Prairie Queen

By Cassandra Morphy

Closed off from her mountain kingdom of Hilland, Queen Talia VI is stuck in the palace of her closest rivals, the royal family of Lolland. Fortunately for her, they were stuck in the mountains for the moment, though not for much longer. However, her ascension to their throne would do little to save her skin, let alone her kingdom.

Stuck in a nest of vipers, Talia, Adrial, and Simon try to make allies wherever they can, in an effort to save their kingdom. But with their time running out, with the return of Stoland imminent, things aren't looking up for them. With their relationship strained, Talia is afraid she might lose Adrial along with her throne. And possibly her head.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassandra Morphy
• Release date: Jan 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781005983239

Cassandra Morphy

Cassandra Morphy is a Business Data Analyst, working with numbers by day, but words by night. She grew up escaping the world, into the other realities of books, TV shows, and movies, and now she writes about those same worlds. Her only hope in life is to reach one person with her work, the way so many others had reached her. As a TV addict and avid movie goer, her entire life is just one big research project, focused on generating innovative ideas for worlds that don’t exist anywhere other than in her sick, twisted mind.

Book preview

Chapter One

Coronation

This day wasn't supposed to be for another few years. I was supposed to have that time to get ready. To be prepared for all of that. There were supposed to be parties, celebrations of the upcoming ceremony. Not that I had many people that I would want to celebrate with. Other than Adrial and Simon, I didn't have many people in my life. They were my family, with everyone else being dead.

But I was just staring at myself in that stupid mirror, stunned that I was there already. Everything seemed to be moving way too fast, and not just because the ceremony was happening years earlier than expected. That it was happening at all was as much a surprise, after everything that happened those past few months. Worse, it was happening in Lolland, rather than back home in Hilland. That it was my sworn enemy, the reason that I had lost everything, that was asking me to step up. There was a bit of poetic justice there, but not enough for me to forget everything that they had done.

And so, I couldn't look past my own reflection, showing a dress more grand than the one that my mother wore on her wedding day. Had she been wondering if she had made a huge mistake, like I was thinking? She was marrying a king, a man so far above her own station in life. Grandpapa was just a rancher, barely making enough to pay for the taxes on his ranch. My parents had met on one of Father's trips to Lolland City, when his horse threw a shoe just on the border to their ranch. A chance encounter had changed her life forever. Had changed it for the better. She had become queen. Grandpapa had become mayor. It must have all been so amazing. Like a dream come true. Her dashing prince sweeping her off her feet.

But, still, did she ever think she made a horrible mistake? My prince wasn't there. He was stuck up in the mountains with his father, and everyone else that would have ruled Lolland. Should have been ruling Lolland. But they wanted Hilland as well. And Hilland was all they got. Instead, it was falling to me to take over for them, in their own kingdom. In the kingdom of my mother. In the city just a few miles away from the ranch where she grew up. The ranch that I wanted to return to more than anything.

You look amazing, came her voice from behind me.

I didn't have to turn around or see her in the mirror to know who it was. But distracted as I was by my own reflection, I hadn't noticed when she had come in. And yet, when I looked at her in the mirror, I could barely recognize her. Instead of the tight, high bun and sturdy, worn work clothes, her long hair was down and in ringlets. The gown she wore was purple, emphasizing her eyes perfectly and making her look like Divanica come to life. But standing there, just inside the door, leaning against the wall over there, she looked more out of place than I had ever seen her before. Not by her appearance, which was magnanimous, but by the way she held herself. Almost folded in on herself. Somehow afraid of the palace that we were in.

Are you ready to get out there? Adrial asked.

No, I said. I turned back to the mirror, wondering just what was wrong with me. The past couple of days had been a complete whirlwind, from the moment that Jeremy and General Trask asked me to step up. Days of preparing for that ceremony, and what it would mean. To me. To Adrial and Simon. To those Hilland troops that had been folded into the Lolland army. To the people of Lolland City. And yet, something was just...

Off.

