Normal P.O.V

A Week and a Half Later, April 13th

The Blue Camelia Palace

‘A queen must be poised and kind, strong and stern, but calm. Not one that grows fear or confusion in her subjects.’

With Kari, that was difficult. It was tough enough that she was living the married life but she was also the queen. Despite that, her positive duties did not seem to be enough to change people's original views of her. What makes it worse is that people are trying to hide what they are saying under their breath. Sadly, she was still able to hear everything they were saying. Even now, as she is walking down the hall. "Queen Kari sure seems lifeless, right?"

"Of course, she has always had that appearance?"

"She cannot be that bad. The kids of the planet like her?"

"They're strange, even the teens. They find her cool but look at her. She is not as unique and beautiful as everyone makes her. Her eyes are two different colors, but besides that, what else?"

As annoying as their words were, they were right. In a way, Kari had a hard time getting to be around her subjects. She had even scared the kids... well until two mornings ago. On that day, an article came out that spoke positively about her. After that, the kids would talk to her at times. She guesses that the interview Nylah had with her had some effec. 

Kari stopped as she saw King Kade dressed in a black suit walking down the hall. She started her curtsey but he stopped her and took her hand. "King Kade?" 

"I have something to show you, Queen Kari." He took her hand and began to lead her. They walked down an extensive hallway before reaching the library. The moment the large doors closed behind them, Kari started to become nervous. What does the king have planned? “Are you afraid of heights?” She shook her head.

"No"

What does he have planned?

“Okay” His free hand felt around a grey brick wall. He pressed in a statue causing a bookshelf to lift. In front of them was a flight of crystal-clear spiral stairs. Kari looked at the king in surprise. He gave her a soft smile in return. “I have something to show you.” He said. 

This is something she never heard of before.

Should she be worried?

He led her up the stairs. The moment they reached the top they saw a room full of windows and one bench in the middle. The ceiling of windows lit the room up better than any sunroom could. Their view had been the sunny sky with the city below them. The sounds of music, the steam from chimneys, and the life of people walking were visible to them. Kari’s eyes lit up as she saw the sky. Kade chuckled, seeing her expression. “It is beautiful right, the city at day.” 

Her eyes looked away from the sky and went to the city. She guessed he brought her here to show her the city. He was right, the city was beautiful, but the sky was more magnificent. 

It would be nice to see a view like this with Nylah. 

“Hey, Kari- Are you okay with me calling you that in private?" She nodded.

"It's fine"

"Then call me Kade. To get to the point, Kari, I am not looking to have kids right now. What about you?" Kari looked at the king in surprise. 

"Me neither." She said. The night of their wedding, she found that upon returning to their room Kade was asleep. The same the next night and the night after. As matter a of fact their nights have not changed. Then when morning came King Kade was nowhere to be seen. The two had hardly talked unless needed to. Who knew that he was this secluded because he did not want children at the moment? Knowing that he did not want to have children at the moment got her to understand why they had not consummated their marriage. 

"Then perhaps we could instead take these days to get to know each other. We hardly got to know each other, other than what we were taught in training and I am sure that the both of us have not had time to talk to one another outside of our duties (she has)." She nodded. 

"I am 25 and I love reading and gardening."

"Reading and gardening, no wonder why our maids were always said to be in the garden." She nodded. They were never allowed to speak to one another during their training. Instead, they would catch glances of one another when they got the chance. Not knowing anything about one another was thought to bring the couple conversation on their wedding day. That anytime they were together they would have something to talk about.

"Normally, I am taking care of the daisies. Tell me about you."

“I am  27and I like chess and reading as well."

"I heard that you had a large library in your old room." 

"It can be our private library if you want."

"Sure" 

It is good to at least be friends with her husband, right?

 “That journalist, she really cares for you.”

“Yeah, she is my best friend.”

“A best friend. I feel envious.” He looked at the sky. “How long ago did you two meet?”

“Four years ago on the dock, we met for a second and I felt an instant connection. It was what she had done after though, that surprised me.”

Flashback 

Four Years Ago

The Blue Camelia Palace, The Front of the Palace

“How did she even get past the guards?” 

