The King's Inamorata (A Queen's Tale #1)

The Abdication

Spring quickly came and went and it turned to summer. Eventually, summer came and went too. With only a few weeks left of the harvest season Lukas spent most of his time helping Vivia with tending to the land or selling whatever crops they managed to yank out of the ground at the market.

He'd never felt so liberated in his entire life. In town, he took on Agna's last time and continued to pose as her cousin. In Canta, he could be Luc de Villiard a simple man with the choice to be whomever it pleased him to be. No palace, no royals, no obligations, no father breathing down his neck, brothers at his throat, or anyone else to worry about but Vivia and his new family.

Vivia.

Every day he spent with her was another day he felt undeserving of her. How could he have been so lucky? To have been found by someone so loving and good? He scarcely spent any time apart from her. It pained him to do so. She was smiling at a young couple he recognized as Jia and Terrance. Vivia was wrapping up a few loaves of bread for them and placing it in a basket.

"I'm so thrilled to hear that," she was saying. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

Ah, she was expecting! He knew it. For two weeks already Jia had been coming to them with the strangest requests. "Do you have carrots and watermelon?" she asked once. "I have a craving for the both of them together."

"Twins run in Jia's family," Terrance said. "I was hoping for one of each."

Jia's eyes flew wide open. "Goodness, no. I want one and that's it. A boy or a girl, it doesn't matter so long as it's healthy."

She bid the couple fair well and while Vivia was distracted Lukas passed behind her and tugged on her hair. Her hand immediately went up to her head and when she turned left he swooped in on her right and stole a kiss. She laughed, both caught off guard and surprised and kissed him back.

"I can't feel my feet," she said. She lifted the skirt of her dress and wiggled her boot. "I've been standing since morning."

"Why don't we go visit your father? It's time to start heading home anyway."

Vivia took a moment to think before nodding. They spent hours every day in the market. Sometimes it got tiring, especially in this heat.

"Alright, let me just pack up my things."

They rarely returned home with much. They usually sold almost everything they had at the market each day. Vivia said to him at the beginning of summer that it was because he was so handsome and the town wanted to grasp his attention. He highly doubted this, however. If he was one of the townspeople he'd come to see her.

In the months that Lukas had been in Canta he kept wondering what his future would look like. Every time he picture it, Vivia was there and her little cottage. Whenever he picture himself, one year, ten, fifty years in the future it was always watching the sunset from the cottage with Vivia while Agna animatedly told one of her stories and Tomas would sit to listen.

He couldn't have picked a better place to spend forever in.

They walked to Tomas's office together hand in hand when someone called out Vivia's name. She turned to see who it was and smiled back. She looked at him. "I'll be right back."

He smiled at her before she skipped away to embrace the red head who was calling out for her. They quickly fell into rapid conversation, about what, Lukas didn't know. He was about to walk into the bank to tell Tomas they were here when he caught wind of a conversation happening behind him.

"—abdicating in favor of his brother."

"The bastard?"

The woman scoffed impatiently. "No! The younger one. The King must be furious. Everyone knows Prince Evander is his least favorite."

Lukas had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something.

"I'm so surprised. Why would the Crown Prince abdicate?"

"They say he's been gone from the palace for months. Something about whoring and gambling."

The other woman sighed. "A shame, really..."

Lukas spun around because he wanted to ask the women what else they knew about this so called "abdication". So this was the story Calais was weaving together. He couldn't believe it. Thousands of miles away and still the problems of court were following him.

He'd never be free.

*

*

*

Hey all! I'm soooo sorry this chapter is so short. I've been super busy working on a surprise for you guys and it's taken away from my writing time! Tomorrow is Friday and the start of the weekend though, so I PROMISE there will be plenty of full lengthed chapters! I hope this enough to hold you!<3

XOXO Lilly