Coronation Celebration

"Logan, please don't go!" Milena begged, holding onto his arm, "You promised you'd stay! And it's my birthday next month! What if you don't get back in time?"

The king laughed and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Don't worry. I wouldn't miss it for the world," he kissed her on the forehead and poked her nose, just as he always did when they were children, "A young lady only turns sixteen once, right?"

She giggled.

Looking over his shoulder, the young princess saw the group of soldiers her brother was taking as his guard. She recognised some of them from his previous adventures, though their names escaped her, and she trusted them with all her heart, but there was something inside her that was telling her that Logan wasn't going to be able to keep his promise.

"Why can't this expedition wait until after my birthday?" she asked, resting her cheek against his chest.

He tightened his grip around her. "Too many people have disappeared after travelling over to Aurora within the past year. If I put it off much longer, I might end up having a rebellion on my hands! And who knows, there might even be a few people living over there!"

Milena's eyes lit up. "Like in the Mistpeak mountains?"

The king laughed. "Yes, like in the Mistpeak mountains. But how am I supposed to find them with you holding onto me like this?"

Squeezing him tight for the last time, she released him, running back to the top of the stairs before she could change her mind, turning back to see her brother waving goodbye, a wide smile on his lips.

Little did she know it would be the last time king Logan would smile for almost four years…

Milena woke with a start, the memory of her brother, the brother she'd had before he'd left for Aurora, the one that had missed her birthday, weighing heavily on her mind. Could he ever be like that again, or had the Crawler taken that away from him? And what would happen to Ben? He'd been affected by the darkness too. Would he end up like Logan had?

Shaking her head, she rid her mind of such thoughts, reminding herself what day it was.

Today was the day she became the queen of Albion.

It had been a week since Logan had been overthrown, and once the remainder of his army had been rounded up, the castle had been in a state of chaos.

Who knew that so much had to happen in order for the coronation to take place?

First, all the invitations had to be written and sent to all the respectable families, then the castle had to be cleaned, the crown polished, guards chosen and inspected, music prepared for the ball that would happen afterwards…

Well, now it was all finished with, and the grand finale was about to begin.

Pulling herself out of her large, soft bed, she made her way over to the chair where one of the maids had lain out the outfit she was to wear that day.

After the first morning, where a servant had arrived to pick out her clothes, Milena had made sure that, unless it was for special occasions, such as today, then she would have free reign over what she wore, no matter what anyone else said. Of course, that had upset a number of the staff, something about going against tradition or something, but she wouldn't allow other people to dress her up like some kind of doll!

However, she had to admit, this outfit wasn't so bad, though the fir did seem a little much.

Just as she was pulling on her boots, a quiet knock came from the door.

"Come in."

Slowly, the left door swung open and Walter entered the room, carrying an apple in his free hand, several bandages winding their way around his fingers.

Unsurprisingly, the rebellion had done nothing to improve the condition of the knight's hand. In fact, he had been told not to use it for a few days as soon as the doctors had had a look at it, and he had found those few days almost unbearable, but now it was strong enough for him to perform his task.

"Good morning, you majesty," he greeted her with a curt bow, smiling at her, "Are you ready?"

She smiled at him. "My stomach's decided to go to sea, but other than that…"

The knight laughed. "Here, eat this," he threw the apple at her, which she caught in her gloved hands, "It might help it to settle."

"Thanks Walter," she said, taking a bite out of it.

"Bah! Don't mention it," he replied, taking a seat on the chaise longue next to the window.

They sat there, in a comfortable silence for the remainder of the existence of the apple, which was indeed helping Milena's stomach to settle, but as soon as she'd finished, they had to leave.

The crowd awaited them.

Ben Finn had never seen so many people gathered in one place in his entire life! Everyone who was anyone, and everyone who wasn't, had turned up, waving flags in the air and cheering like there was no tomorrow.

Standing just outside the entrance of the castle was not something he had been expecting to do, and so he'd made a bit of an effort in his appearance.

