Page 19 of The Rejected King
The man stood, notepad and pencil in hand. “Your Majesty, Darl Bitter, from the Mero City Newswriter. I have two questions. First, could you tell us more about your transporter project that got approved at the Council of Essentials, and secondly, what makes you think this project will be any different from your other projects that have failed in the past?”
Here we go.
“More advanced transportation is something that I’m passionate about. For the past two hundred years, the rebuild has only been focused on what’s essential to survival. But we’ve surpassed the basic essentials and have moved into a new phase—a phase where easier travel is essential for trade, growth, and development. The other six rulers from each kingdom saw the wisdom in that.” Some of the newswriters nodded as they scribbled in their notepads. Others did not, but Davin continued. “I don’t believe any of my other projects in the past have failed. They’ve all presented challenges that we’ve had to overcome. I’m sure the transporter project won’t be without mistakes, but we’ll learn from them and move on.”
A thin woman in the back with a pink blazer raised her hand, standing when Miss Dutson nodded at her. “Your Majesty, Mara Jeppson from the newswriter in Dakotaland. There are rumors that you pitched education reform at the Council of Essentials. What happened with that plan? Did the Council think your idealistic aspirations were too ambitious?”
A few snickers rippled across the rows of newswriters.
Davin sat up taller. “I don’t consider education reform idealistic. I consider it to be essential to survival. Isn’t that what the Council of Essentials is about: making sure all of us have the right to the most essential necessities in life? The working class doesn’t have the same opportunities as the ruling class, especially when it comes to extended education. I’m assuming you are all members of the ruling-class by your colored clothes and the fact that you are sitting in front of me as newswriters. You all had the opportunity to receive extended education, but not everyone in Enderlin is that lucky.” Davin watched as a few of them rolled their eyes. “I did raise the issue of equal education at the Council of Essentials, but my plan didn’t pass. I think that says more about some of the other leaders in the Council than it does about me or education reform.”
The room went silent, and Davin glanced at Miss Dutson. Her face held shock and something else he couldn’t define. She was probably disappointed in his performance. There went his approval ratings.
He let out a frustrated breath. Why couldn’t he just say what the newswriters wanted to hear? So much for being charming and charismatic.
Emree
Emree was stunnedspeechless. The rest of the room melted away, a hazy glow illuminating the king as he repeated the wordseducational reformover and over. It was the sexiest thing she had ever heard a man say. The only thing that could have made his speech and her fantasy better was if he was shirtless, holding a dessert or a book (she wasn’t too particular), with a slight breeze floating through his fluffy brown hair.
She shook her head, trying to get the image out of her mind. She wasn’t even mad at herself for the fantasy. How could she be mad when a handsome man had just rattled off ideas about equal education? Emree was blameless.
She peered at the rows of newswriters, their eyes pinned on her. Was her educational reform fantasy playing across her face for the entire room to see?
“NOT GUILTY!”she wanted to scream at them.
Instead, she rocked back and forth on her heels, feeling the weight of all those pairs of eyes.
“Miss Dutson,” the king whispered out of the side of his mouth. “Are you going to take any more questions?”
Her stomach dropped. She was in charge of the briefing. Everyone looked to her to direct the flow of the event. The king’s speech had thrown her so much, she’d lost her focus. She couldn’t let that happen again.
“Let’s move on to questions about the Promenade,” Emree said, pointing at a man in the second row.
The king offered up answers to questions about the last Promenade his parents had gone through. He answered questions about specific one-on-one activities he would be going on and whether or not he was nervous.
An older woman in the second row with curly blonde hair raised her hand next. “Your Majesty,” the newswriter said, “I’m Fiona Rudd, from the New Montana Newswriter.”
Emree had heard of Miss Rudd. Her headlines against the king usually skewed toward the negative more than any of the other newswriters’.
“Are you excited about the Promenade?” Miss Rudd asked.
King Davin cleared his throat. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to meet so many accomplished women from around our kingdom. It’s an honor that they would each take a week out of their own lives and come to the castle to participate in the Promenade.”
Miss Rudd continued. “The Promenade has been a tradition in our kingdom for over one-hundred-and-fifty years. It has worked for every ruler in Enderlin before you. Do you believe you will find your wife through the same time-honored tradition?”
“I hope to be happy at the end of all this,” Davin said.
“So you don’t think you’ll find a wife?” the newswriter pressed.
“We’ll have to see what happens.”
Miss Rudd cocked a brow. “Some might say your indifference toward the Promenade is another example of your progressive, radical ideas.”
The king leaned forward on his throne. “Love should be progressive and radical. Don’t you think?”
“I think the majority of the population believes you are too modern. Your ideas are too ambitious and fail time after time. And when it comes to the traditions and beliefs that Enderlin loves, like the Promenade, you seem uninterested.”
Oh, no.This press conference was quickly turning bad.
