Blackagar had effectively been acting as king for months before he was finally crowned before the public. The coronation was relatively brief and very obviously rehearsed. There were no surprises, nothing that might catch the young king off-guard. He had shown remarkable control since the death of his parents, but he and his all advisors agreed that it was wise to play it safe.

No one was surprised that Maximus and the king's cousins were all there for the ceremony. However, it was the first time many people had seen the red-haired young woman who had become a translator for Black Bolt's sign language. She always stayed at his side and just a step behind, watching if he had anything to say and speaking on his behalf.

Black Bolt sat up nervously in his bed and turned to face the girl sitting on a soft cushion beside it. 'You're sure about this?' he signed with concern in his eyes.

Medusa sighed. "For the hundredth time, yes," she insisted. "It's going to be alright. I promise."

He looked at her and bit his lip. 'How can you be so sure?'

"I trust you."

He looked skeptical. His hands started out signing slowly, but after a moment, she could barely keep up. 'You have never feared me. Maybe you should. I killed my parents. I am a threat to everyone around me. Someone else should do this; I don't want to hurt you.'

She shook her head, her beautiful hair flowing about in a way that made his heart jump into his throat. "I told you the day we met that I'm not afraid of you," she reminded him. "You've come so far since then. You have the self control. I know it." She tilted her head to the side inquiringly. "Don't you want to get out of here?" She gestured around the Quiet Room, which, despite a bed and some personal belongings gathered around the center, still felt so stark and cold.

'I get out every day now,' the king signed defensively.

"But not at night. Wouldn't you like to sleep in your own room in the palace?"

He looked down with a grimace. 'Maybe this is my room now.'

She leaned forward and grasped his hands in her own. "No," she insisted. "You will live a normal life as much as you possibly can. That's why we created this sign language—so you can communicate without having to write everything down. And that's why we're going to prove that you are not a danger to Attilan, even when you're unconscious—so you can sleep in the royal chambers without fear."

Black Bolt took a deep breath and nodded. 'If I start to move, you will wake me,' he commanded.

"You mean if you seem like you're having a dream? You're afraid that's when you'll make a sound." He nodded in response, and she placed a reassuring hand on his cheek. He hoped she couldn't tell that his heart skipped a beat. "I promise I will wake you up if that seems to be the case," she affirmed. "Now take a moment to clear your mind, and then go to sleep. We can't argue about this all night. It'll only be worse if you're over-tired."

Okay. With a deep breath, he laid down again, got settled, and closed his eyes. 'Good night,' he signed without opening his eyes.

"Sleep well. I'll be right here in the morning."

And she was.

Black Bolt didn't sleep in the Quiet Room anymore. It had been established that he could contain his voice even in his sleep. Still, there was always a guard in his room just in case. The young king was still terrified that he might cry out if he had a nightmare. But he didn't have nightmares. Meditation helped with that.

The room instead became a place for Black Bolt to go when he wanted to be alone and clear his head. He enjoyed the silence, especially after council meetings or public appearances left him feeling overwhelmed. It was difficult to be in a world where everyone else could so easily make their voices heard—sometimes all at once and very loudly—while he had to remain silent. If it weren't for Medusa always watching out for him and speaking for him, he felt that, despite being the king, he might easily be ignored for his lack of a voice.

As it happened, the Quiet Room also became a good place for planning and plotting, when secrecy was required. One day, young Black Bolt summoned his cousin Karnak to meet him there. Karnak was not only one of his most trusted friends and advisors, but he also understood his sign language better than anyone other than Medusa, as long as he stuck with more basic words.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Black Bolt motioned for Karnak to come closer and then made a circular motion and pointed to his ring finger. Karnak thought for a moment and then said, "A ring? You want a ring?"

Black Bolt nodded and made the sign for "two". 'Like my parents,' he clarified.

Karnak nodded. Obviously the former king and queen's rings were gone along with them, but new ones could be made easily enough. They had both worn simple silver bands bearing the insignia of their royal house. While they had not always been popular with everyone in Attilan, most people could agree that their obvious love and devotion to one another was admirable.

Then the realization dawned on Karnak, and a smile spread across his face. "Are you planning a proposal, Black Bolt?" he asked conspiratorially. It was obvious, at least to anyone who knew the king well, just how Black Bolt felt about Medusa. Honestly, all of the royal cousins had seen this coming for some time now.

The young king smiled shyly and nodded. 'I will need your help.'

"Of course! I will have the rings made right away, and I will make sure it's a secret. When do you want to ask her?"

'As soon as I am able.'

"Well, getting rings won't take long at all. We just have to work out the rest of the details. Where will you ask her? It should be someplace special…."

Black Bolt shrugged. There was a reason he wanted Karnak's help. Anyone in the palace could order rings to be crafted for the king. But planning was his cousin's specialty. He signed, 'Somewhere… alone.'

