by S. J. West
“Yes, I’m feeling much better,” I answered.
I looked at Dena and couldn’t help the genuine smile of pleasure my lips formed. Ever since sharing the Queen’s memory of her daughter’s laughing face, I had felt a certain instinctual connection to the princess.
Emily took a step closer to me, ready to hand Dena over to my care, but the little girl clung desperately to her nanny turning her face away from me, burying it against the side of Emily’s neck.
“No, Mummy!” The little girl screamed hysterically. “No!”
Shocked by her rejection, I was at a complete loss as to what I should do next. Perhaps, in some inexplicable way, Dena sensed I wasn’t her real mother. Children can be sensitive to strangers.
“Dena,” Inara admonished gently, taking a step towards the princess, “that’s no way to greet your mother.”
Emily looked at me apologetically and seemed at a loss, uncertain if she should try to force Dena into my arms.
“No, it’s all right,” I tried to reassure both women. “It’s been a while since she saw me last. There’s no reason we should push her before she’s ready.”
“I’m so sorry, your majesty,” Emily said, gently rubbing Dena on the back to reassure the little girl everything was all right. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into her. She was so excited when I told her you would be returning home today.”
“No apology is necessary,” I told her with a small shake of my head. “There’s no reason to rush things.” I briefly glanced in Gabriel’s direction. He seemed satisfied with my handling of the incident and as mystified as I was by Dena’s reaction to me.
I quickly switched my attention to my personal secretary, hoping it would divert everyone else’s attention away from Dena.
“Thomas,” my personal secretary looked startled for a moment but recovered swiftly, “it’s nice to see you again. Have I missed much while I was away?”
“A few things, your majesty,” Thomas said bowing to me at the waist. “The most important of which concerns Aleksander Chromis.”
“What about him?” I asked, uneasy my personal secretary had put the king of Chromis at the top of his list of important issues.
“He probably wants to tell you I arrived a day earlier than planned.”
The unexpected sound of the deep masculine voice immediately made me search for its owner.
Aleksander Chromis strolled out the glass paneled doors of the castle onto the landing towards us. He was tall, at least a ten inches taller than me and broad of shoulder. His blonde hair was parted on the left side and hung like a silk frame against his lean, angular face. His eyes were the same sky blue of Dena’s and his facial expression was a lot kinder than I had expected. He walked with the fluid grace of a king and someone who was used to being obeyed without question. He was dressed casually with his white shirt open at the collar, black trousers tucked neatly into a pair of knee high riding boots and long black trench coat flaring out behind him as he walked against the wind, adding to the dramatic effect of his unannounced entrance.
Inara and Fallon flanked Gabriel and I presenting a united front to the Chromis King.
Aleksander didn’t seem to care about the others on the platform. His eyes never left mine as he walked directly up to me. Only then did he drop his gaze to take in my attire.
“I see you’ve finally decided to come out of mourning for my brother,” he said in an intimate tone with a faint smile playing across his lips. His voice held the flat accent of the people of Chromis. Some vankaran’s considered it uncultured since it didn’t hold the gentle nuances of our own national tongue. “I’m glad to see it,” he nodded approvingly. “It’s about time you forgot about him.”
“I’ll always remember him,” I corrected. “I have Dena.”
Aleksander’s eyes shifted to his niece still clinging to her nanny for a split second before returning to me.
“What made you decide to come early?” Fallon asked Aleksander, not trying to hide his suspicion of King’s true intentions.
Aleksander took in Fallon’s new uniform with a lopsided grin. “So, she finally got you to accept her offer of becoming Queen’s Marshall.”
Fallon shrugged nonchalantly. “I thought it was time to come back. You didn’t answer my question, Chromis. What made you change your original plans?”
Aleksander smiled at Fallon but there was no friendliness fueling the expression. “I thought I would take a look around the city. I’ve never really seen it. I wanted to experience first hand what your people are like.”
“And what did you discover?” Fallon questioned, folding his arms over his chest in a defensive stance.
“That your people are similar to mine. They just want an end to these plagues and go back to the way things were before. However,” Aleksander arched a thoughtful eyebrow, “I uncovered something which surprised me.”
“And what was that?” I asked, curious to know what an outsider might find worth noting about the people of Vankara.
Aleksander’s eyes met mine, his look turning serious. “That some of your people don’t particularly like the automatons. It seems there is a bit of discontent concerning the machines taking jobs away from the living. I suppose you can’t blame the rich for welcoming free labor into their homes and industries. It certainly makes for healthy profits margins not having to spend money on a labor force which can work around the clock if need be.”
“The people of this country don’t resent the machines as much as you make out,” Gabriel defended.
Aleksander shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps, I suppose you know your people better than I having just spent a day in their midst.” He looked back at me. “But if I were you, I would take a hard look at how things are being handled before real problems surface.”
I knew for a fact what Aleksander was saying was true. Even my own father and mother had to flee the city to find a way to make a living. The automatons were free labor. There was no way for a regular human to compete with their ability to work without needing to be paid, fed or housed.
