"Second thing," I corrected. "The first was checking you were you," I pointed out.
He chuckled. "I think that's a logical response to being kissed out of a coma."
A weak smile stretched over my lips. "Is there any such thing as a logical response to being kissed out of a coma?" I countered. "I didn't even think it was possible for that to be a way to wake up."
"Perhaps my kiss is magical," he teased.
"Or perhaps your breath could wake the dead," I returned.
Our back and forth was interrupted by Hannah returning with a tray of tea and bread and butter. She set it down on the chest at the end of my cot, before coming back to where I was lying and helping me into a seating position.
"Is there anything else I can get for you?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Please make sure Brutus and Rita are informed that I'm awake, after that, you're free to do as you wish, I'll be consulting with them and Prince Jonathan for the rest of the day."
"Of course, Your Highness." She dipped into a curtsy and left the room.
Jonathan poured two cups of tea and handed on to me. I blew across the top of it before placing the cup against my lips.
"Stop," he commanded. "Let me drink first in case there's anything wrong with it."
Before I could protest, he took a gulp of his own tea, gagging slightly as it went down.
"Are you alright?" I asked, my eyes widening. Had the tea been poisoned too? Was that something I now had to watch for with every meal? I didn't want to have to employ a food taster as that was a quick way for someone to end up dead in my place, and I wasn't comfortable with that.
"I'm fine, it's just too hot to do that with," he admitted. "I was foolish to think I could get away with it."
I smiled at him, pleased he wasn't in any danger from the tea he'd just drunk.
"Has there been any word from the palace?" I asked. If it had been about two days, then our spy should have had more news.
He shook his head. "I have no idea, that's something you should be asking Brutus. I believe the ball is tomorrow night..."
"That's when I want to take the throne back," I informed him. "I was thinking about it while I was asleep, and it's time to act. Too many people have been negatively impacted by Katya's rule, and I can't have that any more. We have to do something about it."
The tent flap moved again, revealing Brutus and Rita as they ducked in.
"What's this I hear about storming the palace?" he asked.
"I want to do it," I said, meeting his eyes. "Tomorrow night, during the ball. Everyone will be distracted and there'll be no better time to strike."
He nodded. "That could work. We have everyone in place already and the soldiers are as drilled as they're going to be. If this is when you want to strike, then I think we could pull it off."
"Between the ball and the short notice, there's a chance that Katya won't know you're awake yet, either," Jonathan added, a pensive look on his face. "What do you think you need to do to lure her away?"
"Not much. If I find her office, I bet I'll find all I need."
"So, you just need a distraction for the people at the ball?" Jonathan asked.
I nodded. "It'll have the added benefit of distracting the nobles too. They won't want to fight, and I'd rather give them the chance not to."
"I could reveal myself," Jonathan suggested. "If people still believe that the huntsman is me, then there's a chance that could work."
"Even if they've figured out, he isn't who he said he was, then it'll still distract them," Brutus put in.
I nodded along with everything they were saying. "I want the minimum loss of life," I told them all. "If any of the guards or other people want to surrender, then they should be able to. The nobles too. I don't want my reign to be known by one that was started in bloodshed. This will be an era of peace and prosperity."
"What of Katya herself?" Brutus asked.
I set my features into the most determined face I could muster. "I'll be the one to deal with Katya." I wasn't sure how I was going to do that, but I felt like I'd know when the time was right. At least, that was what I was hoping would happen. "Please, go see that preparations are made," I dismissed Brutus and Rita back out into the rest of the army.
"Are you ready for this?" Jonathan asked.
I laughed bitterly. "Is my nervousness that easy to see?"
"Yes. But only because I've come to know you well. You're clearly not comfortable with something."
I sighed. "It's just that after all this is done, I have to be a queen. I'm not sure how to do that."
"Then you'll learn," he promised. "I've never known anyone who was as adaptable as you are. You'll rule your people the best way you know how. And after Katya, I doubt you'll be seen as a poor leader. Far from it. And you'll do just what you said you will. You'll bring peace and prosperity to the people in your kingdom."
"I hope you're right," I whispered.
"I am. I know you, and I've come to know your people. You'll be the best queen the land's seen. Have faith in yourself, and until you do, I'll have faith for you."
Chapter 18
The palace was oddly quiet, partly because of the ball, and partly because of the soldiers going ahead of me and making sure all of the corridors were cleared of enemies. I tried not to worry too much about how the rest of the rebellion was getting on, or how Jonathan was. His plan was to be in the main banquet hall talking to the nobles. I wasn't sure if any of them would listen to him, but I supposed it didn't matter. So long as they didn't feel the need to run about the palace and potentially get themselves harmed or killed, then his job was done. If they believed him, then it was just a bonus.
"There's an office down here, Your Highness," one of the soldiers said to me.
I nodded. "Thank you, I'll take a look." We'd already found three others, none of which had been Katya's, and none of them had included anything of particular interest to us. We certainly wouldn't be running the kingdom based on anything we'd found in them, that was for sure.