You're just nervous, Adrial said. She came up behind me, placing her hands on my shoulder. Her face slipped over next to mine, her chin resting there as she held me tight. Not tight enough. I was sixteen, and in love once again. But even after everything that I had seen, those past few months and before then, I still felt way too young for this sort of thing. I felt that I had every right to be nervous.

But is that it? I asked, unexpectedly voicing my concerns. You don't think I'm rushing into this?

You? Rush into this? You've never rushed into anything in all the time I've known you. You put way too much thought into things. That's all this is. You need to get out of your head and just feel.

I couldn't help but smile at her words, despite everything. Despite the nerves that were still flowing through me. They felt like something my father would have said. They sounded like something he had said, perhaps at my wedding. Perhaps the last time that he had said anything at all. It made me feel like he was there, watching over me from Divanica's realm. He and Mother would both be there, arm in arm, together again at last. That thought alone was enough to make me smile.

But then I remembered what had happened at my wedding. At the last event that I was invited to a ceremony with Lollanders. This time, I didn't have my father to save me. I didn't have Grandpapa or General Grigsby. I didn't have the hooded legion or any of my friends from Farmland Village. It was just Simon, Adrial, and me against the world. I just hoped that it was enough. That we would be enough. That we wouldn't fall for the tricks that the Lollanders no doubt had in store for us.

As Adrial's hands lingered on my shoulders, my eyes locked on hers in the mirror, my thoughts gradually drifted away from the impending ceremony. Everything had been perfect back at the ranch. Perfect between the two of us. Perfect with the ranch and the work we were doing. But my father instilled in me a sense of duty, one that I couldn't shirk away from. One that Adrial shared. It was one of the things that I loved about her. That I loved her for.

Before I could turn to her, turn the topic of discussion to us, there was a knock at the door. I saw it in the reflection of the mirror when the door opened, and General Trask peeked in through it. The man was far too young to be a general, younger than Prince Derick. But with most of the Lolland army stuck up in Hilland, he had been the senior officer. He had been the one to step up, to take charge. But there was only so much that a soldier could do. Short of declaring himself dictator, he needed a monarch. That was where I came in.

Are you ready? he asked. His hand lingered there on the doorknob, his fist still pressed against the wood where he had knocked a moment before. His eyes flicked between Adrial and me, still standing there together. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him, or to anyone there in Lolland, was that something, anything untoward, was happening between us.

Besides, I was supposed to be married to Prince Bleeker, third in line to the throne. That was the whole reason why I was there. My one and only claim to the Lolland throne. I was ruling in his absence, a queen in my own right, but not of that kingdom. If anyone knew the truth, if anyone knew that my heart belonged to Adrial, no one would follow me. No one would call me queen.

I looked between both of their reflections in the mirror, Adrial and General Trask, as I weighed that question. Weighed just where my nerves were. If I was honest with myself, I knew that without them there, holding me in place, I would have run for the hills ages ago. I would have run home, if the pass into the mountains wasn't blocked by the rockslide. By the destruction that the mage who killed my family had wrought. But as long as I was stuck there, in Lolland, in the world outside of my little mountain valley, I needed to be a part of something. As long as they needed someone to step up and rule, it looked like that was going to be me.

No, I answered, honestly. But lead the way.

General Trask smiled at me in the mirror. Adrial squeezed my shoulder, silently lending me the support that she had given me every day since I met her. Together, the two of us turned around, heading back towards the door to the little room in the back of the chapel. As Adrial stepped aside, General Trask pushed the door open further, signaling for me to head through first. Out in the hallway, the two of them fell into step behind me, trailing a good three feet away. My invisible force field, the one that had always kept the peasants and non-royal people away from me, was back in place long before anyone was around to see it.

Heading through that back hallway, I was once again reminded of the day of my wedding. There were several differences between those two days, more than I could count. But the most annoying of all was the fact that, instead of being in a temple to Divanica, the patron goddess of Hilland, it was to Aeris, the patron goddess of Lolland. The hallway had only a few windows, just enough to see by as I walked. Aeris was a shadow goddess, neither light nor dark, and commanded that her chapels be the same. But as I came up next to the front doors, leading out into the sun, the draw there was just as powerful as it had been the day that I was heading in to marry Bleek. Only this time, the draw towards the other door, the draw to duty, wasn't nearly as strong.

