It was quiet in what was called the war room. The hour was well past midnight but General Leger and his assistants sat around the table with me at the head, our eyes fixed on the screens in front of us. Eikko paced behind me, chewing on his thumbnail. We had only slept for a couple hours before moving in to the private conference room used only for viewing top-secret missions carried out by our espionage teams and Special Forces. This was General Leger's domain – we were merely guests.
"We're in position, Sir," a soldier radioed in. I found it baffling that they could communicate with us over a small radio all the way in Swendway but it did pay off in moments such as these. "My men are extracting the royal family now."
Eikko made a small sound in the back of his throat as the soldier called his family royal. With their estrangement, it was so easy to forget that they were technically royalty thanks to Eikko's marriage to me. From cameras set up by spies, we watched Illéa's best guards lead his sister and her family from their home in the capital city of Swendway in the hazy morning light.
The cameras changed to a viewing lens in the front of one of the security cars that would follow the car his sister was in. We watched them the entire way to the airport, Eikko never once slowing his pace.
"The airport is all clear, Sir. Permission to prepare for take off?" the lead guard asked General Leger.
"At your ready," General Leger confirmed. "Keep me informed of your precise arrival time." The cameras cut out and the guards in the room nodded in satisfaction. They trickled out, bowing to us but Eikko was still lost to the world.
General Leger put a hand on my shoulder. "Swendway is a small country. They will be out of Swendish air space soon enough and then you can breathe. They're all but perfectly safe right now."
"I think you should tell that to my husband," I said quietly. General Leger offered me a wink and approached Eikko, starting a whispered conversation that I couldn't hear. I was tired enough that I could put my head on the table and fall asleep right there but my mind was restless.
I dozed in and out of reality until I heard Eikko say, "I'd like to stay in here until they land."
"It will be several hours," General Leger warned.
"It's my family," Eikko insisted. That seemed to be all of the explanation General Leger needed because he nodded, bowed, and bid us both a good night before going outside to stand guard himself at the door.
I stood and put my hands on Eikko's shoulders. "She'll be fine."
"I'll breathe easily once she's here in the palace. Until then…" His voice trailed away and I didn't need him to elaborate to know that this was just an anxiety thing.
"Do you want me to send you some of your work to do in here for the time being?" I offered.
"That would be great. Thank you."
I exited the conference room and bobbed my head to General Leger as I proceeded down the hall, heading toward the southeastern wing where my family's bedrooms were located. It would be interesting to have Eikko's family in the palace but it could be good for us. Perhaps it would help mend things between us and his parents, for them to see us at work in our daily lives. Of course, they were coming at the time of year where we had the least amount of work and would be lounging around for large portions of the day but they could still get a glimpse into our lives.
I passed my father's bedroom and paused, looking at the large double doors that were shut tight. The guard stationed outside frowned slightly as I stood still and stared at the room holding his sovereigns but didn't say anything. He wouldn't unless I was visibly in distress. He was my parents' guard – he couldn't say anything to me if it wasn't an emergency.
I thought of my grandmother Amberly again and how she would probably give anything to be here with us. She would also probably throttle me if she knew how I hadn't really spoken to my parents in days. I heard soft footsteps behind me and turned, half expecting see the ghost of Amberly there.
"Our bedroom is that way," Eikko said gently, pointing to the end of the corridor.
"We're lying about our baby," I whispered, mostly to myself.
He frowned. "Come again?"
"It's infuriating," I vented suddenly. "This baby isn't even born yet and we're already keeping secrets from her."
His frown grew but after a few moments he realized what I was going on about. "It's not a huge deal, Eadlyn. Not like kids are always curious about when and where they were conceived. And technically, we're lying to the people, not our baby."
I sighed, seeing his point. "It still feels wrong, planning secrets."
"But you're doing it to protect her," he reminded me. "There are far worse things to keep from your children than the fact that you were just barely pregnant before we were married."
"Where are you going with this Eikko?"
He folded his arms. "When Uncle Kile comes around for Christmas, will it be your top priority to tell our children that you dated him? Or what about Henri, when he makes cakes for our birthdays? I don't think you'll be rushing to tell them that you were once engaged."
"It's different though," I insisted.
"How?"
"I was allowed to date them. And Kile isn't taking vows to protect our children's lives."
"You weren't allowed to date me."
I stopped. It was east sometimes to forget that Eikko and I were a forbidden romance. He was there the whole time but we hadn't dated through that. It suddenly made even more sense to me, why Dad encouraged me to marry Eikko. Maybe he understood that love didn't have rules and that it required risks. He took risks for the people he loved: Brice, Miss Marlee and Mr. Woodwork…Mom. It probably wasn't a pretty conversation when he found out about Mom sneaking around with General Leger.
