Hello friends! I don't have much to say about the massive delay with this chapter other than I've been on crazy difficult rotations (surgery rn and it's the WORST) that have sucked up all my time. Getting the next few chapters sorted out also took time, so I apologize that this is late but hopefully the fact that the plot is beginning to really pick up will help make up for it! I hope you guys like this one, and will start to see glimpses of what I have in mind for the future of this story! Enjoy!
The golden-haired knight stared broodily at the pond in the center of the castle gardens, a place where he had found himself spending a lot of of his time lately. Once his regular duties as a high-ranking guard in the court were done for the day, he realized he couldn't stop wandering around, eventually deciding to settle at one of the more peaceful places within the castle walls.
It also helped that it was usually devoid of people.
Ed found he wasn't in the mood for jabbing conversations that would force him to address, well, everything. His mind hadn't stopped moving a mile a minute since the argument with Winry and he didn't have plans to sort it all out anytime soon. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to stew in his negative feelings and guilt. Half of him felt like utter and complete dog shit for the things he had said to the princess, the other wanted to scream and yell and couldn't figure out why Winry wouldn't waver on this.
She couldn't possibly know what it had felt like. What it was like to watch someone who was supposed to always be there for his family walk out the door and never come back, only to then watch the one person who gave his life purpose and peace fall into an illness, partially caused by her own grief at being left alone. Winry didn't know what he had gone through. Gods willing, she never would.
From everything he had heard, Winry's father and whoever helped raise her had been excellent role models and guardians. Her father had taught her the ways of royalty, not excluding her from the things that would normally only be taught to princes and kings. He had loved his wife and two daughters fiercely. Winry didn't understand what it felt like to be rejected by a parent.
But, on the other side of it, she didn't even know what it was like having a mother in the first place. She'd had her father's love for almost eighteen years, but even that she could no longer fall back on. Her parents were gone forever. She may not be able to understand part of Ed's feelings...but Ed only half understood what it was like to lose your parents. He had been overcome with grief even to this day at the death of his mother, but Winry hadn't voluntarily removed herself from her parent's lives. They were taken from her.
So...Ed found himself in the same circle of confusion he had been stuck in ever since that day on the training grounds. He felt he was justified in his feelings, but he was also beginning to realize Winry was justified in her own, as well. So where did that leave them?
The knight scoffed when he answered his own question. That left them apart, moping off in their own corners without speaking for days, uncertain who to turn to or what to even say.
By now, the nature of their spat had gotten out to the majority of the court. It wasn't too unusual to skip a few meals and generally stay to yourself for a day or two. But it had been over a week now, making it painfully obvious to everyone what was happening as soon as they looked at Winry's decisively empty spot at dinner each night.
A few people had tried to pull him aside to talk. Alphonse had been making attempts relentlessly without any success. Eventually, he seemed to just give up, an act made easier by Al's personal feelings on the matter, which Ed were completely positive contradicted his own. He just wasn't ready to face the implications. He knew he had to apologize, and he had been trying to do so ever since he watched the love of his life walk away with tears running down her cheeks.
Tears he had caused.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before picking up a stone and skipping it across the man made pond. That was the worst part about all of this. While he knew part of his anger was fully justified (even if Winry couldn't understand it), he also had made a promise to himself to never, ever, make her cry again. He had seen the way she sobbed and screeched at he and his brother those first few nights after she arrived in Amestris. He knew every specific detail of what she had gone through. It was part of his duty as her future husband to make sure none of those feelings ever got drudged up. And then he had gone and directly caused her so much pain.
"You don't get a say in our family affairs, Winry!"
He had wanted to punch himself as soon as the words had left his mouth. He still couldn't figure out what had possessed him to even mention something so cruel. She would be a part of his family in just a short month (for now), why shouldn't her opinion on he and Al's father matter? The crestfallen and almost...betrayed...look on her face had hurt worse than a dagger to his heart. He was beginning to become afraid that he had done irreversible damage. Would she ever trust him again? Would he trust himself?
"Surely you have better things to do than stare at a pond all day?" a familiar, though not entirely expected, voice suddenly rang out. Too depressed to even startle, the young knight simply turned around and raised an eyebrow. Ed was lucky the new arrival's creepy bodyguard was no where around (at least from what he could tell), because she probably would've slapped him upside the head for greeting an emperor in such a way.
