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The shy, awkward stable boy was loitering around the stable yard when Chevalier and I returned later that afternoon, trying to look busy but darting looks my way. Chevalier called another stable hand to attend to Blade, and suddenly, my not-so-secret admirer dropped everything, nearly tripping over himself to take Rose from me.
“Thank you. Give her lots of love for me,” I told him.
He ducked his head, mumbling something unintelligible as he turned to lead her into the stable. The tips of his ears were pink.
“Poor kid. He’s just like Jason,” I said to Chevalier as we headed back up the hill to the palace. “I’m guessing we don’t have much time until the party?”
“No, we don’t.”
“I’ll have to stop by tomorrow to give Rose more attention, then. What do you think I should wear?”
“What you have on is fine.”
I shot him a look. “For our dates, yes. For an official palace function, no. I can probably get away with leaving my hair down if I just brush it out…”
“There she is!”
We’d barely set one foot inside the palace when Leon’s booming voice rang out, followed by a cacophony of his other brothers’ voices as they ambushed us, swarming around me and sweeping me away from Chevalier and down the hall. It took me a moment to register what was happening, and when I did, I tried to protest.
“Wait! I can’t go to the party like this!”
“Sure you can,” Jin said cheerfully.
“My hair must be a mess after horseback riding all day—”
“Your hair looks great,” Nokto interrupted me. “I like the wild and tousled look.”
“Don’t be gross,” Luke warned him.
They deflected all further objections while laughing and joking amongst themselves, and soon, the ballroom’s magnificent double doors loomed ahead. I had lost all hope of retaining my reputation as a proper member of the upper class when Theresa stepped forward, blocking our path.
“Hold it!”
Her command paused the rush toward my doom, and I sighed in relief. At least somebody had some sense.
“She’s not dressed appropriately.”
“I tried telling them,” I started to say, but I stopped when I saw her mischievous smirk and the crown woven from red roses in her hands.
She was in on it.
“Not you, too,” I moaned.
She placed the floral crown on my head and pronounced, “Now, you’re ready.”
“Theresa!”
But it was too late. The princes were already in motion, and the guards were already opening the doors, and the enormous crowd within was already cheering and applauding.
And it was the strangest crowd I’d ever seen in that ballroom.
Flashy, regal attire marking royalty; ostentatious ball gowns and suits among the nobility; dresses like mine, pretty and relatively plain, along with similarly plain and sometimes worn suits on the commoners; stiff, starched uniforms worn by the servants within the crowd and on the periphery of the room; armor polished to a high sheen on the knights; children in varying states of disarray. People from all classes, all dressed their best and mostly smiling, although more than one smile appeared forced. The Simmons, for instance, looked like they’d tasted something sour.
But the wide smile on the familiar brown-eyed woman dashing forward to take my hand was genuine.
“Belle!”
“Make way for the birthday girl!” she shouted.
A path to the center of the ballroom cleared before us. More faces, more people I knew, many I didn’t. The foreign princes were there, including Rio, who I almost didn’t recognize in a dashing turquoise jacket adorned with gold and blue decorations. The Stotts, others from the village where I used to live, Duchess Latoure, Elise, noblewomen with whom I had a passing acquaintance—I never thought I’d see all these people together in one room. My head was spinning when Belle brought me to a stop before a massive, multi-layered cake on a display table, dressed in a gown of red, pink, and white icing roses.
“Quiet down, everybody, quiet down!” Belle called.
The ballroom fell silent as hundreds of eyes looked at me. My tongue was tied in a thousand knots, but fortunately, Sariel appeared from the crowd and took over.
“Thank you all for coming for Queen Ivetta’s birthday celebration,” he said in his clear, sonorous voice. “In the short time she has been with us, she has touched the lives of all gathered here, and I hope she will continue to do so for many more years.”
Everyone toasted me, and I swallowed down the lump in my throat, trying desperately not to cry. I didn’t know how Chevalier had pulled this off, but it was a dream come true for a dream I hadn’t even known I had. And looking around the room, most of Clavis’ pointless questions made sense now. Chocolate cake. Red roses, which Clavis teased me mercilessly about, stating it was too cliché for me to say those were my favorite flowers. Shades of green sprinkled with spring wildflowers. Even a refreshment table stacked with pancakes.