I huffed and approached their doors. The guard looked like he had no idea whether or not to stop me. "Eadlyn, where are you going?" Eikko asked cautiously.
I didn't answer. He had no choice to follow me into my father's bedroom. Bypassing their wall of pictures, I stopped at the foot of their bed. Mom stirred at the sounds of my entrance. When she noticed me lurking, she jumped and lightly tapped Dad on the shoulder to wake him.
"Eadlyn, what's wrong?" Mom asked, sitting up and blinking her eyes blearily.
"I'm sorry, I tried to stop her—" Eikko began but I waved to him to shut up.
"I don't understand why you two lied to me about General Leger but I can't argue with your logic. I know you both love each other a lot – sometimes too much. And you love your kids. I just don't want to hate you two for something that I will probably do to my own kids at some point."
Dad smiled slightly. "You couldn't have waited until morning to tell us this?" He turned on the light next to the bed.
"Nope."
Mom sighed. "Honey, you see, my relationship with Aspen complicated things for your father and me. It is all wrapped up with the massacre and my father…" She paused and put a hand to her mouth.
Dad put his arm around her. "It's not something we've ever explicitly discussed with you all because your mother and I still suffer from it." I knew that. I knew that Mom still would shake with anger when she talked about Celeste. I know that a few weeks after the massacre, Dad renovated the entire bottom floor of the palace so that where the Great Room used to be, there was no a mostly unused tearoom.
"The massacre…it's not just your grandparents that we mourn. I lost a maid and there are still days I find myself wishing for her steadiness," Mom admitted.
"And my advisor, Brennan?" Dad added, looking more at Mom as he spoke than Eikko and I. "He trained me even more than my father. In a way, he was a second father to me."
"And the Selected that we lost…there are days that I wish I had Celeste to call and be brutally honest with me. She could have ruled the world without even needing a crown or title. She deserved more than a library. I would have named an entire palace after her," Mom said, smiling tearfully, "but apparently it would look bad for the queen to name something so big after one of the king's ex-girlfriends."
Dad smiled with her. "You'll learn. What you decide for your children won't always seem right or easy, but you'll do anything to protect them. We had unchartered territory to navigate. Not only did we start out with twins at a somewhat young age, but no monarchs of Illéa had ever had so many kids." He winked at Mom, who then rolled her eyes.
"Yes, you did very well, Your Royal Husbandness," she said, patting his knee.
"Okay," I cut in before they could get too mushy. "Are we all good here? Reconciled and everything?"
"Yes," Dad laughed, "we're good, Eady."
Eikko took my hand. "You should get to bed. We'll see you in the morning." Mom and dad bid us sweet dreams and told me that they loved me on our way out. "I'm going back to the war room but you should get some sleep," he reinforced. His thumb brushed under my eyes where I knew I had dark circles. "Sleep in this morning."
I raised my eyebrows. "Sleep in?"
"Don't tell me you don't have time. I know you have the time. I've seen the amount of reports that have been on your desk in the morning the past few days – you can sleep an extra hour and still get everything done. Plus, it's your last morning without in-laws."
I groaned and wrinkled my nose. "Ugh, you're right. I guess the baby and I can go sleep for a little bit."
"I'll come wake you," he offered, his hand brushing around my belly button. It was definitely starting to get to be more noticeable that I was pregnant. My cute little bump was slowly starting to turn into a full-blown pregnant belly. I certainly wasn't fitting any of my clothes properly anymore. I could squeeze into some dresses that were more flowey than others but everything looked tight and made me look like I had gained more weight than I really had.
With the start of my second trimester, my energy had returned in leaps and bounds but I was still running a country, meaning that I was still in desperate need of a nap. Unlike before I was pregnant though, advisors were more than happy to let me take a nap if it meant that I was caring for the heir.
At two o'clock sharp, I was taken down to the front doors of the palace where Eikko was waiting beside my parents. I joined them at the top of the steps from the driveway, taking my spot next to Eikko and in front of my parents. "You look beautiful," he remarked as I smoothed my red satin dress nervously, just trying to find something to keep my hands busy.
"I look pregnant," I complained.
"And?" Eikko asked, sounding confused as to why my looking pregnant did not equal my looking beautiful.
"Your mother is going to be able to tell," I whispered, watching to make sure that none of the footmen were close enough to hear me. "She'll know as soon as she sees me that this baby was not conceived eleven weeks ago, like the country thinks. And when she figures that out, it will just prove that I'm a whore who corrupted her son and clearly has no self-control."
He choked on a laugh. I glanced over and the sight of him holding back his laughter made me crack a smile of my own. "There are worse things in life than my mother thinking that you're a whore."
"Like what?"
"Like," he stopped, trying to think of an answer. "Like if you were a vegetarian. My family would immediately disown me if I ever married a vegetarian. Or worse, a vegan."