"Says the guy who runs an entire empire yet spends all day walking through gardens. You and Lan Fan aren't as subtle as you think you are."
Emperor Ling, with his hands behind his back and a genial smile on his face, chuckled at him. "Don't say things like that. She can be here with a dagger at your throat in less than a second."
An unsettling thought, but one Ed had heard a hundred times.
He rolled his eyes as the Xingese man came to stand just to the side of where he sat by the pond.
"No offense, Your Righteousness, but I'd rather be left alone," Ed grunted out, turning his attention back to the rippling waters of the pond.
A small scoff escaped the young emperor's lips at that. "You and everyone else around here, it seems. Too bad I don't give much of a care to personal space."
"No shit," the knight said as Ling leaned down to pick up a pebble, inspected it, and mindlessly tossed it into the water, enjoying the disruption of the still surface.
"You know, I wouldn't consider myself the world's expert on wooing a lady, but angrily brooding to yourself for days on end instead of facing your problems doesn't seem like a winning solution."
Knowing Ling would make a comment like this, Ed barely even reacted. He wanted to shake his head at how much of a failure his plan to get alone had become. Even here, no one was capable of leaving him to his own devices. All that solidarity in the Amestrian kingdom was coming back to bite him in the ass.
"I'm not ignoring my problems. I'm trying to figure them out," the knight eventually replied, picking up a stone and tossing it across the pond with more force than was strictly necessary.
The emperor tilted his head in thought, as if Ed's issues were just some big social experiment to him. "Hm, is that so? And just how much have you successfully 'figured out' while your fiance is off crying by herself day in and day out?"
Ed's fists curled up in anger, but he breathed deeply to rein in any further actions. Ling wasn't the bad guy in this situation, as much as he wanted to believe.
"It's complicated," he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Yes, I'm sure. So is life. But that young woman is not just a summer fling. She's your future wife. Moping separately instead of working together to come to a resolution will get you nowhere. You have no idea how lucky you are to even get to love her in the first place. Why waste all of that because you can't agree?"
At the emperor's words and the strangely cryptic note of his voice, Ed turned toward his royal companion in shock, his eyes widening at the way Ling stared out at the pond, a story quite obviously hiding behind his gaze.
As the silence stretched on, the emperor turned to meet the eyes of the surprised knight, his face softening in his familiar teasing way. "We're not far apart in age, Sir Edward, but I've had to grow up a lot faster than most. Being handed an entire kingdom will do that. I've had to sacrifice more than I can even express." Here, the emperor's eyes took on a faraway look, and Ed had a slight suspicion of what the other man could be thinking about. "If I were in your shoes, I'd be on my hands and knees at the princess's feet. It's not that what you think isn't valid, it's that holding onto past transgressions brings more hate and anguish than letting it go."
As Ed processed the wise words, he couldn't help but voice one of his many questions. "H-How do you know about all this?"
The emperor's face turned sly as he replied, "The Xingese are very observant. There's more to my 'walks through the gardens' than meets the eye." With a nonchalant shrug, the young ruler turned on his feet, his hands casually held behind his back. "See you around, Shortie," he spoke, his voice reverting to his normal carefree tone with the use of Ed's least favorite nickname. "I hope your girl starts coming to meals again soon. She's much more pleasant to look at than your brooding face."
And, just like that, the emperor of Xing was gone as quickly as he came, leaving a very confused, yet very contemplative Amestrian knight in his wake.
For probably the thousandth time over the last week, Alphonse found his eyes wandering back to his new partner in crime. They were supposed to be perusing through the old alchemical texts looking for ways to connect the familiar Amestrian science with its Xingese counterpart, but a few loose strands of Mei's silky black hair were drifting down her face while her expression remained adorably furrowed as she studied the scroll before her. How was Al supposed to look away?
Quickly, he shook those thoughts from his mind and forcibly returned his eyes to what he was reading. While he and the Xingese princess had grown close over the last week or so since he'd first shown her the archives and they'd concocted their little mini research project, he certainly didn't have a right (or a need) to be caught staring at her while they worked. Sure, he had foolishly told her himself that he thought she was pretty, but that didn't take away from the budding friendship he desperately wanted to preserve.
Although, as tempting as it was to daydream about the gorgeous princess, the young knight would be lying if he said she was the only thing occupying all his thoughts lately.
