The Indentured Queen

by Carol Moncado

  Benjamin nodded and Thor took that as a sign he was dismissed. “Your thoughts, Chamberlain?”

  “I believe Thor covered it quite thoroughly. I’ll leave you to your ponderings.”

  Once alone, Benjamin stood and looked out the windows at Akushla. Neither of them knew of his deal with Katrín. Maybe the time had already come for her to disappear, perhaps even cutting this story off all together. If she was gone, this story wouldn’t matter.

  Deep inside, he knew that wasn’t what he wanted. He needed to find a way to make her want to stay, to face this together, to become the family he’d always craved.

  But how?

  Would Benjamin come looking for her?

  Katrín debating sneaking into his quarters and waiting for him there, but that seemed too desperate. Instead, she sat on the bench of the piano and stared at the keys, unable to bring herself to play.

  When he didn’t come, didn’t call, didn’t text, Katrín finally let herself curl up on the big bed in the consort’s bedroom. Once there, she let the tears fall again, one after another until the steady stream wet the pillow underneath. The whole thing was damp long before she fell asleep.

  Waking to sunlight streaming in the windows didn’t help the headache that came from the crying jag.

  Katrín sat up and looked around, hoping against hope she’d find Benjamin asleep on the other side of the bed, all the while knowing he wasn’t there.

  Instead of getting dressed for whatever she was supposed to have going on, Katrín found her tablet and opened the browser. She didn’t mean to go looking for stories about herself, but one popped up in the news feed of the home page.

  The Indentured Queen the headline read. The story, currently unconfirmed by the palace, was essentially true, though a few of the minor details were wrong.

  At least she knew why Benjamin wanted to know the truth about the incident.

  She went to the home screen and pulled up his schedule. He would be out of the palace most of the day, the beginnings of the rebuilding of his reputation with the populace as a whole. The press would be crawling all over the appearances, shouting question after question.

  Should she watch one of the live feeds? Surely there would be one. See what he was saying for herself.

  That would just be inviting trouble, wouldn’t it? She didn’t need to see him distancing himself from her to know he would be.

  Her phone buzzed. Security. With a sigh she answered. “Hello?” Was this where they’d kick her out?

  “Your mother is here to see you, ma’am.”

  Katrín would rather be exiled than face her mother at the moment. “Send her to my quarters. I’ll meet her in my sitting room in a few minutes.”

  There was no way to hide the remnants of the crying jag the night before, but she had to try. Quickly, she threw on a pair of jeans and old sweatshirt. After splashing water on her face, she decided it wouldn’t get any better.

  Her mother waited in the sitting room. When she turned around, Katrín could see she’d spent time crying as well.

  “How are you, sweetie?” Her mother reached for her, and Katrín let herself be enveloped in her mother’s embrace.

  “I don’t know how I am.”

  “I never told anyone.” Her mother held on tighter.

  Katrín laid her head against her mother’s shoulder. “I know. I never told anyone until I told Benjamin, Chamberlain, and Thor last night. They already knew the story was coming out and wanted the details.”

  After a final squeeze, they sat down on one of the settees. “What was Benjamin’s reaction?” The gentle question cut like a knife, though that couldn’t have been the intention.

  “Nothing, really. Just sort of stared at me then I was dismissed.”

  “When I saw the announcement about your wedding, I was afraid something like this would happen.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.” She leaned against her mother, the side of her head resting against her mother’s shoulder.

  “I know your time here was far different than mine, even after the incident. You didn’t talk about it much in your letters, but the fact that you only wrote letters and we never saw you told me plenty.”

  “It wasn’t awful.” It could have been worse. “But no, it wasn’t quite like the terms you had to pay off the fine. I would have been done much faster.”

  “Is it officially paid off or just sort of set aside?”

  Katrín closed her eyes. “As far as I know, it’s just sort of being ignored. Benjamin hasn’t paid it off or forgiven it, and I don’t have access to that kind of money.”

  “Oh, sweetie.”

  They sat there for several more minutes when Katrín’s phone buzzed again. “I’ve got some things to do before lunch.” She stood. “When are you and Allen moving?”

  “Next week, if all goes according to plan. They said it could be a little longer.”

  Good. “I’ll be out of town for a week or so. By the time I get back you should be settled.” They walked to the door, and Katrín gave her mother one more hug, a long one where she didn’t want to let go. Ever.

  Soon enough, she was alone. Rather than go to the office next to Benjamin’s, Katrín set up her laptop in the room she usually occupied. Sleeping in the consort’s room had been a little too weird, and she had no plans to do it again.

  The browser window automatically refreshed when she woke up the computer.

  King Benjamin Disavows Knowledge of Queen’s Theft

  Against her better judgment, she skimmed the article. The video had automatically started playing, and Benjamin’s voice came out of the speaker.

  “No comment.”

  “Did you know about Katrín’s stealing before you proposed?” one reporter asked.

