by Emily Albert
Grudgingly putting on a kind face for the people remaining in the room, Lenna said, “Of course, you may stay and relax. I’ll let you know what my thoughts are soon.” She gestured to some of her guards to take him and his men to guest rooms.
“I very much appreciate this.” He bowed again and finally made his exit.
Lenna’s mind and stomach were turning. Partly distracted, she finished addressing the rest of the concerns. Devon chimed in to help where she faltered. After everyone had left, including Vince, Devon asked Lenna to stay. “That was quite eventful…” he said.
“Why do you think he came to an open meeting instead of requesting a private one?”
“He probably thought the pressure of the audience would make it more likely for you to accept. He wanted to make a show out of it,” Devon said cautiously.
Lenna rubbed her chin. “So what do you think of it? Do you think I should marry him?”
Devon paused, his gaze stuck on her. “You seem to have made your decision already.”
It was true. Lenna wasn’t sure why she felt the need to ask for his opinion. “But what do you think? You’re the one who advised me to get married.”
Devon finally looked away, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with a cloth from his pocket. “Not him. No, I… I don’t think it is a good idea. I had a bad feeling about him.” He put his glasses back on.
Lenna nodded automatically, then thought about what he had said. “What does that mean?”
“The audience, first of all. He was obviously trying to manipulate you into saying yes. You are also better off with someone from a closer country, because he probably doesn’t understand us or the nuances of our politics. And I don’t know, Lenna, otherwise it just felt wrong. He was charming, but I think you can find someone so much better.”
Nonsense! He doesn’t care about your success. I do.
His defensiveness was off putting. “You don’t know what his intentions are. There are other possible reasons, so you are simply making assumptions. And I don’t understand why you would think Prince Marco doesn’t understand politics just because he isn’t from here. He knows about foreign politics—he is a prince. And he knows our language, which should say something. You have to know all that! Why can’t you give me valid reasons? You’re avoiding something.”
“I’m not avoiding anything!” He looked down when Lenna narrowed her eyes at him. “I-I’m sorry, your Highness. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I’m truly not avoiding anything. If you don’t believe my reasoning, at least take me at my word that something wasn’t right.”
It was not Devon’s opposition to Marco that bothered her, but whatever secret he was keeping. She wanted to trust him, but how could she when he spoke like this?
He has no defense, no real reasoning. He knows nothing. Forget him.
“I can’t do that, Devon. If you cannot explain yourself and tell me the real reasons why I shouldn’t marry Prince Marco—if there are any—then I will not heed your strange warning. I’m not saying that I will marry him, only that I don’t trust you to advise me on the topic right now.”
“Lenna, I… I’m sorry I can’t articulate my concerns, but I hope you’ll at least keep them with you and not completely ignore them. I… I want you to trust me.” Devon ducked his head. As if pulled back up by a magnet, he looked at her again. His face was not at all bitter from the argument. “He won’t make you happy.”
The kindness in his voice softened her. She spoke more gently when she said, “I can decide that for myself.”
He will. He will make you happy. He will give you the power you desire. He will give you children to carry on your legacy.
She wasn’t sure if even her guardian could convince her. It went against everything they were planning. Still, she played with the idea.
“Maybe he will make me happy. Maybe he will give me what I need. What will you say then?”
He couldn’t answer her, and instead walked out with his hands holding the back of his neck.
○○○
As Lenna was walking out of the throne room after talking to Devon, she almost bumped into Kendra outside the door.
“Well, well,” Kendra said with a sly smile. “A woman to be wed, are we?”
“Oh, hi… Um… I don’t know. Have you been waiting this whole time?”
“Yes. I thought I’d listen in. Don’t like those crowds too much, though.”
“Okay, well, I have to…”
“Well? Why didn’t you say yes on the spot? Oh, I know, being aloof is always best when trying to attract someone, right? I understand that. But this marriage sounds far too exciting for me either of us to feign disinterest. You could have just accepted and been engaged already.”
“You really think it’s a good thing?”
“What do you mean, Lenn?”
“Why is it a good thing by default to be married? Maybe I don’t want to marry him.”
“But… do you? You do, don’t you? Even if you’re looking past the obvious benefits of having a husband, it makes you seem like a better queen. Stronger, more trustworthy. Don’t you want that?”
If you won’t listen to me, listen to her. She sees what’s best for you, just as I do.
“I don’t know.”
Kendra gave her a questioning look.
“Devon said I shouldn’t do it.”
“I guess you two must have been talking awfully quiet. I didn’t hear. Well, why not? It’s not his decision. Did he give you reasons?”
“Not really. He said Marco wasn’t good enough, that’s all.” Lenna shrugged, having trouble processing it.
Kendra smiled and laughed a little. “Do you have feelings for this Devon man?”
Lenna could hardly imagine such a thing after planning to use him. “No, of course not! Why would you even ask me that?”
Kendra put her hands up in surrender, still smiling and laughing. “All right. But he’s got some for you, that’s for sure.”