"Your family, the butchers," I said, smiling still at the thought of it. "Don't worry. I am in no danger of becoming a vegetarian. Quite the opposite actually. I do love veal." Mom and Dad were laughing quietly behind us. "How are you two not freaking out right now?"
Mom rolled her eyes. "You forget that I tried to usurp my in-laws' power on live television before I even had a ring on my finger," she said, sliding her arm through Dad's. "Eikko's parents don't scare me."
"My dear, you wouldn't be scared of an army even if it camped out in the gardens," Dad said.
"As long as they cleaned up after themselves, I would permit them to stay as long as necessary. Honestly, I have very little fear with Aspen here as head of security. He'd never let anything bad happen to me."
"Except for the time you were shot," Dad argued.
I frowned and turned on them. "How do you two talk about that so casually?"
"Because I healed and didn't die," Mom answered.
"It was also the first time I'd ever seen your mother inebriated," Dad added.
My eyebrows rose. "The first time?"
At that moment the gates opened far down the drive and we could hear cars start rumbling on the gravel. I straightened my shoulders and faced forward, glancing sideways. Eikko was straightening the sleeves of his jacket and shirt, playing idly with his cufflinks. I broke custom and stepped in front of him to straighten his tie.
"You'll be fine," I whispered to him.
"I'm not normally wearing a custom-tailored suit when I see my family. I certainly can never expect footmen and maids to be waiting on them hand and foot while they're visiting," he mumbled.
I nodded and smoothed the lapels of his jacket unnecessarily. "You'll be able to go back to simple button-downs tomorrow."
"Until the Christmas ball in two days," he reminded me.
"Yes, well, I'll be wearing an incredibly uncomfortable dress that night while you're wearing your monkey suit," I said, winking.
The cars grew louder as they drove closer to the palace and I reclaimed my spot next to him. As per protocol, Eikko's parents would be in the first car and his sister and brother-in-law in the second car. General Leger claimed that the threat in Swendway wasn't severe enough for Eikko's cousins to be targeted, especially since his family wasn't easy to trace. Apparently farmers weren't as meticulous in keeping records of their family trees as royals were.
The nondescript black cars stopped in front of us, and the footmen opened the doors. Aulis was the first one out, looking at the footmen with a befuddled expression. He was wearing what I assumed was his best blazer and pants with a plain white button-down underneath. He stopped and held his hand out to Lennie so that she could get out. She was wearing a simple sundress with big green flowers on it.
They approached us, seeming unsure about how to act. "Eikko," Aulis greeted, holding his hand out stiffly.
"Isä," Eikko replied.
Lennie's eyes were watery as she took in the front façade of the palace, finally settling on Eikko nervously. "Eikko, your home…" Her voice trailed off as she looked up at it again.
"Well, I can't take any of the credit. It's all Eadlyn's family," he said. She smiled timidly. Sensing that someone needed to take a leap of faith, he stepped forward hugged his mother tightly. Her arms slowly wrapped around him and she clenched her eyes closed, seeming to be relieved to have her son back. "Rakastan sinua, äiti."
He said 'I love you'. I at least knew that much Finnish from him. Lennie wiped her eyes and faced me. "Eadlyn, thank you for inviting us to stay here," she said quietly.
"Of course, Lennie. You are family," I said. There was an awkward beat as she and Al stood in front of us. "Oh! Lennie, Al, these are my parents." I waved a hand back to my parents, standing still behind us.
"Your Majesties," Al greeted. Technically it wasn't proper for him to address them both at the same time but my parents would never dare correct someone who didn't know any better.
"Please, call me Maxon," Dad said, extending his hand.
"And I'm simply America," Mom added. She basically butted between Eikko and I to hug Lennie. Eikko's mother was clearly caught off-guard by my mom being so friendly but Mom was never really one to uphold rules in propriety.
Mom and Dad took Al and Lennie off to the side to continue speaking while Lahja and her husband exited their car. Lahja smiled widely when her eyes landed on Eikko but she surprised me by pulling me into a hug first. "Oh, congratulations, sister!"
I laughed in shock, naturally hugging her back. "Thank you, Lahja," I said to her. "This must be Kaarlo?" I asked, nodding to the man lingering behind her.
"Yes, this is my husband," she confirmed. She took his hand and pulled him toward us.
Kaarlo smiled and bowed slightly. "Hello, Your Majesty," he said to me.
"Call me, Eadlyn, please. I'd introduce you to my parents but they appear to be occupied," I said, peeking over to where they our parents were speaking in a mix of Finnish and English. Mom seemed to have some grasp of the language and Dad contributed what he could.
"Your parents can speak Finnish?" Lahja asked in amazement.
"Mom has a knack for languages – she knows bits of probably ten different languages and is fluent in four. Plus, Dad has family in Swendway as well. They've probably just learned stuff here and there from them," I explained.