His uniform had been washed, his shoes de-mudified (there was no way they would ever be able to shine again) and his weapons… well, they were always clean, so he just ended up polishing them a little. He'd even had a bath! He hadn't bathed in… ever! But Walter had insisted, so…

He moved his weight onto his right foot, his left having gone numb from standing on it for too long.

When was she going to…?

The doors swung open and the cheers turned into a roar.

Sir Walter and Jasper, a man he had met only a few days before, walked over to the edge of the balcony, the knight, picking up the crown that a young boy was holding on a red velvet pillow.

And there she was.

Milena seemed to almost float across the floor, her movements as graceful as a swan's. She seemed to glow in the radiance of the bright sunlight as she stood, proud and tall in front of her loyal subjects.

As she passed him, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled at her and raised his fist; a quiet sign of victory. She returned the smile and continued on her way, stopping in front of Walter, who raised the crown over her head.

Slowly, he lowered it down, placing it where it belonged, and turned to face the crowd. "All hail, the Queen of Albion!"

The people cheered their approval as the trumpets blared.

The newly crowned Queen remained on the balcony for almost ten minutes before she was finally ushered inside by one of her many servants, away to the next part of the ceremony, the part he'd been dreading since he's heard about it; the ball.

Ben could never really understand such formalities, and didn't have much of a taste for them. As a result, he'd never attended one, and hadn't been planning on doing so for as long as he lived, but now he was the highest ranking officer in the Swift brigade (don't think about it), he had no choice but to go.

Avo save him. He didn't even know how to dance!

At least… not in that fancy pants kind of way.

As he made his way inside, he couldn't help but think of the nightmare he'd had the previous night; dancing with some faceless woman (with and amazing body), but he was always falling over his own feet, and everyone was laughing at him. Laughing and pointing. Even Walter and Milena.

He was going to make sure nothing like that happened and stay away from the dance floor, chat up some of the women maybe, or just try out some of the hors d'oeuvres or whatever they were called. Either way, he was going to make sure he wasn't going to dance.

Milena was let away, back to her room, where a maid was still laying out her gown.

It was a deep red, the neck line low enough to show her breast, but high enough to keep too much cleavage from showing. The arms puffed out at the shoulders and stopped mid-way down her upper arm, the gloves silken and long, almost meeting the sleeves, their darker hew covering the signs of her gauntlets. The skirt of the dress was long enough to meet the floor, so she would be able to keep her boots on (she hated heels).

Overall, it was quite a nice dress. Not exactly one she'd wear if given the choice, but she didn't have one, so she put it on without a fuss.

Once she'd finished changing, two bizarrely dressed women entered, their faces caked in make-up, stating that they were to 'make her pretty'.

They started with her hair. They combed it, brushed it, sprayed it with horrid smelling perfume and tied it up in an oddly neat bun, leaving a bang to hang slightly over her face. When they came to her face though, Milena made them stop.

If what their idea of 'pretty' is a face caked in prosthetics, then there was no way she was going to let them touch her!

After she finally managed to get them to leave, she collapsed on her bed, careful to make sure her hair remained intact.

Oh for the day to be over already.

Sighing, the Queen heaved herself to her feet, took a deep breath, put on a smile, and made her way to the ball room.

As soon as the doors opened, she felt her heart jump into her throat.

"Queen Milena, the monarch and ruler of Albion!" the herald cried, bringing everyone's attention towards her. Every… single…

Oh... Avo protect her…

One step at a time, Milena made her way through the now silent room, hundreds of unfamiliar eyes following her. She could hear the whispers of some of the younger members of the bourgeoisie, though those voices were soon silenced by their parents. It was only when she was in the centre of the crowd that she recognised anyone.

Walter stepped forwards, holding his arm out for her to hold. Smiling, she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, and let him lead her towards the centre of the room, where a large space had been left.

Suddenly, an orchestra struck its first notes, and Walter separated himself from her, stepping in front of her, giving her a low bow.

"Would you care to dance?" he asked, holding out his good hand.

Milena smiled. "Walter, nothing would please me more."

