In the kingdom of Amaranth, Prince Luke is next in line to the throne. But he can't rule until he has a queen by his side. Now betrothed to Princess Carrie of Evander, he's even more distant than usual.
Julie Molina, the strong minded peasant girl...
"You need to do better! You are the king now! How would your mother react?" Mitch slams his palms down onto his desk, his eyes burning red.
"Mother would be proud of me" I roll my eyes. "I'm proud of myself and you should be too. I am the king now, you need to listen to ME" I press my finger into my chest as I stare him down.
Mitch slams down a newspaper article, The Amaranth Daily. This newspaper loves to slam whatever I do, no matter how humanitarian. "King Lucas leaves crowning" I read, "So? I went and stopped that god awful, unfair murder you had planned"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"The execution of Juliet Molina was-"
"Was unfair and ruthless" I scoff, "You need to step back and accept that I won. You lost. You're no longer King and therefore, have no control over Amaranth or the guard. So stand down and accept it"
Mitch scoffs as the doors burst open and a guard walks in, "Duke Mitchel, the girl isn't in the castle"
My head flinches from the guard towards Mitch, "Are you telling me that while you had me sent here, you had the guard searching the grounds for Julie?"
"I had the guards searching for a fugitive of the crown. There's a difference" He sits back in his seat.
I sigh and look back to the guard, "Please remove Duke Mitchel from the kings quarters and have him relocated to the holding cells" I look back to Mitch and smile.
"You can't do this to me! I am your father!" Mitch complains as he gets dragged away. "YOU WILL RUE THE DAY LUCAS! RUE!"
I laugh softly as I shake my head, "That day won't come" I laugh as I sit down at his desk, I guess it's my desk now.
I walk down the hallways. Guards salute as I walk by. My head held high though I don't want to be strong at the moment.
I step into the chapel. The golden doors cresting this into a sacred space. Though, I only visit here for one reason. I kick my shoes off at the door as I take the first step in since I was a child.
The grass between my toes crunches as it hasn't been watered in to long. Typical of my father not to preserve any plants around here and this is the only place staff isn't allowed.
I turn around and flick on the light. An artificial creak of shimmering water surrounds the outer rim of the dark room. The lights aren't bright, they're dim. I take a few steps towards the statue in the back, a marble statue of a traditional dragon and sapphire eyes. "Hi mom"
I sit on the ground infront of the statue, "It's been a while" I sigh as I take my crown off and place it infront of the stone.
Queen Emily Marie Patterson 1968-2015 Loving mother, wife, sister and daughter. Beloved by her people till her dying breath. "If you need something to believe in, start with yourself"
My eyes prick with tears as I kneel in front of her. My head hung low as I keep my eyes closed right, "I am so sorry mother. I'm not honouring you in any kind of way"
"I'm supposed to be king but I can't choose between my people, or her. I don't have a choice but I can't seem to give her up. I can't do this" I fall onto my shins, sitting back and staying in a bow. "I'm sorry mama, I'm dishonouring your legacy"
I'm to caught up in the moment to hear the door behind me opening. To in the moment to hear my name being called so softly. To in the moment to feel the arms wrapping around me, letting me sob into their arms.
"Don't cry my King. She's proud of you"
I turn to see Carrie at my side. Still in her wedding dress and clothes. "Where did you go?"
"I may have pulled some arrangements together. I'll be out of your hair by sunrise, tomorrow" She rests her forehead against mine. "I'm going back home, back to Evander. Back to my father. Back where I belong"
I smile as I pull Carrie into a tight hug, "I love you so much" I mumble into her neck, "So goddam much"
Carrie laughs as she kisses my cheek, "Just like a brother"
Both of us laugh as we hold eachother. "I miss her" I whisper.
"Everyone does. You got her charm, you got her personality. You're obviously her son" Carrie stands up and places a hand on my mothers statue. Her other hand makes the sign of the cross over her body, "But that's against the point" She turns back to me, "Where's Julie? The guard was searching for her"
"Oh. She's safe"
julie
"Ma'am, what are you doing to me?" I laugh as I hold onto Morgan's baby, Olive.
Morgan looks up with a raised eyebrow as she stirs a pot. "Nothing? You good Madam?"
"Did you just call me Madam?" I laugh, placing the young baby down in her baby and walking over to the kitchen. Luke thought hiding out in the city, at Morgan's apartment, would be a good idea.
"You're Prince Lukes girlfriend" She shrugs, "I'm assuming you'd rather Julie?"
I nod and let out a breath, "Yeah. Definitely. Well-"
Morgan laughs and pours some soup into individual bowls, "You good dear?"
A small laugh escapes my lips as I walk over to the table. Today is the first day I've worn traditional women's clothing in four months. A dress, falling to the ground in a light jean blue. The top corset made of leather and little laces of silver, borrowed it from Morgan. "I'd rather Private Molina"
Morgan's mouth forms an 'oh' and she takes a seat at the table, placing the food infront of me, "I'm sorry honey. I really am. You were the best of Lukes guards"
I shake my head and lean back in the chair, "You know... I love my job. Luke's gonna give it back to me and things will be good"
Morgan smiles and leans back like myself, "Something tells me things are gonna get really good over the next few years"
~~~~ so I don't WANNA say goodbye but this is ending soon I recon within the next three chapters or so 😭