“He does not! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I haven’t seen much of the two of you together. But if a man tells you not to marry someone rich and handsome because ‘you deserve better…’” She laughed again. “Hun, you’ve got a little love triangle.”
Lenna stared dumbly at Kendra’s wildly amused face. “He doesn’t like me… He must be ten years older than me.”
“Oh, yes, at least. And it’s likely the same with your prince. At this point, it’s all the same, just take your pick… Except remember that one is a prince.” When Lenna just kept staring, trying to find her words, Kendra started laughing uncontrollably. “Look at you! You’re getting so flustered. And you’re all red. Oh, I’m sorry Lenn, I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just…”
Kendra batted playfully at Lenna’s arm. She walked away, howling and wheezing.
“He doesn’t have feelings for me!” Lenna called in what she hoped was a convincing voice. This only made Kendra wheeze harder.
“Stop laughing, you’re being ridiculous!” Lenna said, humiliated.
Kendra still didn’t turn around as she said, “I’d pick the Prince, myself. But like I said,” she spread her arms wide, “It’s all wide open for you.”
Eighteen
Finding ways to please her guardian turned out to be a constant job for Lenna. She didn’t mind, because with obedience came its love.
The only thing that she had trouble accepting was its insistence that she marry Marco. Currently, as she took the short walk to the stable, she contemplated the proposal and Kendra’s opinion. Both her guardian and the mother figure in her life encouraged her to get married.
They were trying to toss her reservations aside, but she still had doubts. What if she lost all her power to him? What if the people didn’t like him? What if she didn’t like him? What if Devon, even with his vague non-answers, was right? These fears were all rejected; she had to wonder if there was any merit to that.
It was also impossible to f
orget that she could not think of any other way to take the throne. That was, other than using brute force, which she wasn’t sure she had the capability to do. Marriage would practically guarantee that she would become Queen soon, even if she had to share with a king. There had to be ways around the loss of power—otherwise her guardian would not tell her to risk it.
Almost to the stable, Lenna took a long look around. Summer was just beginning, so the sunlight was getting stronger and the air was warm and refreshing. In the very far distance, she spotted the buildings of the city, mere gray and brown specks from here.
Lenna stopped, staring at the town and thinking about Coira. Lenna did not trust her individual opinion by any stretch, but the woman knew the general opinions of everyone else in the city. She would know if people saw a married ruler as more stable than an unmarried one, more trustworthy. She would know what the people thought of Elawar and Marco, which would give Lenna a wider understanding of the situation. Coira’s input would cover the final aspect of her the life of the kingdom—the public.
And, a random thought about Coira occurred to her: she would know the story of her father. It made Lenna’s stomach turn. The idea that a peasant woman would know more about her father than she did was tragic. People had been dancing around the topic with her for as long as she could remember. She understood why her mother would avoid that painful topic, but she wished someone would respect her enough to tell her the truth. Coira would. Beyond her curiosity, knowing about her father’s rule and failure would give her much needed history about the kingdom and what they expected of a ruler.
Lenna rushed back to the castle to get a guard, then tacked up Pegasus and a horse for the guard. She set off at a gallop toward the city. Her horse’s hooves beating on the ground and the cool wind against her briefly brought up the memory of how happy her mother had been when they talked about riding. But it wasn’t about her, not anymore. The rush was empowering.
It’s all you. You hold all the power.
She shook her head clear when she reached the ramshackle buildings. Even though Lenna had been into the city many times, the state of it never failed to shock her. Riding through the disturbing scene, she made her way to the remote street where Coira harassed people to have their fortunes told.
As always, she was standing on the side of the road close to a tavern in a strip with some other shops. She tried to stop every person walking by, almost lunging at them as she invariably shouted, “Hello there! Would you like to have your fortune told? How about a palm reading?” Sometimes it was even accompanied by, “And if you’ve got any tea leaves, I can give that a read too.” Currently she was targeting an old couple who hurried away. Coira gave an irritated sigh but did not look discouraged.
When she saw Lenna riding toward her, her face lit up. “My queen!” She yelled, starting to run toward her. She seemed to realize something and stopped, bowed, and said, “Sorry, your Majesty. Wouldn’t want to scare your trusty steed.”
“You’re supposed to curtsey, not bow.” Coira tried to curtsey, and it was stiff and awkward, but Lenna said, “Good enough, I suppose.”
On the side of the road, Lenna dismounted and tied Pegasus to a post. The guard remained on his horse.
“What are you doin’ on my fine road today? Care to have your fortune told, your Majesty?”
“The answer will always be no.” She forced a smile, and Coira eyed her curiously.
“Oh, I see, you’re here for some more of my wise wisdom.”
“That’s redundant. Wisdom is always wise. Your ‘wisdom,’ however, is not wise as much as it is informative. But yes. I need you to tell me about marriages, specifically royal marriages and how they affect normal people.”
“Redundant?”
“Can you focus?”
“Don’t you already know about royal marriages, your Majesty? You’re going to be the Queen.”
Lenna thought about how little she actually knew about royal marriages. She didn’t know how her parents had acted with each other, let alone the politics behind their relationship.
