“It’s cancer, according to the doctors. But I miss your mothers, and my heart has been broken for far too long,” he says sadly. Irina just nods.
“Mothers?” I ask. She quiets me a look.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“You don’t mind getting married today, do you, my boy?” The King stares at me expectantly.
“No,” I answer honestly. It would happen sooner rather than later anyway.
Besides, who the hell would say no to marrying the girl of their dreams just because they just met her? Not me.
Bring on the bride.
Chapter Four
Irina
Wait! What? This is crazy, but I realize that I want this to happen, but today?
“Today?” I ask Papa.
“Yes. There’s no time to waste. You know I married your mother without having met her and fell madly in love with her. You have a leg up.”
“I know. If you’re sure, Walt?” I ask, looking over at him. How insane does he think this is? I wish I could read his mind.
“Let’s do this. Looks like we’re already dressed for a wedding,” he says looking down at his suit. I mean, a twenties theme isn’t what I would have decided, but we can be married before lunch.
“Alright. I’m getting married today. Wait, if I hadn’t brought Walt home with me, who would I be marrying?”
“One of the sheik’s from Erurstan.”
“Aren’t they already married.”
“No, just the oldest.”
“Okay, well I am pretty sure they are both engaged to the sheik’s wife’s sisters.”
“Well, there’s an episode of Maury,” Walt says then laughs. Papa and I look at each other, having no idea what he’s talking about. “He’s a talk show host with outrageous topics.”
“Oh, gotcha,” I say, shrugging a little. If Wendy doesn’t watch it, I don’t watch it, so I’ve never heard of it.
Papa claps and his assistant, Jena comes out from behind the door.
“Yes, your majesty,” she says dryly. She’s ancient and has been here forever.
“Get the archbishop out here,” he says.
“Right away.” Jena scurries away.
“Wait. Papa. I’ve gotten carried away. Are you sure you are going to die? You can’t leave me.” My emotions are all over the place. I find myself wrapped up in my father’s strong hug once again. I think I understand the magnitude of what his broken heart must be like. His is three times worse than mine would ever be and that breaks my heart.
“My girl, I am in the final stage. It’s literally just a matter of time. We have to do this now,” he says. “Your life will be great, I promise you.”
“But I’m going to miss you.”
“I know, but we will reunite once again, you know that.”
“But…”
“You know how things must be. It’s the way things have always been, some kings, like your grandfather, haven’t been so lucky as to know when.”
“Ah yes, modern medicine, but still.”
“I know you’ll miss me, and you’ll be sad, but you’ll be too busy to mourn me. You’ll be a queen and a new wife. It’s the way of the world.”
I know he’s right; I just don’t want to hear it.
Less than an hour later, I’m married and a queen. While I am so excited about that, I can’t help but think about my dad. He was tired after the ceremony, so he’s laying down until dinner. We are in my apartment on the east side of the castle sitting on the couch.
“This is crazy,” I say.
“I’m not mad about it.”
“Me either. What do we do now?”
“I have some ideas, but first a hot shower and some food.”
“Bathroom is over there. I’ll order some food. Anything good?”
“Whatever you want. Join me when you’re done.”
I order food and then join him. The hot, soapy shower ends with him balls deep inside of me.
What a magical way to start off our life together. After we eat, we fall into bed, sharing those magical kisses which I can already tell will lead to more.
One magic-filled night and lots of kisses are all it took to find my forever. I wasn’t expecting him, but I am sure glad I found him. Being crowned Queen of Solaria is nothing compared to being his wife. Everyone will know who we are now, no hiding in the sea of anonymity with cousins anymore. I’m a queen and a wife. Who knew that’s all I wanted out of life?
Epilogue
Irina
Several Months Later
I’m in the royal hospital about to give birth, but all I can think is how my life has changed in the last few months. With Papa gone, I’m solely in charge of running this country. While that’s not as hard as I thought it would be, I’m still queen. I have a new husband, a sister-in-law slash best friend that moved in with us. Wendy brought her own brand of trouble and didn’t know how to help her. Now, I’m having a baby that obviously happened the very first time Walt and I were together. It’s a lot to process, but I think that I’m handling it well. No freakouts… well, not yet today anyway.