He frowned as he thought about his elder brother, no doubt off moping by himself...again. Al didn't know whether he was more angry with him or concerned for him. Probably a mix of the two, given all that had happened. Alphonse had made many, many attempts to get his brother to open up and work through his roiling emotions, but Ed had refused every time, to the point Al couldn't even be bothered to try anymore. He'd originally gotten a basic rundown of what had been said when he found his brother angrily taking his sword to half the training dummies, their measly straw innards torn to pieces, but Ed had vehemently denied his younger sibling any more information, or the opportunity to offer his own opinion. He was blandly cordial when they had to be together for their basic duties, then immediately went off on his own, not even giving Al the chance to try and start a conversation.
The younger Elric brother heaved another sigh and rubbed at his eyes, the words on the scroll not even registering. He couldn't believe his older brother's animosity toward their father had carried him this far. Alphonse certainly hadn't put it past Ed to hold a grudge for the rest of his life, but to take it out on Winry in such a way? That was something Al had not been expecting in the slightest.
"Is something wrong, Alphonse?" his feminine companion asked suddenly, ripping him out of his depressing thoughts. He attempted to compose himself at the sight of her large, blinking eyes, all the while pushing the sadness that wanted to boil up away. He managed a lopsided smile and shook his head at the princess.
"N-no, I'm alright."
Mei pursed her lips together and set down the feather quill she had been using to take notes. "Are you sure? You've been really quiet today."
A part of Al's heart tugged at the way her face furrowed with concern. The emotions inside of him were taking him in two completely different directions. "Yeah...sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."
The princess hummed in understanding. "Still thinking about your brother?"
Knowing it was pointless to try and cover it up any further, Al nodded. "Yeah," he admitted in a somber voice. "He's still keeping to himself."
Mei shook her head. "Really? It's been what...a week since he stopped talking to everyone? He really needs to get his head on straight already."
Al couldn't help a small smile at her well-intentioned frustration. Ever since she'd stepped through the outer walls of the capital city, her opinion of his brother hadn't been too high. She had related to Al a few days ago that she thought he was a mean brute without a shred of feelings for others. While he had tried to assure her there were more sides to his elder brother, this past week had him thinking part of what she thought was true.
"The stuff he's dealing with is...heavy. It goes beyond just Winry. Our family has some...issues."
An overly delicate way to put it, but still accurate nonetheless.
In an uncharacteristic move, Mei scoffed and shook her head at his words. "Every family has issues. And none of them could probably come even close to what my 'family' has to deal with. Al, I know you've been trying to get him to talk and you want to give him space, but this has gone too far. You need to knock some sense into him!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist down on the table to emphasize her point, startling him slightly.
"I-I know," Al responded, a little unsure of what to make of her mini outburst. "It's just difficult because...I don't necessarily agree with the things he's being motivated by. And he knows that too, which is why I suspect he refuses to talk about it."
Again, Mei shook her head. "That's not what brothers do, though. If all my siblings agreed all the time, Xing would be unstoppable. You don't have to agree with him, but you do need to talk it through."
Al contemplated her words. He knew she was right. She had related a bit more of her own dicey family situation a while back and he could tell she was being sincere. Mei had many, many siblings, the majority of which would love to see her and Emperor Ling dead. She had once wanted the same of Ling, but after a series of events she still had difficulty talking about, they had joined together. She now spoke of the emperor with a fondness that would rival his own relationship with his brother. He knew his opinion on reconciling with his father shouldn't stop him from talking to Ed.
He also knew the last thing his brother's relationship needed was an argument before he could talk to him. Right now Ed's volatile emotions could make things even worse than they already were with Winry. Alphonse wasn't going to let the two of them destroy what they had created. They were destined for each other, in every sense, and he refused to let something like this come between them.
With reinvigorated resolve, Al smiled at his companion and stood from the table. "You're right. I can't let this go on any further. I'm going to find him right now!"
Even with his new task, the knight still couldn't help the small blush that bloomed on his cheeks as Princess Mei smiled and cheered him on. He really did need to help Ed figure everything out, because the young knight just knew only his brother could help him figure his love life out.
They really, really shouldn't be doing this, Riza thought as one of Roy's hands hiked up the end of her dress and skidded across the skin of her leg, eventually resting on the outside of her thigh. Ever since their relationship had started (and really since Riza had been back in Amestris) they hadn't done the best job at keeping things as under wraps as possible. Most of the court already knew what they were up to, even if a lot of it was still speculation, and a growing handful of people knew every detail. So why were they still constantly toying the line of caution? Ever since that night a few weeks ago, it was like they'd gotten more and more bold with showing each other affection. At first it was just brushed hands and lingering gazes.
