The f*******n Crown

Chapter |13|

E M M E L I N E ‘ S P. O. V

My eyes continued to marvel at the stone column that created a vast parthenon on the edge of the Kingdom.

"It was constructed by the late King himself as a gift to the village for their hard work in contributing to the economy through their businesses and hard work." Quinn, King Theo's advisor and our escort to the Palace narrates.

She decided to give us a mini tour on the way, which was either a nice touch on her part, or a calculated decision to give her King more time to prepare.

"How much longer?" Chloe whines, attempting the shield herself from the blazing sun with her hand. I threw her my hat, causing her to yelp in surprise. Her gaze turns seething on me. "You didn't have to throw it!"

"A simple thank you would be nice." She rolls her eyes, heading back to the limo.

Darkness veils over my eyes for a moment, as a cap is tightly fitted onto my head. "Can't let you burn on my watch Princess," I check to make sure Quinn isn't watching and then lightly kiss his cheek.

"Thank you," Damien is watching us besides Quin, keeping her busy with a discussion on Roman philosophy, but his disappointment radiates.

Before we left for Thalnia, Damien gave us both a strict warning on PDA, since Ajax and I struggled to keep it under wraps. Our secret cannot be unspoiled here, especially not with Chloe lurking in the background.

Her father forced her to come, probably to keep an eye on me or part of her advisor training, but as soon as Ajax announced he was going as well, she was all smiles.

At least until we got here. The heat is a major stressor. If I marry this Theo then I would most likely have to move to Thalnia. It's beautiful, but it's not home. It's not Dahlia.

"Your Majesty, that concludes the tour of some of the beautiful sights of Thalnia. I'm sure on one of your other trips out here, the King himself would be pleased to show you more."

"Please, call me Emmeline and that sounds lovely." Gag. At myself, not Quinn, she's lovely.

I hate my fake persona that is adopted for politics and socialising. My favourite part of ruling is going to the villages, being able to walk where I want, talk to whom I want, and just be myself. Find out what my people want and then act on it.

If I come here, would I ever get to be myself again. Without everything and everyone that makes me that way.

***

My palace is bigger than his - I just had to say it.

Yet I like it, it feels warmer, more homely and I f*****g hate that I can see myself curled up on the hammock that hangs within the grove. I glance at my two boyfriends that both share a similar expression of almost mourning.

We're all in the guest room I'm occupying for the duration of the stay, barely a week, which according to the other advisors is plenty of time to get engaged. "What are you thinking?" I direct them both.

Damien wears that simmering look of agitation whenever he can't express himself clearly. I clutch his hands, then stretch one out to hold Ajax's. "This doesn't work without the truth, remember. No matter how painful."

He nods, sighing deeply with a kind of frustration I'm powerless against. "It's him. The..King. I haven't met him before, or even seen him, barely any photographs document him and he still hasn't shown his face. He's an enigma that I can't solve and it's just..."

"You'd like to know what you're up against,"

He smirks, dragging me in by the waist so he can kiss me breathless. "Baby, there will never be any competition for you. You are ours, heart, mind, soul and for now..." I gasp as he squeezes my a*s, not used to such crude behaviour on his part. "Body."

"I don't want to sleep with him. You know that, both of you." I glance desperately to Ajax, who nods, cupping my cheek with his large hand.

"We know, but it's okay if you do. In the future, if you marry him or want children, it's okay. We don't want you to feel guilty about it."

Disgust creeps over me at the thought of sleeping with another man, with anyone but Ajax or Damien. "Only if you don't either. I don't want you both living like hermits whilst I'm..." Bile creeps up my throat so fast, I can barely finish my sentence.

"It's okay, Princess. Don't think about that right now." Ajax brushes my temple with his lips, before glancing at the time. "s**t, I'm supposed to be helping Chloe."

"Chloe? With what?"

"I don't know, I think it was something to do with burns."

I snort, and even Damien cracks a smile. "She wants to seduce you with sunscreen."

I'm guessing those burns will be close to her a*s, but I trust Ajax to resist her seduction techniques.

Fuck, that's a little scary but there's comfort behind that realisation. I trust them both, know deep inside my soul that they could never hurt me, just like they would never hurt each other.

Then that happiness deflates, realising that I've spent my life longing for that kind of love, and not that I've found it, it's slipping, painfully, from my grasp.

***

My temporary maid is a young girl named Ophelia. Only 15, yet her beauty radiated that unlike anything I've ever seen.

I questioned her of course. It's illegal in Dahlia for people under the age of 17 to work, a law my father enforced to help battle child s*****y which has proved effective.

"I love my job. My mother is the head maid and she assigned me this position, but don't worry I've been training for a while and hopefully one day will be able to take over her role."

"You're happy?" I ask curiously, as she begins to hang my dresses in the wardrobe.