It was no use. I couldn’t help but cry.
The cake didn’t last long, and as soon as the last slice vanished into the crowd, servants whisked the table away, and the orchestra began to play. I hadn’t seen Chevalier since his brothers separated us, and I didn’t see him now, too busy accepting birthday wishes between dances with princes, nobles, villagers, butlers, shy little boys—and the stable boy.
He looked more awkward than ever in a stiff suit with his usually messy black curls slicked back with hair pomade, but I finally learned his name: Harry. That was all I could get out of him, because as soon as he put his hand on my waist and we began to dance, his face turned bright red, and he became visibly tongue-tied as he stumbled through the steps. I tried not to wince every time he stepped on my feet, but he wasn’t the only inept dancer in the room.
It was a relief when Belle pulled me out to a balcony so I could get a break.
“Happy birthday, Ivetta!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug.
“Thank you,” I said, breathless from dancing and her squeezing the air out of me. “When did you get back?”
“Yesterday afternoon. Surprised?”
“Yes!”
“Well, just wait. There’s more.”
She released me and darted back inside, but I had little time to wonder what she was doing before a hand was on my shoulder, turning me around until I was face-to-face with Chevalier. The sight of his soft smile and warm blue eyes brought the lump back to my throat. He’d planned all this for me, and when he cupped my face in his hands and gave me the lightest of kisses, I felt as though my heart might burst with happiness.
“Are you enjoying your birthday?” he asked, tracing symmetrical lines with his thumbs from my chin, down my neck, across my shoulders, down my arms, to my hands, where his fingers intertwined with mine.
I nodded, unable to speak, and then I felt a tug on my skirt.
“Are you really the queen?” asked a little boy in wide-eyed wonder. A boy I recognized immediately, though it had been nearly a year since I'd last seen those big gray eyes and that tousled, straw-colored hair at the Rhodolite Foundation Day festival.
I wiped my eyes hurriedly and squatted down in front of him. “Yes, I am. Look how big you’ve gotten! I bet I can’t even pick you up anymore.”
He stuck his chest out proudly. “I’m going to be a knight, so I’ve got to eat a lot and get big.”
“A knight? Why do you want to be a knight?”
“So I can take pretty ladies to the festival and carry their books,” he proclaimed.
I laughed, both at his words and at the brief, slight widening of Chevalier's eyes I caught when I glanced up at him. “I think you’ll be a great knight, Roger. But I’ve got a little secret for you. Do you think you can keep a secret for me?”
He nodded enthusiastically.
I leaned in and whispered in his ear: “He’s not a knight. He’s the king.”
He stared up at Chevalier, his gray eyes wider than ever.
“Remember, you promised not to tell,” I said sternly.
He looked back at me, a distinctly crestfallen expression on his face. “But that means he’s your husband.”
I nodded. “Yes, he is.”
He frowned. “But I wanted to marry you.”
He was so cute. I wanted to laugh, and cry, and hug him and kiss Chevalier, but I just smoothed his hair back and smiled.
“Roger? Roger!”
A young couple burst through the doors onto the balcony. The woman took Roger by the shoulders and pulled him back, mortified. I gave her and her husband a reassuring smile as I stood.
“I-I’m so sorry, King Chevalier, Queen Ivetta,” Roger’s father stammered.
“Shh!” Roger put his finger to his lips as he looked up at his father. “You’re not supposed to know he’s the king!”
It was even harder not to laugh now, seeing the pure conviction on Roger’s face set against the bewilderment on his parents’ faces.
“He wasn’t bothering us,” I assured them. “I’m glad to meet you. Roger and I met at the festival last year.”
His mother’s gray eyes looked much like Roger’s when they shot wide open. “That was you? Y-your highness,” she added nervously.
“Please, just Ivetta. Yes, that was me, but I was just a maid then, of course. Roger was telling me he wants to be a knight.”
“But she’s already married,” he lamented to his mother.