Now Riza found herself atop Roy's desk in the middle of his study, his tongue in her mouth and his hands lifting her dress.
Gods, did they even remember to lock the damn door?
The queen let out a quick gasp as the king's mouth became less occupied with her own and more with the skin of her neck, nipping and sucking lightly to get more and more reactions out of her. She tightened her grip on his tunic, trying to keep as quiet as possible. The king's study was still guarded by two soldiers right outside the door. She didn't really care about their opinion of them, but word does tend to spread like fire in a close-knit castle like Roy's.
Groaning fitfully, the queen's eyes drifted to the large table by the king's desk, where various pieces of parchment were still laid out. She had originally met him here to discuss the treaty terms more and figure out the logistics of the raised percentage for Aerugo both Roy and Ling had eventually agreed upon. Very quickly the king and queen found themselves occupied elsewhere.
Suddenly, Riza felt the king's hands drifting toward her back, itching to untie the strings of her dress, and she knew she had to quench this fire before it spread out of control. Regrettably pulling away from Roy's ministrations, she braced her hands on his shoulders and caught his devilish gaze, her head shaking at him.
"N-not here. Anyone could walk in on us," she told him breathlessly, a stirring unlike any other forming at the smirk that took up residence on his face at her words.
He tilted his head and leaned forward, ghosting across her lips, but not capturing them fully, an act he knew drove her crazy. "I know a secret way back to my bedroom if that's what you'd prefer."
Her hands tightened on his shoulders and she gave him a sly smirk of her own. "You're insatiable. We're supposed to be working."
"We work all damn day. Sometimes we need to...take a break." To emphasize his point, Roy's hand underneath her dress squeezed at her thigh before it began to tantalizingly drift further up toward her center. He was doing delightfully sinful things, but she knew she had to stop him.
Shaking her head, she pushed him away once more, wiggling from his hands and hopping off his desk. She lowered her dress while trying to keep the crimson from her cheeks. "As tempting as that is, one of us should still remain rational. These estimates won't write themselves, you know."
He scowled at her as she walked out of arm's reach from him, going back to their hastily abandoned work on the table. She tried not to think about earlier, when he had desperately whispered all the things he was capable of doing to her on top of it.
Heaving a put upon sigh, Roy finally spoke as she began rummaging through the numbers etched on the parchment once more. "Alright, as you wish. But if we finish early, will you allow me to pick up where we left off this evening?"
Her hands stilled on one piece of paper and her eyes met his dark gaze. "Perhaps," she teased, loving the way he ate up the low and suggestive tone of her voice.
In an effort to not let the building heat distract them further, the king and queen lapsed into silence, their quills scratching away as they calculated the particular revenue estimates that would yield their kingdoms the best profits after the treaty with Xing was finalized. It was monotonous work, but Riza couldn't deny how proud she was that Roy had finally let her in on such a momentous project. The case she had presented to he and Emperor Ling had been ironclad, and they really both couldn't refuse. While Aerugo still didn't get the same cut as the larger kingdoms, Riza truly believed she had come out the other side with a fair deal. It was her first big international victory as the ruler of Aerugo.
Breaking the queen out of her thoughts, Roy's voice suddenly rang throughout the large study. "Hard to believe that this is actually happening. Amestris hasn't had success like this since I took the throne from my father."
Smiling knowingly at him, the queen added, "I know how you feel. So many people have underestimated us. It's nice to see our hard work has produced something of worth."
Roy returned the fond look. "You're a formidable ruler, Your Majesty. Aerugo would not be where it is without you."
"Your flattery is as impeccable as always," Riza teased in an effort to hide the blush that wanted to erupt at his compliment.
"I'm serious, Riza. When I think about all that you've had to endure, all that people have said...and yet here you are. Leading a rapidly growing and prosperous kingdom on your own. I know even I had my doubts, but lately it's been as clear to me as water. You're a capable ruler."
The queen's hands paused and her eyes met Roy's sincere gaze in shock. She was used to Roy showering her with sweet nothings and affectionate titles, but never had he spoken such praise to her. She wasn't really sure where all of this was coming from, but it certainly filled her with a warmth unlike anything she had experienced lately. Trust this man to always keep her on her toes.
