Anything Could Happen

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Royal Titles

Jorge and Celia took a deep breath as they took their places on the thrones for the final time, they couldn't help but feel relieved at the choice that their people had made; it had been a long couple of weeks since the announcement had been made.

The result had been a pleasing one and this was the final duty that they would undertake as King and Queen of Aulea before the crown would officially pass to Lionel and Briana.

The planet had been in celebration since the news had been announced and no one seemed to be upset that Lionel was going to be the new king.

Ariana and Cristiano stood near the back of the room watching the scene unfold before them; they had been granted the titles of Duke and Duchess of Limarinho earlier that morning.

It had been a nice quiet ceremony and they were the first royals to get the new titles; they were lucky that they had met the cut off that was being imposed now on royal members.

Signalling for their eldest son and his wife to approach, Jorge leant back on his throne knowing that they had made the right decision.

There was some much that would change now that Lionel was King and this was one thing that they could ease for him; he was going to need all the help that he could get now that he had the planet watching his every move.

"To Rodrigo and Louisa, we grant you the titles of Duke and Duchess of Momence," Jorge announced knowing that things were going to get better now and he was sure that they wouldn't have too much trouble adjusting.

He peeked at his wife who smiled at him while Rodrigo admired the paperwork that proclaimed his new title; it was a lot better than what he had been expecting from this.

The fact that he had lost the throne to his youngest brother had stung but Rodrigo understood that it could have been much worse for them and he could count his blessings now.

"To Matias and Florencia, we grant you the titles of Duke and Countess of Ferntree," Jorge announced turning his attention to his next son and he knew that there would be questions about the titles on this one.

Matias stared up at his father at the title that had been granted to his wife, a frown formed on his face and he couldn't believe that Florencia had been made a countess instead of a duchess.

"You have gotten to be kidding me... just a countess," Florencia raged looking up at her in-laws, she couldn't believe that she had been given such a title when Louisa was a duchess.

She would be forced to bow down to everyone that had been ranked higher than her and this was not what she had expected after everything that had happened.

Jorge pursed his lips as he stared down at Florencia knowing that he should have expected her to get upset however he had little sympathy for her over her reduced title.

"You should be grateful for that title alone... if it were my choice then you'd have nothing," Celia spat annoyed glaring at Florencia, she was disgusted with her and the fact that she had tried to kill Briana had left her concerned about having her around the other royals.

There was silence at her words and Florencia paled realising that they knew what she had done; she had done her best to keep it quiet and that wasn't good enough.

"To Maria Sol, we grant you the title of Duchess of Daireaux," Jorge said focusing on his only daughter, she had yet to find her mate but he truly did hope that she would be able to find someone that made her happy and would keep her safe.

Matias only offered his wife a look before focusing on the rest of his family, he didn't know what to expect now that people knew.

***

Ariana couldn't keep the smile from her face as she approached her friend, she hadn't seen much of Briana in recent weeks but she was sure that she had been busy settling in to her own new role.

The new title of Duchess of Limarinho suited her just fine and she was getting used to how her life was going to be now that Lionel and Briana were the new King and Queen of Aulea.

Cristiano was already suggesting that they retreat to their new estate so that they could have some peace and quiet after how crazy things had gotten during the election.

"Your Majesty," Ariana greeted with a small dip, she still couldn't believe that Lionel had been chosen and she was rather relieved that they didn't have to deal with one of his brothers become King of Aulea.

Briana rolled her eyes, she didn't like the title that she now had and it made her rather uncomfortable especially since people now were constantly watching her every move.

They were currently attending a luncheon and Briana was rather nervous about all the people that were around and she knew they would be counting down the days until her pregnancy was over.

"How are you feeling?" Ariana asked sitting down next to Briana, the brunette looked huge and it was hard to believe that she was only twenty-two weeks pregnant instead of being near the end of her pregnancy.

There were rumours going around that Briana was much further into her pregnancy than the royal family was letting on but no one dared voice such opinions when there were royals around.

"Like I swallowed a whale," Briana replied resting a hand on her bump, she felt huge and she was sure that people around her would be surprised to hear that she was having twins.

Ariana laughed a little and sat down next to Briana, she was relieved that her friend was okay considering just how much her life was changing right now.

The role of Queen wasn't an easy one to take and Ariana could only hope that Briana was prepared for what that meant even with the baby due soon.

"I would like to make an announcement," Lionel said stepping forward, he had been doing a lot of thinking since he had been elected King and he knew that there was one thing that people were going to be talking about.

The twins were due the middle of April and Lionel wanted to ensure that the birth went as smoothly as possible; he didn't want any threats to come for his wife and unborn children.

Briana peeked at Lionel wondering what he was going to say, she hadn't been expecting him to make a speech especially when the luncheon was mainly focused on his siblings.

The room fell silent as they focused on the King and they all were curious about what he might say; this would be the first speech he had made since accepting his role as King of Aulea.

"Briana and I would like to share the news that we are expecting twins in April," Lionel revealed knowing that he hadn't really discussed it with his wife, he had been speaking with his secretary and they had recommended that they shared the news now.

Andres Iniesta had been concerned with the amount of rumours that the Queen was going to have her baby earlier than expected; he wanted to put to bed any rumours that the King had slept with the Queen before they were wed.

Briana paled at how Lionel had revealed their little secret, she had thought they would wait until the twins were born before they made such an announcement.

People around the room started to clap thrilled with the news that not only was the Queen going to give the King an heir to the throne but she would also give him a spare.