Reign

8. Meet the monsters

Note: Hello everyone!!! I have to confess that the following chapter is my favorite so far. I hope it will become yours. Brace yourselves, because something huge is happening at the end! Thanks once more for your support! I am excited to read your comments for this special chapter and the song I chose. To my mind, this song suited most! This chapter is dedicated to the one and only @buyenyengcurl! Thanks for the support and advice!                              

                         8.Meet the monsters

"I have named you queen.
There are taller than you, taller.
There are purer than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen"

La Reina (The Queen), Pablo Neruda

One month later....

The ball held by the Charity Association for the Children Rights was a total success for a fifth consecutive year. Most of the high society members were gathered in the huge throne room of the Redmondian palace, with their checkbooks in hand, totally antagonistic. The aristocrat who would make the most generous donation would boast about his achievement for a whole year.

Their flashy smiles, their flamboyant gowns, and their gaudy jewelry were far away from the world they were supposed to support. Impoverished children, dying of famine and diseases, innocent victims in the hands of slavers and twisted panderers had nothing to do with them. For the aristocrats, the opulent entrepreneurs and the indolent ladies, that event was just another opportunity to demonstrate their wealth, while for the others, the less privileged. Some of them were totally unaware  of the reason they were attending this ball. They were simply present those balls were always a good opportunity for good food, for self-promotion and for gossiping.

With these thoughts in her mind, Roselyn was looking impassively at a man who was sitting beside her and was boasting about his many trips in North Africa and the Middle East, while he was drinking the fifth glass of wine.

It has been more than two months since her arrival, and she was more productive than ever. She was working around the clock, meeting people, attending business events and preparing for the throne by protocol rules and countless laws or regulations.

Alexander had proven to be a very cooperative partner. Lately, he was attending as many meetings as possible and seemed more interested in state matters than before. He wasn't always that punctual, but he was making extraordinary progress. Sometimes, he wasn't showing up at all at meetings, and she had to come down with excuses to cover him. When he was reappearing, he was inventing some pretty lame excuses about his absence. But when he was there, he was a true leader; Convincing and persuasive, he was making the other affiliates succumb to the palace's demands only by a glance or by the alluring tone of his voice.

But his rascal behavior didn't mind her at all because the old rivalry was gone by far. He was talking to her and he seemed to enjoy her presence. He was always chatting with her, winking at her or even having meals with her. Her heart was filled with many positive feelings, but she was trying to remain in balance. He was only a working partner and nothing more. He was attentive and kind, but she couldn't forget her role . Everyone could notice that they were a very productive team together.  

"May I steal the future queen for a while, gentlemen?" she froze as she felt his warm hand circling her waist while beaming a dashing grin to the companion of dukes and earls around the table. He kept on grinning conspiratorially, while he was dragging her away from those boring people, especially from that George Burdon who was wooing her repeatedly.