A Game of Crowns

“The best things in life are unexpected because there were no expectations.”

-Eli Khamarov

Madame Lorrelle’s smile was unsettling. I wish she’d just get on with the announcement. Where were the guys? Why were we being told separately?

It was as if she had a direct line to my thoughts. “Now, you may be wondering why you are being told separately. Let’s just say some of you will be less than thrilled with who has been chosen for you and any lapse in your behavior is better done in private.”

I rolled my eyes.

“There can be no changes so I advise you make peace with who has been chosen for you. Okay, the pairing will be as follows; Caroline will be with Matthew, Lisa will be paired with Killian.”

Georgiana held my hand as roughly as I held hers.

Madame Lorrelle continued, “Viktorya will be paired with Antony, Siobhan with Tobias, and Penelope with George.”

I held in the gasp that threatened to escape me, blinked repeatedly to make the unshed tears disappear from my eyes, and held Georgiana’s hand forcefully in my own. I would not lose it in front of these women.

Madame Lorrelle’s words created a chasm in the depths of my heart. There was no other way to describe it. My mind refused to comprehend the reality of my situation.

I would not be with Tobias.

Those words repetitively ran through my mind, taunting me.

No one was paired with who they chose to align themselves with. The silence in the room was almost deafening, solely disturbed by the sound of Madame Lorrelle’s pen scratching across her clipboard.

A whoop of glee broke the silence. Siobhan was celebrating her pairing with Tobias. How had this happened? Rowan wouldn’t have done anything to keep us apart, would he?

“I think I can win this, Tina,” Siobhan gleefully said to her lady’s maid. “Everyone knows Tobias is the bastard of the king.”

Everyone gasped at her words. I couldn’t believe she had said that aloud. I hadn’t realized that secret wasn’t so much of a secret. Madame Lorrelle tsked her for her vulgarity.

She didn’t even have the decency to pretend to be ashamed. She caught my eye and had the audacity to wink at me. A small sob managed to make its way past my lips. Siobhan grinned, winningly. Georgiana pulled me away from her immediate vicinity before I did something I’d regret.

“Your lady’s maids know the details for the evening. You are all free to go,” Madame Lorrelle ordered.

As Georgiana pulled me from the room I could hear Viktorya cursing up a storm. It was no wonder Madame Lorrelle preferred to tell us separate from the others. Thankfully, Lisa and Caroline weren’t as dramatic as Viktorya.

The walk back to my room was a quiet one. Georgiana let me ruminate the fact that I wasn’t paired with Tobias. Did I still want to be queen if it wasn’t with him at my side?

“Are you coming in, Penelope?” Georgiana asked while holding my door open.

I hesitated before answering. “No, I don’t think so. I have to find Tobias.”

Her questioning eyes softened. “I understand.”

I wandered over to the west wing for the first time in my stay at the palace. The gray and white palate was a bit monotonous for my taste but it matched my mood. I found myself in front of Tobias’ door rather quickly. A minute passed before I could physically bring myself to knock on his door.

His cobalt eyes instantly found mine. No words passed between us as he moved aside to let me through. I mechanically shuffled in, mind endlessly thinking of all the possible outcomes of the coming conversation.

He sat down and I moved to do the same but quickly decided against it. I paced back and forth across the space, not taking in details of the room I’d never stepped foot in. He leaned his face into the palms of his hands.

An uncomfortable silence settled between us but I chose to ignore it.

“Let’s leave,” I said abruptly.

His head snapped up; our eyes meeting for a second before he pulled away, face flushed in agony.

I finally knew what I wanted and it was him. Everything else would fall into place. We’d have each other and nothing else would matter. I thought he felt the same but he wasn’t acting the way I expected.

His shoulders sagged. “I can’t,” he whispered.

The bolt of pain that shot through my chest was staggering.

Raggedly, I asked, “You can’t? What do you mean you can’t?”

He stood up to reach for my hands. I coarsely removed them from his grasp.

“Penelope,” he said roughly. “I need to stay and win this for my family, for their memory.”

A part of me wanted to understand but another part of me refused.

“What happened to, ‘I don’t want to be king without you’? Was that a lie?” I said, throwing his own words at him.

“It wasn’t a lie. I meant it. I don’t want to be king without you but I’ll do what I need to do to get my family’s throne back.”

I scoffed. “Your family? You were just the bastard son your father never chose to acknowledge.”

As soon as the words were out I regretted saying them. His eyes widened then cringed at the pain I inflicted. I stormed out of the room, unable to face the hurt in his eyes.

Instead of going back to my room like I should have, I ended up in front of another door that wasn’t mine. This time I didn’t hesitate to knock or wait for Rowan to open the door. I tried the doorknob and it was unlocked. I let myself in, ready to give him a piece of my mind.

