Emilie of the Royal Heart

BONUS: Hiding

Hey, have you finished the book yet?

Don't read unless you have!

I made a playlist for this pairing on Spotify! 

It's called Emilie and the Prince and it starts with Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg

Setting the stage (this is so important before you read this chapter):

Before the book begins. Right before. It'll make sense when you read it.

"I'm fine," he growled, pulling his shirt back on and buttoning it while the palace medic gave him a very fuzzy arched eyebrow.

She set her stethoscope back in her bag and she folded her arms, "I'm the one who ultimately decides that, your majesty."

Aurora sighed and rose from his chair, "I'm fine. I was last month and the month before and the month preceding that one. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not dying. There's no curse. I'd like to get back to work."

"You know as well as I do that we will continue to do these physicals even if you are fine," she told him, "I certainly can't disobey your late parents' orders."

"Putting a stipulation in their will about how, should I rise to the throne, I am required to get monthly medical exams should not be considered an order."

"In any case, your highness," the medic turned around to scribble something in her notes, "there is nothing wrong with you today, but I would suggest that you take a stroll in the outdoors some time. Please, I beg of you to get some fresh air. The musk of books is not the same as the crisp scent of the forest."

"I could find the time this afternoon..." Aurora grumbled, "if it is essential..."

"It is."

The medic left his room and Aurora gathered his things for his meeting with the Keepers. They had called on him to speak with them a few days ago and today was the unfortunate day he would have to face them. He worried he knew what they would say.

Elias had gone out of his way to inform Aurora that he was alone too much and that if something should happen to him (his brother put too much stock in the mysterious ailment Aurora was rumored to be fatally afflicted with), there would be no chosen successor for the kingdom. Luckily for him, Elias was aware of his distaste for Sir Tiago and the strange way he comported himself, and so his brother suggested instead of his once destined-to-be husband, that Aurora might choose a wife.

Even Aurora didn't think it wasn't a terrible suggestion until Elias went over his head to mention it to the Keepers.

And when he arrived in the Keepers' court, he was greeted by the fruits of his brother's labor. Sir Tobberty folded his hands at the table. Sir Pinpot Sweebellum sniffed. She sniffed a lot. It was springtime and she had notorious allergies. Sir Tiago looked ready to bite someone and so Aurora sat on the opposite side of the table and hoped it wasn't going to be him.

"The Keepers of Tradition have been talking and we've decided you must choose a wife within the year," Tobberty informed him.

Aurora raised his eyebrows for a moment, but his face remained level as he digested the words. After a long pause, he glanced around the table and then he said, "no. I don't want to do that."