I blushed. “I don’t know. I think all lives that aren’t mine are glamorous.”
“But you live in a palace. You have attendants waiting on you every minute of every day.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Yes, but unless there’s a party going on, it’s horribly restrictive. Nathanial has to plan out how I spend every hour. Between tutoring, law classes, etiquette lessons, and meeting with cabinet ministers, there isn’t a whole lot of free time for fun.”
“Law classes?” he asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“I’m going to be queen one day. I have to understand my nation’s rules inside and out if I’m going to be a proper ruler.”
Leo smiled warmly. “I’m glad to know people like me will be in good and studious hands.”
He finished wrapping my ankle and stood as though to leave. I didn’t want him to go, though I was sure he probably had something better to be doing. Leo probably had other patients he needed to care for, other responsibilities. I couldn’t just keep him here because I enjoyed his company. Except, that was exactly what I wanted. I never knew talking to someone could be so calming and exhilarating at the same time. There was just something about Leo that made my heart sing. Every time he smiled, every time he left, I felt like I could forget my royal title and all of my future obligations. Being a queen was a future me problem. In that exact moment, I just wanted to be Giselle.
“What do you do for fun around here?” I asked. I internally cringed at how dumb my question was. Work. That was what Leo did around here. This wasn’t a cruise ship. This was a battleship.
Leo gave me an amused grin that made my stomach do a triple flip. If this were the Olympics, I would have given it a ten out of ten. He chuckled. “Are you bored, Giselle?”
“Maybe a little.” I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Would you mind maybe staying with me. For a bit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Um, I’ve got a bit of paperwork to take care of, Princess. Perhaps one of your guards can keep you company.”
I smirked. He was trying to be polite, doing his best to say no without actually saying the word. But in the same amount of time it took me to come to that realization, I also noticed he hadn’t said yes, either.
“Oh, come on,” I hummed. “Surely talking with me is better than doing paperwork.”
“I can’t deny that.”
I gleefully scooted over and patted the bed beside me. Hesitantly, Leo took a seat. He sat with his knees together, hands folded neatly on his lap. He reminded me a bit of a schoolboy, following his teacher’s orders to the letter. I giggled at the mental image.
“What?” he asked, amused.
“Oh, nothing,” I teased. “I just wanted to know more about you.”
“Ask away, Princess. I’m an open book.”
“What got you interested in medicine?”
“My father was a doctor,” he explained simply. “And his father before him. They by no means encouraged me to follow in their footsteps, but they were definitely still proud I made the decision to.”
“Were other professions not as interesting to you?”
Leo shrugged. “Well, I guess I always wanted to be… You know what? Never mind.”
I placed my hand on his forearm, nothing too rough. Just a light touch. A teasing one. Much to my delight, Leo didn’t move away. “Oh, come on. You have to tell me.”
He let out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, okay. But you have to promise not to laugh.”
I nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “Alright, I promise.”
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a trapeze artist.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from bursting out into laughter. “Oh, that’s…” I swallowed, fighting against the tiny giggles that were trying to erupt from my chest. “That’s interesting,” I said flatly. “An admirable profession, really.”
Leo laughed. “I’m just joking.”
“Are you, though?”
“No. No, I’m not.”
His smile was a real work of art. The dazzling blue-green of his eyes captured my attention, made me want to gaze at them forever. It occurred to me then how close we were sitting. We were both leaning in, drawn to each other by some inexplicable force. He was staring at my lips, eyeing them like some sort of prized treasure.
“Do you, um…” I hesitated, unable to find the right words. This close, I could catch a whiff of Leo’s cologne, something rich and earthy and not at all what I was expecting.
“Yes, Giselle?” he whispered, his breath ghosting across my lips.
“Do you want to kiss me?”
Leo’s back straightened immediately, pulling away as though the muscles in his back snapped. He was tense, on guard. He ripped his eyes away from mine and stood, tugging at the bottom of his uniform blazer to straighten it, even though it was perfectly immaculate.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I have to go. Patients to see. Paperwork to, uh… Yeah. Okay.” He backed up quickly, nearly stumbled over his own feet. He nodded his head quickly. “Should you require anymore medical assistance, please don’t hesitate to call one of the other physicians.”
“Leo, I–”
Just like that, he was gone.
I sat there on my bed, a little stunned. Had I been reading the signs wrong? I thought for sure Leo was interested in me. Why had he pulled such a stark and sudden one-eighty? Did he think that I was off-limits or something? It sadly wouldn’t be the first time a man refused to pursue anything with me because of my royal status. I let out a sigh of frustration. I hated that I didn’t have the freedom to be with whoever I wanted when I wanted. All I wanted to do was crawl into his lap and kiss the daylights out of him. And had he not stopped, then and there, I might well have.
I tried to think logically. Maybe it was a good thing Leo had enough foresight to leave. One day, hopefully not too soon into the future, I would bear the responsibility of an entire nation. My future was already set in stone. Ascend, rule, lead. Everything I did, I did on behalf of my people. I couldn’t just follow my own whims. My nation needed me to be strong, needed me to be wise and capable if I was to sit on the throne.