His lean naked body halted me mid-stride. His nakedness left me defenseless. The pent-up anger in my body vanished, instantly. The next few seconds ticked by slowly.

I took in the subtle muscles of his core and the firmness of his legs. My eyes wandered shamelessly to his groin, inciting a fiery blush across my skin. My gaze greedily took in the beauty of his body. I swallowed roughly as our eyes met. His surprise quickly changed to raw desire.

I looked away before the moment became something I wasn’t ready to reciprocate.

The darkness of his eyes slowly receded to their normal color and hinted at a playful temperament. The mischievous gleam matched the grin that splayed over his lips. He sauntered to his bed, unashamed of his nakedness, and grabbed a gray towel. He wrapped it low around his waist. All the while, saying nothing about my wandering eyes.

“Do you often walk around naked?” I asked.

“I like to air dry,” he shrugged. “Enjoying the show?”

I scowled, my anger returning. Ignoring his question, I closed the distance between us, aware of the decreasing amount of space. “What game are you playing at?” I asked as I pushed a finger into his chest.

He looked down at said finger and back up into my face. I withdrew my index from his chest.

“Tell me,” I tried again.

He sighed. “I assume you mean the pairing?”

He moved to sit at the edge of his bed. The towel crept up an inch.

“No, I meant the creation of mankind.”

He raised a brow.

“Of course, I meant the pairing,” I said rolling my eyes.

“My sisters and I based our selections solely based on what we thought the Great Mother would want,” he shrugged.

“Right,” I scoffed. “You’re telling me this has nothing to do with the way you look at me?”

He strolled over to me, looked down into my eyes, and growled, “you mean the same way you look at me?”

His gaze burned me with a smoldering intensity.

Our comingling breath tickled my nose, reminding me of the near nonexistent space between us. I took a step back, my unsteady breathing a giveaway. I couldn’t deny my attraction to him.

I turned and walked away, slamming the door for effect. These guys were going to kill me.

***

Several hours after my encounters with Tobias and Rowan, I waited for George to arrive in a private study Georgiana reserved for us.

A soft knock at the door announced him walking in. George’s kind brown eyes met my own. He took a seat in one of the over-sized armchairs and waited for me to speak.

“Not exactly who you were expecting?” I asked, gesturing to myself.

“Same can be said of me,” he chuckled. “I know we hardly spoke before now but I say we make the best of it.”

“Agreed. How about you tell me about yourself and we’ll go from there.”

And so went the afternoon. I spent it ignoring Rowan’s last words and trying to drown out the hurt of Tobias’ rejection. Instead, I filled my mind with the facts that made up George’s life.

“My lady, I’m sorry to interrupt but we must get you ready for tonight,” Georgiana said.

Ah, yes, the ball.

George stood up from the ground and pulled me up with him. How we ended up on the floor was beyond me.

“I’ll see you then,” he said, ruffling his hair.

“See you then,” I smiled.

George was a kind young man and the little girl I’d seen him with was indeed his daughter. She looked forward to becoming a princess.

“I’m glad you two get along well,” Georgiana said, shaking me out of my thoughts.

“Yes, he a nice man.”

She said nothing else until we reached the room. “Your dress arrived a few hours ago. You’re going to look exquisite in it,” she smiled happily.

She pulled off the garment bag and revealed the ivory work of art. The dress was a short sleeve gown with flowered lace, simple yet elegant. I hadn’t wanted to wear anything extravagant and I was glad I stuck to what I wanted. Wardrobe wanted to put me into an empire waist dress with tons of bottom layers.

Georgiana’s expert fingers braided my hair into the beautiful crown of braids I’d come to love. She painted my lips a creamy pink and framed my eyes with a brown and beige shade of eyeshadow.

“You’re ready,” she breathed.

“I wish you could dress up with me,” I pouted.

“That’s kind of you, my lady.”

“Georgiana, will you stop calling me my lady, please?”

Her small nose crinkled. “Yes, Penelope.” She stuck her tongue at me.

I winked and joined her in her jovial laughter, trying to mask the hurt I still felt.

We joined the other four female participants in a small room to the side of the throne room. They all looked beautiful. Siobhan donned a red silk gown with slits up her thighs. It was a bit risqué but she wore it well. Viktorya continued to play off her angelic looks by wearing a flowing gown of three different pinks. Lisa and Caroline wore different dresses but both were of the same color, gold.

That caused a bit of unnecessary drama but Madame Lorrelle shut it down quickly. “Ladies, enough. We are about to begin. The gentlemen will be waiting on the dance floor. You will enter through the main doors, once you are announced you will meet them. Once all of you have been introduced a waltz will follow. Understood?”

Nodding, we walked out to the main hall and stood to the side of the ornate doors to the throne room. Two attendants opened the doors and the first name was called, mine.

“Miss Penelope Tate.”