Dark & Cold (FREE TRIAL!) [YA Fiction/Royalty/Romance] (D&C Series Book #1)

Chapter Four: A Quiet Queen

   THE DINNER TABLE is silent. King Charles has made about twenty awfully awkward attempts to provoke conversation among all the royals in the room, but there's something off in the air. Prince Henry still isn't smiling. He's not talking. He's eating –granted, slowly- and he's staring at the fork he's using to poke at the piece of steak on his plate.

When Rowan had greeted him earlier, Henry had only nodded and offered him another closed-mouth smile. He didn't say much. He doesn't seem very comfortable being here and if he is, he doesn't seem very amiable.

The other Royals in the room aren't entirely sure how to entertain him. They all suspect –especially Ericia- that somehow Prince Henry had ended up here by force. Perhaps he didn't want to come to Vynier. Perhaps he didn't want to create the alliance. Perhaps this was all his father's desires, and he was just a puppet.

God, Ericia thinks, and wouldn't I just happen to know all about puppets...

"So on the subject of the alliance," King Charles says, chewing a large chunk of steak, "have you decided on whether you want to have the official signing after the training of the army, or before?"

Henry stops, cold. He stares at the fork in his hand that now isn't moving. Charles keeps a smile on his face, hoping to remain polite.

Henry clears his throat. "My father has decided that he would like the official ceremony to happen after the training. It would be nice to have the trained armies standing together. Of course, training could go on for quite some time, so even I'm not really sure when this ceremony will actually happen. If it's alright with you, Your Majesty, I'd like to explain my plan for the training."

"By all means," King Charles says, forking another chunk of meat and bringing it to his mouth.

Henry drops his fork, finally seeming interested in a topic for conversation. He turns to the King. "I will lead the training, as you are well aware. I'm hoping to have at least three months of training done –anyone who is eligible to join the army between the ages of eighteen to twenty-five may enter, granted they have no criminal record or undesirable reputation. They must come from well-equip families –or in the very least, capable of becoming well-equip with the right traits. The training will involve intensive exercise and practice of defensive arts but I will make it my mission to teach of the morals and discipline involved in matters as this as well. I will allow time off during weekends, but I will make the trainees aware that it is important to exercise and practice every single day."

King Charles lets out a low laugh as Prince Henry stops talking. "You truly are quite the heir," he says. "I have no doubt that you will take care of my men."

Henry almost wants to laugh, but he offers another closed-mouth smile for only a few seconds. "Only the strongest will survive the training," he says, looking down at his fork again. "And I do not mean the strongest physically. As I'm sure you are aware, Your Majesty, all show isn't all go. It's easier for the bigger peaks to fall than for the small."

Henry sends King Charles a look that is almost untrusting. Charles raises his wine glass. "A toast," he says, "To an Heir of Honour."

Ericia sips her wine, Henry glancing over at her briefly. When Ericia looks up, he is sipping his wine, looking down at the uneaten steak on his plate. Ericia thinks that the Prince hasn't looked at her ever since he had arrived. When he had been approached by King Charles and introduced to the Queen and Prince Rowan –whom he already knew- he was introduced lastly to Princess Ericia, who had bowed politely and offered him a smile. He only stared at her for a brief moment then, before turning to the King who proceeded to ramble on about the pleasure of having him in Vynier and all the boring things he had often heard on his trips to other lands.