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As servants cleared the tables, I resisted the urge to tie some treats in a napkin to bring with me. I did whisper to a girl clearing plates, “Could I have a plate of those cookies brought to my room please.” I liked a snack at night.
As the crowd thinned out, I noticed the widow sat at a lower table with a mix of men and women. Klow leaned close to a fellow with a bushy beard, who got elbowed by the woman beside him.
The King noticed my attention. “You’ve met the widow Klow?”
“She blames you for her husband being killed by dragons.”
“It was too late the day she left her hamlet.”
“She’s convinced you’re at fault.”
“Are you trying to get her hung for treason?”
I quickly replied, “You’re too aware to not know what she’s been saying. She doesn’t appear to make a secret of it. Unless your people hate you, there’s no way you haven’t heard. Why do you allow it?”
“She’s grieving.”
“She is casting you in a bad light.”
He shrugged. “There will always be those who don’t like what I do. The important thing is to ensure there are more that agree than don’t.”
“What if her anger has her doing something rash, though?”
“Like attacking me?” His lips quirked. “She can try.”
His confidence wasn’t exactly staggering, given his size and evident strength. I’d not see him fight, and yet he moved with that grace I’d come to associate with true fighters.
With the meal done, it turned into the parade of single ladies as determined parents brought forth their veiled offerings. They were introduced, and the King would offer them a greeting, always brief, never personal, before he turned away, dismissing them.
Paying attention to me.
Once the parade of women stopped, I couldn’t help but ask, “So, which one of those ladies is going to be our next queen?”
“None.”
“A few seemed genuinely lovely.”
“None were right.”
“And you came to that conclusion from the seconds you spent meeting each?”
“Not one had the nerve to meet my eyes.”
I’d noticed the downcast eyes and deference. “You intimidate them.”
“I don’t intimidate you.”
“I don’t want to marry you,” was my quipped reply.
His lips flattened. “I will only get married when I find the right woman.”
“Fair enough. What are you looking for?” I couldn’t have said why I asked. Why I listened. Why I cared.
“I told you before, someone who doesn’t treat me like a king.”
I smirked. “And you’re expecting that from one of your subjects?”
“Not everyone is impressed by a title.” He stared at me as he said it.
