DUALITY /#Wattys 2021

Part Two: Wounded King

Chapter 17

"May I call you Ridley, Miss Faircloth?" said the King, as conversationally as any stranger on the street.

"Of course," said Ridley, still trying not to blush and stammer. She felt like a clown, as if she had long red shoes on that would send her flying on her face any minute. 

In Holstonia, especially, the animosity many felt toward the Crown would never apply here. People may have hated the Crown, but they loved the King.

"My friends call me Chi," said the King. "And I consider you a friend."

Ridley about choked. "I—what? I'm sorry, Your Highness. This is surreal."

The King laughed. "Or Your Highness, if that makes you feel more comfortable. But you're a fellow Olympian, Ridley. There's no need to kowtow." He turned. "Come and sit down, and let's talk."

He led them to the couches and Ridley sank down into plush rust-orange velvet. She settled the baby on her lap and Reb sat down next to her. The King unbuttoned his cloak and hung it on the hall tree, revealing casual, cozy-looking gray knit slacks and a blue sweater that exactly matched the blue of his eyes. He folded his tall frame onto the other couch, opposite a polished wooden coffee table. Alana turned and disappeared.

"Ridley, I'll put it plainly," said the King, interlacing his long fingers. "I'm looking at our people about to lose what little they have, and they either don't know it, or they don't believe it. The entire Confederation is ready to go back to slavery, only it won't just be dark-skinned people as the slaves. I won't have it."

Back to slavery? Ridley had no idea what that meant. "I saw the air force under the Guildhall," she said. "Our Neighbor coordinator said she knew of a plot to overthrow the Queen. Is the Guild going to attack us? What is going on?"

"You know that our nation was meant to be a Confederation of three entities: The People, the Guild, and the Crown," said the King. "Or, at least, the President, which later became the Crown. And all the corporations that chose to stay headquartered in the South, which later became the Guild."

Ridley nodded. The King continued. "The Guild and the Crown have always had much more than the people—it was that way at the time of the Great Secession—but you're from Holstonia, the same as I am. There's a reason you had to join the Neighbors and serve as a peace officer for your town. Our people are so poor they can't even fund a police force when Forest People are coming from the woods and attacking them." He waved his hands in a gesture of frustration.

Ridley looked up into beguiling eyes, battling her shyness. Just being near such a handsome man made her want to squirm. That he was her King made it embarrassing. She concentrated on his nose instead of his eyes and hoped she wasn't blushing.

"Your Highness, you don't have to tell me what we're about to lose. All the Good Neighbors know. We just can't get anybody to listen! People believe the Guild is going to save them." She cut her eyes away.

Alana walked back into the room carrying a tray of refreshments. She placed a plate of muffins and cut fruits in the center of the table and leaned down to pass out four steaming cups of tea.

Ridley blinked. The King didn't have servants for this kind of duty? Were her mother and the King living here alone? That seemed odd. And her mother must have gotten to know the King rather well.

Ridley felt a little stab of jealousy at that thought.

She twisted her hands in her lap. "People blame the fact that the Guild isn't number one out of the Big Three. They think if they give their all to the Guild, prosperity will rain down once the Guild owns the other two Guilds. As if the Guild is going bankrupt!" She heaved an angry sigh and crossed her arms. "Your Highness, they just aren't thinking this through. And we Neighbors can't tell them anything!"