Twisted-Games

“They’re not random people, they’re Eldorrans.” I sat in the common
room with Rhys while Elin stood by the fireplace, her hands on her hips.
Henrik, Alfred, Luna, and Elliott had already retired to their rooms. “I’m not
changing policy. I’m merely helping people get their voices heard. No,” I
said when Elin opened her mouth. “I’m not arguing about this. It’s been a
long day, and we have an early morning tomorrow.”
Her mouth pinched, but she conceded with a reluctant, “Yes, Your
Highness.”
She was a master at choosing which battles to fight, and apparently, this
one wasn’t worth fighting.
She disappeared up the stairs, leaving me alone with Rhys.
He sat in the corner, staring at the flames in the hearth with a brooding
expression. Whatever was bothering him, it wasn’t us and what happened in
the parking lot of the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was something else. He’d
been moodier than usual since the trip started.
“Penny for your thoughts,” I said. We’d barely talked the entire trip,
unless good morning and good night counted as talking.
Rhys finally looked at me. The firelight flickered over his face, casting
dancing shadows over his strong jaw and chiseled cheekbones
“You seem happy,” he said. “Far happier than I’ve seen you at those
fancy parties you go to in Athenberg.”
He noticed. Of course he had. He was the most observant man I’d ever
met.
“I love it,” I admitted. “Meeting people, hearing their concerns, having
something concrete to contribute at my next meeting with the Speaker. I feel
like I can finally do something meaningful. Like I have a purpose in life.”
That was one thing that had bugged me so much about being a princess.
Yes, the monarchy was symbolic, but I didn’t want to spend my life just
smiling for the cameras and giving lifestyle interviews. I wanted something
more.
But maybe I’d been thinking about my role all wrong. Maybe, instead of
conforming to what being the crown princess had always meant, I could
shape it into what I wanted it to be.
A small smile touched Rhys’s lips. “I always knew you would make a
great queen.”
“I’m not queen yet.”
“You don’t need a crown to be queen, princess.”