"The Prince Needs a Bride" (complete)

Part 9 - Patience

After ten minutes of sitting and waiting, the queen paced around the chamber...

The voice of Eltron broke into her feelings of impatience, "Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet."

"Einstein?"

"Aristotle wrote that long before others reinvented it to quote it as theirs. I suggest, Marm, you should go and partake of luncheon but first, take the phone from the open drawer and I will communicate through it to you when my creator is back on air so to speak. He still hasn't answered my signal which is not unusual due to the fact I have had no need to call for him until now and he walks extremely dangerous paths."

"I have my phone," she said.

"The contents of your mobile were duplicated three minutes ago, Marm. Someone in the security tower has them. My creator should be able to discover the names of those in that tower. I would suggest, Marm, you place your personal phone in that drawer and it will be cloaked from any enemy using the signal to discover your whereabouts. I've transferred your contacts to the compact phone and all you need to do is speak the name of the one you wish to contact. My name is in there and also the name of my creator."

The queen glanced around the chamber, looking for the 'open drawer.'

"Under the desk, Marm, to your right. And when you leave here, you must leave the desktop open as it is. I need to continue waiting on my creator for him to communicate with you, Marm."

A small shallow drawer, more like a shelf, protruded from beneath the desktop and in it was a small round pod-like container, very much like a compact for makeup powder. Feeling off-center to be commanded by a computer, the queen snapped up the compact, placed her phone in the drawer and strode towards the door which opened automatically. Moving along the short narrow passage, she waited at the next door, knowing it wouldn't open if someone was in the chamber beyond. Impatience took over and she strode back to the still-open door, feeling even more contrary. She hesitated, not sure what to do next. Her indecision was of foreign nature to a queen who had ruled over a kingdom for twenty-seven years. She felt like an out-of-tune multi-strung instrument, unable to play a perfect accompaniment.

I can't find any coherent melodies inside of me, she lamented.

It struck her that she should be feeling threatened, not thinking of music. If the door wouldn't open, someone was in her most private quarters. Someone who had the code and this could only be her husband, no one else. Staff were only permitted entry when they saw the outer door to her chambers left open.

"Someone is approaching my outer door, Marm."

"Do you know who it is?" she called back.

"They have a device, Marm but not one that I can access. Best you come back here and close my inner door. You are safe here Marm."

Returning to her Royal safe room, the queen sat at the desk and asked, "Eltron, can you show me the outer courtyard and garden party areas?"

Middle screens above the desk seemed to merge into one, before dividing to show the various areas of the garden party. Others around the edge opened up to the insides of the marquee food tents where young ladies and men were partaking of food and drinks. Waiters and waitresses swarmed around them with trays and platters.

Unable to recognize but few of the guests, the queen recalled the names of many of the staff and discrete guards around the different areas. She found it both fascinating and disturbing to watch from here yet not be part of it. I should be out there. Perhaps I should return.

"The intruder in your quarters has gone in the bathroom and the shower is running," Einstein announced.

"Can you show me this person?"