Everyone stood up as I came into the sanctuary. All eyes were on me from the moment that I stepped inside. But as I walked down the aisle towards the dais and the priest, I could hear the whispering of people on either side of me. People asking questions that I had been asking for the past few days. Ever since they had first come for me. Mostly, why I was the one that was being crowned there that day. Why no one else from the Lolland royal line had been left outside of the mountains when everything had happened up there.

It was no secret that the pass had been destroyed. But no one knew of the mage's hand in all of that. No one knew that the mage had been employed by King Stoland to steal my kingdom, my throne. No one knew that the mage had killed everyone at my wedding. No one knew that my marriage hadn't happened at all.

I tried to ignore the comments as I focused on the front of the aisle. Jeremy and Simon were standing in the fourth row on my left; the bride side of the ceremony back at my wedding. They had left a spot next to them, one that Adrial flitted into when she came up to it. I had wanted them closer, to be in the first row, but it wasn't proper. The first rows were reserved for royalty. And every spot there was taken.

Several royals from the kingdoms neighboring Lolland were there, when none had come to my wedding. I tried not to think of how things would have ended very differently if even one of them had.

The priest stood at the top of the dais as I approached it. In his hands were the crown and scepter of Lolland, the royal jewels. Usually, the royal that was being crowned would need to kneel before the priest, allowing him to don the crown on their head. But with the dais two feet tall, and the priest himself a foot taller than me, I barely had to bow my head for him to place the crown there. The crown was heavy, slipping along my hair and threatening to fall free. But my blond waves held it in place, drawing attention to themselves and reminding me that they were back to their old, shiny shade. It wouldn't have been appropriate for my hair to still be dyed black, my disguise for when I was hiding from the Lollanders. Part of the preparations for that day had been to dye it back.

As my hands reached for the scepter, I couldn't help but look at my palms. To see the scars there from when they were cut on the armor of the dead soldier. The reminders of my flight from Hilland Town after the slaughter at my wedding. Reminders that I was heading for a nest of vipers, and that I needed to keep my wits about myself as I made the best out of everything. When I turned around, crown jewels in place, the priest chanting in Aeris's divine language, I looked past the royalty that were sitting in those first few rows, back to my friends. But all that I could see when I looked back there were all the Lollanders that had come to see me. The Lolland commoners, the soldiers that had stayed behind, the Hilland soldiers mixed in with them. The people that bore no ill will to me or my people. The people who were innocent of everything that King Stoland had tried to do. These people were my mother's people. My grandpapa's people. Even as I looked out at them, I thought I saw my mother sitting in the back row, smiling back at me.

And as I swore to the goddesses above to do my duty to this kingdom, the kingdom that needed me, the kingdom that wanted me, I meant it.

Chapter Two

The Feast

Lolland Palace was three times the size of Hilland Castle, something that King Stoland had rubbed in my father's face every time that they met. It was easy to get lost in a place that large. As I was making my way to the banquet hall, I saw endless lines of portraits of the royals that had come before me. The thirty generations of kings that had ruled that kingdom before King Stoland XXI. A long dynasty stretching further back than my own, further than any of the neighboring kingdoms. Almost as far back as the first settlement of the lands west of the Olorbarak Mountains that bordered Hilland and Lolland. Seeing those faces everywhere, I couldn't help but think that there were an endless number of cousins, aunts, and uncles that were bucking for a position on that throne. Any number of the four rows of royals that had been there for my coronation could have a claim far more legitimate than mine. And with how large the palace was, they could be hiding out in that very building somewhere without me even knowing it.

But as I came into the banquet hall, everyone stood. Everyone applauded my rise to the throne, temporary as it was meant to be. Illegitimate as it was. Not since my great uncle claimed to be my great grandfather was there such a fraud as me in the kingdoms. But I held my head high, smiling over at those sitting around the table, as I made my way towards the head. Towards the seat where King Stoland once sat. The equivalent of my father's seat in our own castle. There were no complaints, no screams, no clawing hands or people pushing me out of the way. But everyone in that room was royal to some extent, ranging from kings and queens to fortieth in line. As I walked along the line of people standing there, I spotted Prince Gregory of Gregoria, twentieth in line for that throne. It all seemed so civil. Nothing like what Jeremy and General Trask had indicated.

