“It’s because you’re usually so graceful, Your Majesty. You could walk a wire between skyscrapers without falling, but then you trip over your own feet for no reason. I have a theory.”
“It probably involves Landen’s tailor,” I complained.
“We have noticed you have a very healthy appreciation of His Majesty in a suit. The maids got together and acquired you a present. It’s civilian clothes for His Majesty. We were thinking of your safety.”
I giggled. “He really doesn’t own any jeans. I’ve looked for them, Elise. There’s no jeans anywhere.”
“He now owns jeans.”
I couldn’t wait. “Tight jeans?”
“We recruited Mr. Illan to make certain the jeans are a perfect fit.”
“You ladies are the best.”
“Anyway, you’re not going to be at any risk of tripping. You’ll be removing the blindfold before you walk down the aisle with your father but after we’ve arrived. The location in the castle is the secret.”
Ever since our return to Alaska, Landen had gone out of his way to keep me contained in the royal wing of the castle, and he’d recruited his RPS agents to keep me from wandering, thus ensuring I had no idea where we were going or why.
I’d gone along with it because he’d been eager to make it a surprise.
“I’ve said this once, I’ve said this twice, but I’m walking down the aisle. No weird surprises. And I don’t care if it’s a tribe tradition, I refuse to be carried to the altar.”
“We know, we know. Everyone in the castle knows. Anyway, you didn’t have a matchmaker, so you can’t adhere to those traditions anyway. You’re walking down the aisle on your own, promise.”
The wedding coordinator clapped her hands. “All right, ladies. It’s show time. Your Majesty, please remember you’re not the one to remove the blindfold. Your father will be the one to remove it.”
“Understood,” I replied, saluting, amused by the wedding coordinator’s orders and her mention of my father. Daddy still wasn’t sure what to think about his country bumpkin daughter being a queen. I still wasn’t sure what I thought about me being a queen, either.
Maybe I didn’t feel like a queen, but I looked like one. My dress had way too many gauzy layers, which made the simplest tasks difficult. I didn’t even want to think about the damned train, which needed four of my five bridesmaids to contain. Landen had been the evil mastermind behind the dress, and it was tight enough to show off the curves he liked so much.
Thanks to everyone trying to restore my weight, the start of my pregnancy, and physical therapy, my seamstress had needed to adjust the damned dress five times to make sure it’d fit.
Not being the one to pick the dress was a small price to pay. Elise had Landen’s new crown, and I’d shove the damned thing over his head myself if I needed to.
I’d been reassured his new crown would be worn as part of the ceremony, although the details had been hidden along with everything else. I had a little earpiece hidden by my veil, and the wedding coordinator would tell me what to do when I needed to do it.
Landen wanted every detail of the ceremony to be a surprise.
I was still surprised I’d found someone who wanted me in his life until the day we died.
With Elise’s help, I made the long walk to where I’d officially marry Landen. I suspected I was being taken in circles to confuse me, but I didn’t mind. If it made him happy, I’d deal with clip-clopping around the entire castle several times in heels I could use as weapons.
Despite her claims, it’d taken Elise several weeks to teach me how to walk in heels without falling on my ass and damaging my pride and ankles.
“Huh,” my father said, which tipped me off we’d arrived. “Never thought I’d see the day my little girl would be wearing a dress fit for a queen.”
For him, it was as close to praise as I’d get, which was good enough for me. “Anything I wear is fit for a queen, Dad. I am a queen.”
He snorted.
Some things would never change.
“I never said I was a good queen,” I pointed out. “But everything I wear is fit for a queen, thank you very much.”
“I was going to pay that man to take you off my hands, but it turns out I get to give you away for free. I got the better end of that deal.”
I couldn’t help myself. I giggled. “That’s so mean, Dad.”
“As there isn’t going to be a next time, as I’ll tan that man’s hide and take it as a trophy if he treats you wrong, I’ll remind you of our address so you don’t forget visiting is traditional.”
The next time I visited my parents, it would be because I’d be introducing them to their first grandchild, and I’d take a page from Landen’s book and make it a complete surprise. “We’ll visit,” I promised.
“Good girl. You didn’t do so bad picking yourself a man, it just took you a while.”
I couldn’t keep the laughter out of my voice even if I wanted to, so I didn’t try to hide my amusement. “What a ringing endorsement, Dad.”
“Are you ready, baby girl?”
“I’m ready.”
My father took off the blindfold and handed the jeweled mask to one of the attendants.
Winter in Alaska was a cold, dark place, but deep within the castle, a garden grew, and my king waited for me beside the broad trunk of an old weeping willow, and I knew every branch by name.
Its branches were bare, the tree asleep and waiting for the spring, but everything about it was as I remembered. It had added height since I’d last seen it, and like in its orchard in Pennsylvania, it had a few apple trees keeping it company.
Beside it, a stone bench decorated with Nahuatl waited, big enough for two.
I understood why I hadn’t been tortured with much makeup. Everyone had known what I hadn’t.
I hated crying, but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“That man of yours wanted to know what you loved most in this world, so I told him about the tree you’d planted, the one you’d grown up with. Some days, I think that tree raised you more than I did,” my father told me. “Home is where the heart is, and it seemed a right shame to leave part of yours behind, baby girl.”
With the tears I couldn’t stop falling down my cheeks, I married Landen beneath the bare boughs of my tree during the heart of an Alaskan winter.
Want to continue reading about the Royal States? Check out Susan Copperfield’s other novels or join her mailing list.
About the Author
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Susan Copperfield is the royal romance, urban fantasy loving alter ego of award-winning novelist RJ Blain.
Under the super not-so-secret identity of Susan, the Royal States of America is explored, where the work of sixteen founding royal families preserved the United States from destruction and civil war when magic swept over the world.
In the Royal States, life, love, and magic always finds a way.
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a sumi-e painter.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
RJ also writes as Susan Copperfield and Trillian Anderson.
If you enjoy using bookbub, you can follow RJ and her alter ego Susan there.
thesneakykittycritic.com
Also by Susan Copperfield
Null and Void
The Captive King
A Guiding Light (April 2018)
Huntress (July 2018)
Susan writing as RJ Blain - Magical Romantic Comedies (with a body count)
Playing with Fire
Hoofin’ It
Hearth, Home, and Havoc
> Whatever for Hire
Serial Killer Princess
No Kitten Around (Late 2018)
Saddle Up (2019)
Grave Humor (May 2019)
Dragon Her Heels (Late 2019)
From RJ Blain’s Witch & Wolf World
Series: Witch & Wolf
Inquisitor
Winter Wolf
Blood Diamond
Silver Bullet
Series: Wolf Hunt
Wolf Hunt (2018)
Series: Nature of the Beast
Pack Justice
Dual Nature (TBD)
Series: Balancing the Scales
Karma
License to Kill (TBD)
Standalones
Beneath a Blood Moon
Shadowed Flame
Tales of the Winter Wolf
(Short Story/Novella Collections)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six (Aftermath to Winter Wolf.)
Omnibus - Volumes One-Five
Other Stories by RJ Blain
Jesse Alexander Novels
Water Viper
Steel Heart (late 2018)
Requiem for the Rift King (Epic Fantasy)
Storm Without End
Storm Surge
The Tides of War (TBD)
Requiem for the Rift King (TBD)
The Captive King_A Royal States Novel Page 29