A small part of me was hoping that this was Katya's, mostly because I was ready for some answers, but also because searching offices was unbelievably boring and I didn't want to go through it again without the pay off.
"The coast is clear," the soldier told me.
"Thank you." I walked toward the open door, the hand holding my sword hanging loosely by my side. Perhaps I should have kept it in a more aggressive position, but that didn't seem right. No one was threatening me.
The office was larger than the others we'd been in, with a large, ornate mirror sat on the opposite wall. Something about it pulled me towards it. There was an unspoken power I didn't want to think about too hard.
I glanced away, taking in the rest of the space. The remains of a fire glowed in the grate, though there weren't enough embers to catch light. A huge desk was littered with papers. I went over to it and rifled through them, finding more than one wanted poster with my face on it as well as a collection of orders and instructions.
I sucked in a deep breath. This was it. We'd found Katya's office and everything we needed to take over running the kingdom. It was a relief to be in here, even if it meant feeling the bang of sadness that came from the idea of having lost my best friend. From all of this, that was the bit that hurt the most.
"Lucia," Katya's voice sounded from behind me.
I turned, aware of the anger blazing in my eyes and replacing any of the sadness I'd felt now that I was in the same room as her. "Katya."
"You look well."
Was that really how she was going to start things between us after the things she'd done? As far as I knew, she'd made three attempts on my life and put a bounty on my head as well. If I hadn't been in the middle of a camp full of trained soldiers, then perhaps I'd have had even more threats on my life to cope with.
"No thanks to you. Did you think I wouldn't notice your little assassination attempts? You failed every time."
"As I intended to,
" she whispered.
Was I hearing her right? Her assassination attempts were meant to fail? That didn't make any sense at all. Then again, I supposed not much of what Katya had been doing made much sense in the grand scheme of things.
"What is this place?" I could have asked her to clarify, but I doubted I'd have liked the answer. It was better this way.
"The office your father used to do his work in. I've used it myself." She glanced towards the desk but didn't say anything. Had I missed something that was hidden among the papers there? Was there perhaps something there that would explain all of this?
"Why have I never been to this place before?" Had father not trusted me to know about its existence?
"You weren't interested in running the kingdom," she pointed out. "Neither of us were."
"It seems like you've changed your mind." At the expense of me and my people.
She smiled sadly. "Not at all. After today, you'll never see me again."
"I-I don't think I can kill you." It had been something that had plagued me. How was I going to put her to death? We still had too many good memories for me to just do it in cold blood. And yet, I also had no choice. If I didn't, then there was a risk that people would use her against me. While the nobles had all turned up to swear their loyalty to me, they'd also shown up at her ball. I'd be a fool to think there wouldn't be some people who'd prefer the dark-haired woman in front of me to sit on the throne.
"Then don't. You won't see me again. The crown, and the throne are yours."
"You're just giving them to me?" What was going on? None of this made any sense. She'd worked so hard to displace me, but now she was just going to accept that I was the true queen? She'd given me the crown like this too, and she'd stuck to her word then. Maybe she was telling the truth.
"It's yours. There are papers on the desk for everything you need to know." She turned away from me, showing an immense amount of trust considering my people were storming her palace right now.
This was my chance to end her for good and make sure she never posed a threat to my people ever again. But I didn't. She'd been my friend, my sister, and my rival. But I didn't want to be her killer.
"Why? Why did you do this?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"A promise to a dying man." She didn't say anything else, but walked from the room and left me staring after her. There really wasn't anything left to say anyway. Hopefully, there would be more information hidden somewhere.
I sighed. This kingdom was going to be in more of a mess thanks to this, but at least it was going to be mine again.
I moved around to the opposite side of the desk, readying myself to search through the papers there for any kind of clue as to what was going on. Some of what had happened made very little sense to me, and I wanted some answers.
My fingers landed on an envelope with my name on it, written in Katya's handwriting. Was this some kind of trick, or had she really written me a letter? I ripped it open, hardly caring which of the two it was. Katya had walked out of this office, and out of my life if the words were to be believed.
My eyes widened as I scanned along the words of the letter, not believing what they said.
Lucia,
You were the sister I never had, and the best friend I could have ever wished for, and it pains me that things have had to end the way they did. On his deathbed, your father made me promise him that I'd do everything possible to make you into the queen you should be. I'm not sure how he knew you'd end up being the queen, Killian and I truly tried to have a child through our short marriage, and if we'd succeeded, then none of this would have been necessary. Maybe if I'd tried harder, we'd still be the sisters we once were.
The taxes have never been raised. Those are only rumours I started in order to turn the lower classes against me. You'll find all the details of the current finances in a ledger in the top drawer of this desk. There's also a letter to you from your father. I have no idea what it says, it didn't feel right to pry.