However, knowing many in that room as I did, I doubted that their fears were unwarranted.

As I swooped around the end of the table, coming to stand before my chair, my long gown flowed out behind me. It was a different gown than the one I wore at the coronation, though no less grand. Where that one had been white with mother of pearl beading, this one was cornflower blue to match my eyes. The crystal beads looked almost like sapphires to the untrained eye, though no one in that room would be fooled. And as I caught some sideways smiles from some of those closest to the head of the table, I got a lump in my throat from thinking that they knew everything. That they knew just how big of a fraud I was, not just the dress. However, the sapphire necklace that I was wearing had real gemstones, mined from the Hilland mines. From my own kingdom. It seemed appropriate when worn with the Lolland made gown.

On so many levels.

I remained standing there, in front of the chair, as the applause continued. My eyes gradually moved around the room, taking in every single royal that was there. All the vultures that had come knocking on Lolland's doors the moment that they heard that there might have been a vacancy. None had so much as lifted a finger to help with the rockslide in the mountains. They were all expecting to take the throne, though none had said as much outright. I tried to remember everyone there, to recall just how far from the royal family they were in the great family tree of the area. But King Stoland had been an only child, making his cousins the closest to the throne. If he had any cousins, I didn't see them there. None had the sunset golden hair of my supposed father-in-law. None had the stark, green eyes that each of his children bore. If I had to guess, I'd say King Reginald of Mordovia, sitting three down from my left side, was the closest to taking over. And when he barely returned my smile when I looked at him, that seemed to confirm my guess.

Once my eyes had scanned the full crowd, their applause started to lapse. One by one, they all sat, but I remained standing. It was a custom of the region for the local monarch to be the last to sit at any feast or banquet, though my high heels were killing my feet and I really needed to sit down. Still, I waited, watching as each of them sat. Watching for who would be the last to sit. Who would be the most likely to challenge my claim. Though the coronation was long over, the politics had only just begun.

Sure enough, it was King Reginald, standing there defiantly staring at me, that would be the first to challenge me. His was a face that I hadn't seen often in Hilland, if at all. I knew him only from my visits to the Lolland court, from my time right there in that palace. He had been one of the many foreign dignitaries that had always snubbed their noses at my father, calling him a pretender to a throne that didn't exist. It would have annoyed him to no end that I had ascended to his throne.

So, as he stood there, smiling over at me, I just smiled back, gritting my teeth against the pain that ran through my feet, waiting for him to blink. Waiting for him to give up and sit down. The longer the staring match lasted, the more people's eyes turned from me to him. None of those eyes had any sympathy for the man, for their owners had wanted that throne just as much as he had. By the time all eyes had turned to him, King Reginald finally relented, sitting down in the chair three over from the head. A low rumble of laughter, heavy with relief, flitted around the table.

But I wasn't done.

Still standing there, not having moved a muscle since my staring match began, I reached out, picking up the goblet that had been set in front of me, and raised it up in a toast. Once again, everyone stood up, raising their own glasses, waiting patiently for my speech to begin. Only after the sounds of their scraping chairs faded from the room did I say anything.

To Lolland, I said, as I raised my glass higher. Long may her flag fly.

It was such a simple toast, and yet it worked on so many levels. Levels that most there had known, and some that they didn't. It wasn't just wishing for the kingdom to last, for its people, but for the kingdom to stay independent as it was. If King Reginald rose to the throne, he would have flown the flag of Mordovia of his own forebears, rather than the one that still flew over the palace. The green and brown of Lolland. What none there knew, though, was that the flag of Lolland would fly no matter what they did. For it was that flag that had replaced my own, replaced the orange and white of Hilland, when the Lollanders killed my family. I hid that bitterness well as everyone there sipped at their wine.

