The king's birthday
1874 Words
Marjorie's POV:
“It was by far the most awkward night of my entire life! He didn't even look at me for more than a minute. He seemed so disinterested in my conversation or anything about me!” I groaned, throwing myself onto the bed.
“Oh come on. I couldn't have been that bad, ” Annette said, organizing my gowns.
“It wasn't bad Annette. It was horrendous! ”
She stopped and looked at me. “And why do you care if he was looking at you or not? "
“Because…” I couldn't bring myself to say it. To say that I was smitten. “I'm a queen. People travel far to get a glimpse of me. And then this man just rocks up out of nowhere and treats me as if I wasn't even there. ”
“Fair enough,” Annette shrugged. “But forget about him. Bear in mind that he had no idea who you are. He's an i***t if he doesn't know how lucky he was to meet you.”
I sighed, “You're right. Thinking of him is a complete waste of time. ”
“Exactly, Your Highness.”
“But enough about me and my depressing night. How did it go with Frederick?”
Annette smiled shyly. “Well...he took me up to the mountain. It was beautiful, seeing the lights lit all over the village and town. I'll never, ever forget it.”
“Is that it?” I frowned.
“Oh...well he...he did kiss me at the end of the night. He said that he loved me and he wanted to settle down with me.”
My eyes widened. “Oh my! He said that?! Oh my goodness, Annette's gonna get married soon!”
She blushed. “Stop it! Tell me, what will you wear for the ball tonight? Lady Merille sent three gowns.”
“Well…that one, ” I said pointing at the scarlet gown. “It's very pretty. Will you organize someone to send a letter of thanks to her? She did all of this hard work in such a short period.”
“As you wish Your Highness.”
Annette left the room, leaving me to think about the man… Benjamin. I had met thousands of men, no ten thousands of men. Why was he consuming my thoughts? What made him special and set him apart from the rest?
Ben's POV:
“How do you like it?” Madeline's niece Beatrice asked me, referring to the house.
“It's beautiful. And spacious,” I said, satisfied by the building.
“It is isn't it? I thought of how we'll share the house. There are four bed chambers. Two on the left and two on the right. Which means you'll take left. There's one latrine on each side too. We'll share the sitting room and the kitchen. My maid will be living with us as well because I'll…” she looked down at her swollen belly, “The baby can come any day from now I'll need help. The maid will be cleaning the whole house daily and cooking both our meals, which means you'll be forced to dine with me. Is that alright?”
I nodded, “That's perfect Beatrice. Thank you.”
“You're welcome. I look forward to becoming good friends with you Benjamin.”
With that she left and went to her side of the house. I chose the bigger bedroom as mine and put my three changes of clothes in the wooden wardrobe. I couldn't believe I was staying here for free. Well in exchange of work a few times a week.
“Benjamin?” Beatrice called.
I followed the sound of her voice to the sitting room. She was standing with a little boy. A messanger.
“For you,” Beatrice said before leaving the room.
I turned to the boy.
“Your mother wishes to see you.”
My jaw tensed. The audacity he had to call that woman my mother.
“I can't, ” I told the boy. “And I won't.”
“Sir. She hasn't been happy ever since you last saw her. She doesn't smile anymore. Or laugh. She hardly eats. Please see her just once.”
I sighed, “Bloody hell. Fine. I'll see her."
We rode to the manor and once again the maidservant escorted me into the garden of roses. The she was. Just like before. She walked up to me as soon as she saw me. Something looked different. She looked different from the last time I came.
“Benjamin. I'm happy you're here. I just…I had to see you…and talk,” she said with teary eyes.
“Listen. I don't know why you're still keeping this up. I told you before. It's not going to work. So just stop.”
She shook her head, “I'll never stop trying. Because you're my son. Nothing will ever stop me from fighting for you Benjamin. And if you don't believe how much I care about you, I have something to change your mind,” she said walking inside the manor.
I hesitated but followed her in. She told me to sit while she left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a box.
She sat down across me, put the old brown box on the table and opened it to reveal stacked letters divided into two sections.
