A pair of slender legs slipped out from a massive bed and slowly walked across a room filled with elegant clothes, statues, and an unfinished portrait resting on a canvas.
The legs stopped by the window and opened it.
A cool breeze drifted into the room, gently brushing past the flower vase.
"Your Highness..."
A voice came from the door.
The legs hurried to the door and opened it.
"What is it, Anne?"
"It's already seven, Your Highness. Your literature teacher is here," the woman named Anne said.
"Ah... I don't want to..."
The legs hurried back to the bed, jumped onto it, and buried themselves beneath the mattress.
"You can't, Your Highness. It's for your own good," Anne said.
"Okay, fine... I'll come."
A small young woman emerged from beneath the mattress.
She walked to the bath, washed her blonde hair, put on elegant clothes, and headed to her lesson.
The moment she stepped outside her room, her expression completely changed.
Her face radiated dignity.
"Good morning, Sir Barthelemo," she greeted the man waiting in the classroom with a graceful bow.
"Good morning, Your Highness. Please be seated."
He returned the greeting and began the lesson.
She remained one hundred percent focused throughout the class.
After an hour, she thanked her teacher and left the room.
"Good morning, Sir Stephen."
She entered another room and greeted another instructor.
"Ah... My Highness. How's your day?" he asked.
"It's good, sir," she replied with a warm smile.
"Ah... No. When someone asks how your day is, you should reply with a bigger smile and ask about theirs as well. You have to polish your tone better too."
With that, the etiquette lesson began.
She sat through another hour of class.
"Good morning, sir..."
"Good afternoon, Sister Maria..."
"Good evening, Commander Newborn..."
It was a normal day for a queen.
Wake up.
Attend countless lessons on subjects only the gods seemed to understand.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Repeat until she married a king or prince and handed the kingdom over to him.
She hated the system.
She wanted to change it.
But what could she do?
She was only a fifteen-year-old girl.
But...
"Your Highness, the Court of the Seven has called you to a meeting," a servant informed her.
She made her way to the courtroom.
A large round table stood in the center, with seven people seated around it.
In the middle stood an enormous empty chair.
The ruler's throne.
She stared at it.
Her hands trembled as she imagined herself sitting there.
"Sir Valethorn... Why was I called?" she asked politely.
"It's been a year since the king died and you inherited the title of ruler. The kingdom is nearing collapse in both health and economic matters. We fear that if this continues, the people will migrate to other kingdoms or even begin a riot. It would also become a perfect opportunity for neighboring nations to attack us."
Lord Valethorn Dredge, the Grand Chancellor and former King's Hand, spoke calmly.
"We must do something quickly to avoid unnecessary conflict. Rumors are already spreading that no one truly sits on the throne. People believe we are merely pretending a queen exists."
Lady Seraphine Vale, Head of the Information Network, added.
"We should either marry Your Highness off immediately or hold a public coronation to prove the kingdom truly has a queen."
Lord Asterwalt Edger, the Minister of Treasury, spoke with clear disdain in his voice.
"If you address Her Highness without the proper honorific one more time, I will slice out your tongue."
Lady Avelyne Aster, Captain of the Royal Guard and the Queen's personal protector, warned coldly.
"Let us not fight among ourselves. We should settle this matter peacefully."
Archbishop Julian Mire, the kingdom's religious authority, spoke gently.
"As far as I know, the borders are far from peaceful. ReHawk's army is waiting for even the slightest weakness."
General Dravan Holt, Commander of the Royal Army, added.
"As the second most intelligent person in this room, I recommend arranging a marriage proposal as soon as possible. Your Highness, what is your opinion?"
Master Orwin Blackroot, the royal scholar and historian, asked.
The queen fell completely silent.
Her hands clenched tightly.
"It's unavoidable. We should marry the queen off as soon as possible. Why should we even consider a coronation? She can't rule."
Lord Asterwalt spoke once again.
"You insolent...!"
Lady Avelyne drew her sword.
"I accept the marriage..."
The queen announced it with a gentle smile.
Lady Avelyne looked at her with sympathy.
"Now, if you'll excuse me... I have a cooking class to attend."
She bowed politely and walked out of the courtroom.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
She went straight to her room and jumped onto her bed.
"Why?" she cried.
"I didn't want to be a queen... Father... Why did you die so early? What should I do now?" she said through her tears.
Slowly, she stood up and walked toward the window.
She looked afar and saw a boy around her age dancing near a house.
She looked closely, but he was too far away to see clearly.
The boy piqued her interest, and she watched him curiously.
"Your Highness, can I come inside?"
There were two knocks on the door.
It was Lady Avelyne.
"Yes... Enter!"
Elizabeth quickly wiped her tears and sat back on the bed, putting on a serious expression.
