CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

“Why are we delaying the announcement?” her mother asked.

“We’re not delaying; we’re trying to ensure everything is done in the proper order and in the proper time,” her father replied.

“Dad, I’m leaving soon. I report for duty in–”

“Christian, I know when you’re leaving. You’re the reason we’re having this meeting, to begin with. Don’t you think I’m aware of the timeline you’ve presented me and your mother with?”

“Actually, it’s you who’s doing this, Dad. I was going to wait until I’d gotten to Major before announcing anything. I figured by then, Lillian or Mari would have kids, and I could tell you I didn’t want the throne officially. You’d have more heirs, and I could go back to the Air Force. You needing to retire meant that I had to tell you a little earlier, but I’ve been trying to warn you since I joined the military that I wanted a career there, not as King.”

“What about Elin?” her mom asked.

“What about her?”

“You mentioned Mari and Lillian’s children, but Elin takes over for you now.”

“Oh, Elin doesn’t–”

“Mom, you know I don’t really want children, right? We’ve talked about this,” Elin joined in.

“Yes, you’ve mentioned. But you’ve never said why, and things have changed now: you’re assuming the throne. You need to reconsider a lot of things in your life now. That Prince of Denmark, for example,” her mom reminded.

“Mom, please. This isn’t the seventeenth century; you don’t need to sell your daughter off to the highest bidder now,” Lillian chimed in. “She’s a Queen. He’s a Prince.”

“Yes, well, there aren’t many Kings available these days, are there?” her mother joked.

“So, he’d be expected to come here? Mom, he’s going to be King of Denmark one day. She’d have to live there. They’d rule Norway from Denmark. That doesn’t make sense,” Christian reasoned.

“He’s a good boy. He’s twenty-eight years old. And his father is a good man, raised him well. The King is also only in his fifties, had his firstborn young. Erik won’t take the throne for at least another thirty years. He’s a great water polo player, and I’ve been told he isn’t bad at rugby, either,” her father noted.

“Elin could do worse,” her mother added.

“Hi, I’m sitting right here,” Elin replied. “And I don’t want to marry Prince Erik.”

“It’s too Little Mermaid, isn’t it?” Lillian teased her.

“What about a party?” her mother suggested. “Before the announcement, we could invite eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to the palace for a party. Christian, you need to start thinking about settling down, too; crown or no crown. We could do it before people know Elin is going to be Queen. You meet someone who treats you right before they know you’re about to take the crown and take it from there.”

“Mom, I really don’t want to have a party,” she replied.

“You’ll have a consecration anyway, and it’s better for them to meet you before they know. When you see how they are without the–”

“Can we discuss this later?” her father interrupted. “Right now, we need to discuss what will happen when Christian officially removes himself from the line of succession. Have you thought about your own children since we last talked, son?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, once you’re removed – they’re no longer in line. You’re removing yourself from the family on paper, Christian. We’ve talked about this. You’ll take pay from the Air Force like any other Captain. You’ll be able to stay at the palace, of course, and at any of our private residences when you’re not on duty, but you’ll be paying your own way from here on. There’s no halfway in this for you; I won’t have you taking the nation’s money and not performing the job of a royal. Your future wife and children then won’t receive titles. They won’t receive compensation from the family. Of course, this is my decision, and once Elin reigns, she might change her mind, but I’d encourage her not to. You’re making this decision for yourself, which I understand, but I can’t abide you reaping the same benefits of being part of this family as someone who will still work for it like Elin, Lillian, and Mari.”

“Mari hasn’t even started royal life yet. She’s been at school and then in–”

“I know where my youngest daughter is,” the King interrupted his only son. “Christian, your future family will be entirely your responsibility. Is that what you want?”

“I know what I want, Dad,” Christian asserted. “I’m thirty years old; I’m old enough to know what I want my life to be. I’m not changing my mind here. If that means my kids won’t be titled or will have to work for a living, so be it.”

“And what if Elin doesn’t have children? Lillian?” her mother asked.

Elin turned her head toward her sister and swallowed.

“Yeah, I know. I’m next up, and my kids would be, too.” Lillian rolled her eyes and leaned back against the uncomfortable, flower-patterned sofa. “It is what it is, as they say.”

