Page 7 of Ascending

“That would be amazing. Who is it?”

“I’ve got a name and a number. Do you have a pen,” he asked in a thick Scottish accent.

“Always,” she replied.

Palmer jotted down the information he provided and looked at the time. It was after nine at night. She wouldn’t be able to call tonight, so she ate a late dinner in her room and decided to go down to the hotel library, which was a large room off the side of the lobby. Palmer hadn’t borrowed a book yet, but she’d used the space for some relaxation a few times. As she passed the bar on her way, she saw the three TVs all covering the story. She stopped walking, decided to order a drink, charging it to her room, which was now being paid for byThe Courier, and watched.

“All was quiet at the palace today. The Queen’s office issued another statement of condolence to all those who lost friends and family at the children’s hospital bombing. We don’t expect to hear much more from Her Majesty in the coming days as her focus must be, according to her office, on her duties and the remainder of the mourning period, the safety of her nation and its people, as well as her coronation. Sources are saying that the coronation will be a simple affair, and under the circumstances, many agree that that is the appropriate choice.”

Palmer watched the female reporter on the screen speak into the oversized microphone as she stood outside a modest-sized palace, compared to Buckingham, which, of course, made sense: St.Rais was a lot smaller and an often-forgotten-about country. Then, a video of the new Queen, whom Palmer had thus far only seen a few pictures of, appeared on the screen, walking alongside the woman she knew was the Queen’s younger sister, Victoria.

“She’s beautiful,” Palmer said to herself as she watched the Queen smile and laugh with her sister.

It must have been a recent video because the Queen looked unchanged in her appearance, but it was definitely before she’d lost pretty much her entire family because she was glowing with happiness. She had perfectly quaffed long blonde hair, parted in the center and flowing over her shoulders. Palmer had also seen her eyes better in pictures; they were a bright blue. She resembled her sister, but where Victoria was nearly rail-thin, the new Queen had a few curves, which Palmer thought suited her well.

“Shame, what happened, isn’t it?” the bartender asked her as he placed her white wine down on the bar in front of her.

“Yes, it is,” Palmer replied. She looked at him as he turned more fully to the screen to watch the story unfold as she had done. “Hey, I’m a tourist. I don’t know all that much about this place. Would you mind if I ask you a few questions about the history of St. Rais and the royal family?”

“I have customers, but if you can give me a few minutes, I can,” he replied.

Palmer smiled and said, “Perfect.”

CHAPTER 3

“Idon’t want to move to Coburn, Lizzy. We have to stick together,” Victoria told her.

“I know. It’s temporary. And Coburn is onlycalleda cottage. It’s a mansion, Vicky. You’ll have everything you need there, and I’ll visit when I can. You can come here, too.”

“Are youorderingme to move there as my Queen oraskingme as my sister?”

“Asking. I won’t order you to do anything. Youaremy sister, and this isn’t the sixteen-hundreds, Vick,” Elizabeth told her with a smile as they sat on the love seat, facing her fireplace.

“David offered to move here for me,” Vicky shared. “From London.”

“He has a job there,” Elizabeth replied.

“He said he can work from anywhere. He wants to be with me, Lizzy. I needed him here for the funeral. I’ve hardly been able to go anywhere, and he’s not on the authorized list to come here yet. Can you–”

“I’ll get him added,” she interrupted. “And you two can’t live together unless you’re engaged, Vicky. You know that. As much as I hate the outdated rules, we can’t have a scandal right now.”

“There’s a guesthouse at Coburn. He can stay there. No one cares about the cottage, Lizzy. Besides, all eyes are onyouright now. They won’t even notice I’m not around or that I’m with a British guy all the time.”

“You know you’re going to get a hard time about falling for a Brit, right? Plenty of guys available here, in St.Rais,” Elizabeth replied.

“I don’t care,” Vicky stated simply. “I love him.”

Elizabeth smiled warmly at her sister and said, “You know what? I don’t care about the whole living-together thing. Martin was going to bring the monarchy into the twenty-first century. He and Dad worked with Parliament to get the law passed so that Edwina would rule next regardless of whether or not a boy came after. They both understood the importance of relevance, and relevance comes with keeping up with the times. If you love David, and he wants to move here – it’s fine with me. But, Vicky – it’syourlife.” Elizabeth turned her face to Victoria’s. “You don’t need my permission to live with your boyfriend or even to get married. If and when David proposes, if you say yes – that’s all that matters to me.”

Victoria smiled back and said, “Thank you. For what it’s worth, I think you’re going to be a great Queen, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth turned back to the fire and replied, “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to remember all the things Mom taught us as kids; everything I’ve read about what I’m supposed to do; how I’m supposed to do it. I feel like I forgot so many things because I never really needed to remember. It’s not the Middle Ages anymore. It’s no longer the whole heir-and-the-spare thing because kids die young. Even if it was, though, Mom and Dad had MartinandAlexander.”

“You and I were superfluous,” Victoria added, turning toward the fire as well.

“You and Iwerebecause they loved each other,” Elizabeth corrected.

Victoria nodded and softly said, “You’re right.”

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