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Fitz
“Idon’t understand why you’re fighting me, Leonidas.” My father, the king of Nolcovia, glared like I’d threatened to abdicate completely.
Lucky for him, I hadn’t.
But it was only noon.
There was still time to change my plans.
“You’re forcing me to marry someone I don’t care about. Of course, I’m going to put up a fight.” I scoffed at the words as they registered. “You realize how trite this is, don’t you? Forcing the prince into an arranged marriage against his will?” Cocking my head to the side, I couldn’t help my sarcasm. “Was it your intention to be a cliché? Or does it come naturally?”
“Don’t get cheeky, Leo.” His tone held warning. I knew better than to push him in his state. His grip wrapped around the edge of the table. “Lady Esmerey is worthy of the crown and well versed in matters of the kingdom.”
Guilt for weakening him tempered my response. I wanted to fight harder, but he simply didn’t have it in him. “I would be miserable as her spouse. Does that have no bearing at all?” I hoped my sincere frustration with this situation would prick his heart and help him see my side of things.
“I didn’t choose your mother. My father, his father, and I were all arranged in marriage.” His face paled and I rushed to his side, worried about the toll my attitude had taken.
With his elbow in my grasp, I directed him to the seat at the head of the banquet table. Nolcovia wasn’t huge, but the thousands we served depended on us. Seeing him sink back and release a sigh, I immediately bent my knees, lowering myself to his eye level, desperate to find a solution that would resolve our divide.
“Why must you fight me, Son?” His thick hand rested over mine. “My time is not long for this world.”
“Don’t say that.” I hated when he got like this. It was the sort of talk that prompted him to bring up marriage and union of the kingdom. “You’ll be healthy soon.”
A flicker of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, but quickly vanished. A vivid demonstration of his declining optimism, it disappeared faster every time. “If only your faith was enough to heal me.”
Unwilling to let him see that same faith falter, I dropped my chin to my chest. “I cannot enter a marriage without love.” I shut my eyes and sensed the agony of the decision deep in my gut. “Please don’t force me to obey.”
“You know the law. The next king must rule with his queen. If you are not married, the crown will pass to the next in line. Your uncle will take the throne and our family’s dynasty will end.”
“He doesn’t want it, Father. The days of monarchy have faded. The world is changing.” I stared up at my king again, pleading creased in my brow. “You are on the throne, Father. Change the law. Let me rule without being forced to marry. I hope the day I replace you is far in the future, but if it happens earlier, I will rule in your absence, regardless of having a wife.”
His gaze became distant. “I have considered this very thing, Leo. You know I have.” The clacking of heels echoed through the hallway, a distinctive sound that could only belong to one woman. His eyes locked on her, warmed by his love even after all these years. “However, I understand the importance of your mother’s role in reigning by my side and the potential suffering my people would have endured without her influence. The law exists for a reason.”
Mother drew closer, eyes flinching with worry as she saw us. Father weakened more each day. The cause remained elusive to every doctor. Each new test displayed negligible improvement. The latest theory was that it was a rare, unnamed autoimmune disease and, without intervention, it would end my father’s life.
“Leonidas, are you tiring your father?” Her elegant dress caught the air as she swept in beside him. “You know he can’t go the rounds with you right now.”
I watched her look him over, fingers trailing, lips parted with concern. Despite their arranged marriage, I never doubted their unwavering love. They hadn’t started there, but they’d fallen anyway. Was that possible for me as well? Was I fighting the future I’d always longed for?
“He has concerns with our choice for his wife,” Father explained, voice heavy with exasperation.
“I should say so,” Mother muttered. “And, to be clear, she’s your choice, my darling, not mine. I would have chosen someone who had less in common with field trolls.”
I snickered to myself. Mother had the imagination of a toddler, always referencing the magical folklore of Nolcovia. When I was young, she convinced me that the meadow goblins would steal my shoes if I didn’t put them away at night. Referring to Esmerey Lakecroft as a troll had nothing to do with her physical appearance, but everything to do with her rabid desire to sit on a throne.
“She’s highly political, my love.” Father sighed again. “That isn’t always an adverse trait for one who works in government.”
“It’s not always the best either.” She shot him a look that signaled the end of the debate. Her pale-blue eyes locked on me. “I’ve given a great deal of thought to this and I have a proposition, if you are willing.”
That look in her eye meant trouble. “A proposition of what sort?”
“You know how much I adore American reality TV love stories.” Her right eyebrow twitched as if to dare me to tease her for her obsession, but I didn’t have a death wish. “What if we re-created something similar? Inviting fifteen potential wives to the castle would solve the problem and entertain the kingdom. With the Christmas season upon us, it’ll feel magical. At the New Year’s Eve Ball, you’ll announce your bride-to-be before the strike of midnight.”
A pit opened in my gut. I read between the lines. She wanted to endear the monarchy to the people again. My father had reigned in fairness, but with me unmarried and my uncle looking like the successor, the cry for a new system of government had taken hold. She hoped that watching me court women from the kingdom would help to quell that protest.
“And who, pray tell, would pick these lucky fifteen women?” Father asked with an edge of suspicion, with no thought about whether I would agree to this scheme.
“Me,” she answered quickly, but when both of us lifted our eyebrows, she caved a bit. “I suppose the two of you could weigh in.”
