Brotherhood

Chapter 10

Amy stirred her tea absentmindedly, her mind drifting back to Geric's kiss over and over again. She had loved the feeling of his lips against hers, of his fingers caressing her skin, of the sweet taste of his mouth. Her sense of duty for her kingdom and for herself warred against each other, and there were some moments that she found herself winning and other moments where she found her kingdom winning.

"You've been very silent this morning," her mother commented as she stared across the table at her. This was something they tried to do at least once a week, afternoon tea in the gardens, especially after her father started having heart problems. The physician told them that he would be okay as long as he didn't strain himself too much, he got enough exercise, and ate right. But they all still held their breath.

"Mother, Father," Amy said slowly as she set her spoon down and held her head high. "There's something I need to speak to you about."

Hearing Amy's seriousness in her voice, her father set down the reports he was reading and gave her his full attention. "Go on."

Taking a deep breath, she plunged in. "Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with my distaste of Charles. I do not believe he is fit to rule Colmar. If you don't believe me, I've constructed a document that goes into great detail of why Charles will be our downfall. I honestly believe that if he rules in the King's Seat, we will be facing a second Great War." She handed over her carefully pressed parchment to her father who studied it closely.

"What is all of this?" he murmured thoughtfully.

"As agreed, I have spent many afternoons with Prince Charles, gleaming every word that comes out of his mouth. He is not fit for any throne, especially not Colmar's."

"But, Darling," her mother gasped, a hand held to her heart. "It is a great match. Charles is most beloved of his people. He protects them. He fights for them. He is conscientious of their needs. You two must wed. I will not have it any other way."

Her father peered over the document at her, a very serious look in his eyes. "You do realize what a broken engagement with Minnings could do to our country, right? They could declare war. They could destroy us. We need Minnings and they need us. Without them, we won't have the protection of their military forces."

Amy frowned. She knew all of this. But she had another plan, one that might take years, one that was farfetched, but if done right, they wouldn't need anyone's protection ever again.

This was the moment that she had been fearing because she knew exactly what her parents would say, and none of it would be good. "I have another proposal for you," Amy said with her head held high. "One that might seem outlandish, but I want you to hear me out."

Both her parents stared at her, but finally her father nodded. "Go on."

"For far too long, werewolves and humans have fought and there have been far too much bloodshed, far too many families disrupted, and both humans and werewolves always live in fear. I want harmony in our kingdom. I want peace. I want to marry a werewolf."

Her mother gasped and started fanning her face with her retractable fan, her face as red as a beet. "Look what you've done," she moaned to the king. "You've put ideas into her head. You've created a monster."

The king laced his fingers together and leaned forward, studying Amy carefully. "You have my attention."

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. She never thought she'd get this far. Perhaps all those years of playing the obedient little princess actually paid off. "Just think about it, Father. If we could unify humans and werewolves, we'd never need protection again. We'd have that right inside our very own kingdom. Colmar could be a safe haven for werewolves where they never need to fear being hunted. I've constructed a plan, some of which I've included in the document I just gave you. Both humans and werewolves will be accountable for their own actions. If a human hurts or kills a werewolf, they will be punished. If a werewolf hurts or kills a human, they will also be punished. All palace guards will also be held accountable for their actions. There will be absolutely no killing of werewolves, even if one of them killed a human. Only that werewolf who committed the crime will be punished. There's more, Father. There's so much more. I know this will work. It will take a while to enact, but I know it will work."

After a few long moments of silence, her father let out a long breath, making Amy's stomach tie in unpleasant knots. That didn't sound good.

"You want to know what I think about your proposal?" the king asked. "I think it's impossible. I would immediately write off the idea as crazy. But I haven't been on the throne for thirty-five years for nothing. As slim of a chance this is, I'll consider it. In the meantime, everything will go as planned with Charles. He is still your betrothed and that isn't going to change."

"Father," she begged, knowing that was just his way of putting it in the back of his mind until it was too late to do anything about it at all. "Please. I can't marry that man. He will be our downfall. He is not fit to rule Colmar. There will be civil unrest both among humans and werewolves, and at that point, it won't matter whether or not we have Minnings' protection. Our kingdom will fall. You have to believe me! I can't just stand here and watch that happen. I love my people more than anything. I want what's best for them, whether they're a human or a werewolf."

"And you think the best way to do this is to marry a werewolf?" he asked skeptically.

Amy shook her head, grabbing her father's hand and looking sincerely into his eyes. "Not just any werewolf. I want to marry Geric. I love him, Father. But all feelings aside, I know that this will help unify our kingdom in a way that it never could with marrying Charles. Please."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately knew that she said the wrong thing. Her father's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, but he wasn't able to say anything before her mother fainted right out of her chair.

"Mum!" Amy gasped as she rushed forward and held her mother's head in her lap as she used her fan to fan her face. Her mother mumbled something incoherently, her eyes fluttering open, but she looked completely out of it. "Are you okay? Should I call for a physician?"

"You can't do this to me," she insisted, rolling her head to look up at her. "You can't do this to us. This has never been done!"

"How long have you been seeing this werewolf?" her father asked sternly, his arms crossed over his chest.

Amy's heart quickened in her ribcage, fear erupting through every fiber of her being. Geric courting her while she was betrothed would be counted as treason. He could die for this. She had to lie for him.

"Before the masquerade," she whispered hoarsely. "But not since then. I haven't seen him since then."

Her father's demeanor changed slightly, looking just a little bit more relaxed, but she could tell that he still wasn't happy. He turned to the guard who was stationed just a few yards away from them, standing there as if he hadn't just heard anything that they said.

"I want this werewolf arrested. Bring him in for questioning," he ordered. "Scour the whole town for Geric the werewolf."

"Daddy, no!" Amy shouted, rushing toward her father and latching onto his arm. "You can't do this. This was my idea, not his! He doesn't even know about this proposal, please!"

But he just shook his head, his eyes colder than she had ever remembered seeing them before. "This is how it has to be, Ameline. He's a werewolf. You're a princess. He's using you to get the throne. He must be brought in for questioning."

"Don't hurt him, Daddy. Don't you dare hurt him! Otherwise you will not have my cooperation with marrying Charles."

The king paused for a moment, glaring angrily down at Amy. "You have my word. The werewolf will not be harmed unless proven guilty."

"Daddy, please!"

"Not another word!" the king bellowed. "Not another word."

And then she watched him disappear with the guard, her heart sinking more and more. This could not be happening. This could not be happening...