“These…” she said taking out the ones on the right, “I wrote for you. Every year on the day of your birth. I could obviously not send them to you but…I still wrote. To keep myself sane,” she chuckled sadly.
She handed me the letter.
“I can't…I can't read,” I said giving it back. .
She smiled, “May I read it to you?”
I nodded in response.
“My dear Benjamin. It's your first birthday. I wish I could be there with you. To hold you in my arms and kiss you. To bake you a treat and to be rewarded with a sweet smile. I love you my blue eyed angel. Forgive me for not being there with you. Love, Mother.”
Tears filled my eyes, “Where do these bloody things comes from?”, I cursed, looking up to stop them from falling.
“Emotion. Gets the best of us, ” she said wiping her own tears away.
“You've proved your point. But this doesn't change anything,” I said, getting up.
“What do you want me to do Benjamin? I can't–I cannot just continue with my life without you in it. Not when I've seen you. Please just tell me what I can do.”
I stared at her for a long moment , “You can start by telling me why you left me behind. You could've taken me with you. Do you know how embarrassing it was for people to know that my mother ran away with another man…?”
“I don't want to waste your time by spewing fake excuses. I was selfish. I was wrong and I only thought of myself. But I swear I never stopped loving you since the day you were born until now. So really Benjamin. I won't ever stop trying. Because I love you.”
I sighed heavily, “Fine. But I'll tell you this, It's going to take time. And I mean a hell lot of time.”
“I know. Even if it took a thousand years, I would wait.”
I took a deep breath and relaxed a little bit. She smiled and started to cry again.
Marjorie's POV:
“Your Highness? Your Highness?”
I was pulled out of my reverie by Annette.
“Are you well? Do you feel ill?” she asked, concerned.
I shook my head, “No. I'm alright Annette. Just lost in my thoughts.”
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“No. Not really,” I said as I blushed. I'd be damned to tell her that I was still thinking of the man from Fredrick's home; Benjamin.
“Well then, I wanted to ask if you would like to go to the garden? We'll pick flowers and some fruit from the orchards.”
“That sounds heavenly Annette. I would love to.”
“I thought as much,” Annette smiled.
We went to the garden and I picked some roses and daisies. Picking flowers always calmed me. And for a little while, I forgot all about Mr ‘I don't care about anyone.’
I took a long bath after we came back from the garden and I put on my scarlet gown. I wore my crown, along with my favorite necklace, the one I had gotten as a wedding present from my father.
“You look breathtaking. As always,” Greg said approaching me. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and took in my scent as he buried his face in my neck.
“Thank you. Do I really look alright? I'm nervous about tonight. Everyone's going to be here. And this is my first big event as queen.”
“Everyone will love you. Don't worry about it,” Gregory assured me. He kissed me on the cheek before letting me go.
I relaxed a little, a smile on my face . Greg had become less of a nuisance. Living with him wasn't difficult at all. He was patient, caring and funny. I found myself actually enjoying his company. Absolutely absurd. I know.
“We need to be out in a couple of minutes. They are waiting for us.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. I walked behind Greg into the large ballroom. Everyone bowed until we stood in front. Gregory gave his speech to the guests and we sat down at the King's table. I swayed my head gently to the music, watching the couples dance.
“May I have this dance?”
I turn to face Greg, “Pardon?”
“I would like to dance with my queen. Is there a problem?”
I shake my head, “No. I would love to dance, Your Majesty. ”
Gregory led me to the center of the crowd and we glided across the ballroom, everyone watching us. I just followed Gregory's lead because I wasn't the most stellar dancer. He did not seem to mind at all how I kept stepping onto his foot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man I least expected to see there. He stared at me, expressionless, just standing there with Fredrick by his side.
I didn't know what to do with myself. I became unbelievably nervous and I just wobbled around. Why was he there? I was only hoping that I wouldn't mess up the dance much more than I already was. I could not bear the thought of making myself look like a baffoon in front of Benjamin, and if course everyone else. So I took a few deep breaths, kept my composure, and finished the dance. It took the greatest amount of effort, but I did it.
- Writer
