Once they were out of view, we all sat down. The basilica was too big and we were too far to see them from where we were. We could barely make out what they were saying, but we followed along with the pamphlets provided to us.
When the archbishop asked, Sir, is Your Majesty willing to take the Oath?
We heard Elias respond, I am willing.
The archbishop spoke again, Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of France and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?
Elias said, I solemnly promise so to do.
The archbishop followed up with, Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?
Elias replied, I will.
Everything else was lost on me. The songs, the prayers, the hymns. He’d taken his oath. He’d chosen the Crown. I knew he would, but I hadn’t expected to feel this void inside. When it was over, we were all escorted out of the basilica. As I walked outside, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Elias standing from the chair he’d been sitting in and following the bishops to the back of the basilica. I kept my eyes on them until they disappeared, and when his mother, sister, and brother stood, I noticed Emily was there after all and she too disappeared to the back. It wasn’t a surprise wedding, but it might as well have been, with the way my heart felt like it was shattering inside of my chest.
The ride to Versailles was quiet. I was grateful for that. Etienne and Joss seemed to understand that I needed silence to process it all. It was an hour car ride though, and I knew the silence wouldn’t last long. Joslyn’s phone vibrated first. She met my gaze for a second before answering it and I knew instantly she was speaking to Pilar, who was obviously wondering where her personal secretary was. Once Joss assured her that she was on her way to Versailles, Pilar stopped asking questions and she hung up the phone with a heavy sigh.
“They’re not far behind.”
“Addie?” Etienne asked. I glanced up at him. He was sitting in the driver’s seat and I was the lone person in the back. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Fine.” I forced a placating smile. He frowned and shook his head, eyes back on the road.
“I think you should tell the queen you can’t plan the wedding.”
“I can’t.” I shut my eyes and pushed my head back into the seat. “My mother would kill me.”
“Speaking of parents, did you see your father?” Joss asked.
“No.” My eyes widened. “Did you?”
“I saw him when we walked in.”
“Where was he sitting?” My heart pounded faster.
“A few rows behind us.”
“I’m sure he’ll be at the event,” Etienne said. “The cabinet is always invited to everything.”
“One more thing I don’t need in my life right now,” I mumbled.
“You have to speak to him sometime.” That was Joss, in her encouraging voice with her hopeful, bright eyes.
I glared. “I’m not the reason we’re not speaking.”
“Well, technically,” Etienne said. I leaned in and pinched his shoulder. “Ouch! What the hell, Adeline?”
“Keep your comments to yourself unless you’re going to be supportive of me.”
“I am supportive of you. You’re the reason I’m driving an hour and a half away from my comfortable flat.”
Joss scoffed. “Right, because you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t.”
Joss and I started laughing. “You live for this stuff.”
“Which reminds me, where’s Mira?” Joss raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t even mentioned her.”
“We’re on a break.”
“On a break?” My mouth dropped. “We love Mira. What happened?”
“Life. Work is taking her to Spain for a month and then Rome and I’m tired of the distance.” He shrugged a shoulder. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
“Still. That’s kind of a bummer.” My lips pursed.
I thought for sure Etienne would be proposing to Mira this year, not breaking up with her. If they couldn’t make it work, I wasn’t sure who could. I knew we were almost at the castle when I saw the row of cars in front of us slowing down as they made their way through security. To our left, there was a row of protestors. I wondered how Elias felt about them.
“He probably doesn’t care,” Etienne said.
“He has to care,” Joss argued. “I’m going to ask Pilar about it.”
“What do you think, Addie?” Etienne eyed me in the rearview. Joss looked at me over her shoulder.
“How am I supposed to know?” I frowned. “It’s not like I talk to him.”
“You don’t?” Etienne raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t. I told him to stop calling and he did.”
“Hm.”
“When?” Joss turned as much as her dress allowed. “Why? You didn’t tell me this!”
“The other night. We discussed the coronation briefly and I asked him not to call anymore because I didn’t think I could handle being his friend.”