Impeccable (Zayn Malik AU)

xx. The King's Speech

♡ Odette's POV ♡

If there's one thing I could never be, it's a public speaker.

The very idea terrifies me, having so many people stare at you while you try to recite lines you've memorized over and over. Maybe my fear is that I'll be judged, that everyone who is watching me is judging me on my looks, my voice, my actions, everything. It's scary.

Needless to say, I couldn't imagine how Zayn was feeling on the plane ride home. His hands were already shaking as he held the two sheets of printed paper, the text on them suddenly seeming daunting and frightening.

His first address to the Empire as king would be the day after we got back to the Manor, and it was freaking him out.

Forget a room full of people, this was the whole country staring at you. It was more than a little scary.

I was sipping on a glass of sweet tea, watching quietly as Zayn practiced over and over. He had read it probably fifty times over, but he was still stuttered on certain parts or fumbled over long words. His reading wasn't the problem, I knew that, it was his poor nerves getting the better of him.

I didn't say anything as Zayn fumbled over a word for the third time in a row and got frustrated with himself, throwing his papers down to the floor of the plane cabin and cursing as he angrily sat down in his seat. His head was in his hands, ruffling his hair and rubbing his eyes. I watched in helplessness. I couldn't say his speech for him, only stand dutifully by his side as he read it in front of a huge crowd.

Ivy had sent us a message just as we had left England saying she would be more than happy to help Zayn once we got home, and I was praying she would help him solve his public speaking problem.

***

Once we landed back safely in the Empire, Zayn and I had been escorted to a private limo that would take us back to the Manor. Apparently while we were gone Ivy and a few secret soldiers called the Royal Elite Guard had gone back to the Manor and inspected the place to ensure no Revolutionaries had been in hiding there, and deemed it safe enough for he entire Malik family to come back home.

"The Royal Elite Guard?" I had asked Zayn after he had debriefed me on everything going on.

"Yeah, they're basically the secret guard that protects the royal family in times of crisis. Ivy trained all twelve active members." Zayn told me, slinging an arm around my shoulders as we sat in the limo.

"Why not just have one huge Royal Guard at the Manor? Why have both guards and Elites?" I asked.

"The Royal Guard are general protectors of the Manor and it's inhabitants. The Elites are protectors of individual royals, one is assigned to each family member. For example, Ivy is my personal Elite protector as well my my royal advisor." Zayn explained. I nodded my head in understanding before another question came up.

"If every family member has an Elite, does that mean I have one too?" I asked, hoping I wasn't intruding too much. Zayn nodded before answering.

"You have an Elite to protect you. Her name is Isla. I should introduce you to her sometime." Zayn said, my Elite's name rebounding in my head. Isla. "Isla is in charge of protecting your personal well-being, should anything bad happen to you. You may not always see or hear her, but she will always protect you when you need her most, as per her orders."

That was all that was said about the Elites, Zayn choosing to stay silent afterwards, his speech probably still on his mind. I hoped Ivy would be able to help him, for both the country and his own sake.

I had never accompanied Zayn before while he did things he was supposed to as king, and I was surprised at the number of servants that were awaiting him with tasks for him to do as soon as we returned. There was a huge line, all the servants bowing customarily before handing him stacks of papers and informing him of the statuses of various royals that wanted to meet with him. Zayn seemed unfazed, probably used to it as he silently walked down the line, the pile of papers gradually getting bigger and bigger.