The Queen of Stones

Chapter 2

"Albert, sit down," I say as I watch him stop and stare at me with furrowed eyebrows, trying to understand what is happening. He quietly follows my command and sits back in the chair. "I can't offer you a seat in the privy council, but I can offer you advice."

"What?" He raises his eyebrows.

That is definitely not what he came here for, but I can see that he is intrigued.

"Well, if you want a place in the privy council," I say with an appealing voice. "You should find someone that can give you that."

"What do you mean?" he says as I open the drawer in my desk, carefully take the only document in it and hand it to him. He takes a look at it. "This is a marriage proposal to Apollo Van Coren."

"Yes, it is. The Duke of Aminour wishes to marry his daughter, Alene Bonavich, to the son of the Duke of Haven." I grab the document that he hands back to me and put it in the drawer I have been keeping it for weeks now. "And because they are both descendants from the five families, he needs my signature."

"This is great gossip and all." He leans back in the chair. "But I don't really see how this affects me."

"It is not gossip." I raise my voice for a second, making Albert sit straight. "If you marry Alene Bonavich, someday you'll be the Duke of Aminour." I raise my eyebrows and look straight into his eyes. "The most powerful duke."

"That's great and all, but she would never marry me." Albert rubs his eyes. He probably had so many conversations about marriage since he was born, I can understand why he would be exhausted about this topic. "She's a Bonavich, she can literally marry anyone. I'm the last option for her."

"I could persuade the Duke to consider you." I start. "You come from one of the five families and would be someone completely devoted to Aminour. You wouldn't favor your own land because you have none, which is something that could be highly appreciated by the Duke since he has no male heirs."

I can see Albert's eyes shine and I lean forward, trying to captivate him.

"There is even the possibility that he would let you stay with his seat in the privy council since you know so much about politics," I say, hoping I didn't exaggerate, but he smiles and seems to accept the compliment. "Therefore, I believe that the Duke would marry his daughter to you if I were to pressure him."

"That would be amazing, actually." He scratches the back of his head. "What do you want in return?"

"I do not wish for anything, Albert," I say delicately.

"Nothing?" He narrows his eyes. "You are doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"You are a great guy, Albert." I look kindly into his eyes. "And you deserve great things in life. In fact, you deserve greatness, and I believe that becoming the Duke of Aminour is the way to achieve this greatness."

The best lesson I have learned is that if you want people to do something for you, you have to make them believe that it in their best interest to do that and that you are only suggesting it because you care about them. The point here is not to marry Alene Bonavich to Albert Coldwell, but to prevent her from marrying Apollo Van Coren, because I have been saving him for a political alliance.

At the moment, Allerick Grinald is invading Haven, which is owned by Ernest Van Coren, creating the first war since the Second Agreement, signed over four centuries ago. This war, concentrated in the division of Haven and Del Port, has been going on for two years and a marriage between these two families is just what I need to finally rid myself of this problem.

"Wow, you are amazing." He can barely contain his excitement and I gently nod, as a way of thanking him. "I don't know why people think you're a bitch."

"Yes, me neither." I clear my throat, fake a big smile, take a blank paper from the last drawer in my desk and hand it to him. "Sign at the end of the page. I will write the document later."

He grabs a pen from my penholder and immediately signs the paper, handing it back after.

"I will leave you alone now." He gets up too quickly, bumping into my desk and making things shake. "Thank you so much."

When he closes the door of the office, I fall to my chair, already exhausted for the day, but glad to be alone again. I look at my hands and analyze the three rings in it; my wedding ring in my left ring finger, the Halvard family ring in my left index finger, and my mother's ring in my right ring finger. I drop my body and sigh.

A part of me just wants to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. However, the pile of documents I have to get through today stares at me. I look at the huge clock aside the well-ornamented drawer on the other side of the room to search for comfort, but I'm faced with the information that it is only 8 am, which means I have more fifteen hours until I can lay in bed again.

I reach for the hidden pocket inside my dress and take my stone out. My stone is a little bit smaller than my hand, in the form of a kite but only with one sharp side. It is purple and blue, with spots in which the two colors blend in together. I love the way it looks. 

The only person who has ever seen my stone  ⏤ apart from my mother and father when I was a kid ⏤ is my husband. It is degrading to show your stone to more than three people in your lifetime. I feel better for touching my stone and carefully put it back in the small pocket. I am ready to work.

Someone knocks on my door and immediately enters the room, caring a big tray containing my breakfast, they lay it on the only free spot on the table, set just for this propose, and leave. I take a deep breath, sit straight, and dive into my work while eating.