"Of course. The royal family of Swendway are…what? Cousins?"
I nodded. "Very distant, but cousins nonetheless. I should really have you all introduced since you live in their country and are my in-laws."
Lahja waved her hand at us. "Please, don't concern yourself with that. We prefer living simply. There's no need for us to be caught up with royalty." She paused, seeming to catch how that could be misunderstood. "I mean, royalty that we are ever so slightly related to."
"I understand," I said sympathetically. "Let's head inside. We can show you to where you'll be staying."
Mom must have overheard me because she looked over and nodded. "Yes, please. I'm afraid our husbands are quickly going down the rabbit hole of American football," she said, steering Lennie toward us.
"Al has always been interested but had no one to explain the rules," Lennie said as we all proceeded up the steps.
The footmen inside the foyer were waiting for us and immediately took over for Mom and I, leading everyone to their guest rooms on the second floor. Eikko lightly pulled on my elbow and kept me back. "You okay?" he asked, his eyes darting between his parents and me.
"I'm tense," I admitted. "I'll feel better after they get settled and we find a routine with them. What about you?" He was my main concern at the moment.
"Well, that went better than I thought it would. But you're right. I'll breathe better in a few days," he agreed, rubbing my shoulder. "We don't need to go to dinner tonight, do we?"
I gave him a look. "Yes. Otherwise your sister and Kaarlo will be left on their own while our parents become best friends. Honestly, how did they do that? Your parents hate me and now they're on their way to being BFFs with the people who raised me."
Eikko laughed and held on to my hand as we followed behind his family and my parents at a slower pace. "They don't hate you. They just hate that I'm married to you and they don't trust how we fell in love. Maybe now that we've been married for a few months and we have a baby on the way, they'll go easier on us."
"Sounds like wishful thinking to me," I mumbled.
Over the next few days though, his parents were clearly making the effort to extend an olive branch. It was obvious though that my parents were the ones facilitating the reconciliation the most. Dad took Al, Eikko and Kaarlo hunting one afternoon while us ladies had a bit of a spa day. I didn't have that much time to spare and had to duck out earlier but I was at least getting to know my husband's family better. Lahja proved to be indispensable with her wealth of embarrassing childhood stories about Eikko.
The real test would be our Christmas ball. It had been tradition for the last fifteen years for Mom and Dad to host a ball on the twenty-third of December, celebrating with dignitaries and prominent politicians in Illéa. It was more of a state event than a ball honestly. Dad had used it multiple times to negotiate tax cuts with mayors and discuss trade deals with visiting monarchs. Part of me also always suspected that it was a big distraction for Mom since it was the anniversary of her father passing away.
As was custom, Dad started the evening off with a speech wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and would showcase some of his terrible jokes if Mom hadn't read his speech beforehand. Eikko decided to give me the night off and took on Dad's role of doing the opening speech. The afternoon before the ball, after visiting the Great Room to make sure everything was in order, Eikko stood in our bedroom and read several different speeches for me.
I sat on the end of our bed, listening patiently while eating some of the food that would be served that night in my silk robe. I never got the chance to eat a lot at these types of things since people always wanted to talk to me. Apparently, it didn't matter whether or not queens ate when foreign policy was on the table. My hair and makeup was done. All I needed to do what it was time to get ready was put on my dress and crown. He was wearing his dress pants but just his undershirt. What he didn't know about his outfit for the night was that it included one of his Christmas presents from me: a shiny new, personally designed crown.
"What did you think?" he asked apprehensively.
I raised my eyebrows. I hadn't realized that I was so focused on the pumpkin bread pudding on my plate that I stopped listening. "Um…"
"You didn't listen," he said in defeat.
"No," I admitted. "So it must be boring."
He groaned. "Eadlyn, I need to figure out my speech. The ball begins in an hour."
"Okay, okay. Pass me your cards." He handed me the small stack of index cards he had been holding. There were several different colors in the stack with each of his speeches being color-coded. I quickly scanned them. "The green one is way too dry. The blue one sounds a bit like you're trying too hard to promote world peace."
"World peace is a good thing, right?"
"You're speaking to a room full of kings, presidents, and ambassadors. Most of those people are currently are war with either North Africa or New Asia. Do not stand up in front of them and tell them that this is the time of year to…" I stopped as I looked for the right quote. "…'lay down arms and be united in felicity'. Who wrote that?" I asked in disgust.
"Me."
My eyes flicked up to meet his apologetically. "Sorry. Can't a simple Merry Christmas suffice?"
"Did your dad ever simply wish everyone a merry Christmas?"
"No, but you're not my dad."
Eikko chewed on his lips in frustration, not looking even in my direction as he contemplated that. "Am I not? I don't know who I'm supposed to be, honestly. Your father was the king, of course I'll never be him. Your mom…she was her own queen. I wear your father's crowns, sit on your mother's thrones; what is my legacy?"