“What on Earth does that mean?” her mother asked.

“It means Christian isn’t leaving me much choice, is he?” Lillian replied. “And I’m not going to insist Elin have kids. If she wants them, she wants them. If not, it falls to me. We’re three years apart, so it’s not likely I’ll ever have to actually be Queen. If I have kids one day–”

“If ?!” her father asked. “Where did I go wrong?” He looked to the ceiling.

“Dad, calm down. You have a fourth kid. She might want to procreate. And if she doesn’t – it’s not like it’s just us; we have cousins and second cousins and third cousins, too, probably. There’s probably a Duke in some country I’ve never even heard of that’s related to us.”

“That’s what you think of your duty?” he asked Lillian.

“No, it was just a joke, Dad. I know–”

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Elin interjected. “Christian is leaving; it’s decided. I will be Queen. I will decide who to date or marry – that’s not up to anyone in this room now, and it won’t be when I become Queen.”

“Technically, Father has to bless any of our weddings. So does parliament and–”

“Christian, shut up,” Elin said. “You want to go be a Captain? Be a Captain. You don’t really get a say in this anymore.”

She’d never spoken to her brother like that before, and his expression told her he realized that, too. Christian looked down at the red-and-gold thick carpet, and she felt the dynamic shift between them for the first time.

“Whether I have children or not is also not up for discussion. That’s something between whomever I decide to settle down with, assuming I decide to do that at all.”

“You’re not going to–”

“Queen Elizabeth I never married or had kids,” Lillian interrupted her mother. “Could be cool, Elin.”

“Cool?” her father asked.

“When will the announcement be? That’s the only question that matters. Everything else can be dealt with later,” Elin insisted.

◆◆◆

“You were a regal badass in there,” Lillian said as they walked down the hall toward Elin’s suite of rooms.

“I was not.”

“You told Christian off,” her sister argued.

“Hey,” Christian said.

“What? She did,” Lillian replied.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to my room. I have to call my commanding officer. He’s expecting me back on–”

“Yeah, we know. We get it; you’re important in the Air Force, Christian. Go make your phone call. Elin and I are fine without you,” Lillian stated.

Elin met Christian’s eyes and asked, “Are you okay?”

Christian glanced at Lillian before she said, “Fine. I’ll be in Elin’s room so you two can do your super-secret twin thing.”

Lillian continued on down the hall, leaving them standing there alone.

“I don’t think I realized that me leaving would mess everything up this much.”

“How could you not?” Elin asked him.

“Because I know it’s the right move. It’s right for me, for you, and for the country. You’re better at this, and I don’t want it.”

“Then, why are you worried about things now?”

“My kids won’t have titles. I’ll have to get a house. I don’t know how to buy a house, Elin. My wife won’t be a Duchess. Dad’s taking my future Dukedom away.”

“You thought he’d just let you walk away from royal duties and keep everything?”

“Like I said, I hadn’t thought of everything.” Christian ran his hand through his hair. “It’s just all happening so fast.”

“You can reconsider. It hasn’t been announced yet.”

“He wouldn’t let me even if I wanted to. And I don’t. You know I get my stubborn streak from him. He’s pissed I don’t want it to begin with, and I’ve made such a big deal about leaving; it’s yours, Elin.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Christian released an exasperated sigh, looked down the empty hall, and said, “I’m going to take a walk in the gardens now just in case he locks me out of them one day, too. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Elin watched him walk down the hall, turn left, and then disappear before she continued on to her room. Lillian was sitting on the sofa, pouring herself a glass of red wine.

“Want one?”

“Considering it’s mine – yes, I think I’ll have one.”

“It’s palace wine.”

“No, it’s mine. I got it in St. Rais,” she replied.

“Oh. How was the trip? I didn’t ask you,” Lillian said, pouring Elin a glass as she sat down next to her.

“It was fine. It was nice to visit.”

“And you had time with Elizabeth and Palmer?”

“Yes, and the kids. They’re growing up so fast, Lil.”

“And you’re so great with them. Why is it you don’t want any of your own?”

“Not you, too.” Elin took a drink of her wine.