My own goblet remained lifted for a moment longer, as I glanced towards Jeremy standing near the door to the room. While he wasn't invited to the feast in front of him, he had been in charge of making sure that no one was trying to kill me. When he spotted my eyes on him, he gave me a subtle nod, confirming that my wine was safe to drink. Only then did I take the smallest of sips from my goblet, setting it down lightly in front of me on the table.

Having already lost the first competition, King Reginald didn't bother with another. He was one of the first to sit down after the toast, with everyone there soon to follow. Only after everyone was seated did I ease down onto the chair, doing my best not to make a sound as my weight came off my feet. Still, I thought I caught a slight smile from Duchess Justine sitting on my right. She was one of only ten other women in that room. One of only three women that were in the line of succession for any of the kingdoms near there, let alone Lolland.

As the first course came out, I flipped my shoes off under the table, trying to ease them down onto the floor with my toes. The right one seemed to have hit something on the way down, laying on the floor at an odd angle. When Duchess Justine's smile only grew, I figured that her own shoes had found a similar fate to my own. Neither of us made any comment on it, though I at least had my youth to blame it on. Justine was almost as old as my father had been when he died.

Gradually, as everyone ate, the conversations that no doubt had been running in the room before I arrived started back up again. As none of what I was hearing had anything to do with my throne, or either of my kingdoms, I just listened in as I focused on eating my salad. The lettuce tasted a bit off, and I glanced towards Jeremy again, worried that I had missed something. Worried that Jeremey had missed something. But when I glanced in his direction, he didn't seem the least bit concerned about anything. His eyes were scanning the crowd there, the royals most likely to want me dead. It was only after I remembered that the lettuce wouldn't have been from Hilland that I realized the source of the taste.

Lolland lettuce was just terrible.

So, King Reginald said, loud enough that it would be heard over all the overlapping conversations around him. When will the pass be cleared? I would imagine you are eager to return to your kingdom, as your people are no doubt eager to see their rightful king return. He emphasized the words rightful king, with even more volume on king, making it clear just how he felt about me sitting on that throne.

And you to see your husband, Prince Gregory added. He raised his glass towards me, a small toast towards our supposed marriage, before drinking deeply of his wine. When you're twentieth in line, you don't have to worry about doing anything in moderation. I don't know how you've survived this long without him. My wife misses me dreadfully every time I'm out of the house, let alone out of the kingdom.

The whole thing has been a bit... disorienting, I said. It was dangerous to say more than that, with several cover stories and rumors flying everywhere around the kingdom. So, I took my time, taking another bite of that dreadful salad, before continuing. I'll be meeting with King... with my advisors in the morning to discuss such things. What with all the lives lost in the rockslide, we had other priorities to worry about first.

Like fancy ceremonies, Prince Edmond of Alder muttered.

If my coronation had been a priority, it would have happened the day after the rockslide, I said, glaring over at the insufferable man. No one there spoke a word in defense of him, and no one would. He was not well liked, even in Alder. The military was devastated by the destruction. It is a good thing that our neighbors are such good friends. I raised my glass again in my own mini-toast, though my eyes stayed locked on King Reginald. Sure enough, his eyes flicked towards me, brimming with anger and annoyance. Had he known just how many soldiers had been lost from the army, he would have been the first to invade. General Trask had done well in disguising the losses there.

Some of us had been wondering why the delay, Justine said. She placed a hand on the table next to mine, as close as she would dare come to touch me, before returning it to her knife. Every kingdom needs a strong leadership, and that starts with a recognized ruler.

A feared ruler, King Reginald muttered.

It was thought at the time that there was no need, I said. Both King Stoland and King Talander were trapped but alive. It wasn't until we got word over the mountains that my father perished trying to save some of the soldiers that I was to become queen. I had hoped that the ceremony could happen in Hilland, but my responsibilities here have been keeping me busy. I didn't mention that those responsibilities were on the ranch outside of the city, rather than there in the palace.

So, you have had word from the valley, then? King Reginald asked, looking pointedly at me.

Of course, I lied. I wouldn't dare try to take this throne without approval from that, how did you put it? Rightful king?

