She'd spent a lot of time with the staff, starting with the lunch room after the first walkabout. They'd known who she was and that she was connected to the new king, but like everyone else, they still believed the never-refuted engagement story.
And none of them ever questioned why she was already living in his quarters.
She'd started a few more official engagements, mostly ones related to the queen's passing and with Enzo, but a few on her own. All of those were events that hadn't been canceled and a member of the family had committed to attending. Though everyone would understand if no one attended due to the queen's passing, she wanted to help out where she could.
The people she'd met had been most kind. None had asked about her relationship with Enzo, though she knew they had to be curious. She'd only given a couple of short addresses, nothing of any significance.
In that time, she'd had a basic uniform, the same as the rest of the family and many of the people.
Black.
After the service, they'd be able to expand their palates a little more to other dark, somber colors. She didn't know exactly when they'd be able to return to bright colors and less subdued styles, but she looked forward to it.
Her mourning wasn't the same as the others. She had only met the queen a few times. Her emotions were more to do with empathy for others than for herself.
Now she would ride in one of the official family vehicles, though none of the immediate family would arrive with her. Instead, they all walked behind the queen's casket as it moved from the halls of government where she had laid in state to the abbey where the service would be held.
She'd offered to walk with Enzo, but it had been determined only biological family would do so.
That meant she would go with the other in-laws, but none of them were closely related enough to be considered senior royals.
And that meant she'd be alone in the last car to arrive.
She'd even suggested arriving with her family or having her mum travel with her so she wouldn't be alone. That had also been vetoed. If her mother hadn't been part of another royal family, they might have allowed it.
Keeping her expression appropriately neutral as the procession continued, Victoria still did her best to acknowledge as many of those lined up along the route as she could. Eye contact. A slight tip of the head. Anything to show she wasn't simply along for the ride.
It had been a number of years since her father's service and the gravitas of it had almost slipped from her memory. She knew it had been, but the actual feeling of it was gone.
The cars arrived at the entrance to the abbey and all of the occupants exited. Victoria followed suite when her turn arrived. Her place at the end of the line of family had been preselected.
The rest of the procession wasn't far behind. The horse-drawn gun carriage came to a halt at the base of the steps. Members of the armed forces acted as pall bearers. As they carried the casket up the steps, the family members following behind split into two lines, reforming into a single line on the other side. When Enzo made it to the top of the stairs where Victoria waited, she stepped out of line and executed a precise pivot to fall in beside him.
She'd seen the plans for the rest of them, but couldn't remember what they were. They came to a stop in front of chairs designated for them. Enzo's next youngest sibling stood on her other side.
Out of the corner of her eye, Victoria could see a tear slide down her husband's cheek. No doubt photos and video of the moment would be disseminated for the rest of his life and probably after when his family held this service for him.
Like most royal funerals, this one was steeped in tradition. It lasted about an hour and then Victoria found herself lined up next to Enzo again. Two columns of family members followed the casket once more. This time, after the casket was loaded into the hearse, Enzo joined her in the automobile as it followed to the burial site.
"How are you?" Victoria asked softly once the doors were closed. She did her best to keep her lips from moving much so lip readers wouldn't be able to see the conversation.
"I'm all right. Ready for this to be over."
She wanted to reach out and take his hand, but kept hers folded in her lap as was expected.
Once again, she did her best to acknowledge those lining the streets without actually waving or smiling.
As she turned to look toward the other side, Victoria noticed another tear rolling down Enzo's cheek. To say she threw caution to the wind might have been a little over dramatic, but she did reach over and grasp his hand where it rested on his thigh.
He curled his fingers around hers, silently acknowledging the contact without protest.
The graveside service didn't last nearly as long, then local and foreign dignitaries joined them for a reception at the palace.
"How are you holding up?" Her mum asked the question as she gave Victoria a tight hug.
"I'm fine. A little overwhelmed, but nothing like the rest of them have to be." She returned the hug for a few seconds longer than she probably should have, but Victoria didn't care.
Her mum stayed by her side as much as possible, and for that Victoria would be eternally grateful. Neither of them knew the names and titles of most of the dignitaries from Dellisole, but Victoria didn't know many of the foreign ones either. Her mum helped her navigate most of those.
