Page 6 of Crown of Hearts
“Perhaps I just didn’t feel like breaking too many of your bones today.”
“Yes, of course, that’s what it was.”
I reached over to the side of the ring and grabbed my shirt to wipe the sweat and sand from my face. Thatcher picked up a small flask from where his things lay next to the ring and took asip. I couldn’t be sure if it contained water. I was rather parched myself.
“Have you heard anything from Queen Elara at all?” he dared to ask, and I gave him a sideways glance.
“No,” I replied curtly, hoping we were done with the topic.
“Have you written to her?”
I sighed. “No.”
“Why not?”
I stood up and walked over to him. “It’s complicated.”
“You mean like the fact that the two of you are engaged?” His tone was teasing but I wasn’t exactly in a joking mood anymore.
“We’re not engaged. The marital agreement I signed, back when I was supposed to marry Princess Eloisa, was false, in case you forgot. And no one even knows where Princess Eloisa is. She seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.” When I found out Elara had been crowned, I’d thought that news of her sister would soon follow. But rumour had it that Princess Eloisa hadn’t been seen in months and that no one was certain of her whereabouts.
“So, what, you’re simply going to pretend she doesn’t exist now?”
I shrugged. “It’s a little difficult to do that. She is the queen of our neighbouring kingdom, after all. I can’t ignore her politically.”
He handed over the flask and I took a sip. Definitely not water, but maybe I needed it.
“I’m really struggling to see your point here,” Thatcher admitted.
I smirked. “I thought you knew everything I was thinking?”
“Clearly I was wrong, because you’re an idiot and I don’t think like idiots.”
“Hey.” I handed him back the flask. “Careful now, I could still break one of your bones.” I gestured with my head towardsthe centre of the ring. The idea was growing all the more tempting if he didn’t shut up soon. There was a pain to Elara’s silence, and it was something I’d rather not think about. Not when there were so many other important things that required my attention.
“Well, the two of you will have to talk to each other eventually. Especially if she’s the only woman who has ever loved you.” His eyes glinted with mirth.
I shook my head. “She doesn’t love me.” Saying it out loud was less pleasant than I’d like to admit. Maybe because, deep down, I genuinely believed it to be true. Elara made no promises to me other than to try. And try, I suppose, she did. Neither of us knew just how much things were going to change after the rebellion.
“What do you mean, she doesn’t love you? She went back to fight after you told her to run, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she went back to fight for her freedom and her family. Not to save me. I made a deal with her that if she didn’t want to be with me when the rebellion was over, I would let her go.”
“And how do you know she doesn’t want to be with you?” Thatcher tilted his head slightly.
Because she told me to leave.
“Rumour has it, she’s marrying an Evernean lord,” I informed him.
“Rumours are exactly that, rumours. When did you start believing them?”
“It would make sense, wouldn’t it? She would strengthen her claim to the throne, which is probably what she needs now more than anything. I can’t see why she wouldn’t do it.” I stepped out of the fighting ring and Thatcher followed.
“Maybe, but would Elara do it? Would the girl you met in the woods do it?”
“The one thing you could count on Lara being is unpredictable. She’s reckless but not stupid. Going from the life she lived to being the Queen of Everness could have drastically changed her too. Who knows what she’ll do.”
“I think you should write to her.” We walked over the green lawns, shirts over our shoulders, sweat dripping off our backs. I’d hoped the sparring would ease some of the tension in my gut, but it looked like I’d be carrying those bruises in vain. At least I got to spend some time with Thatcher. Thoughthiswasn’t exactly panning out to my advantage either, considering he couldn’t drop the one topic I’d rather not discuss.
