-jeebies out at how close and loving they were being with each other in front of me. No daughter ever wants to see that.
I closed the door behind me and walked to King Duncan’s door. I had made this walk countless times before way back when I was just a guard on patrol. I’d only ever been outside his door, never seeing inside.
Now that it was time, I wasn’t sure I could do it.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to.
“There you are,” Tobias appeared to the right of me, his crown was dangerously askew, and his coronation and wedding suit was worn informally and probably disrespectfully, but it was all Tobias. “I thought you’d forget.”
“Forget what?” I asked back.
He tapped his head and pointed to mine. “Dad’s taking up a cabin in the woods, distancing himself from the empire. It’s entirely cleared out.”
Standing side by side, we opened the French double doors to King Duncan’s chambers. We were both speechless. It was really settling in. We were King and Queen. We weren’t just playing the role; we had actual people to hold us accountable. This was the King’s quarters. The dark mahogany wood was everywhere, the floor, the bedframe, the door, around the windows. It was royal but somehow peaceful. It wasn’t too intense or unreachable.
This was the room Tobias ran to as a kid when thunder was too loud and now it was his. It used to be his father and his mother’s bed and now it was his and his wife’s.
I smiled as it sank in. Alone, it would be overwhelming, but Tobias was there to bring me down when I needed it and I was there to remind him to take a break when it was well deserved.
“First down,” I said all of a sudden and ran out of his arms and straight to the window.
I opened the fire escape and giggled in delight when he was on my tail. We sparred in his mother’s garden like we used to. The sound of clanking swords echoed out of the protected field surrounded by castle and fireflies took to the sky the further we forced each other into the untouched growth.
As scary as the title of King and Queen was, it was never scary down there in the garden. It was almost as if we regressed back to being kids who never learned to grow up surrounded by the untrimmed thorns and wild growing flowers.
