The Queen Of All Strange Things

15

My coronation was due next Saturday.
And Saturday is a favorite day of mine, next to Friday.
For the whole week, I moaned about being queen. Andrew just rolled his eyes and told me I was a big drama queen.
‘I’ll be a laughing stock,’ I said. ‘I want to kill Zeus. It’s all his idea.’
But at that Andrew gave a bit of a thoughtful face.
‘What?’ I asked.
‘Isn’t this all a bit odd? About Zeus I mean?’
‘I’ve read enough Greek mythology to know that he is one of the most notorious Greek gods around even though he is their king. Yeah, it’s really odd. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out lately, unless he gets some advantage, he would never do something like this.’
‘Well, at least you are not that stupid,’ said Andrew. He was now tapping on the desk. ‘Either he wants to use you as a puppet or something is terribly going on. The deities want nothing but power and you can never trust them… Besides, most of the majority votes for you were from the deities. They really hate mortals taking the throne.’
‘Aren’t we mortals?’
‘We held the throne long ago…’
‘What about Athena?’
‘She’s a strategist,’ said Andrew. ‘You cannot trust her at all. She might seem honorable but she’s not that much of a saint. She’s shrewder than Zeus.’
It was a pity. I liked Athena.
‘Zeus’s reason was reasonable… but_’
Andrew leaned over. ‘Do you believe it?’
I poked at the piece of broccoli on my trey.
‘No, Hating Seer rulers and making me queen is not directly … convincing actions that go together.’
‘We can only see what they are up to when you announce the Court titles.’
‘Court titles?’
‘You know… the titles. Like the advisers of the Council, the patrons and stuff. Having those titles means power and power is what most people want. We are on our own. In Sightless, it’s hard to trust anyone.’
Although I knew that it was best to stay on our own and not be dependent on anyone, it was hard. I liked Zeus, Athena and especially Enof. I liked the nymphs and loved to see the odd people who lived there.  It was hard to believe that anyone might stab you at your back at any moment. Then I thought of Andrew. Can I trust him? I knew he was only twelve years old and still a kid but he’s Andrew the Ninja Samurai Prince. I’m not even sure that I can trust Trevelyan when I come to think of it and the Lies I’m surrounded with…. I’ll get a death sentence if anyone finds out and a side of me told that Zeus might not even help if it comes to that.
‘Andrew,’ I said. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Anything not stupid...’
‘But I need a honest answer,’ I said. He nodded. ‘Do you like to be the king of Sightless?’
Andrew sort of froze. ‘No,’ he blurted.
‘I need the honest truth.’
‘Well,’ he said. ‘I lived most of my life knowing that I’ll be king...’
‘So?’
‘So there is no part of me that wants to be king. I knew it will come one day and I knew that once it did, I won’t be able to live as freely as I do now. But I did wonder what it would be like. You might be feeling the same thing, even though you are scared stiff of it.’
I thought for a while. ‘Yeah, you’re sort of right. Even though I’m scared, I really wonder what it will be like.’
Tomorrow was coronation day and this was the last ordinary Friday I would ever get to spend. I was going to be the ruler of a kingdom with a kid I hardy know about as the head of security. Isabelle was late, by now she was usually at our table.
‘Anyhow,’ said Andrew lending out his hand. ‘Whatever happens tomorrow, it was nice knowing you.’
I laughed as I shook it, ‘It was nice knowing you too. You can never tell what might happen. We might get killed probably.’
‘Poisoned during the feast,’ suggested Andrew.
‘Or stabbed, maybe shot….’
‘Who got stabbed?’
I jerked. Isabelle was looming over me, holding her lunch tray.
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘We were predicting how one of the characters in a book might die.’
He looked at me and then as Andrew who was giving his usual “what-ever” look. When the two of their eyes met, I almost heard a crack and saw electrical discharges in the air like in cartoons as their faces turned from utter hatred to utter disgust. It made my face turn sour.
Without a word, Andrew got up and left.
‘What’s wrong with him,’ said Isabelle.
I couldn’t think of anything to say.
‘Why do you even hang out with that kid?’ asked Isabelle.
‘Books are books,’ I said with a shrug but the true phrase was “a prince is a prince.”
‘So would you hang out even with a psychopath if he is a book lover like you?’
‘Come-on,’ I said. ‘Be a little understanding. That kid has a hard time you know… He’s_’
When I think about it, I don’t know anything about Andrew. I wondered where his parents were, but I sort of had an idea that he was an orphan. Why else would he live in Sightless whole of his life?
‘He’s an orphan,’ I said. ‘He tends to mistrust people a lot.’