“She told them she was a florist.”

“And they believed her?”

Kari's eyes averted to the maids as they talked among themselves. The palace doors in front of them had been opened as the very gold-eyed woman she had been longing to speak to again spoke to the guards. Her heart began to soften up. The woman who stayed on her mind since the docks was now in the front of the palace.

The moment the guards' hands reached for the woman, Kari rushed past the maids and outside to the group. “You are lucky we are giving you a warning. If you return again, you would have been sent to the dungeon.”

“What are you doing?” Kari asked the guards. They halted and looked at her. 

“Your majesty,” One guard said.

“Do you care to tell me why you are sending the royal florist away?” 

“She does not have any credentials or-” Kari cut the second guard off. 

“I promised her that I would meet her at the gate." Kari focused her eyes on their hands. "Can you let go of her? You are getting her clothing wrinkled.“ They let her go.

“Thank you so much, your majesty.” The woman said 

“Now, as I said before, this woman here is the royal florist. Any other person besides her who says they are the royal florist will be denied.” They nodded. Kari began to walk inside. The woman followed closely behind her. The moment the two reached the garden, Kari sat on a bench.

“May I ask what made you decide to visit the palace?” Kari asked her. 

“Well, I heard-” 

“Try to make yourself look like a florist. I do not want them to assume anything,” Kari said, pointing her eyes to the guards who watched them. 

The woman nodded as she began to look at the flowers. “I know it sounds crazy, but I wanted to talk to you. After that day on the docks, I realized who you were, the future queen. I always heard so much about you, but it was never positive, so I wrote an article." Kari arched her brow.  "I did research, I promise before saying anything, and the palace approved it.”

"So you were the one who wrote that article?" The woman nodded. "Thank you." A journalist, that explains the woman’s makeup and piercings. She would blend in more if she were to leave Planet 273.

"What is your name?" Kari asked.

"Nylah." A smile came to her lips.

"Nylah, what a lovely name."

Now

The king looked to be in thought. "The truth came out months later, but it had been too late. We were already best friends by then."

“I think I remember that. The council made the security stronger.” The queen nodded. 

“Yeah, plus they added more training to my schedule to distract me."

"It must have been terrible."

"It was, but it was worth it. Nylah is a breath of fresh air from everything. Her smile, her laugh, and just her being alone was like a light in the dark room. In all honesty, I would walk to the ends of the galaxy just to be around her longer.” The king arched his brow.

“It sounds like you are in love.” Kari’s eyes widened. She said too much. From what she saw on his face, he seemed dejected. 

“I must have caught you off guard. I apologize.” He said. What if because of this conversation, something happened to Nylah? She will never be able to forgive herself.

She has to do something. 

But there is nothing that she can think of.

The sound of chimes filled the room, causing her to jump. The king chuckled at her. He lifted his phone, causing her to look at him in confusion. 

“It is my alarm. We should go and eat lunch. The chef has worked hard today” 

That is right. 

A phone.

She may not have her phone just yet but she knows some things. An idea came to her head.  “Kade.” He looked up from his phone.

“Yes, Kari?”

“Could we possibly take a photo together to celebrate this moment?” He nodded. 

“Sure, I do not see why not.” He tapped his phone screen a few times before lifting it. Appearing on the camera were King Kade with a smile and Queen Kari with a nervous smile. The only other picture she has taken with someone on their phone is Nylah. Her cheeks suddenly reddened as she thought of Kade’s recent words. Of course, she loves Nylah. She just didn’t want anyone else to know that. A flash brought her out of her thoughts.

“Wow, you look so beautiful, Kari.” Her face grew hotter. A small smile came to his face. “I must have made you embarrassed.” She shook her head. 

“No”

“Then the blush on your face is because of something else?” He moved his face closer to her. Where was this sudden confidence coming from? She can shut that down in an instant with one movement. Especially when she heard that the king gets flustered easily. Kari moved her face closer to Kade’s. His cheeks reddened. He backed away from her. 

“We really need to eat,” He said in nervousness. Kari nodded. 

Her plan worked!