"You're Eikko Koshinen de Schreave."
"Eadlyn, no one recognizes my last name. Do you see the papers? I'm simply Prince Eikko de Schreave. I'm your shadow."
I put my fork and plate down on our bed and slid to the floor, crossing the room to stand in front of him. He still wasn't meeting my eyes so I put my hand on his cheek to direct his gaze toward me. "Hey, remember that time I told you that all I'll ever be is Her Majesty the Queen? And you told me that I'm Eadlyn and that I mean infinitely more to you?" I shook my head. "I don't remember the exact words but you told me that I'm so much more than a queen to you. You're more than my prince consort."
"Then help me write a speech that proves it. I don't want to be some mannequin in a suit that has no feelings," he said, his voice bordering on desperation.
I sighed and went back to where the note cards were on the duvet. "The yellow speech." He seemed surprised but I pressed them into his hands. "Trust me."
There was a soft knock on the door. "Your Majesty?"
"Come in," I called back to Eloise.
She curtsied when she entered, dressed in her finest uniform. Maids changed uniforms with the seasons and any current events occurring. They wore light blue in the spring and black during the week following a death in the royal family. For the holidays, they wore a deep blue but right around Christmas they had navy dresses with silver embroidery around the collars and sleeves. "We must get you ready for the ball now, ma'am."
"Thank you Eloise. I'll meet you in my closet." I turned to face Eikko again. "You'll be okay?"
"Just stay with me," he said.
"Even while I'm getting dressed?" I couldn't help but ask, feeling slightly mischievous. After all, we'd had an excessive amount of time together over the last few days and it made me all the more grateful for marrying such a wonderful man, not mention more attracted to him when I realized how much I was missing out on everyday.
He smirked and kissed my forehead. "As much as I would like to say yes, no. I'll have to meet my butler and finish getting ready myself. I'll find you when I'm done since I will probably finish before you."
"Probably." I kissed him one last time and walked to my closet where Eloise was opening the various jewelry boxes that had been brought up from the vault earlier in the day. "Nothing too much, right? I wouldn't want to outshine the Christmas tree." Really I didn't want to look too gaudy in front of Eikko's parents.
Eloise had me put on the silk slip that would go underneath my gown as she unzipped the garment bag. Inside was an exquisite black, empire waist gown with red, gold and green embellishments on the shoulders and the ends of the long, sheer sleeves. A black silk belt with more jeweled accents in one cluster would go at the top of my waist, right above where my belly was protruding.
"Eloise, it's gorgeous," I gushed. I lifted it into my hands, feeling how light the fabric was with on my fingertips and nearly groaning in pleasure. I could already tell that it would keep me nice and cool throughout a long night of dancing in a heated warm.
Eloise blushed. "Thank you, ma'am. Neena and Paige assisted me with the design. Paige has been helping me quite a bit with designing dresses that will flatter your new figure."
"Well, let's see how it fits then," I said excitedly.
It fit spectacularly. It was probably the most beautiful I had felt since starting to gain weight. Eloise was fastening my gold earrings in when Eikko knocked on the door to my closet. He whistled as his eyes swept me up and down. I blushed and waited for him to say something but he was apparently struggling for words with the way his mouth kept opening and closing. Finally he coughed and said, "Eloise, you're torturing me."
"I would never do such a thing," Eloise squeaked out. "I'm merely making my queen look her best." She opened the larger box that housed the gold tiara I would be wearing. It was a gold tiara with diamonds and rubies set in it. Mom said it was one of the first tiaras given to her by my father after they got married. It was smaller than most of my tiaras but for some reason, I always felt my most royal when I wore it.
"Hey, Eadlyn, I'm not complaining or anything because they are massively uncomfortable but, where's my crown?" Eikko asked awkwardly.
"Eloise, did you bring up that package I asked you to?"
Eloise put the last pin in place to hold my tiara on and stepped away to admire her work. "I put it on your bookshelf, ma'am."
I turned and smiled to Eikko innocently. "Check the bookshelf."
He came back a few moments later, a large red box in his hands. "Eadlyn…" he began, sounding suspicious and slightly confused.
I stepped away from my mirror and took the box from him, lifting the lid toward me so that he could see it. He gasped slightly as he took in the new gold crown that matched my tiara with its diamond and ruby accents. "You're not my father so I figured that it's time you start building your own crown collection. You have the one from your coronation but you can't exactly where that thing to a state dinner. This one is a bit more casual and it matches mine."
Eikko took a deep breath, his fingers brushing over the gold as he stared at the crown in my hands. "Let's see how it fits," Eloise said from behind me. She placed her gloves on again that were specifically designated for handling our jewelry and carefully placed the crown on Eikko's head, twisting it until it settled on his dark curls. "Perfect."