King Reginald bristled at my use of his own words, practically thrown back at him, while the rest of the room laughed. I tried not to scan the room as those laughs lingered, to search for those that showed more interest in my story than they should have. The agreed upon cover story, which was all false and left a worse taste in my mouth than the salad had.

Chapter Three

The Eighth Course

By the time the fourth course was coming around, I was completely full. The servings were as small as they always were at such events, but it had been months since the last feast that I had been to. Not since the evening that the Lollanders had come to Hilland, before the wedding. Not since the week before my life was turned upside down. In all that time, I had grown accustomed to the smaller portion sizes that poverty imposed on the peasants of the kingdoms. Even at the ranch, which had been doing well over the summer, we kept to those smaller portions that Simon and Adrial were used to. Portions that were only slightly larger than a single one of the courses at the feast.

And yet, there were seven courses, and I was expected to eat each one. Never mind the very thought of wasting that kind of food, when so many in the kingdoms were going hungry. With how big the foreign dignitaries' appetites, and bellies, were, none of them were skimping on any of the food. I, as the local royalty, was expected to keep up. This was something that some of them there did not make easy. When the fifth course came, game hens from a farm not too far over from my own ranch, King Reginald, Prince Edmond, Prince Gregory, and Grand Duke Hut-Hut all tried to compete on who could finish it first, with Hut-Hut putting almost the entire bird, bones and all, into his mouth. This seemed to amuse many of the women there. As I saw so much of the food falling to the floor at their feet, I couldn't help but think of the waste of it all. Waste that many in the kingdom would have loved to have gotten.

When the macarons were making their way around the table, I slipped my shoes back on, knowing all too well what was to come next. My stomach complained as I stood up, but my feet were well rested. People were still eating their macarons as their eyes turned to me expectantly. I just smiled around at the crowd assembled before me, my own macaron left forgotten on my plate.

It's been so nice catching up with everyone here, I said, once I had everyone's attention.

You're not calling the night here, are you? King Reginald said. His grin got wide again, a brag on his own stamina no doubt on his lips. I quickly cut that off.

We do still have the ball, of course, I said, pointing towards the hallway behind them. I'll have to work off some of this food. I had meant it as a joke. It seemed like something my father would have said. But when Reginald's smile got broader, I figured that he saw that as a small surrender. However, the ball this year is a bit more... inclusive. I'm sure that I will be far too busy with some of my own subjects to entertain you fine folks any further.

I would have hoped that I could steal a dance with her majesty, Prince Gregory said, smiling over at me.

Need I remind you that she is married? Duchess Justine asked. As are you.

Yes, where is your wife these days? King Reginald asked. His gaze drifted from me over to the prince, though it remained just as malicious. I don't believe I've seen the princess in quite some time. Did she fall in a bog when no one was noticing?

Oh, come now, Grand Duke Hut-Hut said. In Gregoria, bogs are like baths, no? Her falling in a bog would be like her going to a spa. Several people laughed at the comment.

There were enough matters to attend to back home that we couldn't spare both of us, Prince Gregory said. The normally humorous expression on his face quickly disappeared at the mention of the strife within his own kingdom. I knew from experience that there could be several things that come up in one's kingdom that would need to be addressed. And since Gregoria was several kingdoms over, the fact that they had sent anyone at all was enough of an investment, even if it was only Prince Gregory.

Well, send her my best, I said, nodding towards him. While I had never met his wife, or really anyone of the Gregorian royal family besides Gregory, I had heard enough about them to know that they were good people. That I had nothing to worry about from the kingdom of Gregoria when it came to my claim to the throne. To either throne.

Speaking of your best, I would have thought that you of all people would have other things in mind for this kingdom, King Reginald said.

From the tone of his voice, I was starting to suspect that he knew something. I wasn't quite sure what he knew, but there was plenty to know. Plenty of things happening behind the curtains in Lolland. None the least of which was my marriage. But I wasn't expecting what he said next. Not even close.

After what the Lollanders had done to your mother... Well, I would sooner burn this kingdom down than come to their aid.