It was a waltz.

At least he thought it was.

One two three, one two three…

Yeah, definitely a waltz.

And the princess looked beautiful.

…Queen… right, yes, of course.

For some reason, Ben had found himself keeping out of the way of the pretty, buxom women that had tried to surround him, which was decidedly out of character for him, and was currently leaning against the wall next to one of the many windows, nibbling on what looked like a cake, but tasted like mashed potatoes and carrots. Was there anything that wasn't deceiving in Milena's world?

It had been a few hours since the ball had begun, and the sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows into the hall, though the candles and chandeliers were keeping the room well lit.

Looking out of the window, he could see some of the servants dancing in the garden, bright smiles on their faces.

Now that was where he belonged, not in here with the people he had despised for almost his entire life. He longed to be with outside, in the safety of the shadows, far from the scrutinising eyes of propriety.

As the music came to a stop, a light applause filled the room before the next dance began, and the floor began to fill up with dancing couples.

Moving closer to the windows, Ben looked out over the city. In some parts, the firs were still burning, and in others, families were searching for a place to stay for the night. It didn't seem right that he'd helped cause their poverty, and yet he stood in luxury.

He tilted his head slightly as he heard the familiar sound of boots scuffing the ground.

"It's horrible, isn't it."

He looked over at the princess briefly before returning his attention to the city. "It's the results of our actions. No matter what we would have done, there would always have been casualties."

Milena nodded silently and looked out of her castle, her face frowning in deep thought.

Moments later, she shook her head and turned to the captain. "On a lighter note, I haven't seen you on the dance floor yet."

Ben smirked, looking down at his feet. "I… Well, it's not that I don't want to, it's just… well, you see…"

She nodded. "I see."

They stood there for a moment, staring into the nothingness between them, until Milena seemed to make a decision.

Taking his hand in hers, she smiled. "I'll teach you!"

"What? No, princess, I…"

It was too late. Her mind was made up. And as he had learnt in the deserts of Aurora, once her mind had settled on an idea, she wouldn't let it go. Stubborn woman…

She pulled him through the remaining aristocrats that were in the middle of their dance and found a space on the floor, pulling his left hand down onto her waist and his right into her own about level with their shoulders as she put her left hand on his shoulder. He could feel his himself blushing as the blood rushed to his cheeks.

"Now, you step forwards with your left foot…"

He looked down at his feet, trying to follow her movements, but the dress made it impossible to see where she was going.

He stepped on her skirt.

"Sorry!"

She laughed. "I don't like it that much either."

He smirked, but kept his eyes down. Where do I go next?

Ben stepped forwards as she did, and he ended up stepping on her foot. He tried to let go of her. It was all going wrong. Just like he knew it would.

"Ben, look at me."

He followed the order, and found himself staring into the face of a happy woman.

"That's why I wore my boots."

He smirked. "I thought Queens only wore soft shoes. With high heels."

"Then you don't know very many Queens then, do you," she pulled his hands back into position, "This time, I want you to watch me, not my feet. Let ,e guide you."

He nodded again, resisting the urge to look down.

"Okay, left… right… right…"

Ben let her guide him with her hands, pulling him this way and that, following her instructions as she said them. To say the rest of the dance went off without a hitch would be lying. There were a few more stumbles, an almost collapse or two, but by the time it had finished, they were both smiling and standing.

Bowing to his dance partner as she curtsied, the captain reflected on how well it had gone.

No one was laughing, or pointing, and he had finished the dance without too many accidents. And… it had been fun.

"Well, captain Benjamin Finn of the Swift brigade riffles, I think we'll make a dancer of you yet," Milena said, turning away before the next dance began.

He grinned. "We'll see, princess. We'll see."

AN - Huzzah! Another chapter!

I was kind of hoping to finish it a bit sooner, but I got a little caught up in playing the game. It's so hard trying to make about eight million gold! It takes forever!

Well, here it is! I hope you like it. I've started the next chapter, but I don't know when it'll be finished.

Until next time!