She blushed, her eyes darting to me, then Chevalier, then her husband, clearly embarrassed and unsure of what to say or do.
“Well, there are plenty of other pretty ladies who need knights to protect them,” I told Roger.
“And if you’re any good as a knight, you may have the opportunity to guard the queen in the future.”
I looked up at Chevalier as he slid an arm around my waist, surprised he joined the conversation voluntarily. And with a gentle, teasing tone, no less.
“Can I really?” Roger exclaimed, his eyes shining.
“If you’re good enough,” Chevalier repeated.
I was going to cry again. There were too many sweet moments like this happening today for me not to cry.
Roger’s father cleared his throat nervously. “Thank you, King Chevalier, Queen Ivetta, but it’s getting late, and we really should be going.”
“But—”
“Knights in training need a lot of rest, so when your parents tell you it’s time to go to bed, you’d better do what they say. Okay?” I intervened.
“Okay!” Roger squared his shoulders and told his parents, “Let’s go. I need my rest.”
They smiled gratefully at me. He’d probably slipped away from them just when they were trying to round him up and head back home. His father took a firm grip of Roger's hand, and they left, smiling from ear to ear as I blinked back tears.
“I have more competition, I see,” Chevalier mused.
“Yes, you do. And we’ll have to be careful to keep your secret. We don’t want people figuring out you're not just my knight.” I kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Chevalier. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.”
“There she is!” Clavis burst onto the balcony, followed by several of his brothers. “You’ve had her all day, Chev. Right now, she’s in hot demand!”
“And the kids are leaving,” Nokto added. “Which means the real party’s just beginning.”
I gave Chevalier an apologetic smile as they pulled me away, and then I was back to whirling and twirling across the dance floor, this time with much less injury to my feet from inexperienced dancers. The champagne and wine were flowing, the families with children were saying their goodbyes, and Clavis was up to something with Regina. If it were anybody else, I would have thought his dancing that close to her and whispering in her ear was cute, but I knew better.
“My turn.” Gilbert cut in and spun me away from Nokto, his cold hands a shock after the warmth radiating from all the other dancers. It felt refreshing, actually.
“Thank you for coming—again. You’ve done a lot of traveling back and forth from here to Obsidian over the past year. I was just talking to Chevalier about returning the favor.”
“I look forward to it.” He wore the same charming smile as always, but tonight, it didn’t give me the unsettling, deceptive feeling it often did. “We didn’t get to dance at your wedding.”
“No, we didn’t. Chevalier was very, um…”
“Possessive.”
I wasn’t sure if that comment added more redness to my cheeks, already flushed from activity. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.”
He laughed. “And he’s watching us right now. I get the feeling he doesn’t trust me.”
“I wonder why.”
His blood-red eye flicked over my shoulder and back to me. “I behaved the last time we saw each other.”
“You mean, when you showed up at Clavis’ private villa to steal me away if Clavis actually succeeded in killing Chevalier?” I reminded him.
His smile widened. “I’m still surprised he let Clavis live. That must have been your doing.”
I shrugged. “Well, he’s Clavis.”
Gilbert was a good dancer. We hadn’t danced since the night of Chevalier’s coronation ceremony, which had been an uncomfortable situation for me, and now that I thought about it, we hadn’t really spoken since the engagement ceremony, and that hadn’t been a particularly friendly conversation. When the conversation waned, I didn’t know what to say to him, and I didn’t know what to expect, either. But how much harm could he do in the middle of a crowded ballroom?
“I’ve never seen you wearing something like this.”
My attention snapped back to him and his direct gaze. For a moment, I didn’t know how to reply, too flustered by his unexpected statement.
“Oh, well, this is how I dress when Chevalier and I have some time to ourselves,” I finally said. “I didn’t have time to change before the party.”
“And you left your hair down.” He released my hand briefly and tucked my hair behind my ear, taking my hand again and resuming the dance as if the gesture meant nothing. “It suits you, little dove.”
I knew my blush was visible now. Other people had commented on my dress and my hair since the party began, but none of their compliments had thrown me off-balance as much as this, especially since Gilbert said ‘little dove’ the way Chevalier said it.