I didn’t think it prudent to say I agreed with Aleksander’s observations. But I decided on a compromise.
“Thank you for your advice,” I told him. “I will keep what you have said in mind.”
He seemed appeased by my statement because his smile widened beatifically causing my pulse to involuntarily race. I could feel color creep into my cheeks and hated how I was reacting to one of the people I had been charged to keep Vankara safe from.
Apparently Aleksander Chromis wasn’t a man who missed much. His smile widened even further, pleased by my obvious reaction to him.
“Perhaps we should all go inside,” Gabriel suggested. I had the distinct feeling Gabriel’s real intentions were to put as much distance between Aleksander and me as he could without offending the Chromis King outright.
The wind was picking up and at the altitude we were at it had a distinct bite of winter to it.
Gabriel held his arm out to me once again to escort me inside the palace while everyone else followed behind us.
The room attached to the landing pad was made completely out of glass. It was like stepping into a bubble. On the far side, there were two iron doors decorated with a large gold embossed Vankaran seal directly in the middle of them. Gabriel let go of my arm and walked to the double doors to open them. Behind the doors was a small iron cage suspended in an iron shaft.
“Perhaps just the Queen, her daughter and I should go down first,” Gabriel suggested as he held his hand out to me to follow him into the cage. It was only then I realized we were entering a lift. I had heard of their existence but I had never ridden in one before.
“Would you mind if I joined you?” Thomas asked. He had an urgent look about him causing me to assume he had more important information to impart to me.
“Of course,” Gabriel said graciously. “It looks like the Queen has some business to attend to today,” Gabriel said to the three left in the ante cha
mber. “We’ll see you all at the party this evening.”
Gabriel closed the doors and pushed a ruby red button on a panel to his left. I involuntarily grabbed Gabriel’s coat sleeve as I felt us sink into the earth, at least that’s what it felt like to me.
It didn’t take very long before we came to a stop and Gabriel reopened the doors.
I stepped out into a hallway with dark green painted walls and white marble flooring. Columns of the same marble were spaced out at equal intervals along the hallway. At the end of the corridor, I saw a larger than life size painting of the Queen dressed in a gown of gold silk staring directly at me. I remembered the dress and realized the painting must have been done on the day of her coronation.
I followed Gabriel’s lead down the corridor, the heels of our shoes clicking against the hardness of the marble in a staccato rhythm. I kept my eyes averted from the scrutinizing gaze of the Queen fearing her spirit might convey some displeasure in how I was handling matters thus far.
We passed a few doors along the hallway before Gabriel finally came to a stop at one.
“Why don’t you take Dena up to her chambers, Emily? The Queen needs to handle some matters of state,” Gabriel said.
I had intentionally avoided looking directly at Dena but plucked up my nerve to face her again. She had her thumb in her mouth and stared at me with wide, uncertain eyes.
“She hasn’t had her mid-morning snack yet,” Emily said. “Maybe that’s why she’s acting so peculiar.” I was getting tired of Emily’s apologetic expression. She had done nothing to be sorry for and the added guilt of her worry over Dena’s odd behavior was more than I was capable of dealing with in that moment.
“That’s a good idea,” I said. Before Dena could react, I leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Mummy will see you later.”
The child was quickly whisked away by her nanny who probably thought it might be prudent to leave before Dena did react.
Gabriel walked into the room and held the door open for Thomas and me. The room was a well appointed study with a massive, intricately carved rosewood desk directly opposite us, sitting in front of a wall of glass. Two beige wing backed chairs with a coral floral pattern weaved into the fabric sat facing the front of the desk. Voluminous yards of vanilla colored silk draperies and white sheers covered the glass wall, pooling elegantly against the cherry hardwood floor. The walls were a faint peach color with arched white painted book shelves standing against them at evenly spaced intervals. A fireplace of yellow marble was built into the wall to my left with a lounging area made up of two settees with a coffee table in between. Hanging from the high pitched ceiling in the middle of the room was a large crystal and gold chandelier with flaming candles.
I was a little uncertain about what to do. Should I stand somewhere? Should I sit behind the desk? What would the Queen normally do when talking with her advisors?
I took off my coat to buy myself some time to decide what would be proper. Gabriel stood beside me holding out an arm for me to hang my coat across.
As he turned to hang it on a gold coat tree by the door he said, “Why don’t you sit at your desk, your majesty? You should try to rest as much as you can.”
I nodded to Gabriel, silently thanking him for discretely providing me an answer to my dilemma.
Gabriel and Thomas sat in the wing backed chairs in front of the desk.
Thomas opened up his little black book and removed a small pencil from an inside pocket. He looked down at whatever it was he had written in the book and quickly scratched through something before looking back up at me.