  “No comment.”

  “Is she still going to Islas del Sargasso on behalf of the crown?”

  “Yes. Katrín’s departure has been moved up to this evening.”

  That was news to her, but welcome news.

  “When will she return?”

  “I’m not certain of her return date at this time.”

  Something in the way he said it made Katrín wonder. Had he changed his mind about wanting her to stay permanently? And this was his way of letting her know?

  Rosalie came in to finalize her clothing choices. Elise joined them for most of the afternoon, but the whole thing was strained and uncomfortable.

  Shortly before dinnertime, Rosalie declared her job finished for the time being and left Katrín and Elise alone.

  “I’m not going to ask if it’s true,” Elise told her as she closed her laptop. “But, I suspect if it wasn’t, the palace would have issued a vigorous denial already. And if it is, I can only guess there was a very good reason.”

  “There would have been.”

  “Your flight leaves in about two hours. Rosalie and I will meet you down there in a couple days, before your first official engagement.”

  “Thank you.”

  Elise left and Katrín spent over an hour playing the piano in her room. One song after another, though she chose something else each time her fingers itched to play King Alfred’s Overture. Too many memories with that one.

  Twenty minutes before her car was set to leave, she changed clothes and put her hair up in a ponytail and applied a smattering of makeup - just enough that if anyone took her picture she wouldn’t look too blotchy.

  With just a few minutes left, she stood next to the piano. After running her fingers softly over the keys one more time, she closed the lid

  Before she could change her mind, she slipped the engagement ring off her finger, laid it on the closed piano lid, turned, and walked away.

  37

  “What on earth have you done?”

  Benjamin turned from where he stared out the window to see his mother giving him the look he’d hated as a child. “What are you talking about?”

  “Where is your wife?”

  He glanced at the clock. “On he
r way to the airport for her trip to Islas del Sargasso.” Maybe. He wasn’t certain what time she was actually leaving.

  “Without you?”

  “I was never planning to go.”

  “A major story just broke about your wife. Have you even talked to her since?”

  “She stole from the palace.”

  “Over a decade ago! She was a child trying to help her little brother get medical care and equipment he needed!” She pointed a finger at him and poked his chest. “You never wanted for anything. You never wondered what it would be like to not have enough or how to provide something. When you wanted to do something nice for her, what did you do?”

  He shrugged. “Had Chamberlain find a piano for her.”

  “How much did it cost?”

  I’ve looked at these online before. They cost something like two hundred thousand US dollars.

  “A lot.”

  “And you didn’t think twice about it, did you?”

  He started to understand. “I didn’t even ask how much it would cost.”

  “If a member of your family needed something that badly, and you had no access to funds, what would you do?”

  Benjamin felt the conviction his mother intended for him. “Anything I could, I suppose.”

  “And exactly what did you tell the press today when they asked you about it?” The way she arched an eyebrow at him said he’d done something wrong.

  “No comment.”

  “What should you have said?”

  So she was on the same side as Thor. Somehow, that didn’t surprise him for more than one reason. “I couldn’t lie about it.” He turned and walked back toward the window, running a hand over his beard. “How could I defend her without lying to the entire country?”

  “You don’t. You set up an interview with your wife and a trusted reporter, and explain everything. Katrín explains why she did what she did, how her mother took the blame rather than let it ruin Katrín’s life, then Katrín took over as soon she was old enough, because she wanted to right the wrong as much as she could. You tell the whole story, and let the people decide for themselves.”

  He didn’t reply.

  “You’re doing your best to be a good king, Benjamin.” Her voice was softer. “But to be a good leader, you have to be a good servant. You have to stand up for those below you, including your wife. You have to serve them, even when it doesn’t seem to be in your own best interests.” She rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be praying for both of you to find your way back to each other.”

  Benjamin watched her in the mirrored surface of the window as she walked out of the office. What would his father do? What would King Alfred the First do? Both of them would be far better at this than he was.

  With a sigh he walked out of his office and found himself wandering around the palace, until he came to a stop in a familiar location.

  Benjamin found himself standing in front of that blasted dagger belonging to King Alfred.

  Not worthy. Not enough. King, but not servant.

  What did that even mean?

  A vision of Christ washing the feet of his disciples flashed before him. To be a true leader, one needed to be willing to serve, to put others before oneself. To look out for those under one's command.

  I get two half-days off a month.

  How many full days?

  None.

  And yet he had never bothered to follow-up. To make certain all of the members of his staff, even those working in the industrial kitchen, were given adequate time off. Working off a debt to the royal family shouldn't be a virtual prison sentence.

  Benjamin couldn't go back and change the past, but he could make sure things were better going forward. He spun on his heel, heading for his office to begin the memo that would make sure no one else worked themselves the way Katrín had.

  Katrín.

  His wife.

  The queen of his country.

