Page 121 of A Queen's Game
Marietta searched his face for annoyance but found the same icy expression. “I should be the one to apologize, Your Grace,” she said with a tight smile. “This is just different from my expectations.”
“How so?”
“You sound rehearsed. Like you’re reading it from a history book.”
“Well,” he said, gesturing out the window, “it is our history.”
“How about you share one fun fact with me?” she asked, giving a polite smile. “Something not so… from a book.”
The King gazed off to the side, his eyes darting back and forth as he thought. Just as Marietta was about to speak again, he broke the silence. “Wisteria is not native to Satiros. Instead, it was transplanted here and cultivated during my great-grandfather’s reign. His wife, native to the lands across the Dyreste Mountains, brought it as a wedding present. Since then, it became popular within the city-state and eventually became the city’s crest.”
Marietta blinked at him. “How is that a fun fact?”
“All facts are fun.”
Marietta tried to hold back her laugh but failed. The King cracked a smile, the sight odd on such a usually cold face. It almost made him approachable.
“I’m guessing you aren’t one for reading and research,” he said, meeting her gaze.
“Oh, I enjoy reading, just not history books.” Unless there was history in the dirty books she often swapped with her friends in Olkia.
“Then which types of books do you enjoy?” he asked. “Adventure?”
Marietta bit her lip, nodding. “Yes, adventure. But what do you think of your city-state?” she asked, eager to change the subject.
“You want to know what I think of Satiros?”
“I do. I’m curious what your favorite places are, the type of people the King busies himself with.” She leaned on her hand, her arm propped up by the window of the carriage.
The King nodded, his gaze shifting to the city. Marietta waited in silent fascination as he thought of an answer. The silence would grow irksome normally, but he gave her question some thought. How was that man best friends with Keyain?
“Though I’m not one to venture in public often,” he said, his eyes shifting back to Marietta, “I would say my favorite place is the Ertwyrmer Sculpture Gardens. Most statues in the Central Garden are tame compared to some in the sculpture gardens.”
“I’d love to see them sometime,” Marietta said. “Are they as detailed as the ones in the palace?”
“They are,” he said with a quirk of his lips. “I could show you one day if you would like.”
“I hope you do.” She smiled at the King, at the idea of being outside the palace and finding more curious statues.
“The type of people I busy myself with are those in government positions,” he added. “And even that is too much.”
Her smile grew, realizing his quietness was not him uninterested in her but him being one to tire of people. “It seems you and I are opposites.”
“How so?”
“I love being around people and wish I knew more of your court and its people.” She leaned forward, her smile sharpening. “And you wish to be around none of them—to be alone.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“Not at all.”
Her answer must have been the right one, for he smiled, his gaze locking on hers before staring out the window once more. “Just beyond Bellflower Bridge sits Birdsong Park, the largest park in the city-state proper. I would share a fact about the park, but I fear I’d bore you.”
Marietta shot him a smile, thankful he had a sense of humor about her not wanting a history lesson.
As they crossed over the Halia River, the park came into view. The stonewall of the river’s shore lined one edge and the boulevard they traveled on lined another. Trees of every kind canopied much of the walkways lined with bushes and other greenery. On such a sunny day, a walk through a shady park would have been pleasant. “I’d listen to every fact you had to share if we could see it up close.”
“It would be too unsafe, given the current situation with the missing pilinos,” he said while shifting his left foot to the seat, his knee tucked close to his chest. “The view from the carriage must suffice.”