“We’ve had another incident with the Plague-bringers,” Thomas announced. “They staged a demonstration outside of parliament the morning you left demanding they be allowed inside to speak with the members. We were able to quell them before things became violent, but I’m afraid it’s just a matter of time before they become more adamant in their requests to voice their opinions to you and parliament directly. I understand your reluctance in speaking with them but perhaps you should reconsider having a private audience with their leader, Adam Bellas. He seems like a reasonable man. In fact, he was the one who urged the members of his faction to leave by promising to do his best in gaining an audience with your majesty as soon as you returned.”
I looked at Gabriel. “What is your opinion on this matter? Do you think it prudent to meet with such a man?”
“No, I do not,” Gabriel was quick to reply, not hiding his disgust with this Adam Bellas. “I fear they would take it as an admission that their claims have merit. Having a formal meeting with their leader would only fan the flames of support from his followers. I advise you not to speak with him at this time, your majesty.”
I looked back at Thomas and noticed he was nervously tapping his pencil against the open page of his book. It was obvious he wholeheartedly disagreed with Gabriel’s assessment of the situation.
“I tend to agree with Gabriel,” I told Thomas as gently as I could to avoid ruffling his feathers any further. “Is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?”
For the next half-hour, Thomas ran down the list of items written in his notebook, scratching out each as we finished discussing them and jotting down notes here and there. Some items up for discussion included the opening of Parliament the next day but most were simple things such as arrangements for guest who were to attend Dena’s birthday celebration later that evening. Gabriel took charge of answering most of Thomas’ questions since I didn’t have the faintest idea on how to properly address them. Thomas didn’t seem to find Gabriel’s control over the conversation odd which made me wonder just how much influence Gabriel actually exercised on royal affairs.
I was excited to hear Dena’s birthday celebration would be centered on a circus theme. There was to be a show held outside in the palace gardens underneath an extravagantly large tent.
“The acrobatic troupe wanted to know if it would be all right to invite the princess into one of their acts near the end of the show,” Thomas said to me.
“She wouldn’t be in any danger would she?” I asked immediately, feeling concern over Dena’s welfare like any mother should.
“No, your majesty. In fact, they said her feet would never leave the ground. She’ll be perfectly safe. I assure you.”
“I suppose it would be all right,” I agreed, “as long as she is willing.”
Thomas wrote something in his notebook and closed it before looking back at me.
“That’s all I have for the moment, your majesty. If you will excuse me I need to leave and attend to some details for this evening’s celebration.”
“Thank you for taking care of things while I was indisposed, Thomas. I appreciate your loyalty and service.”
“You are most welcome, your majesty. We’re all just glad to see you feeling better.” Thomas stood from his chair and bowed to me before turning and leaving the room.
After Thomas closed the door behind him, I looked at Gabriel and asked, “Do you think he suspects anything? Did I do anything I shouldn’t have during the meeting?”
“No, you handled yourself just as the Queen would have,” he replied with a proud smile. “Though, I supposed I should have told you Emma always addressed Thomas as Mr. Gaines.”
“Ahh,” now his expression of surprise earlier on the platform was brought into context. “When you live in the countryside, first names are always used,” I explained. “I should have remembered things were more formal here in the city. Should I stop addressing him so informally?”
“No, you should keep calling him Thomas now that you’ve started. I’m sure he’s taken it as a sign of your friendship and trust in him. Going back to a formal Mr. Gaines would just make him suspicious.”
“Yes, you’re probably right.” I leaned back in the comfortable brown leather chair I sat in and let out a silent, relieved sigh. Pretending to be the Queen hadn’t been as hard as I feared only an hour earlier. As long as I kept my
focus on our mission, I felt certain I could pull off the ruse and eventually become accustomed to my new lot in life.
I heard Gabriel clear his throat discreetly, like he was about to broach a subject he was uncomfortable bring up.
“I know Aleksander can be charming,” Gabriel began with great hesitation. “But you need to keep in mind he not only wants the Queen but also everything Vankara has to offer.”
I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment by Gabriel’s reminder of my physical reaction to Chromis.
“Is the Queen not allowed to have natural human reactions?”
“No. Not really. You have to temper your emotions and keep in mind what is important. The way you respond to things is always noticed. The slightest misstep can be construed as a weakness the Queen cannot afford to display.”
“I will try to do better next time,” I promised him, not having a clue how I would find a way to shield my natural womanly responses with a man like Aleksander Chromis trying his best to woo me. But reminding myself of the fact he was doing his best to woo me out of a country was quite sobering.
“Sarah,” Gabriel said, “I just want to let you know how proud I am of you. There aren’t a lot of people who would have the fortitude to do what you are doing.”
“I hope Fallon comes around and sees that. The man despises me, Gabriel. I don’t know why the Queen thought he would be a good advisor. He can barely look at me without letting me know just what he thinks about what I’m doing.”
“Give him some time. He just needs to deal with his feelings over losing Emma. He’ll come around once he sees the wisdom of her plan.”
“I hope you’re right,” I sighed. “At the moment, I seriously doubt he’ll ever see me as anything but an imposter.”
“He’ll accept you, in time.”
“What Chromis said on the platform about Fallon being the Queen’s Marshall, what exactly does that mean? I’ve never heard of one.”