I woke up feeling excited, this was my first day as queen. I did not know what to expect, I got up early despite staying up late the night before. I walked to the balcony and stared at my garden, wondering what the day had in store for me.
Cora came into the room with my breakfast and helped me get dressed. I decided to wear a navy blue dress and the pearl necklace that Norton and Mary Terese Caldwell gave me at the coronation.
Once I was ready, Cora led me to the Queen's Hall. As Gregory had explained to me, that room was the place where I would attend to my affairs. Many people would come to visit me and ask for things from me, they would try to win my sympathy so that when the king denied them something I would support them and persuade him to change his mind. My poor subjects had no idea that it was useless, I had no influence over my husband and I would never have it. I was just anot
That afternoon I received a most welcome visit: Margaret Lewis. We met in a small room next to the Queen's Hall. It was an intimate place where we could not be disturbed and only Cora was allowed to enter. We sat down around a small round table adorned with flowers."Did you have a good first day, Your Majesty?” she asked as Cora served us tea.“I do not think ‘good’ is the right word to describe it,” I replied evasively.I did not feel like talking about Fiona's accusations. Either way, Margaret and the rest of Dranda would soon find out what had happened. I was sure the witness would take care of spreading the news across the kingdom soon enough.We talked for a while about different topics, about the kingdom, the coronation, and about Margaret's daughter, Carmen. Margaret
After my afternoon with Margaret Lewis, I went back to the royal chambers. I found Gregory in the common area with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. The moment he saw me, my husband closed the book and put the glass aside. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on me, something was bothering him, I could see it in his facial expression. With an authoritative air, he gestured for me to come and sit by him on the couch. I swiftly did what he asked.“Can you explain to me how is it that a woman humiliated you in front of everyone and you allowed her to go unpunished?” He inquired with an arched eyebrow.“Unpunished? Fiona Miller spoke her mind, I could not punish her for it,” I replied nervously.“She mocked you. You are the queen, you cannot tolerate that kind of disrespect. It is
I spent several weeks without leaving the castle and I did not receive private visits either. Being queen, it was expected for me to have an active presence in the best social circles of Dranda, but after the incident with the cards and with Fiona Miller, I was afraid to be in public and suffer another humiliation. I felt very discouraged, I spent most of my time alone. I kept on receiving subjects on Open Day, but the rest of the time I kept to myself. Gregory spent a few hours a day with me, but I preferred being alone to his company. When my husband questioned me about my withdrawn attitude, I told him that my duties as queen were keeping me busy and that I had no time to socialize. Fortunately, the king seemed satisfied with my excuse and he dropped the subject.One afternoon while I was taking a lonely walk through my garden, something caught my attention in the bushes, the plants were shaking. I walked there to see what was happening and a rabbit j
Constance Labelle had lost control of herself, her eyes were wide open and her hands resembled claws. She was like a wild animal and her only objective was to hurt me. I tried to dodge her but it was impossible, she grabbed my hair and started pulling as hard as she could. Then she tried to scratch my face and my arms as she kept on screaming. In that moment, something came over me, I too got enraged so instead of just defending myself I hit her back, I pulled her hair and I punched her several times. Constance intensified her attack, yelling curses and calling me names. I also insulted her, my anger made it easier for me to say all kinds of curse words that I had never said before. We had both lost control, I was not behaving like a queen and she was not behaving like a lady, we were just two enraged women. It was the first time in my life that I was in a fight and I took the moment to release all my anger and frustration for what had happened to me. All these weeks feel
The next morning, Gregory decided to spend the day with me.“I do not like to see you sad, you always seem deflected. You are the most privileged woman in this kingdom and yet you never smile,” said the king as soon as we finished breakfast.I narrowed my eyes at his comment, the most privileged woman in this kingdom? I had been treated as a possession! How did he expect me to be happy if I had been brought to Dranda against my will?!“Addison, I am sorry that I make you so unhappy. I had a different idea about what our marriage would be like, I thought that we could be happy together. It is been over two months since our wedding and you still act as if you hated me. I have placed my kingdom at your feet, I have tried to win your affection, I have been patient, but I have achieved nothing. You still look
The next morning I woke up and found a white rose that Gregory left for me next to me in bed. I inhale its exquisite fragrance and beamed.Cora came in with a small envelope in her hands.“My lady, this arrived for you,” she informed me as she handed me the envelope.It was a note from Margaret, her daughter had fallen ill so it was not going to be possible for her to visit me in the near future. I felt disappointed, I intended to ask her about what had happened between Dranda and the kingdom of Trobet. Since that was not going to be possible now, I decided to ask Cora.“Cora, do you know what the problem between Dranda and Trobet is? Tucker’s sons mentioned them during dinner and…”“And what?!&rd
The following days I spent most of my time planning the tea party with the help of Cora. It was the first event I was organizing as queen so everything had to be flawless. As much as I trusted Cora and her decisions I still wanted to get an outside opinion on this matter, just to be certain that we were on the right track. Since Margaret was busy taking care of her ill daughter, I had to rely on Amelia Rose, Tucker’s wife, because I considered her the second best option."It was a pleasant surprise to receive your invitation, Your Majesty," Amelia Rose admitted."I am sorry I did not do this sooner, but I have been very busy," I lied.Now I was more familiar with the way people in Dranda spoke, white lies were in common use for everyone.We talked for a long time about trivialities before I confessed to her that I needed help planning the tea part
The next morning, I was awakened by Honey kissing my face. I smiled at my puppy although I still felt discouraged about what had happened during the tea party. I look to my side, but Gregory was no longer there, instead, there was a note written by him. "Dear Addison, I hope you feel better. I have canceled your hearings for today, a carriage will be waiting for you in case you wish to go out into the city as you wanted. With love, Gregory " The note instantly made me feel better. At least I was going to be able to distract myself and not spend the