“Is that what you did?”
The queen smiled a little sadly. “No. And I regret it. But your father did. And so can you, my dear. There’s no need for you to decide anything immediately. I’d lay odds that I have another decade in me. No promises on how long my son will last, but he certainly won’t need a replacement tomorrow.”
Carly smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
***
For once, Arthur wasn’t lurking around waiting to taunt her. Carly had to go looking for him.
She found him napping on one of the terraces. As she walked up to him, he opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. Carly thought he looked nervous. Her outburst last night must’ve rattled him. Well, good, she thought. He was looking for a reaction, and he finally got one. Maybe now he’ll start thinking twice before he lashes out at people.
“Hi Arthur,” Carly said calmly. “I just wanted to thank you for being so blunt with me about what it really means to be royalty. I understand a lot of things better than I did when I first got here.”
Her cousin’s expression turned smug again. “Oh, really? Well, glad to help.”
“And I wanted to let you know that I’m going to officially give up my claim to the throne.”
Arthur’s smirk returned in full force. “I see. Well, it’s for the best, really.”
“Yeah, I think so,” Carly agreed. “Because that way there won’t be any conflict of interest when I run for parliament in about ten years.”
The smirk didn’t vanish right away. First it froze unnaturally, and then it twitched a bit, wavering. “Run for parliament?” Arthur repeated blankly.
Carly nodded, fighting to keep her own expression serious. “That’s right. I figure, once I’ve got my law degree, I’ll move back here and try to make a real difference. Who knows—maybe I’ll be your prime minister someday.”
That was when Arthur’s grin crumbled, replaced by a look of pure horror.
Behind her, Carly could’ve sworn she heard Seton snort with laugher.
Vanessa Acton is a writer and editor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She enjoys stalking dead people (also known as historical research), drinking too much tea, and taking long walks during her home state’s annual three-week thaw.
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