I smiled as he reached up and touched it, testing out the feel of it. "Perfect," I repeated.
Eloise started fastening the crown with the same pins she used for my tiaras, carefully moving his curls in and out of the way so that they weren't matted down. When she was finished, she stepped away to inspect both of us. "Well, I believe you're both ready for the ball."
We stood by the entrance to the Great Room and greeted every single guest. It was considered proper to arrive on time so that guests could speak with us. Anyone arriving late would miss the chance to meet us. When it was time for the ball to officially get under way, Eikko and I walked to the front of the room where the orchestra was playing on a platform. He took his spot behind the microphone and I stayed down off the platform, standing with my mom and his parents. I thought I had seen Dad running around somewhere with his cousins kids.
"Don't you want to be up there with him?" Mom asked me as the musicians stopped playing and the room turned to face Eikko, waiting for him to start speaking.
"No," I answered, not once taking my eyes off of him. "This is his moment." Her hand wrapped around my elbow comfortingly as she beamed at me.
"Good evening," Eikko said, digging one hand in his pocket while holding both his index cards and champagne in the other. "Thank you all for attending this small, intimate gathering," he said, eliciting a few quiet chuckles from the guests. "Most of you have actually spent more Christmases at the palace than I have so, good on you. Christmas is actually one of my favorite times of the year. Growing up, my parents always volunteered to work at the immigrant community center, where we would serve people a warm dinner for the evening and sing traditional Swendish carols. We just wanted to make everyone feel at home, especially those who had spent so much to move here and then had so little to celebrate with. This year, I don't want that tradition to end. My parents and I may be here at the palace for this Christmas but I still want to make someone's holiday season special. I would like to encourage all of you, here tonight, to donate to a local community center. It can be anything: food, clothes, games, or toys. Just do something good for someone this year and maybe by taking this small step toward loving everyone and making our beautiful country even better." Murmurs echoed through the room as Eikko raised his glass. "Here's to a very merry Christmas with those we love and those we ought to love just a little bit more."
Everyone else followed suit and toasted. My heart swelled with pride as Mom took a small sip of champagne. A guard was standing just a few feet from her. Apparently, right after the massacre, Dad had commanded for Mom to always have a guard close by her just in case. I remembered her always having a guard nearby when I was really little but I guess that once she had Kaden and had to be moving around so much chasing us through the palace, that died down. Since her heart attack though, Dad had reinstituted it. Tonight it came in handy so that she could pass her flute off to him after taking a couple sips.
"That was…" she stopped, words failing her for once.
"It was fantastic," I supplied her.
She looked at me, tears in her eyes. "Eadlyn, I don't know how many of these people will actually take his advice but those who will…people's lives will be changed because of it. I can't believe we didn't have cameras here to show that speech to the world."
"That's exactly why he gave that speech tonight. He didn't want to do it in front of the cameras. It's not about the publicity for him. He really just wants to make the world a better place."
"We never thought of doing that," Mom said pensively.
"And you wouldn't have. Eikko had a different upbringing than even you. It's made him into a different person, a different ruler. It's because of your work to establish all of those community centers that he can even do this." I put a hand on her shoulder while watching Eikko come toward me out of the corner of my eye. "You and Dad did so many great things for this country. Let us have our turn."
She laughed and sniffed, blinking back tears. "If you say so. Now, I need to go find your father so that we can have our dance."
I turned in time for Eikko to sneak an arm around my waist, pulling me close. I could see how nervous he was with the way that his smile was tight on his face. "How was that?"
"Just how you practiced," I said, pecking him on the lips.
"Do you think people will actually do it?" he asked, this seeming to be what he was worried about most.
"Not everyone, but there are plenty of generous and altruistic guests here tonight. My mom said that no matter how many people donate, lives will be changed because of that speech." I reached up and smoothed some of his curls away from his face and he started chuckling. "What?"
"Nothing. That's just a very maternal touch you have there."
I sighed and tried to be annoyed but he was smiling so adorably that I couldn't not smile back. "Get used to it."
The conductor of the small orchestra that was providing our music for the evening tapped his stand, calling the room to attention for the first dance. "That's our cue," Eikko said, pulling me to the middle of the floor. He tucked his cards into his breast pocket and we assumed a traditional ballroom frame, ready for an easy waltz. He wasn't quite comfortable with the steps like I was since I had been doing waltzes my whole life but he was definitely starting to catch on more.
As we spun around the floor with what felt like the eyes of the world upon us, he whispered, "Next year, I'll get to dance with both of my girls."
"How do you know we are having a girl?" I asked.
"You called the baby a she the other night. It felt right," he answered simply. "Do you think it's a girl? Any mother's intuition?"
"I wouldn't call it mother's intuition. More like…an inevitability."
