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“And beautiful.”
“Well, thank you,” she said, smiling in a way that bared her teeth. “I do not know what I should have done if you, the man who has rejected my advances, did not find me beautiful. I might curl in on myself and implode into a glorious ash pile of sadness.”
“That is quite acidic, even for you.”
“Perhaps I feel acidic. But here we are, ready to make our debut to the world as a couple. So I suppose we had better look as if you’re not disgusted by my touch.”
That flame flickered in his eyes, and she felt echoing tension inside her in response.
“Who said your touch disgusted me?” he asked.
“You recoiled from me quickly enough last week, and besides, you have avoided being alone with me ever since.”
“I’m not here to prop up your self-esteem.”
“No, indeed not.”
“Which means I should not answer your provocations,” he said.
“Why should you now?” she said dar
kly. “You haven’t before.”
He took hold of her wrist and turned her to face him. “You should thank God I have not answered your provocations,” he said. “And that I have kept barriers between us.”
“Right. Because you are protecting me? From the things that I want?”
“From distractions. From harm.”
“You forget,” she whispered. “You forget what I have been through.”
“I don’t forget. It’s why I won’t do anything.”
They quit speaking after that. Instead, they walked toward the ballroom, and when they arrived at the door, he took her arm. But no sooner.
Everything that happened after that was a blur. They and their engagement were announced by her right-hand woman, her adviser. And the ripple that went through the room was undeniable.
The stir that they created was unlike anything Annick had ever experienced before, and she found it difficult to separate her response to what was happening around them and to touching him.
Mostly, she was angry. That no matter how she put this armor on, no matter how she worked to ready herself for this, no matter that it was her plan, she still felt...
She still felt like a woman who had been imprisoned for the better part of a decade. A woman who didn’t actually know enough about life to understand what she was feeling. And now she had announced her engagement to this man. Announced her intent to make him King.
There was nothing real here, no feeling. No love.
She was always an emblem, never a human.
Even in this. In her impending marriage.
She had not given thought to marriage, and then it had seemed as if a marriage to him would be a solution and not a lance of pain in her chest. Not a further bit of recognition that she was only now, and would always be, sad little Annick whose trappings mattered, never her heart.
She would have to make a speech. She was being propelled up to the podium. It was what she had known would happen. She had words prepared, but suddenly she wasn’t sure if they would come out right.
“Good evening,” she said. “I thank you all for taking the time to come here for my coronation. It is officially a new day for our country. For too long we were kept under the rule of an oppressive regime. And many of you felt as if I may have played a part in it. But over the last year, I hope that what I have done is earn your trust. And now, as I prepare to ascend the throne as Queen, I offer you this assurance. That I have chosen a King, who will rule as Kings have done here for centuries. Maximus King is just the sort of modern man you can trust as your ruler. He will be fair. I will carry out the legacy of my family, not ruling in the same way as my father, but hopefully realizing the progress that would have been made had things gone as they should have. And I will have Maximus, and his influence and strength to guide Aillette. He will bring with him the modern sensibility that many of you would like to see enacted here. While providing the traditionalists with the figurehead they wish to see. He will also bring business acumen. And we have been in discussions for how to increase industry here and strengthen the reserves of this country, and the riches of its people. It is a new dawn for us. A new day. And I am happy to ascend the throne as Queen Annick, with King Maximus by my side.”
She nodded, and the room erupted into applause. Maximus stood beside her, tall and strong, and saying nothing. And for once, it felt like her plan had worked.
It was just that inside she still felt a little bit broken. A little bit lost. Uncertain about what to do. But he was there, and he was steady. And nothing about him seemed uncertain at all. And so there was that. There was that. Which was a great blessing.