“Th-thank you.”
His relaxed, smiling expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t notice my discomfort. “Will you be joining us tomorrow?”
“T-tomorrow?”
“Chevalier didn’t mention it to you? He and Leon are taking me on an inspection tour to visit a town north of here. But I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Freedom?”
I shook my head, regaining my composure now that we'd left the subject of my appearance behind. “No, I haven’t. But I was planning on spending tomorrow with Belle, anyway.”
“As the Rhodolitian ambassador to Benitoite, she’ll be a frequent visitor. But who knows when I’ll find the time to leave Obsidian again?” He drew his eyebrows together in a very convincing pout.
I sighed. “You don’t have to guilt me into it. I’ll talk to Chevalier, and we’ll see.”
“Take into consideration he’ll be here for a few days,” Chevalier interrupted coolly.
Gilbert stopped dancing and stepped back, his charming smile back on his face. “You’ll tell her that, but you won’t tell her about Leon’s pet project?”
“I intended to tell her later.” Chevalier took my hand and pulled me toward him. “Come. I have one more surprise for you.”
“Another one?” I exclaimed, smiling again as he twined his fingers with mine. “Chevalier, you’re spoiling me.”
One corner of his lips twitched up in a smirk, but he led me out of the ballroom without further explanation or announcement. A few people saw us leaving and called out their farewells, but nobody stopped us to talk, which I appreciated. Now that I wasn’t dancing anymore, I felt the ache in my feet and the exhaustion in my muscles, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed.
“What a day,” I sighed, doing just that as soon as we reached our room.
Chevalier headed toward his writing desk, and I closed my eyes, content with the quiet and the darkness for a moment. Then I felt the bed shift as he sat next to me again.
“Open your eyes.”
He held something above me, something that spun slowly from a chain, catching the light and reflecting it around the room. I sat up to get a better look, taking it from him carefully. It was a necklace. The gold chain bore a single dove made of many small garnets, each outlined with gold in a feather-like pattern. Its shape was exactly the same as the dove on my wedding ring.
“It’s beautiful, Chevalier,” I said breathlessly. “I love it.”
He propped the pillows up at the head of the bed. “Sit here.”
I obediently scooted back against the pillows, still staring at the necklace. “How are you so perfect, Chevalier?”
He sat at the foot of the bed and slipped off my shoes. “Your feet must be tired.”
I suddenly realized what he was about to do, and I pulled my feet back against me. “They’re also sweaty and gross,” I protested.
He gently took hold of my ankles and pulled my feet back toward him.
“Relax.”
There wasn’t much point arguing the matter, and I was too tired to make a fuss about it, anyway. I lay back, closing my eyes as he massaged my feet. My fingers traced the gold feathers on the garnet dove. “Do you think I should come with you tomorrow?”
“The decision is yours.”
“That doesn’t help me.”
He sighed, and there was a distinct reluctance in his voice as he said, “You would enjoy it. We’re leaving after breakfast and will be back by dinnertime.”
“Hm…so I could have breakfast with Belle and then spend the evening with her.”
Chevalier’s hands moved up to my ankles, and I cracked my eyes open to look at him.
“Chevalier?”
He smirked, working his way methodically to my calves. “You’re leaving little time for me.”
I felt my cheeks warming as he continued his slow progress. “You had all day with me today.”
“You were dancing with Gilbert,” he said, his fingers tickling the backs of my knees. “And you’ve hired my replacement as your knight.”
I giggled and squirmed. “Stop it! You have nothing to worry about!”
He grabbed my knees and yanked me down the bed, sealing my laughing lips with a kiss before I could push him away. The edges of the necklace jabbed into my chest, and he took it from me and set it aside, somewhere out of sight to me, since I’d closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I really am tired,” I murmured as he untied the laces at the back of my dress.
“Then tell me when to stop,” he replied, dropping kisses across my cheek.
“Mm…not yet.”
I felt his smile against my skin, and then he breathed in my ear, “Happy birthday, Ivetta."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbgIr0MtCk