"I think we've both surprised ourselves," she managed to respond with. "Leading kingdoms like these at such a young age and alone, neither of us were expecting to ever get here."
Roy shook his head, his eyes drifting toward one of the large windows in the study where a perfect view of the capital city laid out around his castle could be seen. "Can you believe that if everything had gone according to plan, our kingdoms would be joined by now?"
"And we'd be married," Riza spoke, the thought daunting.
Roy smirked. "You'd probably be miserable, if you'd had to marry me when I turned eighteen. You'd be nothing but the source of my heirs, and the keeper of the Amestrian household."
The queen pondered this, having spent long hours (especially over the last year) thinking about what could have been. "We would've made it work, I believe, but you're right. I don't think my father would have focused as much on training me if I was just going to be married off to build a kingdom. My mother would have been doing the 'training'. And it would not have involved a bow and arrow."
"I know you've been through a lot...we both have, but I'm still glad we turned out the way we did."
Again, Riza's eyes found his and she smiled at the love in his gaze. All the heartache of losing her mother and taking on the kingdom of Aerugo single-handedly was not what she'd consider 'worth it', but it was comforting to know they both were in a better place, having learned things about themselves and the way they related to others through their journeys. The queen wanted to shake her head at the direction this conversation turned. Since when had they become so introspective?
In an effort to lighten things up a bit, yet still stay on topic, she spoke, "You know, I wonder sometimes...especially as we're doing all this work...the specifics of what our fathers had in mind."
Roy's head tilted as he asked, "What do you mean?"
Looking back at the mountain of papers before them, she replied, "Well, just look at all of this. These treaty terms are creating so much work, and it's nothing compared to the logistics of joining two powerful kingdoms. I've always just wondered what exactly our fathers wanted to do."
"Huh, I guess I always have too, now that you mention it. They must've had something worked up. I remember my father telling me they'd even had terms written before...everything happened."
Riza nodded her head. "Yes, my father told me the same. Do you think they burned them?"
"No, my father wouldn't have allowed it. He was far too meticulous with all his deeds and treaties. He kept everything. I have no doubt he still held the terms, on the off chance something could eventually be worked out."
"Where do you think they are now?" Riza curiously asked, though it was more along the lines of thinking aloud.
Roy's face furrowed as he thought. "I don't know. Probably not here, if I had to guess."
"Why do you say that?"
"My father liked to keep records of everything, but he was far too busy to keep track of it all himself. He regularly gave high-ranking members of his court his deeds and mandates and such as his own way of record keeping. I'm sure some old nobleman somewhere has it."
Riza paused as she thought about this. Roy's father liked to hand off important documents to his court members and would have probably done the same with the defunct Amestrian-Aerugonian joining treaty. She had always wanted to get her hands on it. Before, it had been out of mere curiosity, wondering how her father and Roy's had envisioned the complicated joining of the two kingdoms. Now she had a far more important reason to want to see it…
And she had a dreaded suspicion of just who could have it.
She shook her head suddenly, ridding her mind of such thoughts. That wasn't something she should be worrying about right now. She had time to think on it and make any moves to do something. Again, she directed the conversation to a more curious, thoughtful topic rather than something more serious.
"Are you like your father in that way?"
"Somewhat. While I can't keep track of everything myself, I don't know if I trust everyone enough to just hand them the responsibility."
Riza nodded her head in agreement. "I'm the same way. I keep all my deeds close to myself, and have only told a few people where they even are."
Roy's face turned sly as he replied. "I've created my own little trick to hiding them. You'd have to know me very well to even figure it out."
The queen lifted an eyebrow. "What does that mean? Do you hide them behind a secret door or something?"
She was really only kidding, not having ever given a thought to what Roy did with his most vital pieces of parchment. It was always a sensitive topic with rulers to discuss things like this. Letting someone with bad intentions get their hands on a kingdom's deeds could spell disaster, since it only took a good price from a wealthy man to gain the power of half a country if it was found, but she still wasn't expecting the king to tense up as quickly as he did. The light-hearted look on his face fell, replaced by a simultaneously far-off and guarded expression that the queen couldn't help but wonder at. He seemed to be thinking back to something specific.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I know as well as you do how important those documents are. Besides, even if I did know the location, what am I going to do? Sneak in to steal all your deeds, claiming your lands for myself? Long live Aerugo!"
