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Felix looked at him. “It might be your only option. Where’s the crown? Is it in the Castle?”
“No, the High Mage keeps it locked away,” said Rainier. “We only bring it out for special times because it’s the original, and the copy is kept with it for the spouse to be crowned too.”
“Maybe we should have a gathering,” said Sally. “If you want to get your horse, maybe we could all have a little walk to the Temple. If you want to get ready…”
Rainier nodded. “Do it.”
It was almost lunch, but if Mum had gone to her dressmaker, she wouldn’t be in a hurry to go home. He assumed the dressmaker made her snacks, or perhaps she didn’t bother to eat. He’d never gone with her to see since he’d be bored out of his mind while they discussed what she wanted.
The two women left, and Rainier took a deep breath. “If the people side with me and I take control of the Castle and the guards, she’ll be powerless. Even if some side with her, it’ll be us against them, and ‘they’ might be outnumbered and likely unwilling to harm fellow fairies they’ve known for years. Having more support could sway the other side. We all live in the same city and are the same people.”
Felix nodded. “This is the last kind of stress you need, but she’s probably planning to do this in a couple of days. She’ll consider how to write the edict and everything she needs to do.”
“And plot to get rid of you, I bet,” said Rainier, and Felix’s face grew pinched. “It’s the wrong order of doing things, but do you want to be coronated today too?”
Felix’s mouth dropped slightly. “Huh?”
Rainier slowly stood. “Do you want to be coronated today too?”
“I’m not the Crown Prince or royalty. I’m moral support.”
“If you still want us to sit in rocking chairs together fifty years from now, there is a lot we could do in the meantime before we get old. I’m not going to keep you as just a lover, and we can get married later if you want me. I’d rather not do that in a rush, and treason isn’t a very romantic activity to do afterward.”
“You really want to marry me?”
“You’ve stuck with me this long, and while others are showing support now, you were the first to say anything and actually do something. I think you standing up to her outside probably helped too.”
Felix stood to hug him. “I’ll marry you, but you don’t have to coronate me. I’m just a commoner, and this whole thing isn’t about me. I didn’t come back or stay to get anything out of you either.”
Rainier squeezed him. “I know you didn’t. You came to take care of me when no one else did, and I’d like for us to take care of each other. You can be my Kitten and my husband. Besides, what King wouldn’t coronate his husband?”
***
Rainier didn’t feel like getting dressed and going out, but they couldn’t wait too long. Felix insisted he eat some toasted and buttered bread on the way back. He let Felix control the horse and sat behind him while he ate. He was tempted to drop the bread, but he forced in each bite since he would need energy for this.
Even though Felix had said yes, he couldn’t get the tension out of his gut. Becoming the King always seemed like a set deal in the future when Mum grew older and decided to hand over the throne so she could retire.
Treason had never crossed his mind, especially when it came to the woman who had given birth to him. He had the sudden thought that Father would be ashamed if he knew.
But he’d probably be ashamed of his wife for what she’d done to their children. Even though he’d defied her wishes and snuck his children sweets and snacks, he probably never imagined her cruel words, insults, and demands would lead to one child dead and the other sick.
This was the only way to keep what was rightfully his and ensure Felix was safe.
The horse was rather average, and with Rainier’s dark cloak, he was sure nobody recognized him. He hadn’t expected to see several citizens sitting in the grass outside of the gate to the Castle grounds. He recognized a couple of servants talking with them, and Felix paused the horse.
“That’s the two guards who quit,” he whispered. “Toward the edge.”
The two men were sitting with their wives, and one had a toddler in his lap. A couple of the citizens realized who was on the horse, and they shouted as Felix walked the horse toward the gate.
“Rainier! Rainier!”
“Use all of the spare horses for the servants,” Rainier told a guard at the gate after he’d pushed his hood back. “We’re going to the Temple.”
The guard nodded. Since Mum had gone to get new clothes made, she must not have had a single clue that the mood toward her had been slowly shifting. Felix wasn’t the only one who saw her behavior as abusive.
The servants had all gathered in the yard, and someone had already gotten Rainier’s horse prepared.
“What exactly are we doing?” asked one. “When Queen Eliza returns, what are we supposed to do?”
