Of course, it had to happen sometime, but it hadn't in the weeks since they were married.
Hoping he felt okay, she quietly prepared for sleep herself then slid quietly into the bed next to him. It didn't take long for her to drift off. When she woke, light filtered around the edges of the curtains. Even before looking, she knew Enzo no longer slept next to her.
A glance at the time told her she needed to get up and start getting ready for her day. Her first stop after a light breakfast was the Office of the Royal Historian inside the Hall of Kings. They were about to talk in depth about the expansion of Dellisole onto mainland Europe. The other two countries in the Commonwealth of Terra Insula had, at one point, been independent nations until conquered by Dellisole itself. Victoria did know they had broken apart, back into separate nations while remaining part of the Commonwealth, in the early 1800s. She didn't fully understand the socioeconomic/political implications of either event - the conquest or the decision tobecome a Commonwealth rather than continue with Dellisole in charge of all three.
She supposed that's why she was spending so much time learning about the history of her new home.
When she entered the office, her instructor held up a finger as he spoke rapid fire Italian into the phone.
Though she wasn't truly fluent, Victoria knew enough Italian to understand there was a problem with an upcoming event.
If she expected him to discuss the problem with her, she was disappointed. Instead, he went straight into a lecture about the conquests.
Victoria scribbled notes as he rambled on. She managed to ask a couple of questions, but his responses were curt bordering on rude.
Something definitely wasn't right.
Though he was always intense and passionate when discussing the history of Dellisole, he was also approachable and congenial at the same time.
"Any questions?" His tone clearly didn't invite her to actually ask.
"Not at this time." Victoria did her best not to respond in kind.
He stood, dismissing her. "I'll let you know when our next meeting will be."
She chose not to say anything but simply nodded as she put her things back into her bag. Her next stop was her new office. Chiara, the Head of Household waited in the outer office and stood as Victoria entered.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." The woman curtsied in her direction.
"Good morning." Victoria nodded her direction. "I apologize for the delay. My previous meeting ran a little long." The woman followed her into the inner office. "Could you remind me what'son our agenda for the morning? I haven't had a chance to look at my notes."
"The biggest item is finalizing temporary members of your staff."
Victoria took a seat behind her desk and opened the file waiting for her. "Which positions?"
"Aides, a stylist, dresser, social media manager, ladies-in-waiting, equerries, and your personal secretary."
Right. She knew all of those positions were important, but she didn't know that many people, much less ones qualified and eligible to work in Dellisole.
"The ones I have been working with won't stay?" She'd asked the question before but couldn't remember the answer.
"You can choose them," the other woman confirmed. "However, if there are any who simply aren't working out already, it would be best to choose someone else to replace them rather than wait. Even if you're uncertain, or questioning, the best option would be to pivot now."
"Of course." She looked over the list of those who had been working with her in the last weeks. "I have no strong feelings one way or another about most of these people. There's only one or two that I would not want to continue and only a couple I definitely do want to remain with me."
"Can you tell me who each of those are?"
"The only aide I know I would like to have stay is my personal secretary. The others are fine, but nothing stands out about them. The stylist is excellent as is the dresser. None of the ladies-in-waiting have impressed me so far, but I haven't had much opportunity to work with them, so if you think there are any that should stay for the time being, please let me know. Same with the equerries." What did an equerry even do? Didn't they take care of the horses? Maybe that was the traditional role, but it hadmorphed into something modern in the last century and a half? She'd met them, of course, but nothing more.
Or maybe she was wrong all together.
Chiara made some notations on her notepad. "I will have alternates placed for each of those positions by this afternoon."
If Victoria had to guess, there were already alternates lined up and waiting. "Thank you."
They discussed a few other minor things before Chiara left. As soon as the door closed leaving Victoria alone in her office, she slumped into her seat.
Despite her heritage, despite being the daughter of a king, she wasnotcut out for all of this. Ladies-in-waiting? She knew the duties had been modernized, but it still seemed... antiquated. Couldn't the title have been updated as well?
