No.“Yes. Thank you for fielding her call and for handling things while I’ve been here at the hospital.”
He snorted. “Literally my job, brother.” The events of the last few days had proven that I had made the right decision in naming Knox as my Chief Counselor.
“All right, well, remind me to give you a raise. Text you later.”
“Text you later. Birdie says to give Adelaide our love.”
I hung up the phone and looked down at Adelaide, who was watching me with apprehension. “Well,” I said, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “Looks like tomorrow will be eventful.”
“Your Majesty, thank you for meeting with us today on such short notice,” Head Councilwoman Banks began.
I nodded curtly. “I wasn’t aware I had much of a choice, Head Councilwoman.” As this was a closed session, we were in the Council’s private chambers, a smaller room that more closely resembled a conference room than anything else.
“Yes, well.” She cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable.I stared at her, unblinking, refusing to yield. A few of the Council members shifted in their chairs, sensing the awkwardness in the air.
Good. Let them squirm.
“Can we please make this quick? I have some other meetings to get to today.” A lie—the only thing on my schedule for the rest of the day was getting Adelaide settled back in at home, but they didn’t need to know that.
“Of course, Your Majesty. I’m sure you have seen the conversations happening in the press and on social media the last few days?”
I tipped my chin in acknowledgment.
“Well, a number of us on the Council are…shall we say, concerned about your choice of fiancée, given some of the ongoing discourse regarding the Crown’s future. We thought it would be prudent to encourage you to reconsider the upcoming nuptials, particularly considering the marriage law is no longer in effect or applicable to your situation.”
Rage boiled in me, blacking out my vision for a moment. While I had expected that this meeting was in regard to the events of the last week, I hadn’t thought they would so blatantly ask for me to call off the wedding.
I leveled a stare at each Council member in turn, letting them bask in the uncomfortable silence as I sifted through my thoughts.Blowing a gasket isn’t going to get you the result you want, Oliver.
Finally, I spoke. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? No need to mince words; this is a private meeting after all. You want me to end my relationship with Ms. Levy because she may or may not be able to conceive and produce heirs naturally, is that right?”
Again, several of the Council members squirmed, and most of them avoided my gaze.
“Yes. That is correct,” answered Head Councilwoman Bates. She at least had the decency to look cowed when she said it, though I was still considering pasting a photo of her face over my dart board later.
I laced my hands together and placed them on the table in front of me. I still wore the hospital blanket string tied around my ring finger. “In that case, I have a few questions for you. First, can someone please remind me who is eligible to become my heir?”
Head Councilwoman Bates glanced nervously at Councilman Rupert to her left, a man with a pointed nose and watery eyes that made him resemble a mouse. He shuffled through a stack of papers, looking between the words on the page and me as though afraid he was stepping into a trap.
“The law states that succession to the throne begins with the eldest child of the king and queen, going in order of birth regardless of gender. After that, it goes to the sovereign’s siblings, again in order of birth regardless of gender, followed by?—”
I held up a hand, cutting him off. “Thank you, Councilman Rupert. That’s enough.” I leaned forward, pinning the man with my eyes. “Does it clarify or state anywhere in there how the children must come into the family?”
Again, Councilman Rupert scanned the pages in front of him before looking back to me. “N-no, sir,” he stammered.
“Quite right. Now, another question for the wider group. Does anyone know how many people of reproductive age experience infertility?”
Silence blanketed the room.
I continued, “I didn’t know this statistic until recently either. It’s one in six people worldwide. That’s an estimate, of course, as there are many reasons that prevent perfect data on this topic, as with any public health issue. But goingby that approximation, somewhere between five and seven of the people in this room have been or will be affected by infertility.” I watched their reactions, noting several who looked stricken by my statement. “Based on some of your reactions, I’d say that was a fairly good guess.
“Now, for my final question. Why did you not require me to have my own fertility tested prior to taking the throne?”
Eyes widened around the table. You could have heard a pin drop, it was so silent.
“Head Councilwoman Banks?” I prodded.
“Well. I…it…it’s never something that’s been done before…”
