Page 106 of Throne Off Course

A beat of silence. Then the advisors rose, quietly excusing themselves, leaving the Queen alone in her office. For the first time in years—she had lost.

* * *

The halls of the palace felt different now. Not in the way the press described them—a symbol of change, a monarchy at a crossroads. No, for Alexander, the difference was personal.

He had spent his entire life walking these corridors as his mother’s son. Every step had been dictated, every decision scrutinized, every expectation carved into the very walls that surrounded him.

But today? Today, he walked as his own man.

Alexander reached the Queen’s office, the heavy doors as imposing as ever. The guards outside gave him a brief nod before stepping aside. They knew better than to try to stop him now.

Without hesitation, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

The Queen sat behind her desk, the picture of composure. Sunlight spilled through the high windows, casting long shadows across the room, but her expression remained unreadable—calm, assessing, unyielding.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them, weighted with everything left unspoken.

Then without looking up from her papers, she broke the silence.

“I assume you’ve come to gloat.”

Alexander let out a quiet breath, shaking his head. “No. Just to talk.”

At that, she lifted her gaze, sharp and cool. “Talk? About what, exactly? How you humiliated me in front of the press? Howyou disregarded everything we built for a reckless display of defiance?”

Her words were sharp, but he didn’t flinch.

“No,” he said evenly. “I came to ask why.”

Her brow lifted slightly, but she didn’t interrupt.

“Why did you fight so hard to control me?” His voice was quieter now, but there was steel beneath it. “Was it just about power, or was it something more?”

For the first time, something flickered in her expression—the barest trace of hesitation.

Then, with a measured exhale, she set her papers aside, folding her hands in front of her.

“You are my son,” she said. “And you are the future king. I did what I had to do to protect you.”

Alexander let out a hollow laugh. “Protect me? Is that what you call it?” He shook his head. “You didn’t protect me. You controlled me. You made choices for me without ever asking what I wanted.”

Her expression hardened slightly, fingers pressing white against the polished wood. “Because you did not have the luxury of wanting, Alexander.”

He stared at her. There it was. The truth.

She had never seen him as a person. Only as a role.

The heir. The prince. The future king.

Never simply Alexander.

For years, he had accepted that. Had let her shape him into the image of what she believed a king should be.

But he wasn’t that person anymore.

He exhaled slowly. “Was this about me?” His voice was steady, but there was something raw beneath it now. “Or was this about my father?”

That made her pause.