“For Princess Amelia,” the chef explained and I ground my teeth at the word “princess.” She was only a princess by association to the Kendrick line and no matter how well I get along with my brother in law these days I had been working very hard at disassociating all of us with Monarchial terms. It was nothing personal against Amelia, I didn’t even really know the girl.
“Well, I’m sure whatever you come up with will be fine,” I nodded to let him know I was finished speaking with him and then tried that benevolent smile again. He scurried from the room.
Yep, I needed to practice that some more.
“Somebody please explain to me why I have to waste my day away making menu plans and talking about vegetarian options?” I demanded when it was finally just my board of advisors and me alone in the throne room.
“You’re awfully testy today,” Angelica clucked her tongue from her place in between Silas and Gabriel. She was more of a mother figure than an advisor, but when I decided to choose one from each kind I knew there was no Witch I trusted more than her.
“I have a headache,” I mumbled, letting my head fall into my fingertips.
“You don’t have a headache,” she scolded me. She stood up to busy herself with something on the other side of the room and that was how I knew she was worried about me even if I couldn’t technically get a physical headache. Her hair had turned a blinding shade of white and I could swear it was from the stress of three years ago. She aged over the yearlong battle with Lucan. She was still stunning for a grandma type, all handsome, gentle beauty, but that year was hard on all of us.
“Trust me, my head hurts,” I complained.
“Only because you refuse to use it,” Gabriel snapped. I sat up, ready to argue, but he was already on his way to a lecture, there was no stopping him now. “Avalon we get it, you don’t want to be King, but right now you don’t have a choice. This was the future you wanted for your people; tyranny is dead, they are free, and the magic is whole once again. Granted it’s not exactly how we imagined life after Lucan, I understand that, but this is what your people want. And by acting like this…. this… petulant child you are refusing to give them what they want, what they deserve. You are as bad as Lucan at this point.”
“Don’t compare me to him,” I growled, standing up from the dead King’s throne to distance myself as far from his memory as I could. “We are not comparable.”
“What he means is, you’re as bad as Lucan today,” Silas clarified in his thick Jamaican accent and if it was anyone else he was talking about I would have laughed.
“Oh, now I feel better,” I rolled my eyes and turned to Angelica for help. I could always count on her.
“Maybe if you got married, things wouldn’t seem so difficult,” she offered and I realized sharply I couldn’t count on any of them today. “Maybe if you had someone to share the burden of the throne, things wouldn’t feel so impossible. You wouldn’t be so grumpy.”
“No, no, I am not having this conversation again!” I sighed. “I already have someone to share the throne with. Actually I have two somebodies to share the throne with, they are just never here! Although, maybe I should follow their example and find someone to marry just so I can go on a two year honeymoon!” I threw myself back into the hard, golden chair and ignored the pain shooting up my back from my childish tantrum.
“Sure, if that’s the kind of incentive you need, then by all means marry someone and take your extended honeymoon. You will get no argument from any of us,” Gabriel laughed humorlessly.
He knew I would never leave the Kingdom in someone else’s hands for that long, not even Eden’s, not without a stable government in place to fill my stead. And he also knew I was so far from getting married or even thinking about getting married. I hated it when he called my bluff.
“What do you want from me?” I asked Gabriel, knowing he would tell me whether I wanted to hear it or not.
His orange eyes flashed with gravity and he rubbed his hand over his closely shaved head. “I want you to be the leader you’re destined to be. You’ve done an adequate job so far, but we know what you’re doing Avalon and the Kingdom isn’t going to dismiss the Monarchy just because you are trying to prove to them they don’t need you. They want you, and your sister and her husband. So, instead of pouting around and not paying attention, why don’t you try taking your role seriously? Why don’t you explore all the good that could come out of that?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but then closed it. Gabriel had a point. Who was I kidding? I knew he had a point; I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of telling him so. Which I also knew was very immature. But they were the ones that demanded I become King at eighteen years old.
Now at twenty-one I was very worried resentment had stunted my growth.
My mental growth.
Talbott’s phone beeped, interrupting the pregnant pause and saving me from having to reply verbally. Although by the look Gabriel sent me and the dull suppression of his eye color, I knew he knew I thought he was right.
“That was the front gate,” Talbott announced after clicking off his cellphone. “Jericho is here. I told them to have him meet you in the receiving room.”
I rolled my eyes at Talbott’s formal behavior. I was the one that appointed him head Titan, so I really couldn’t complain. But still, the receiving room? I didn’t need to meet Jericho in the receiving room. I needed to meet Jericho wherever I damned well pleased and then we both needed to get the hell out of Dodge, or uh, the Citadel in this case.
Gabriel glared at me, sending me one of his “I know exactly what you’re thinking right now” looks and I swallowed back the leftovers of a Rebellion I was supposed to be done fighting.
“Thank you Talbott,” I replied formally.
I started to leave the room before I made myself turn around and act like the responsible ruler of a nation I knew I was. “You’re right Gabriel. I need to stop pouting. The people want a king and I am in no position to argue with them since I killed their last one. Besides, Eden will be back in today and she can share the responsibility. I will do my best to embrace this position and do what I can to better the existence for our people.” I finished a little bit dramatically, but overall I thought it was a very diplomatic speech.