Lillian laughed and said, “Okay; another time.” She took a drink of her own wine and then asked, “Ingrid went with you, right?”

“Yes.”

“How was that?”

“How was what?”

“The trip with Ingrid.”

“Fine. We travel together a lot. Why are you asking?”

“Because this was a holiday. You’ve never brought her on a holiday before.”

“We worked on the plane. Besides, she wanted to see the springs.”

Lillian smirked at her for some reason and said, “And did she?”

“Yes, Elizabeth arranged it for us. It was a private pool and everything. We bought the wine from the shop there. Well, I got us a case of it because we did a tasting and she said she really liked it. She insisted she only take a bottle of it, which I told her was ridiculous, but I kept the other bottles for now. I’m going to give them to her for her birthday and Christmas and a bunch of other holidays until they’re all gone.” Elin smiled at the thought.

“I bet you will,” Lillian remarked.

Elin flashed on the memory of Ingrid leaning against the opposite side of the pool; Ingrid’s arms stretched at the sides with her head back, her eyes closed, and mud covering her face. Her light-brown hair was pulled back and darker since it was wet. She looked so relaxed and so at peace that Elin hadn’t wanted to risk moving to ruin the moment. When they’d had to step out of the pool due to the heat finally getting to them, they’d changed with their backs turned to one another.

Then, they’d sat on the blanket. Elin had pulled out a book, and Ingrid had lain back and stared up at the sky for a while before she’d closed her eyes. Elin had discovered that it was difficult reading with Ingrid lying next to her like that, as if they were friends on vacation and not a Princess and her private secretary. Eventually, Elin settled into the idea, though, and finished the chapter before she lay back next to the woman and stared at the cloudless sky.

“Hello? Earth to Elin,” Lillian said.

“What?”

“Where did you go just now?”

“Nowhere,” Elin lied.

“Right,” Lillian replied, laughing lightly at her.

“Oh, that reminds me… I have to talk to you about Katrin.”

“What about her?”

“Well, Christian’s leaving, and me moving up, so to speak, means we have to change some things.”

“What things?”

“Dad is keeping Steven as his secretary until Steven retires, too, but Markus will have to move on to me, it seems. He’s senior.”

“What about Ingrid?” Lillian asked.

“She’ll go to you. Katrin will go to Mari.”

“What? I love Katrin,” Lillian stated. “She understands that I can be fickle.”

“I know, but it’s seniority.”

“You’ll be Queen; you can choose your own secretary, Elin.”

“There are enough changes going on in this family and for this country right now. I hardly think now is the time to squabble over our secretaries.”

“Well, I don’t care what you do, but I’m keeping Katrin.”

“Lil, don’t be–”

“Seriously, Elin… There are already enough changes. I’m not exactly thrilled with being next up on the game of thrones right now. And knowing that it’ll likely be my future kids – if I decide to have them – that will have to take over after you isn’t something I’d planned on, either. Can’t you just give me this?”

“I’d have Dad to contend with. What about Markus?”

“Markus is ancient.”

“Ingrid would–”

“Ingrid can go to Mari; she needs someone anyway. Ingrid’s great. She’ll like working with our sister, the low-maintenance Princess. I’m the high-maintenance Princess; everyone knows it. And I’m pretty sure they call me that anyway.”

Elin thought about it. She didn’t want Ingrid to lose her job. She didn’t want to fight her sister, either, and she knew if she forced this upon Lillian, she’d only make Ingrid’s life hell. She thought briefly about telling her father that she didn’t want Markus, but maybe it was for the best that Ingrid work with Mari – Elin couldn’t have her around all the time with how she felt. She’d already nearly scalded the poor stewardess because she’d been so nervous. Ingrid just… did things to her. She was gorgeous, accomplished, and so smart.

Elin had fallen in love with her the first moment Ingrid had walked into the room after having been assigned to her, and she still felt that way every time Ingrid walked into the room now, which was why the carpets of the palace and now Coburn Cottage were littered with beverage stains. She couldn’t be a clumsy Queen in love with her secretary, so she’d talk to her father to see if Ingrid could work with Mari. Then, she’d see about trying to get over these feelings and finding a way to love someone else one day.