Becoming A Queen.

6

In the Village, Miranda's week was filled with nervous energy. Between her hands a pair of sturdy, yet elegant work boots took shape. They were sturdy enough to be used for hard work but elegant enough to fit a king.

Her nimble hands had spent several evening hours embossing the royal crest into the leather, burning her fingertips on the hot metal in the process, but finally the boots were done. 

Sofia came skipping in after school, twirling and dancing as always.

"What has gotten you so happy today?" Miranda smiled warmly at her daughter while rubbing heated wax into the King's boots to seal the leather.

"Jade, Ruby and I were playing princesses! And it was sooo delightful! We had tea with princess Amber, who was adorable by the way! And Jade said she had been invited to the royal ball to dance with Prince James, but Ruby said the prince doesn't dance, so we decided it was a girls only ball... And we had so much fun!!!" Sofia enthused, twirling around the workshop.

"I'm happy you enjoyed yourself," Miranda chuckled at the way Sofia danced, sending dust motes into the corners.

The child stopped and looked at her mother.

"Not that I'm ungrateful to be who I am... It would just be so much fun to wear all the fancy clothes and the jewellery and not go to school!" Sofia said with a false apology in her eyes.

"Oh, Sofia my love. You are delightful, just the way you are. But being a royal is much more than clothes. They have to behave in a certain way and as far as I know, there is a royal school where they have to learn how to run a country as well as the stuff you learn," Miranda smiled, watching her daughter's face fall.

"Even more school? But.... When do they get to play?" She asked in shock.

Miranda chuckled.

"As far as I could see, they have the entire royal gardens to play in," She smiled.

"The famous flower garden?" Sofia cheered.

"That's the one," Miranda smiled.

The sound of carriage wheels stopping outside stopped any further conversation and Miranda looked to see Alfred's cheerful smile at the door.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Miranda nodded and packed the kings shoes into her carpetbag along with a pair she had on her shelf that might fit Prince James.

"Be good for Mrs Drummond, she told a disappointed Sofia who nodded back.

The journey was uneventful.

As she approached the parlour as before, the sound of laughter filled the hallway. Alfred stopped and frowned.

"He's laughing?" he frowned in surprise.

Miranda looked at Alfred in question.

"Since the queen passed... well... Let's just say he's a serious man," Alfred shrugged.

Miranda looked at the door, hearing the warm laughter from within mixed with squeals of two children's voices.

Alfred stopped and gave the door a knock before opening to reveal King Roland himself in his shirtsleeves with a child under each arm and his hair in disarray. His eyes were glowing with laughter and his cheeks rosy.

Miranda's heart skipped from the look of it. If she had thought that he was a handsome man in his suit, the casual and relaxed way he obviously loved to play with his children made her long for him in new ways. The shine of his eyes made her heart stutter.