All I can say is that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you pain, and I hope you can find joy in the new kingdom you've created. If I live past you retaking your throne, then thank you. I know it would be easier if you killed me, but I'm glad you didn't. Even though it pains me to write it, you won't see me again. You have a kingdom to run, and I have a new life to live. But please know that I love you like a sister, and I'm proud of the woman you've become.
You'll be the best queen this kingdom has ever seen.
With all the love of a sister who might have been,
Katya
A tear dropped onto the page, smearing some of the ink. I didn't know how I knew, but every word she'd written rang true. This was what she'd meant by her assassination attempts never being meant to kill me. They genuinely hadn't. She'd just been using events like that in order to persuade more people to my side. I had to admit that it was a genius move. As was the tax thing, which also explained a lot. I'd always wondered why there were rumours that taxes were rising, but no one ever seemed to get any poorer.
Despite it all, Katya had been taking care of my kingdom for me, and for that, I was eternally grateful. It was a good job I hadn't killed her, if I had, then the guilt would be something I had to live with for the rest of my life.
"Your Highness," a soldier rushed into the room, his face red from running.
I quickly wiped away the tear tracks on my cheeks. "Is everything alright?"
"We followed the false queen, but she was with a man we didn't recognise. He looked as if he were a noble. They escaped. Would you like us to mount a search party in the nearby woods?"
I shook my head. "Let them go. We'll put a bounty on their heads and someone will do us the favour of catching them and bringing them back to us." It was a lie. If what I now suspected was true, the man with her would be Gideon. He was one of the best trackers I'd ever met. If anyone could cover their trails successfully, it was him.
"Affirmative, Your Highness."
"Your Majesty," I corrected. "The palace is now ours. Hoist my flag from the towers and spread the word that we've won. I am now the queen in every way." I rose to my feet as if to reaffirm my words, though I was aware it was more for me than him.
"Of course, Your Majesty." He bowed deeply and left the room.
I sighed loudly. This was just the beginning. We might have seized power today, but there was still a long way to go. The hard work was just starting.
Chapter 19
"You can do this," I reminded myself, staring into the mirror in my father's office. I still half-expected something weird to happen when I looked into it for too long, but nothing ever did. I still thought there was something unusual about it, but I hadn't figured out exactly what yet.
"You can do this," Jonathan assured me.
I twirled around, forgetting about the heavy coronation robes I was wearing. They didn't make it very easy to turn around quickly.
Or do anything quickly, if I was completely honest.
I sighed. "There's just so much to do. I think I'd have preferred having more time before being coronated, but..."
"All of the nobles were already in the building and it was foolish to waste the opportunity to do it now, I know."
I smiled. It was hard to remember that he listened to me. That was my new reality now. A man by my side and advisors who would listen to what I wanted and thought was best.
"Did you get a reply from your father?" I asked.
He nodded. "He was surprisingly quick to respond. I suspect he's pleased to learn that I'm heading towards a marriage alliance after all. I don't think Gideon and Katya were doing much in the way of keeping up the pretence by sending letters to him."
I grimaced, though inside I was a little relieved by that. The last thing either of us needed was an agreement with Jonathan's father that we didn't have the details of. It had probably been Katya's idea to keep the other king in the dark.
"Has there been any sign of them?" he asked, clearly following my train o
f thought, even if I hadn't voiced it out loud. I loved how he did that.
"No," I answered. "Someone thought they had in the woods about five days away from here, but that's not likely. I think she can be trusted, we won't see her again."
"What makes you so certain of that?"
I could understand his reluctance to trust her. He didn't know Katya like I did. "Her letter, my father's, the state of the kingdom. Whether or not she was right to do what she did, she took care of things in the way she thought it was best."
"You really think your father asked this of her?"
I nodded. "He said as much in his letter."
"You said she was good at forgeries, is there a chance she wrote it instead of your father?" he voiced the concern I'd had at first.
"In theory, she could have done," I admitted. "And it crossed my mind. But there are too many things in the letter that make me certain it was written by my father. Before he was ill too. That wasn't Katya's work, there was too much emotion in it." Tears threatened but I chased them away. I knew deep down in my heart that my father had written that letter. And that the words in Katya's letter were true.
Not that I'd told anyone but Jonathan about either of them. No one else would have understood the importance of the two documents, and I didn't plan on changing that.
Sapphire swooped in through the window, as if sensing the conflicting emotions I was feeling. She landed on my shoulder and I reached up to ruffle her feathers. "You can't come with me to the coronation," I told her.
Jonathan chuckled. "Perhaps she wants to wish you luck. Not that you need it," he assured me.
I laughed as well, his joviality bringing out my own. "I might. Do you know how long it is since I've worn heels? I'm scared I'm going to trip over my dress when I walk down the aisle."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," he promised.
"You're still happy escorting me? Even though you know what it means?" It had been worrying me ever since we'd first had the conversation.
"Of course."
"Even though you know what it means?"
Kingdom of Crowns and Glory Page 8
