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I nodded despite the strange flutter of nerves in my stomach. I hadn’t even had time to grow accustomed to being called “princess” and “Your Highness” all the time. Now I was a queen, and the title usage would get even worse.
Lady Channing glided with inhuman grace through the doorway into the corridor. The servant girl, Elinor, waited until I followed the lady elf before trailing the required dozen steps behind. I tried to calm the tension in my gut with a few surreptitious deep, slow breaths. The last thing I needed was an attack. However, the sight of the corridor did take my breath away.
The corridor more closely resembled a room than a hallway, a very long room, wide and tall enough to contain my former bedroom back home. By some miracle, I kept my feet moving forward as I struggled to take in the graceful arches spanning the ceilings, brilliantly whitewashed walls, and dazzling array of artwork adorning practically every surface. A vibrant tapestry hung opposite Emrys’ door. A crimson vase, gilded with golden harts and swirls of silver, guarded the column to the right. I caught glimpses of landscapes, a fresco, and one stained glass window just in the few feet to the next door along from where we had begun.
“Through here, Your Majesty.” Lady Channing motioned toward an open door.
“Is there another title that might work?” I asked.
The noblewoman’s peaceful expression didn’t change, though her elegant golden brows moved slightly. “What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
I walked past her into a room very similar in size to Emrys’ bedchamber, but that was where the similarities ended. The cream and rose-gold theme was barely discernable beyond the racks of clothing crowding the room.
“Is this her?” a bright voice demanded. A willowy woman with glowing amber eyes grinned eagerly at me from her perch on a stool in the center of the room. “Is this our new queen?”
“Your Majesty, this is Meriwell, the seamstress.”
“Oh, tush, call me Meri.” The woman unfolded gossamer wings and floated up from her perch.
Lady Channing continued introductions as though Meri hadn’t spoken, or—more startlingly—flown. “This is Kate Iston, Queen of Eldarlan, Empress of the Shadow Lands, and keeper of our king’s heart.”
I didn’t know what to react to first. The outrageous string of titles Lady Channing had just attached to my name, the fact she claimed I held Emrys’ heart, or the sudden swooping approach of the winged seamstress. Before I could decide, Meri landed lightly on her feet and offered me a beautiful view of the top of her head as she bowed deeply.
“Oh, my lady, my queen, sovereign, thank you!”
I looked down at the top of her curly head and blinked. “You’re welcome, I suppose.”
Meri bobbed up so quickly that I gasped.
“Suppose? You act as though it weren’t the best thing ever.” Meri let out an excited squeal. “Our king is free! He has a mate, and we can celebrate.”
A soft laugh came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to discover the maid had clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and wary.
I sighed.
“She needs a wardrobe, Meri, not an admirer,” Channing commented.
“Of course, of course!” With that, Meri fluttered away among the racks of clothing. “Elinor, I will need help.”
The maid scurried past me and disappeared behind a lavish maroon gown that cascaded off the end of the nearest wall of dresses.
I eyed the colorful bounty before me. “Lady Channing?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“What would you say if I decide to break some formality rules?” I turned to face her in time to see her stiffen infinitesimally.
“I would say you are the queen.”
“So, I can do what I wish to an extent?”
Her expression grew wary. “Yes.”
“I wish for you to not use my title in private. In public, I quite understand the necessity, but in private, I really prefer not to be constantly hearing people saying Your Majesty after every sentence.”
She seemed to digest this as she studied my features. “What title would you prefer?”
“My name.”
