Page 13 of A Ring to Claim Her Crown
The agenda for Wednesday began with an exhibition at their museum of cultural history in Albo’s historical town square, one of her favourite places in all of Arqaleta. The curator had gathered and assembled an interactive exhibit of Arqaleta’s rich history of weaponry, including their world-famous bow and arrow collections.
Minerva stood by her mother’s side as the Queen gave a beautiful speech about the history of their beautiful island kingdom, a speech that Minerva knew came from the heart. Crowds had gathered, filling up their modest town square and spilling over into the surrounding streets. Street vendors sold sweet treats and their world-famous Arqaletan pastry, the honeybee, on every corner. The scent of warm honey and crisp, flaking pastry filled the air and made her mouth water.
She hadn’t eaten much at breakfast, and would have loved nothing more than to cross the street and grab one for herself, but duty called. Still, her stomach rumbled as she gazed longingly in the direction of a young couple sharing a crisp, golden honeybee between them.
‘Hungry?’
A low voice came from behind her shoulder. She turned sharply to find Liro, looking relaxed and pensive. How long had he been standing there? He was dressed in a fine navy suit today, his rich red waves smoothed back in a classic style that emphasised his strong nose and cheekbones. He had never been conventionally attractive as a teen, but every time she laid eyes on him now she found herself stricken anew by what a presence he made. He made no effort to hide his tattoos today, letting the curling black lines snake up from his open collar. She still couldn’t make out what they were...a forest of some sort? An animal?
He noticed her staring and she turned away quickly away. Her mother’s speech had ended, but the curator was talking through his inspiration for the exhibit now, and she had not been paying attention.
‘You seem tense,princesa. Is selecting your favourite suitor from the bachelor buffet proving more difficult than you’d hoped?’ He moved to stand by her side, using the handkerchief from his breast pocket to idly polish the sunglasses in his hands.
‘You’re still here.’ She feigned complete boredom, focusing her attention fully upon the display. ‘When you disappeared again, I thought yesterday had finally convinced you to move on.’
‘And miss finding out who your beloved new king consort will be?’ He clucked his tongue. ‘Not a chance.’
His handsome smirk sent a shiver along her skin and she resisted the urge to walk away, to leave him standing there alone.Bachelor buffet... Her mind whirled with discomfort at his words, the blunt reminder of the choice she had to make soon. They had an audience, she was a princess and princesses had rules. A princess did not cut people off, and she definitely did not stick her tongue out at them for good measure.
She settled upon turning her head politely to feign interest in the curator’s speech, listening to the older man wax lyrical about primitive arrows and the very first cannon.
The heat was growing stronger by the minute and her stomach continued to growl softly as she put her best effort into appearing utterly engrossed. When the speech finally ended, she resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that now she would be forced to walk at a snail’s pace around the exhibit when really all she wanted was to go straight to the bow and arrow section and see which pieces had been chosen.
The scent of melted sugar and butter teased her nostrils, seeming to have wafted across to her on a cruel breeze. But then by some miracle a pastry appeared in her vision, wrapped in a delicate white napkin in Liro’s large, callused hand.
‘A gift from an admirer, Your Highness,’ he said, placing the delicious pastry in her hands before she could say no.
He watched her, eyes sparkling with sin, urging her to cause a scene and refuse his gift. He had clearly been standing nearby for long enough to notice her gazing over at the food and he had gone and got one for her.
That realisation shouldn’t have sent a glittering shimmer of warmth running through her, but food had always been her weakness. She was utterly ravenous, and the honeybee was her absolute favourite out of all the pastries he could have chosen. She bowed her head in the direction of the vendor, who smiled and gestured towards her excitedly. A queue had already begun to form around his stall now that the people could see the princess holding one of his perfectly baked confections.
‘Consider it a peace offering,’ Liro said. ‘You could have left me in the dirt, or at the very least you could have told the embarrassing truth of what happened, rather than preserve the dignity of alittle fool.’
His reminder of her phrase made a sudden snort of laughter escape her. She tried to hold it in, but it was too late, and a second bubble of mirth followed the first. Liro’s eyes seemed to glitter with victory at the sound, making her wish he would put back on his sunglasses. He was...too much...and once again he was distracting her from her duty.
Sighing with defeat, she bit ceremoniously into a small corner of the pastry in the hope it would send him away. She was not prepared for the sheer perfection of flavour that met her taste buds. All royal teachings abandoned, she proceeded to finish the entire thing in less than three bites. She looked down at the napkin, filled with nothing but crumbs, and realised her lapse of propriety.
Liro leaned in, a smile on his lips. ‘Don’t worry, everyone is far too busy looking at your museum curator struggling to lift a bow to notice you inhaling a glorified croissant.’
‘He’sdoing the demonstration?’ She looked up, sure enough seeing the elderly curator lifting an ancient bow from its case. Her fingers itched with longing.
‘Strange that they would choose an elderly academic when they have a world-famous Olympic archer sitting right here,’ he mused. ‘Or is this part of that new traditional image I’ve heard of?’
‘I don’t always have to take the spotlight.’ She shrugged.
The look Liro gave her was one of complete disbelief. ‘Your experience as an athlete on the global stage is a huge advantage. Teenagers had posters of you on their walls, for goodness’ sake. Maybe they fear your power and influence.’
The crowd began to cheer around them as the elderly curator hit a weak arrow in the vague direction of the target. It was an utterly pathetic shot, but still she applauded. Heaven forbid anyone wound an old man’s pride.
But still, as the display ended and the bell was called for the sit-down luncheon inside, Liro’s words resounded in her mind.Maybe they fear your power and influence.Of course, she knew that her position as a female leader in a kingdom traditionally ruled by men was fraught with issues. Her own mother had hit many roadblocks in her reign, but she was confident that she knew which battles to fight and which to cede. Or at least, that was what she had been telling herself.
When they were seated, she watched from afar as Liro conversed easily among the guests at his table on the far side of the room. She felt his attention upon her at regular intervals and noticed his eyes narrow when the band started up and Prince Lorenz, John and Jean-Claude each appeared to ask her to dance. She indulged Jean-Claude first, laughing as she attempted to teach him a traditional Arqaletan slow dance. John stepped up for the next song, impressing her with his speed and agility as he led the dance. All the while, it took far too much of her focus not to let her eyes wander to the brooding red-haired hulk at the edge of the room.
It was on her third turn around the room, with Prince Lorenz this time, that she allowed herself to take a quick look—only to find his table empty. She craned her neck, looking around the hall, finally spying him standing in the far corner of the room with a familiar silver-haired politician, Robart. Minerva frowned as the two men shook hands, looking very chummy for brand-new acquaintances. Confirming her suspicions, Liro took out his phone and showed Robart something, earning a wink from the older man and a clap on the back.
When Liro looked up at her, she saw guilt cross his features and felt her stomach tighten. Her suspicions had been based only on a hunch, but one look in his eyes and she knew she had been right. He’d come here to conquer, to seize control in the shadows, just as his father had tried to do all those years ago.
The song stopped and she thanked her lucky stars. Prince Lorenz was a wonderful dancer, but he talked non-stop, and she just needed to breathe a moment alone. Something small and fragile ached in her chest, but she managed to maintain her composure as she walked past the tables filled with guests, up the grand staircase and out towards the rest rooms. Only at the very last moment did she realise she had changed her course and had slipped over the velvet ropes that led to the darkened display halls.
