Chapter 11: Rumor & Fight

Rumor

Cast: Peter, Kimi, others.

One-Shot: Two months after marrying Kimi, Peter hears rumors about her and goes to confront the spreader. What follows is his and Kimi's first major fight as a married couple.

"Location: Richmond, Virginia, July 12th 2022"

One day, as Peter was walking down a hall in the castle, intending to get in some training before dinner, he caught some snippets of conversation between two servants.

"Appearance was quite fortuitous, don't you agree?" one of the servants asked.

"Oh, completely. A commoner who takes ages to grow up and then proceeds to win the heart of our king? That's no mere coincidence." the second servant replied.

"I wonder how she did do it." the first servant said.

"Well, you didn't hear this from me, but I spoke with Muffie a few days ago, and she said..." the second servant started to reply.

They fell silent when Peter's shadow fell over them, their faces paling.

"Go on. What did Muffie say?" Peter asked.

"That... that Her Majesty was quite adept at ruling. She sung quite a bit of praise about her... her skill." the second servant replied nervously.

"I'm sure she did." Peter growled.

He spun on his heel and stormed away. Forget his training, he had another servant to speak to. He found Muffie on the grand staircase, bringing food out in preparation for the lunch for the day. She smiled and curtsied, somewhat awkwardly with the box in her arms, when she saw him.

"Your Majesty, how may I assist you on this lovely day?" Muffie asked.

"You can start by putting an end to the rumors your spreading about my wife." Peter replied.

Her eyes widened, faux innocent.

"Rumors? I merely speculate, my lord. It's not my fault if some people take those speculations as fact." Muffie said.

"You know very well it's not mere speculation you spread, but slander against the queen of this kingdom. It needs to stop." Peter said.

"Is speaking a crime, now? Do you intend to cut out the tongues of everyone that have repeated these words, for I am not the only one speculating?" Muffie asked angrily.

And unfortunately, she was right. Rumor and hearsay had always been a slight problem, and you couldn't just go around silencing everyone who said something you disliked without quickly becoming unpopular. Doing that would do nothing except cement the idea that Kimi had done something to get on Peter's good side so she could rule, in people's minds. His and Kimi's first major fight was over that, when he confronted her later that evening. In hindsight, jumping on her about it as soon as she walked through the door was dumb, he could admit that, but he was agitated and angry and not thinking straight.

"Why did you lie to me?" Peter asked angrily.

Kimi stopped short.

"Lie? Peter, I haven't..." Kimi started to reply.

"You told me no one in the castle was harassing you. So why did I have to learn from Muffie, of all people, that that's not true?" Peter asked.

Kimi shook her head.

"That's it? Really? It's nothing." Kimi replied.

"It's not nothing! What they are saying is..." Peter started to say.

Kimi spun around.

"I can handle it! And you have more important matters on your mind!" Kimi snapped.

"So now you think your not important to me? Is that it?" Peter asked.

"I didn't say that!" Kimi replied.

The shouting lasted for quite a while. It didn't wind down until, frustrated, Kimi actually screamed.

"I can't just go running to you as soon as a few mean words come my way! What do you think people would say to that? They'd call me weak, and no one tolerates weakness! I have to prove to them that I'm an able queen!" Kimi yelled.

It shocked him, to say the least. He slumped, resting a hand against the dresser for support, exhausted and drained and plain-out sore from the fighting.

"How will you do that?" Peter asked.

She was quiet.

"I don't know. But I'll work something out." Kimi replied, sounding as tired as he was.

Things remained awkward for a few days, but they resolved matters. Peter reluctantly promised to let her handle the slander herself, while Kimi promised to rely on him for emotional support when she needed it.