Even if I was miserable and alone.
4
Leo
I thought it odd to hear someone knocking on the door to my semi-private quarters so late at night. My first thought was that some medical emergency had arisen. And in hindsight, perhaps I was right to make such an assumption. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a familiarly stern expression of the ever-unimpressed Nathanial, King Maximillian’s private secretary. He was dressed from head to toe in black clothing. He stood with his back as straight as a board—or perhaps because he hadn’t managed to get that stick out of his ass.
“Your presence has been requested by His Royal Majesty,” he stated flatly before turning on his heel.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I followed him down the narrow hall of the ship. I was still dressed in uniform, though I’d taken off my blazer and hung it up for the night. I was this close to getting ready for bed so I could hopefully get a couple hours sleep before roll call in the morning. But if King Maximillian requested me personally, there was no way I was going to just ignore him.
I arrived at the door to His Royal Majesty’s private room. A line of three guards stood before me, shoulder to shoulder, forming a hard line that clearly screamed you shall not pass. They were huge, bulky, and sort of reminded me of sardines packed into a tight can. I was surprised they didn’t have too much difficulty moving about the Obsidian Vow considering how large they were. I supposed it made sense for King Maximillian’s security team to be so buff and armed, but I had to admit it kind of felt like overkill.
The bodyguard in the center stepped forward and patted me down in search of weapons. I had to stifle a huff of frustration. I was the ship’s physician, not one of its active duty Marines. What did they think I was going to do? Inflate my blood pressure cuff around His Majesty’s arm until it fell off? Shove little wooden s
ticks down the king’s throat under the guise of checking his tonsils for an infection? Seriously, I had better things to do than be a threat. Once the bodyguard was satisfied, he nodded to Nathanial, who promptly opened the door and walked in with me close behind.
“King Maximillian,” he said. “The doctor is here to see you.”
The king was sitting on the edge of his bed, hunched over with his hands gripping at the edge of the mattress. His face was incredibly pale, curled up in obvious discomfort. My first instinct was to assume he was suffering from sea sickness, a very common ailment that was easily fixed. But as I stepped forward, I realized that something else was going on. The king didn’t just look uncomfortable. His eyes were red and wet, his lips were chapped and cracking, and the discoloration of his skin was far more extreme the longer I looked.
“I told you,” he huffed, voice a bit raspy, “I’m fine.” He waved his hand dismissively at me. “I don’t need the doctor.”
Nathanial clicked his tongue and sighed. “I will tell Princess Giselle that you’re unwell if you do not allow the doctor to examine you.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I’d never known anyone to threaten a king so casually. Wasn’t Nathanial worried King Maximillian would order his execution for such disrespect?
Much to my surprise, King Maximillian did no such thing. He didn’t even look angry, just a bit peeved. “Fine,” he grunted. He looked at me with a set of familiar amber eyes. I could see where Giselle had gotten hers from, although her father’s were far less radiant and magical. “Don’t breathe a word about your visit to my daughter. I don’t want her to worry.”
I nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. Doctor-patient privacy applies regardless of who my patient is.”
The king sat up a bit straighter, though it looked like it took him significant effort to hold himself up. “Let’s get this over with. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
I swallowed a dry laugh. If I had a penny for every time a patient told me, a literal doctor, that they knew what was wrong, I could have easily retired by now and bought myself a little beachfront property where I could spend the rest of my days.
Nathanial waited out in the hall, closing the door behind me.
“Can you tell me what’s bothering you?” I asked.
“My stomach,” he grumbled. “It hurts.”
It wasn’t the most specific answer, but at least I knew now where to start. I commenced with a routine physical, checking the king’s blood pressure, listening to his heart, and then the clarity of his lungs. His BP was a little high for my liking. Considering his age, he really needed to lower it for the sake of his heart. But considering his role and royal responsibilities, it made sense that it was so considering all the stress he had to deal with. I also figured escaping from a nation being dragged into a war wasn’t good for his blood pressure either.
“Can I get you to lie on your stomach?” I asked.
The king lay down, supporting his weight on one hand. His face was twisted up into a knot as he lowered himself, grumbling under his breath the whole way.
“I’m going to apply a bit of pressure,” I explained.
“Go ahead.”
Using the pads of my fingers, I gently examined the king’s belly. To the naked eye, everything looked to be alright, but every time I pressed, the king winced in pain.
“Have you experienced regular bowel movements?” I asked. “Any nausea, diarrhea, or rectal bleeding?”
“Good Lord,” King Maximillian exclaimed.
“I’m just trying to get a better picture, Your Majesty.”
Nathanial piped up from the other side of the door. “He vomited this morning.”
“Tell the whole damn boat, why don’t you?” snapped the king.
I turned to His Majesty and frowned. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” he grunted. “But I thought that was because I was adjusting to the ship. And breakfast wasn’t exactly appealing. I don’t know how you sailors maintain your weight.”
A grin spread itself across my lips. “We do our best, Your Majesty. How long have you been experiencing this discomfort?”
“A couple of months.”
I cocked an eyebrow and tilted my head. “A couple of months? Have you seen any other doctors in that time?”