"Inevitability?" he repeated.
"It seems only right that with your obsession over me, you'd end up with a family full of daughters," I told him.
He shrugged slightly but not so much that our frame would be thrown off. "I'm sure your parents thought the same thing."
"No, I don't think so. You see, my parents lives are defined by irony. It's only right that they amended the laws of inheritance, had a girl as their firstborn, and then followed it up by three boys."
"Ironic, huh? You don't see anything ironic about marrying someone not in your Selection?"
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. I simply leaned forward, closer than we should have been for a waltz. It was the holiday season though. I figured that if we could get away with being a bit more touchy than usual, it would be during the time of year where families naturally grew closer. "Not at all."
In the midst of our conversation, Mom and Dad had joined us on the dance floor, sharing the first dance with us. They had completely abandoned the steps for the waltz though. Mom had never been much of a dancer. I guess since they weren't ruling anymore and bound by such strict rules of propriety, they didn't care to try to dance properly. They simply swayed together, having their own private conversation like us.
The song ended and Eikko bowed to me, a simple nod of his head, and then we moved off of the floor in pursuit of his parents. "There are so many people here," I said as we walked. "It feels like more than usual."
"We greeted every guest. All one hundred and seventeen of them," he said. He was looking around though, frowning slightly.
"Did we say hi to that guy with the mustache?"
"Isn't that Lord Ivan of New Asia?"
"No, Lord Ivan hibernates during the winter. He only comes to summer parties. I don't think we greeted that guy."
Eikko placed his hand on my back, guiding me along. "Well, he must have snuck in late."
"How rude," I muttered.
Lennie and Lahja were standing off to the side, clearly feeling out of place but putting on brave faces anyway. "Mom, Lahja, you both look beautiful," Eikko said. He gave both of them chaste cheek kisses when we reached them, even stopping to embrace Lahja.
"Eikko, tell me that you party like this every week," Lahja said, her eyes wide as she took in the sparkling Great Room.
Eikko coughed out a laugh. "No, thank goodness. It's exhausting. This is actually one of our most casual balls of the year since we only invite our closest allies and friends. We don't have as much of an obligation to speak with everyone."
"There are over one hundred people here easily," Lennie said, eyes sweeping the crowd nervously.
"My family has a lot of friends," I answered. "Where are Kaarlo and Al?"
Lennie laughed slightly. "Your father mentioned something about introducing them to that quarterback that's here."
"Oh, perfect." The invite list was kept primarily to people involved with politics or business but Dad did have a pension for coercing Mom to invite pro football players. Apparently Eikko had kept them on the list.
Raelynn approached me, her most formal clipboard in hand, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Your Majesty, there are some people that you must dance with before the night is over and seeing as you were planning on leaving early…"
"Right. Let's get it over with." I waved goodbye to Lennie and Lahja and squeezed Eikko's hand before moving toward the fringes of the dance floor. "Who do we have for tonight?"
"Your mother has spared you from dancing with Mayor Pulk but you do need to dance with Count Vernon of Calais," Raelynn informed me, checking her list. "And we will go from there."
I spotted Count Vernon in the opposite corner and approached him, offering my hand to him in a dance. From there on, I danced with about four nobles and two ambassadors, quickly losing track of conversations. Luckily, for Christmas, we didn't need to discuss anything too serious. Just a lot of family anecdotes and hearing people's plans for the holiday season. As the night wore on, more guests started whisking me into dances. Raelynn gave me a thumbs-up from afar, assuring me that I was doing an excellent job of spreading the love.
Then I was spun into a new set of arms.
Suddenly, I was looking up into the eyes of my new partner: Marid Illéa. The trimmed beard and slicked back hair provided him with a good enough disguise. My blood still boiled as soon as his hand pressed against my waist.
"Good evening, Your Majesty," he greeted, smiling widely at him.
"What are you doing here, Marid?" I growled through gritted teeth. The dance floor was packed with couples doing a more complicated version of the waltz and I was in the center, making it practically impossible for anyone to get a good eye on myself and my partner. I could only hope that guards were watching the camera directly overhead, planted in the chandelier and that they could recognize Marid through that. More importantly, the crowd made it impossible for me to escape. As I looked around, with a strike of panic, I realized that I didn't recognize half of the people dancing. They were Marid's posse, sneaking in late to the party throughout the night so that they could be a curtain for him.
"I thought that the time has come for us to talk," he said as if he was reporting the weather for the week.
I snorted. "You've done plenty of talking, believe me. I'm not sure there's much more that needs to be said except for my reminding you that you are wanted by dozens of municipalities throughout Illéa for treason."
His eyebrows drew together as a mocking portrayal of seriousness covered his face. "Well, it does appear that way yet the public still worships me. Any reason for you being terrified of announcing me as a public shame to the throne?"
