She's a Rebel // Ben Finn x Princess

Chapter 25

Whichever architect designed the War Room to be the most important meeting room in the castle with only three seating options needed to reevaluate their career choice. Being the last one to arrive, I had sadly missed the chance to claim any of them. I stood against the door frame casually, just in time to join everyone else in watching Ben attempt, and fail, to master his newfound position of power, and resort to pacing anxiously across the soft carpet. Reaver, however, maintained a lofty indifference to everyone else, instead electing to survey his perfectly manicured fingernails in a bored fashion.

"Is there a purpose for this or did you gather us all here for a sweet little revolution reunion?" Reaver asked, lavishly commandeering a full sofa to himself, forcing everyone else to either stand or sit uncomfortably close to one another. "Because if so, I'm incredibly touched that you thought so kindly invite me but I do have an industry to run, poor people to extort, bedfellows to... well, you know."

"I hate to agree with... ugh, Reaver," Page visibly shuddered at the name, barely able look in his direction, although she was standing pretty much directly opposite him, "but it does seem a rather strange mix to be gathered here." I scanned the room - Jasper appeared rather displeased to be seated in close enough proximity to smell Hobson, and Logan was cowering so far into his chair it was almost as if he was trying to will himself into non-existence.

"Let Ben speak." I ordered, firmly. Ben, grateful for my command, took the order as his cue to occupy centre stage - as centred as he could get with the map table in the middle of the floor - as everyone settled down. The tension in the air blanketed the scene, suffocating and smothering with every breath.

"Okay, right. Ah, as you may have guessed from your presence here, I... we," he sent me a glance that was impossible to interpret, "have some news to share with you." Ben paused, mentally preparing himself by drawing in a long breath.

"General Finn..." Hobson began, taking any lull in conversation as an excuse to grab some attention.

"I require precisely zero contributions until the end of my announcement, alright, Hobson?" The disgusting man nodded and shrank further toward Jasper, who, physically repulsed by his successor, held his palms up in defence. "It may come as a shock, or not, depending on exactly how observant you are, for you to learn that Rose, uh...the Queen and I have been... inti-"

"Courting." I interrupted, instinctively, correcting his terminology. It didn't take me long to regret it; no sooner was the word out of my mouth than all eyes focused on me. Each held a slightly different stare - although Logan's was the most perplexing. He looked... offended?

"Yeah, that. But, uh... it was difficult for us to be open 'cause certain individuals just hate to see anyone happy..." Ben glared directly at Hobson, and I coughed quietly to cover my laugh. "So in order to research my heritage, and discover if I had any chance of being deemed worthy of the Queen of Albion, I went back to my hometown of Gunk. Picture Brightwall, but the people are far drunker and a lot less pleasant." He laughed, but since none of us had ever even been there, the joke fell on deaf ears. "I tried talking to the few people still alive who could remember my family, but they didn't offer me anything of value. Except ale. Then, I found a way into my old home, through what may not have been the most... legal methods."

"It is common knowledge that the royalty in Albion often flaunt the boundaries of the law, so you're already fitting in." Reaver called, but there was nobody present that adored him enough to care.

"Nobody has lived there since literally all of my family died, so it was kind of the worst experience of my life, but it was far lucrative than I could have ever imagined." Ben paused again, and the room fell silent, deathly silent, as if nobody in the entire city was making a sound. "I, obviously, immediately broke into my parent's old chambers. In there, I found my mother's old diary... and this."