  The way she continued to work, first in the kitchen, then for his family and their reputation. She could be annoying, frustrating, infuriating even when she decided she wasn't going to just take whatever he dished out, but he couldn't say that she wasn't a hard worker. That she wasn't determined. That she was just out to get an easy road in life because she'd lucked into a way to marry the king.

  He started to turn left, to go to his office, but right drew him instead. The palace chapel, a small room filled with stained glass windows on three sides, was part of the original building. His steps slowed as he entered, reverent. Though there hadn't been a member of the clergy on staff in the building in over a century, the place was holy, consecrated as it had been for so many centuries.

  At the front, he fell to his knees, like most kings down through the centuries had done.

  Conviction swept over him, followed by resolve.

  He needed forgiveness, not just from his Maker, but from the flesh and blood people surrounding him.

  From his wife.

  For not making sure the members of his household staff were adequately taken care of.

  For not publicly taking his brother’s side when their marriage license went missing.

  For so many things.

  He sought forgiveness and asked for strength to do what he needed to do. When Benjamin rose, he felt better than he had in ages, if ever.

  Finding out where Katrín was would be easy. All he needed to do was ask Thor, but Benjamin wanted to find her himself.

  He trotted up the stairs as quickly as he could and went straight into the consort’s quarters. “Katrín?” But as soon as the door opened, he knew she was gone.

  The sitting room was dark with only the light streaming in through the windows to guide him. Just to be sure, he went toward the consort’s bedroom.

  She wasn’t there.

  But as he turned a glint caught his eye.

  There.

  On the closed lid of the gift he’d sent someone else to obtain on his behalf, with little thought or attention of his own.

  The ring she’d slid on her own finger.

  Snatching it up, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started making calls.

  Time to find his wife and make things right.

  Katrín no longer cared about keeping the tears at bay. Technically, she was still queen, and she’d learned staff would leave her alone if she gave off an unapproachable vibe.

  Thanks to Benjamin sending her out of the country sooner than expected, she had an escape route. Not the one she’d planned, but one that would work.

  Benjamin would be more believable as a grieving husband if he had no idea where she had gone. The plane would land in Islas del Sargasso, and Katrín would simply disappear. It happened all the time. She would “slip away” from her security and no clues to her whereabouts would ever be found.

  Her hair would be short - and possibly purple - for the foreseeable future. Maybe rainbow.

  The plane taxied toward the runway. The pilot made an announcement, but Katrín didn’t pay any attention. She was buckled in. Her seat back was in its upright position.

  What more mattered?

  She pressed back into her seat as the plane picked up speed.

  But then...

  Deceleration?

  No announcement was made. The plane came to a near stop and taxied back toward the hanger.

  “Why did we stop?” she called, though no one was in sight. There was no answer.

  They came to a stop and the door opened. She could hear someone climbing the stairs, but couldn’t see who it was.

  “Ma’am?” It didn’t surprise her that Thor was the one who came through the door. It couldn’t have been Benjamin.

  Katrín unbuckled her seatbelt and stood. “Where are we going?” She couldn’t hide the weariness in her voice, didn’t even try.

  “A car is waiting for you, ma’am.”

  A car to where? She didn’t ask, and Thor didn’t offer. Another man drove the car while Thor rode in the passenger seat.

>   Katrín closed her eyes and waited for the car to reach the palace, but after a while realized it must be going much further. She stared out the window and tried to place the passing terrain. They were headed north, more or less.

  The cottage at Lake Akushla?

  Benjamin had mentioned it several times. His parents had spent many happy times there, both alone and with their children. He’d talked about taking her someday, but someday had never come. Until now?

  The drive lasted nearly two hours, but eventually they pulled through a gate and down a long, tree-lined lane. The car rolled to a stop in front of a dwelling that didn’t quite deserve the name “cottage.” Palace-by-the-lake maybe. Katrín had never even seen pictures of it before.

  Thor opened her door but didn’t say anything. Another member of the staff opened the front door to the cottage for her.

  No one waited for her inside either. One small step after another, she worked her way through the long foyer. Off to her left, she could see through partially open doors. Windows showed the lake beyond, but none of the rooms called to her.

  Finally, she reached a door near the end. Pushing it open, she saw a large ballroom with windows reaching two stories high and overlooking the lake on all sides. It must be situated on a bit of a peninsula to have so many lake views.

  First one note filled the air, then another. Katrín turned to see where it was coming from, but no one sat at the instruments off to the side. By the time she turned back, she recognized the tune as King Alfred’s Overture.

  “May I have this dance?”

  Benjamin’s voice didn’t surprise her, but she turned to see him bowed slightly at the waist and holding out a hand.

  “Why should I?”

  His blue eyes were soft, filled with regret. “Please?”

  She took his hand and let him pull her close, though not as close as he wanted to. With his arm around her waist, Katrín felt herself beginning to relax.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered as the music reached a crescendo.

  “For what?”