My face went cold, my eyes wandering around the room. I knew what he was talking about, the rumors around the supposedly mysterious death of my mother. Though there was never any evidence of wrongdoing, the rumors had still lingered even to that day. And as King Reginald's smile grew, I had a sinking feeling that he had some hand in starting those rumors. He was probably trying to double down on them. To draw some emotion out of me that would result in him taking the throne. But I had a stoic expression firmly in place. The expression that Adrial had once called my game face. The face that my father instilled in me, an echo of one that he often wore himself. The one that let me smile just enough at the man sitting three chairs down from the head of the table without showing any real emotion. Just the same feigned ones that all the royals managed.

I'm sure everyone here knows that there was never any truth to those old rumors, I said. I miss my mother every day. But I know that she and father are watching over me from Divanica's realm. I'd like to hope that they would be proud of me for stepping up and filling the need of leadership that this kingdom so richly deserves.

As the humor drifted out of the conversation, the royals finally started drifting towards the door. I stood there at the head of the table, watching as they all headed out of the room. Jeremy stayed near the door, watching as everyone made their exit. Waiting for signs of some of them making a move against me. While I appreciated the man's vigilance, his paranoia, I figured that the food would have been the biggest risk that night. If one of the royals in that group was going to make a move against me, they would wait for a more opportune moment. One where I wouldn’t be expected or missed. Still, I lagged behind the others, wanting nothing more than to speak with him before heading over to the ball.

Once the last of the royals, Duchess Justine, headed out into the hall, Jeremy seemed to relax a little. I made my way around the table, my eyes on the door in the distance, watching, waiting for one or more of them to return. Only after I made the door, peeking out into the hallway, did I turn to the soldier next to me.

What do you think? I asked. It had been far too long since I was surrounded by people conspiring against me; it wasn't a common occurrence up in Hilland. That was one benefit to only having Lolland, and a whole lot of tall mountains, as neighbors. But Jeremy had been there in the Lolland court ever since the rockslide. He would have known what to expect from those in attendance.

I don't think we have to worry too much about this group, Jeremy said, in a low voice. Not for a few weeks, at least. Months, perhaps. I'm more worried about the royals that hadn't come.

Isn't this everyone that has a remote claim on the throne? I thought that was the whole point of all of this.

The point of all of this is to have someone in charge that they would recognize, Jeremy said. I'm just glad it is your majesty, instead of one of them. I will always serve you faithfully.

Unlike most of the soldiers there in Lolland, Jeremy was a Hillander through and through. One of the few that had been manning the passage through the mountains when the attack had gone down. Instead of dying at his post, he and several other soldiers had fled down through the pass. They had all been captured and held while I had been in hiding up in Hilland. It was only due to most of the Lolland army being in Hilland when the rockslide had happened that the Hillanders had been released, though it would have been a condition of me ascending to the throne in any case. While I didn't know Jeremy personally, Adrial did, and I knew where his loyalties lay.

But there were five that didn't come, Jeremy said. We adjusted the seating during the ceremony to make it seem like there were none missing. It seems we did a good enough job at it.

I'm sure that King Reginald would have noticed the absences, I said. But that's a matter for another time. I believe the politics are over for the night. You should change. Head down to the ball. Have some fun tonight while you still can. There should be enough palace guards downstairs to keep me safe, plus a whole throne room full of people. No one will move against me in public.

I'll be on duty all night, Jeremy said, his somber expression staying in place. However, as something flitted across his thoughts, I saw the faintest hint of a smile there. Perhaps I could get a dance from Adrial, though.

Of course, I said, nodding to him. I tried hard not to show the fact that my stomach tried to run away on me at the very mention of Adrial.

I gave him a slight smile before making my way out into the hall. The royals had all disappeared into the distance, heading down to the ball below. Even standing there, looking in that direction, I could hear the sound of the music making its way through the floor. The ball was already in full swing, not waiting for me to arrive for it to start. There was nothing that I wanted more in all the world than to just skip the ball. To head back over to my room and hide beneath my covers. To crawl into bed with Adrial and escape from everyone.

But there was more to do that night. More politics to deal with. While the royals had been placated for the moment, there were plenty more that needed to accept me in that role. The biggest roadblocks there would no doubt be at the ball waiting for me. There would be plenty of dancing for me to do, but very little of