AllFreeNovel
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“Sir—”
“I said off!”
Balduin turned it off, looking back at him. “Sir, we are to expect a formal request of a pardon—”
“And I will reject it! The monarchy…I will not get involved with the court. He has been judged by a jury of his peers and found guilty! If they want to get frostbite protesting out in the cold, let them! I don’t care.”
“Gale—”
“Very well said,” Queen Arabella said as she opened the door to the office.
The one day we truly needed Iskandar as a guard at the door and he was still on holiday. Everyone else was still too scared to stop her from coming as she pleased.
“Pardon me, I could not help overhearing. However, the king is right. A few ruffians outside is not why he should go upend the courts.”
“Thank you, Grandmama! If only someone would tell the man’s lawyer,” he grumbled as if he wasn’t just grumbling to get rid of her. “They can bring whatever they want; they will be met with silence.”
I watched as he walked over to his desk, and Arabella herself found a comfortable chair.
“I have a meeting. I’ll see you when I come back,” I said to Gale, but he was glaring out the window as if he wanted to go out there and give them a piece of his mind, too. I looked at Balduin, giving him a look about the guests now inside.
I wasn’t sure if he understood what I meant completely, but he nodded. Stepping out into the hall, Iskandar was just walking toward us. And it wasn’t just him…but Wolfgang, too.
“Iskandar? Wolfgang? Don’t you both still have off?”
“I was…so bored, ma’am.” Wolfgang chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
I laughed, looking at Iskandar, dressed in black as always. “And you?”
Serious and stone-faced, he said, “Same.”
I shook my head at them both. “Don’t become workaholics, please.”
“Of course, ma’am. Is the king in?” Iskandar asked.
“Yes, go ahead.” I stepped aside, letting him pass.
When he did, Wolfgang pulled out his tablet. “I’m still arranging your schedule. Is there anything you need to have done?”
“Not at this time. I’m going to see Queen Elspeth,” I said to him, and he started noting it down.
The holidays were fun here because once we finished the official things, like speaking to the public and then all those in the palace, we were left to do whatever we liked. Gale and I just walked the grounds, drank hot chocolate, watched the snow fall over the city, and watched movies. I played the piano some days as he sat by the window, listening. If you ignored/hid from Queen Arabella, it was pretty quiet and boring, which was exactly what I needed.
“You have returned.” Elspeth chuckled when I reentered the adjoining living room beside where we all met for breakfast. She stood, dressed in a long skirt and a thick sweater, in front of mine and Gale’s portrait, the one he and I were supposed to be going to see. It was almost bigger than she was, framed in gold, and when I stood beside her, I couldn’t help but smile at it.
“It’s stunning,” I said, then looked at how blue Gale’s eyes were. “It turned out fine, even though he wasn’t pleased with not smiling.”
“He can smile in the commemorative one when he is much older. For now, I agree with Arabella. A more serious look from him is called for.”
My eyebrow rose as I looked over at her. “Are you agreeing with Arabella?”
“She’s not always wrong, but she makes it very difficult to accept when she is right,” she replied and gave me a look. “I am not telling you what to do. But I am advising you to send her away.”
“I’m trying to do that without looking like I am doing that.” She was the grandmother of the king, a former, very respected queen. It wasn’t as if I could just put her on a plane and send her off.
“I understand. Believe me. She did not want to leave when Lionel became king, either.”
“How did you get her to do it then?”
