Fighting for a Crown

Chapter Forty Eight

Evie snapped the box closed.

"I'm sorry." She explained hastily. "I can't."

A huge weight crashed down onto my shoulders, shame forced my other knee to fall down. "Why not?" I couldn't even look up at her. Had I been so wrong in my judgement?

Sapphire silk knees appeared in front of my own. Her hands wrapped around mine again. "I can't marry you." She whispered again. She tried to kiss my cheek but I jerked away, confused at the action. "You said you wouldn't ask me to do this. Why are you? Provided we are successful," Evie began, I turned and threw the velvet box towards the wall, "You'll be king." The box hit it with a smack and fell to the ground. "If you're king and we're married then I'll be queen." I got up, trying to turn my face away, to hide it before she saw the tears. "I can't be the queen, Gavrila. I really can't." Small hands materialised on my torso, working their way around to hug me.

"I have to be the king though." I whispered, trying to hide from her. "How can we be together if I'm the king but you're not the queen?"

Evie shrugged against me. "We've done so many impossible things, we'll find a way, I promise."

I shook my head again, pressing my arms against the hay bale. That couldn't be the real reason, no way. "Is there someone else?" I turned back to face her. She removed her arms, her eyes were turned down, the eyelashes hid her reaction. "There is?" I took a step towards her.

"No there isn't." She spat back, meeting my gaze. "I love you, Ganechka, I just can't marry you."

"That can't be the reason!" I shouted, pulling a hay bale down as I stepped closer to her. She stepped back. "You were one of them, you know. One of the girls lined up on the dance floor, practically begging me for a dance."

"I was not."

"What did you think that would lead to? You can't seriously expect me to believe that you came to the palace desperately hoping not to marry me."

"You know I never wanted that!" Evie shouted back at me, holding her ground even though in doing so she looked pathetically short. "You know I only came to the palace because I had to. Because Anne-Marie got ill. I've told you that a thousand-"

"So you don't love me at all then?" I had to cut her off. I couldn't listen to her excuses.

Evie ripped her father's Sabre from its scabbard and shoved it into a hay bale. "You know I love you, Ganechka. We're going round in circles." She shouted. I decided to ignore that lie.

Because if she didn't love me, why did she bother helping me with this journey, over enemy lines, into enemy territory. I laughed at myself. How could I have been so stupid? "You are the spy aren't you." I put my hand to my forehead, trying to stop laughing at myself. "Where - were they even your family? Or are you indeed Baracosian born. You're the reason Gringle field failed. You're the reason they made me abdicate. You're a danger to me." My hand tugged at the Schiavona, thank God she hadn't tricked me into selling it.

"Gavrila listen to yourself!" Evie cried, pulling her Sabre back out to try and kill me.

"Listening to myself is the problem!" I realised aloud. "All this time. They warned me against you all this time, Fana, Angel, Serena, even Fenester and my dead father. I should have listened to them."

I took a step closer to her, raising my sword. She screamed as I brought it down, she tried to block but was callous and I caught her cheek, spilling blood. She let the sabre drop from her hand and stared up at me as I raised it again, this time to swing at her neck. It rested there against her skin. My heart tore in two as I even thought about trying to execute her. Duty compelled me to do it, I was no king if I couldn't. The breaths I took to steady myself sliced their way down my throat. I allowed her last words, hoping desperately that she'd prove me wrong.

"I didn't love you at first." She spoke clearly, not breaking my gaze. "I fell in love with you that night in the study. You taught me to waltz and to pavanne. Every time I saw you since then my heart burned. I never wanted to fall in love. I wanted to be the old maiden aunt who keeps to herself. But we don't get what we thought we would. M-my love for you drives me insane, Ganechka, but I love the insanity! I love having you kiss me, talk to me, look at me. I love your face and the way you move and all your little quirks. Every time you hold my hand I scorn myself for ever even thinking that I could want a different life because this life led me to you. I am not a spy. The only person you should listen to is yourself. Your heart. I'm sorry I can't marry you but I must stick to my principles. I have to. But please don't leave me. Please don't make me leave you."

My sword fell numbly from my hands. What was I thinking? There was no way she had been the spy.

Evie gasped and looked back down to her hands. "It breaks my heart to turn down your ring, but I know that later on, when you're king, it'll break us even more to split. And there really is no way I can be queen."

My heart shattered, but my brain saw a little of her sense. "I'm so sorry." I murmured, finally coming to my senses. "I can't believe I thought that you might be... I'm so sorry Evie." I fell to my knees again, this time to hold her against me. But little hands pushed me away.

She was crying. Her tears blended with the blood on her cheek. "I love you." She whispered. "I love you so much and I know you didn't mean it. But please do not try to hug me after you've just put a sword to my throat."

Again, numbly, I nodded. I understood.

Evie brushed the blood out of her cut and then took my hands. "I'm going to go to the Place Émeraude now, and we'll meet back here. When we meet again we'll put this behind us and carry on as we intended to, yes? All will be forgiven."

Again I nodded, my head completely disassociated from my body. She kissed my hands then left. My hands still had blood on them.