Avelyne entered the room, looked at her face, and smiled.
"What?" the queen shouted.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you are so bad at hiding your emotions," she said.
"Ahh... Don't tell anyone I cried, okay? I can't be a crybaby if I'm the ruler of a kingdom. I have to be mature and serious. That's what my father said."
"Ruler... Huh... Am I really the queen? What all I'm for is being given off to someone as a wife. He will feed me, put me in his pocket with his other wives, and look after this shit kingdom."
Elizabeth said it with a frown.
"Look here, Queen Elizabeth Avastine Clustes, daughter of the great King Denelophe Avastine Clustes. You are brave. You stood strongly in the courtroom. It's just that now you have a lot of pressure. You don't know how ruling works, the politics, and all that. So it will be really difficult for you. But don't give up. Study hard. Next time in the courtroom, I want Your Highness's voice to stand proud and strong, so that the seven of us feel like it's an order."
Avelyne said, tapping her on the shoulder.
"I just can't act tough when I'm emotionally weak. But I'm trying," she said.
"Just forget it already. Let's go to the training. I will teach you how to become tough, too."
"Okay..."
The queen said with a laugh and went with her.
After two years...
A hall was filled with people.
An empty throne sat in the center of the hall.
"Where is the queen? We must see her!" the people shouted.
"The queen will arrive soon. Please wait," Lord Valethorn said.
Suddenly, the trumpets sounded.
"Her Highness is entering the court hall!" a guard announced.
A woman appeared in the distance, walking toward the court hall.
Every step she took was filled with grace.
Pure royalty was embedded in her face.
Her long gown swept across the floor, and a massive sword was tied to her back.
Lady Avelyne slowly accompanied her toward the throne.
Elizabeth walked toward the throne and sat on it, placing her enormous sword beside her.
"You are in the presence of the great Queen of the Alquimia Kingdom, the great Queen Elizabeth—"
"Stop!"
Lord Valethorn was interrupted by the queen.
"Let them speak first. I don't have the time!" the queen said.
"Oh... Your Highness, can we share our problem?" a man in the crowd asked.
"Yes, you may speak! What is bothering you?"
"We are the farmers of the North region. Yesterday, our farm was destroyed and our food went missing. We thought it was some group of wild animals. But they were not. It was bandits. They killed all our animals and stole our food," the man said.
"How did you figure out it was bandits?" the queen asked.
"There were knife scars on the animals' necks and bodies. And all the food products, including the wine, were stolen," the man said.
"Okay... Then it's a serious trouble. General Holt!"
"Your Highness..." the commander replied.
"You have custody of this case. Find them and bring them to me at the earliest."
She turned toward the people.
"Go without fear. They'll be punished. As long as I'm the Queen, no thieves will survive. Now, if you'll excuse me."
She said it and walked out of the court hall.
Everyone looked at her with fear.
Lord Valethorn smiled proudly.
She went straight to her room and sat at a table covered with papers.
"Your Highness, there is an earthquake in the Lamoness region. We should send aid to them. These are the papers for that."
Avelyne said as she placed another stack of papers on the already crowded table.
Elizabeth looked at Avelyne.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I'll remove these files as soon as possible."
She said and reached for the papers.
"Put them there. It's okay."
Elizabeth said, signing the papers one by one.
"And tell Lord Valethorn not to announce my name every time I appear. I'm bored of it."
Elizabeth said, frustration visible in her eyes.
Avelyne chuckled a little.
Elizabeth looked at her angrily.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. It just came out of nowhere. You can have my head for that."
Avelyne knelt and pointed her sword toward Elizabeth.
"Even I know I can't kill you with that sword. Get up and leave the room."
She ordered.
Avelyne sighed and turned toward the door.
"You can laugh and tell jokes when we're together. I'm bored anyway."
Elizabeth said, continuing to sign the papers.
Avelyne smiled lightly.
"Yes, Your Highness."
She said and walked outside.
Elizabeth sighed and stretched her arms. Slowly, she walked toward her window and looked out at a house.
It was almost as if she were searching for someone.
Suddenly, someone came running out of the house.
Elizabeth's face lit up with a warm smile as she looked at him.
He was looking around with wonder.
"What's with him today?" Elizabeth wondered.
She had been watching him from the window for the past two years.
He looked at the castle with amazement.
Elizabeth's expression suddenly changed.
She moved away from the window and hid.
"Wait, wait, wait... Does he know? Is he looking at me?"
Her heartbeat grew faster.
Slowly, she peeked at the man again.
He stood still for a while.
Then his father came over and said something to him.
The boy eventually went back inside the house.
Elizabeth sighed.
"Who is he? Should I figure out? Or..."
She smiled.
It was her first smile in the past two years.
-To be continued...