Page 77 of The Forgotten Queen
“Okay, okay.” She pushed the newswriter aside and sat up. “I’m ready for girl talk.”
“I know Cheney’s your friend, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior. Marx is a married man.”
“Then why didn’t you tell Cheney that?”
Why hadn’t she told Cheney to stop tickling her husband’s neck? Her shoulders slumped. “I didn’t say anything because the thought of creating a big scene makes me uncomfortable. I’m the queen of Cristole. How would it look?”
Dannyn raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been the queen for a week.”
“I’m still the queen.”
“True.”
Sydria leaned against the large white bedpost. “What would you have done if a girl was tickling Kase’s neck right in front of you?”
“Oh, don’t follow my example,” Dannyn said, shaking her head. “I’m a mess.”
“No, seriously. I want to know. What would a normal, self-respecting woman have done in that situation?”
“You’re a normal woman.” Dannyn smiled encouragingly, but Sydria leveled her with her gaze. “I mean, besides the fact that you don’t remember anything.” She pressed her lips together, making her cheeks look like a blowfish. “I don’t know, I guess you could have said, ‘Excuse me, I’m standing right here.’”
Sydria nodded. “Yes, in my haughtiest voice.”
“Haughty.” Dannyn smiled. “That’s another good word. I feel like I’m getting smarter the more time I spend with you.”
She ignored her, lost in her own thoughts. “Okay, so I should have marked my territory, claimed my man, leaving no doubt that Marx is taken.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” Dannyn clapped. “That’s what I would do.”
Sydria spun around the bedpost, sinking down onto the mattress. “The problem is, I don’t know if I’m confident enough to do that.”
“Why wouldn’t you be confident enough to do that? Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
Sydria rolled her eyes. There was more to confidence than looking good. She needed tofeelgood too. “Everyone looks at me like I’m broken because I don’t have a memory or a past or anything that makes me interesting.”
“The fact that youdon’thave a past makes you interesting. I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with that girl?”
Sydria laughed at Dannyn’s attempt at cheering her up.
“You are a gorgeous woman. Intelligent. Refined. Not to mention the queen of Cristole.”
“I’m the default queen of Cristole, and everybody, including Cheney, knows that.”
“Default queen? What does that even mean?”
“It was an arranged marriage.” Sydria sighed. “No one believes I deserve the title.”
“Then prove them wrong.”
She wanted to prove them wrong. There was a lot of good she could do as queen, but she didn’t know how long she would have the job. Was it really a good idea for her to take a big interest in kingdom politics even if she was interested?
“Listen, if you want people to respect you, give them something to respect,” Dannyn said. “I know how great you are. It’s time you showed everyone else.” Her smile widened. “And in the process, my brother will see it too.”
Sydria shook her head. “I don’t care if your brother sees it.”
“Yeah, right. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him.”
Was that true, or was she just really good at faking it?