"I'm sure you know my reasons."
"Sure, but it is still working in my favor. Tell me, Eadlyn—"
"—Your Majesty—"
"—what exactly are your plans for this election for prime minister?"
My heart sunk down into my stomach. "What?"
"The election that will occur in a little under two years from now. The election that any prominent member of Illéa could run for Prime Minister and maybe even win, thus giving them the power to rule over Illéa while you stroll through fields of wildflowers with your beloved husband and child."
"That's not how it's going to work. The Prime Minister will have responsibility for domestic affairs while the monarchy continues to—"
"—shmooze with all of your friends in Europe while pretending to be arranging trade negotiations?"
"No," I said firmly.
Marid ignored me and kept plowing on. "You know, I initially thought that this constitutional monarchy thing was a bad idea. It looked like something that you were doing just to put more people between the common citizen and the royal line. Now, though, I've realized that I can get closer than ever. You may feel insulated by this new government, Queenie, but you have actually allowed me to get to this position that is right next to you, your closest confidante and partner. Maybe even closer than your prince consort."
Through a break in heads and shoulders, I caught a glimpse of Eikko and he was frowning in both concern and confusion, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Please, Eikko, go find a guard. Get me out of here, I pleaded with my eyes. Marid was quick to spin me away. "You can't become Prime Minister," I told him.
"Why not? In case you haven't noticed yet, the people love me. They will vote for me. Whoever you put up against me, I will crush them in a popularity contest."
"Why do you want to do this? You said you don't want the crown. Why PM?"
He pulled me close so that I was completely flush against him, his arm trapping me there. It was too tight and not comfortable at all. My stomach was smashed between us and I couldn't get full breaths. "Because it is time for you royals to realize that you cannot continue to bully us. We will rise up and overwhelm you, just like my parents did. It's time you learn what it's like to be the one that's oppressed relentlessly. I'm a ruler of the people. You're nothing but a figurehead that's dressed up for photo ops and good press."
"You'll never get away with this," I hissed.
"Princess," he murmured like he was singing a lullaby. "You said that last May and here I am, standing in your home, surrounded by a dozen of my most faithful followers, a war raging across the ocean, and on the verge of being elected by the people to rule them. Forgive me for not believing you."
"You're surrounded by royal guards that are under orders to kill you on site."
"And what a tragedy that would be," he sang out. There was no more humor in his eyes, only a passive hostility. "Ah, right on time. It's time for me to take my leave."
"What?" I asked, drawing my face back further to try to discern what he was saying.
Behind me, a woman shouted. "Help! Help, my husband is having a heart attack!"
Those words struck like lightning through the Great Room. With a queen who had just had a heart attack, every head in the room turned to find the source of the commotion. Suddenly I was able to breathe again and I turned, nothing but air left where Marid had just been standing, suffocating me slowly.
Eikko sprinted to my side. "Where'd he go?" I gasped out, my hand fluttering to my neck as I took full breaths again.
"Who?"
"Marid. He was just here!" I exclaimed. Tears swelled in my eyes as my frustration grew. He was right there in front of me. How could he have gotten away? My answer was found in the corner where the woman who had shouted for help was surrounded by nearly every guard in the room.
General Leger emerged from the crowd and came toward us. "Not a heart attack, just heart burn. Jesus, how do you mix up the two?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Arrest them both," I ordered, not taking my eyes off of the woman. Eikko's hand closed around my elbow.
"Eadlyn—"
"Arrest them," I repeated when none of the guards around me were moving. "Marid was just here. That was a diversion created by him so that he could escape."
General Leger gasped, his anger palpable. "Marid was here?"
"Right here, dancing with me, trying to suffocate me. Those two were part of it!" I cried, pointing at the woman. Guests were starting to look in my direction, more curious about what was disturbing the queen than whatever health problems that woman's supposed husband was facing.
"Eadlyn, let's go into the alcove," Eikko suggested as he sensed a full breakdown coming on. He didn't leave me much of a choice though. He dragged me to the side door of the Great Room that had guards stationed around it, a private alcove meant purely for royal family members to escape to if they needed to touch up their makeup or take a break from the madness of parties. He sat me down on a plush couch and knelt in front of me, my face tight in both of his hands. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Think so."
"Did he hurt you?"
I shook my head, looking down into my lap. "He just was holding me so tight. I felt like I couldn't breathe and the baby…" I started sobbing, collapsing forward to fold over my legs. He sat next to me on the sofa, both of his arms coming around me as I swayed and sobbed. "He hates us so much. I don't know what I did or how I can make it better."
"We won't let him get away with this," Eikko vowed. "We'll get him, Eadlyn. He's here in Angeles. It's a mousetrap for him. We can get him this time."
"I really hope we do," I said, meeting his eyes, "because I don't know if our country can handle it if he gets free again."