“Of course I know about them,” she said, scowling defensively. “I know about them from my perspective, not yours. And right now, I need to know what the townspeople think about marriages of a king and queen. Do you trust us more when we’re married?”
“I heard about the lucky man.” Coira smiled and winked at her.
“It was a hypothetical.”
“A what?”
Lenna tried not to roll her eyes.
“Well, is he all right to look at? That’s the real way you figure it out. You need to make beautiful babies so we can have pretty kings and queens. The people deserve that much.”
“Just drop that whole idea. Answer my question: do you trust a married king or queen more than a single one?”
“I don’t know what I was thinkin’… He’s a prince, so of course he’s good-lookin’. What country is he from? You know what, it doesn’t really matter. All princes make good husbands. I say go for it.”
“You don’t know anything about marriage, do you? Can you answer my question?”
“Do you know anythin’ about marriage, your Majesty? Because it doesn’t seem like it. Why are you askin’ me for advice about it?”
“That’s the thing! I’m not asking you for advice about it, I’m asking you for your perspective. And not even your perspective, the perspective of the town.” Coira started to speak with a slightly amused look still on her face, but Lenna said, “You know what, forget it. You’re right, I don’t know why I’m asking for your opinion. I don’t need it.” She began to untie Pegasus.
“No, wait! I’m sorry, your Majesty. I’ll tell you what you need to know. I’m sorry, I won’t ask about the Prince anymore…” Lenna reluctantly turned back toward her. Coira said quickly, “Yeah. Yeah, I think it’s better when they’re married. For lots of reasons.”
“Okay, great. Care to elaborate?”
She thought about it more carefully. “I know I said any prince makes a good husband, but I guess that isn’t true. It does matter what country he’s from and what his reputation is. If he’s from, say, Nalivia…” She shook her head.
“What about if they’re from a well-liked country? Elawar? And besides that, why specifically do people trust us more if we’re married?”
“Yes, Elawar’s a good choice. Handsome men, I hear. Wonderful accents.” She put her hand on her chest dramatically. “Anyway, it feels safer, I guess. It’s like if one of ‘em screws up, the other one cleans up the mess. You don’t need to worry about one goin’ crazy and the whole kingdom…” Her voice faded and she looked down. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say… That was bad… Anyway, it also makes life a little more interesting for us. When there’s a marriage in the castle, even if it’s not a king and queen, it gives us somethin’ to talk about. We like the gossip.”
“What do you mean?” Lenna narrowed her eyes at her.
“Well, it’s always nice to have some good gossip. Gods know we don’t have enough to do around here.”
“Not that. You know what I meant. When you talked about a king or queen going crazy, were you talking about my father?”
Coira looked helpless. “I didn’t mean to. I was just talkin’ about somethin’ that might happen. I wasn’t talkin’ about… It was a ‘hypothetical’... I think. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”
Lenna had heard the general story of her father, but not enough. She knew Coira would know more about it.
“No, you obviously meant something when you apologized. If you associated what you said with my father, tell me what you meant!”
Coira wrung her hands. “I really didn’t mean anythin’ by it. When I said ‘go crazy,’ I wasn’t referrin’ to him. I’m sorry…”
Lenna hadn’t thought that she would ever see Coira like this. This wasn’t the look of someone who had heard hollow rumors. She must have somehow known the whole story, and it must have been a bad one. Lenna
stared her down as she avoided Lenna’s eyes. “Tell me everything you know about my father.”
“I wouldn’t want to bring it up, your Majesty. You already know what happened and you must not like to hear about it, so I don’t see the point in me sayin’ it all…” Coira paused. “You do know the whole story, right?”
The only thing Lenna knew about her father for sure was his name: Ollivan.
“That was an order from your queen. Tell me everything you know.”
○○○
It was true—the scrawny, uneducated, slightly-rancid-smelling commoner knew more about Lenna’s father than she did. Lenna sat with Coira on a nearby bench, remembering the need for kindness and sitting close to her.
There were rumors, of course. Some said that he went mad, and that was why he left, but not everyone believed this. Some also said that he abandoned his family for another woman he found somewhere far away. A select few tried to get others to believe that he left his wife and children out of sheer selfishness and cruelty, wanting a new, solitary life. Some say they saw something bad in him from the start, and they had seen it coming—Coira said those people were trying to act smarter than they were. No one expected it to happen. Everyone loved Ollivan.
But no one truly knew the answer, supposedly not even Fay. They only knew how it looked and how it ended.
The first thing Coira told her was that from what she remembered of her parents’ opinions, he was a fantastic king. He was fair, kind, and just bold enough to balance out Fay’s soft, unconditional compassion. Countless people cherished stories of him handing their families food, or holding a meeting in a town after a disaster to comfort its people, or sympathizing with every person who came into an open meeting. This was how he was much like his wife; but he also had his own set of qualities that everyone admired.
Ollivan was strong. Fearlessly, heroically, thoroughly strong. Fay was strong, too, but never in the same way. Fay was someone who would fend for her children, no matter what. She would fight against sadness, anxiety, and the loss of their father so she would be there for her children. She had to be.