Naturally I move to help her, but she waves me off. "You can't do that. You're the Princess,"

"So? I can still hang up my own clothes." I slowly move to grab another, her eyes pinned onto my every move. "See, nothing bad will happen. You'll just finish the job faster and we both benefit."

"You do this back home? In Dahlia, I mean."

"Yeah, sometimes. My maid is actually a lot like you. She tries to convince me to sit still but I just can't. Anyway, I like hanging clothes, it's therapeutic."

"That's strange." She mutters lowly.

Another question prods in my mind. "Does your King enforce that? Does he believe that just because we have a title we're immune from working for ourselves?"

Her eyes widen, almost welling with tears to the point I fear I've hurt her in some way. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I didn't..."

"No it's me who should apologise. My behaviour, it wasn't acceptable, I should have just let you help because now you believe ill of the King and he's not like that. He's very kind and just, he treats us all like his family, and gives us presents for annual holidays. He refuses help when he is sick, not wanting to give us the illness and he never lets anyone else tend to the horses but himself. He's a good King."

I half smile, feeling conflicted between my desire not to like the King at all, yet Ophelia speaks of him so highly, so respectfully. "He sounds like the kind of person I would admire." Her tears subside, smiling, before beginning to turn the bed sheets.

The room suddenly feels hot, like the walls are closing in on me. "I'm going to explore the grounds." I say quickly, already moving towards the door.

"But wait, you need a guard! Princess wait,"

I'm already walking down the hallway, away from that room, away from reality however I can escape it.

There's no point finding Damien or Ajax, both are currently in a meeting about the logistics of the trip and future endeavours as well as trade policies. I was invited but jet lag caught up with me and I ended up passed out in my room until Ophelia came in.

Chloe is another option...actually better not to consider that choice.

Weirdly, the Palace isn't busy. I've passed a few maids, one guard, but that's it and none of them even recognised me. There's a weird sense of freedom in that the suffocation I felt earlier slowly dissipates.

I pass many doors, but there's only cracked ajar, with light spilling beneath that catches my eyes. Peering around, I find no-one and slowly approach.

The faint hum of a low voice echoed out. I recognise the tune, an old slow song my parents used to dance to. Curiosity takes over and I open it, the creak of the door cussing the humming to freeze.

I freeze as the voice boom, "Who is it?" There's almost a singe of fear on the tone, like I'm intruding on the most intimate of moments.

Fuck, what if I just interrupted two people...

"I said who is it? For f**k's same you've already intruded so you might as well just show..."

The door is pried open from my fingers, revealing all of me like the creep I appear to be. My breath hitches slightly at the half n***d man, splatters of paint all over his bare chiselled chest that could be a piece of art in itself.

"Why are you n***d?" I breathe out, eyes unable to tear away from the sight.

Finally I glance up but the face equally matches the glory of his body. I'm f****d.

A lazy smile crosses his face, "Why are you looking? And I'm not n***d. Not completely anyways." True. He's wearing a pair of grey pants and that's it.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If I was topless, it would be considered nudity." I hate the double f*****g standards.

Men can show their n*****s but women can't?

Fuck that.

A glimmer of mirth sparks in his eye. "I wouldn't object to you being topless. In fact, I encourage it."

I can't help but laugh, feeling lighter than I have done for hours. Those hazelnut eyes crease slightly, curiosity filling them. "Who are you?"

I tilt my head to the side. "Who are you?"

"I asked you first."

"Doesn't mean I have to answer, and besides I'm a guest in this Palace, so shouldn't you be falling to fulfil my every whim and desire."

"Ah, so you're with the Princess?" My smile dies. f**k. I didn't think that through, but I'm not ready to surrender this limited freedom already.

"Fine, you got me. I'm from Dahlia, I'm...Chloe, one of the Princess' advisors."

"Chloe?" He tests the name on his tongue, as though it doesn't sit right with belonging to me. Or maybe I'm just already caught up in the guilt of lying to this stranger. Then he pulls the door further open, offering me a glimpse inside. "Come in,"

This could be a bad decision. He could be a murderer, a creep, and I have no protection right now. Noticing my lingering apprehension, he sighs and walks away, picking something up that rests besides his easel.

"Does this make you feel better?" My eyes catch the golden glint of the crown, bejewelled with the royal diamonds, sacred to Thalnia.

"Oh f**k," I murmur. Of course the first interesting person I meet just happens to be the same one I'm trying to avoid.

He searches my first, before throwing it carelessly aside. "Woah!" I rush in to pick it up, ensuring it's still intact.

My tiara is so precious that I've only ever worn it on a handful of select occasions and even after decades of reigning as King and Queen, my parents still treat their crowns like their own beings.

"Relax, it has been through worse." He clicks the door shut with a playing smile and I realise he did that on purpose. Now I'm trapped.

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A/N: Thoughts on Theo?