Roy gave a small smile at her teasing, but there still remained some air of trepidation behind his eyes. Riza knew he trusted her with many things, but a small part of her stilled at the fact that he very clearly didn't trust her with this.
Now being the one to shake off the serious direction the conversation took, Roy's face returned to normal and he smiled at her. "I have nothing to fear, clearly, but I am getting restless sitting here doing all this paperwork. I had arranged for my men to get my boat ready to take out on the lake. I'd love it if you joined me."
Riza couldn't help but eye him incredulously at the sudden, and rather strange, offer. "Your...boat?" she asked in an unsure tone.
A small twinkle appearing in his eyes, the king stood to his feet with new resolve. "Yes, my sailboat. I don't use it often but when the weather gets like this and the sun is in just the right position...it makes for perfect sailing weather. I've been meaning to take you out."
She eyed him warily and, if possible, his grin widened even more. "What? You've never been on a sailboat before? Well now you have to come with me."
Riza's eyes narrowed, but she took the king's proffered hand, nonetheless. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?"
Just when she thought she had the man figured out, he had to go and throw this one on her. Riza sat, as ladylike as she could possibly manage, on the pristine wooden sailboat as it bobbed along the East Lake waters, the afternoon sun shining down on her. While the queen couldn't deny the euphoric feeling of the wind against her face and the smell of the briny water as it misted around them from each splash, she still couldn't believe she had agreed to this. For probably the hundredth time she chanced a glance at the boat's captain behind her, busy making sure they stayed their course and the sail was positioned just so to keep them gliding along.
Next he's going to tell me he's a court jester in his spare time, she thought with a small roll of her eyes.
Still, despite the surprise of the hobby, he did look rather at ease back there, manning everything while she began to eat from the small spread of food a few servants had left for them to munch on. It wasn't that big of a boat, but it certainly road the small waves out on the lake majestically, and Riza couldn't help but be lulled by the gentle sway.
Eventually finding a more peaceful spot on the massive body of water, Roy secured a few ties, moved the sail how he wanted it, and the boat slowly began to coast along. Roy approached where she was sat and lowered himself down, taking a handful of grapes and plopping them into his mouth decisively.
"So...where did you learn to do this?" she asked, voicing the question that had been on her mind since he had led her to the docks closest to the capital city. Tearing off a piece of bread she lounged back on the blanket she'd been sat upon, the king coming to join her.
"My father taught me. Never was there a summer as a kid that we didn't come out to the lake together. The boat was originally his. He had it made to help woo my mother."
Riza smiled. "Ah, so it's your bachelor boat, then?"
Roy laughed at that. "Yes, I suppose so."
They silently ate from their mini picnic as the boat gently rocked, a million thoughts running through both their minds. Ever since he had presented the offer to her, Riza had noticed the king seemed a bit...off. Originally she had thought it was because of their earlier conversation, but as they continued to lounge and Roy's face became more and more nervous, she realized he probably had other intentions.
And, finally, after picking apart the same piece of bread until it was torn into bits too small for even the seagulls to try and eat, the king cleared his throat and turned toward her. "I've been meaning to bring you out here for awhile. On the lake, we can be apart from everyone else and can be alone in ways that just aren't possible back at the castle."
She noticed the way he avoided her gaze and fidgeted. While it filled her with nerves to realize he had something vastly important to tell her, she still leaned forward, placing a reassuring hand on his arm to help calm him. That did the trick for a bit, and he continued.
"There are so many things I need to tell you...but the biggest is one I've been putting off for so long. Something I should have told you long ago."
The queen's whole body stilled as he spoke.
"You know how much I love you, how much I've always loved you, but you still don't know everything about me or my story. That needs to change."
Riza's eyes widened.
"You're not the only woman I've ever loved. I've never told you anything about my late wife or what things were like when she was around. You've told me about your past, so now I think it's time I tell you about mine, if you'll allow me."
Riza's heart sped up and she felt frozen in time, but she had been waiting for so long to have these questions answered, and she realized it was an important step in their relationship for him to share these things.
So she nodded her head, and encouraged him to continue.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Roy began. "I met Isabella at a peace summit not long after I took the throne. I'm not sure I believe in love at first sight, but that was about the closest thing I've ever come to it…"
As the queen listened with rapt attention, Roy told the story of how he fell in love with the Cretian named Isabella.