"For a king's proposal," Karnak reminded him, "there should be witnesses."

Black Bolt nodded. 'Just family. You, Triton, Gorgon. My brother. Medusa and her sister.'

Karnak nodded approvingly. "That'll do. Perhaps a quiet family dinner… hmm… not in the palace dining room. Too ordinary. What about if we set up a table in the gardens? Then when you're ready, you can pull her aside to walk privately among the fruit trees."

Black Bolt nodded enthusiastically. He could see it now. Stopping beneath the apple blossoms, he would tell Medusa how much she meant to him, that he wanted to be with her always. He would get down on one knee and offer her a ring bearing the royal seal.

"We'll all be there to witness it, but at a distance. Anyway the others won't understand most of what you're saying to her," Karnak finished with a shrug.

Coming back to reality, Black Bolt glanced toward the ground and frowned a little. Do you think she will say yes? He looked back up at his cousin, and his expressive blue eyes revealed his sudden anxiety. What would he do if she didn't want to be his queen? Would an unwanted proposal make her resign as his interpreter? He could be left alone, broken-hearted, and voiceless. He'd been in that position before, and he didn't want to go back to it ever again.

Karnak chuckled and placed a comforting hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Black Bolt, it's obvious what Medusa means to you. I see how you look at her." The young king smiled and blushed once again. Karnak continued, "And I am sure that she feels the same way for you. I see nothing but admiration, devotion, and love between the two of you." He paused for emphasis and then said with his trademark certainty. "She'll say yes."

"Medusa!" Maximus called, jogging to catch up with the red-head who was walking down a palace hallway. She slowed so that he could fall into stride beside her. "I haven't seen you very much lately."

"I know," the young woman replied. "I've been so busy. I'm sorry." She had actually attended a special luncheon and an afternoon meeting as the king's interpreter. Then Black Bolt had invited her to join him for dinner, and she had just left him at his chambers for the evening.

"I heard a rumor about a party tonight in one of the lower levels. They supposedly have moonshine."

"Sounds fun," Medusa said, but her tone suggested a lack of interest. "I have to be up early tomorrow, though. Your brother has a meeting scheduled in the morning, and I need to interpret for him."

"You spend a lot of time with my brother these days. It seems you hardly have a moment to spare for anyone else."

"I have some free time; I spend it with Crystal." He nodded, well aware of her devotion to her sister. She continued, "But I have to be there when the king needs me to be his voice."

Maximus drew a deep breath, thinking. "Did my brother ask you to help him come up with that sign language he uses? Was it… a command?"

Medusa frowned slightly. "No," she said firmly. "It was mostly my idea. At that point he was… writing down most everything he wanted to say. That's no way to live; that's no way to govern. He needed someone to help him… and I didn't see anyone else stepping up." She gave Maximus a pointed look.

The prince scoffed, stopped walking, and stepped in front of Medusa to force her to stop and look at him. "Black Bolt killed our parents!" he hissed. "He is a danger to all of Attilan. Maybe I think he should just stay in that soundproof room of his and leave the governing to someone who can actually speak!"

Medusa sighed. "Maximus," she said quietly, "I understand your pain. You know I do. But your brother was hurting too, just after your parents died. If you would have just visited him, you would have seen it. What happened was an accident. None of us can possibly know what it feels like to unintentionally kill the people you love most in the world."

Maximus shook his head, swallowing his anger. "You just feel sorry for him."

"I do," she said frankly. "And if you had a heart you would too."

"So that's it, then. You think I'm a heartless bastard unworthy of your time? Is that it? Because I thought you liked sneaking out with me to look for trouble, but now suddenly you hate me."

Medusa shook her head. "I don't hate you, Maximus. I care about you, as I do your brother. But I can't just run off and have fun whenever I want like you can. I like having a useful job around here, doing something that matters. Not all of us can go through life without any ambition."

Maximus frowned. She had no idea how great his ambition really was or what he was willing to do to be king. But his chances were past now, and he knew he would have to bide his time….

"Some might think your ambition is to become queen," he said accusingly.

"And some might think you're jealous," Medusa countered.

Maximus threw his hands up in exasperation. He was already jealous that his brother was king. But he also did like Medusa, and if Black Bolt had stolen her heart, then what she said was true in more ways than one. "Would it matter if I was? I… I don't know what you want me to say to that."

"Don't say anything, Max. Go. Find yourself a party and booze. Have fun. I'm going home." With that, Medusa pushed past him and continued on her way.

Maximus sighed. She was no longer the fun teenage girl she used to be. Recently, between losing her parents and forming a connection with Black Bolt, Medusa had become a grown woman with real responsibilities. That was the day Maximus realized that she would never be his.