The king sat up and sighed, shaking his head. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Sir, pain is the body’s way of saying something’s wrong. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can prescribe you at this time until you can get a more thorough exam done on land. In the meantime, I recommend sticking to a diet of bananas, rice, applesauce, and dry toast to settle your stomach. Don’t eat anything too rich, or else it might make your symptoms worse.”
“Okay, okay. Thank you for your time, doctor. I’ll have to see my doctor when I get back to the palace.”
“Please feel free to call on me in the meantime should you find your condition worsening.”
Nathanial opened the door and poked his head in. The king immediately gestured and said, “See, you worry-wart? I’m fine. I just have to stick to a boring diet.”
The private secretary shook his head, a twinge of annoyance flashing across his eyes. “That shouldn’t be hard. We’re not exactly here on a luxury cruise, Your Majesty.”
King Maximillian snorted, the closest I’d ever heard the man laugh. I bowed my head before retreating out into the hall. I listened to my footsteps as I walked, metallic clinking against the cold, hard floors. I was used to the sway of the rocky seas, so counterbalancing as I hurried back to my quarters was an easy enough task. The only thing that was throwing me off that evening were thoughts of Giselle.
I wondered if she knew her father was feeling ill. I wondered how she was doing. Was her ankle feeling any better? How was she adjusting to the rough waters? A massive storm had been blown directly in the path of our ship, so things were far more turbulent than anyone had expected. I was a little worried that Giselle would lose her footing if she stepped out on deck. Thoughts of her falling overboard made my stomach churn. I hoped she had enough sense to stay in her room, as boring as it may be to do nothing.
I wasn’t able to get to sleep that night. My brain was just too preoccupied with the memory of her smile, of her passionate eyes, of the gentle curl of her gorgeous brunette hair. My fingers itched for something to do, and I was far too wired to get some shut eye. So, in a last ditch effort to force my mind to sleep, I pulled out my phone to scroll through news articles.
The majority of headlines in my feed had to do with the Pramorian Empire’s attack on Weles. Several neighboring nations had already condemned their actions as barbaric. But words didn’t hurt. Bombs and guns and tanks did. The Pramorians had enough resources and people to fuel their war for years to come. It didn’t matter if other countries posed sanctions against them in retaliation. What good were condemnations when they just didn’t care?
Just as I felt myself drifting off, sensationalized headlines doing little to actually grab my attention, I happened upon a shorter article about none other than Princess Giselle. I clicked on the link faster than I’d like to admit.
It was a fluff piece, a little ray of sunshine amid all the terrible things going on in the news. The reporter was giving a detailed recount of some of the humanitarian work Giselle was responsible for spearheading back in Idolia. Even before the Crown allowed Giselle to make her first public appearance at the tender age of sixteen, she’d apparently been involved with many charitable organizations back home. She’d personally organized a fundraiser to raise money and awareness for animal shelters. The article itself had a picture of Giselle surrounded by a bunch of little children, all of whom were in light blue hospital gowns. The kids were peering up at her as she read to them.
I stared at her picture a little longer, captivated by her sweet smile. The cynic in me wanted to know if the image was staged, but there was no way it could have been. There was a nurse sneezing in the background, several of the kids w
ere looking off in the distance—distracted by something or other—and Giselle herself was underdressed and a bit disheveled. Her hair was a bit wild, and it didn’t look like she had any time to coordinate her outfit. The lack of pristine perfection told me this was a candid moment, one taken without anyone’s knowledge.
Her beauty shined through the grainy image quality. Sleep eventually found me, her smile the last thing etched into the back of my eyes as the rocking of the ship lulled me to sleep.
5
Giselle
My ankle was feeling a lot better, but I wasn’t happy about it. If my ankle was fine, I wouldn’t be able to find an excuse to see Leo again. It was frustrating, really, because I didn’t much like the throbbing pain. But I really didn’t like that I couldn’t see him. The swelling was definitely going down, but if I put on a bit of a show, maybe I could persuade him to come running.
I rose from the edge of my bed and limped my way over to the door. I promptly opened it and found my designated bodyguards standing just outside, stiff as statues and just as scary.
“Excuse me?” I said.
They both turned and immediately bowed. “How can we help you, Princess?”
“Would you call the doctor for me?”
“Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, frowning a bit. “I’m in terrible pain. And my stomach’s been bothering me. Oh, and I’ve got an awful headache.”
“We’ll send for the physician straightaway,” said the bodyguard to my right.
“Thank you. You’re too kind.”
They both wound up running off, nearly knocking into a uniformed sailor who was busy mopping the hall. I returned to the bed and sat, impatiently wringing my hands together. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Leo. I just really wanted to see him. There was just something about him that made me feel calm in his presence, while simultaneously alive and thrilled and short of breath. How was it possible for such a handsome man to exist? The more I thought about him, the more he reminded me of the princes coming to rescue their princesses in the fairy tales Mother used to read to me. The way Leo held out his hand and asked me if I was alright when we first met was like something straight out of those stories, and I desperately wanted to see how the next chapter unfolded for us.
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