A Royal Engagement: The Young Royals Book 1 (23 page)

This was my life now, well it would be if I continued to be part of the royal family.
 
I had been careless, I could freely admit it, but every other twenty-four year old woman on the planet got to be careless sometimes, didn't they?
 
And they didn't have the whole damned household coming down on them like a tonne of bricks.

Emotion sometimes got the better of me, was Parliament right to block my petition?
 
My tantrum yesterday and today had certainly proved one of their points right, so how could I blame them for their hesitancy?

I took a deep breath and leant my head back against the door.
 
Is this what I wanted, really?
 
I had been given the perfect out.
 
I could go back to America, resume my studies and get a job at the UN.
 
I would be normal, live a normal life without having to worry about what clothes I wore or being followed by body guards.
 
I could live the life of obscurity that I always craved.

But what would happen to Merveille?
 
Would the next Head of State just continue on in the same vein as all the previous ones?
 
Or would they look to change and a way to keep Merveille fresh and relevant?
 
Surely I wasn't the only one that wanted to see change, Will had as much admitted that he too thought we needed fresh blood.

God, I was so tired and I just couldn't face any of this right now.
 
I got to my feet slowly and moved into the bedroom, discarding clothes as I went.
 
I crawled beneath the sheets and hit the button to lower the shades, dousing the room in darkness.
 
I sighed and closed my eyes, surrendering to sleep.

The dream started innocuously enough.

I was running through the hedge maze and I was laughing.
 
The day was bright, the sun shining gayly in the sky, I was laughing as I ran, holding up my billowing white skirts.
 
I was in a wedding dress and I was happy, deliriously happy.
 
I took a turn and ended up in the small alcove where Jordan had kissed me that time and I came to a stop to catch my breath.
 
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and spun me around.
 
Will smiled down at me, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth and then he dropped his head and kissed me.

When he lifted his head, his eyes clouded as he saw something over my shoulder.
 
I turned to see Jordan standing there in all his military regalia.
 
He reached for me and pulled me away from Will, crushing me against his chest and kissing me roughly.

"You're mine, now," he said harshly when he lifted his head, "You're my wife Alyssabeth and he can't have you."

I looked around frantically for Will, but he was gone.
 
I turned back to Jordan, but he was gone too.

I stepped out of the alcove and back into the maze, and tripped over something.
 
I looked down to see a body in a black suit.
 
Jamie stared up at me with dead eyes.
 
I stifled a scream and started running down path after path searching for Will.
 
I came across other bodies as I searched, my mother, Benjamin, Carlos, Aiden, Daniel.
 
My whole security team had been wiped out.
 
I tried to run faster, my panic to find Will growing.

I called out his name, but there was no sound except the howling wind.
 
The weather had turned and black clouds roiled overhead.
 
The wall of the maze seemed to draw closer, the branches catching and tearing my dress, scratching my arms and legs as I ran past.

As I neared the centre of the maze, I saw the bodies of my father and Jacob and then Meredith.
 
But I couldn't stop to mourn, I had to find Will, the need to do so forcing me forward, forcing me away from the people that I loved and who had died for me.

I finally made it to the centre of the maze and I saw Jordan standing there, his eyes intense, his face like the storm.
 
His hands hung at his sides, straight, with fists clenched and in his hand he held a bloody tusk.
 
I knew what it was in the way of dreams and couldn't tear my eyes away from the ivory drenched in and dripping with blood.

I heard myself cry out and fell to my knees on the rough gravel path.
 
The wind tore at my hair and clothes and the crash of thunder boomed overhead.
 
My eyes followed the slow, syrupy drip of blood as it fell languorously from the end of the tusk and landed with a splash on the pure white gravel, the bright red a harsh contrast to the pearly white stones.
 
It trickled, leaving a red path behind it as it joined a much larger pool of blood.
 
The surface of the blood shimmered as lightening rent the sky and even though I tried hard not to look, I couldn't help turning my head to see what had caused the bloody puddle.

Two bodies lay at Jordan's feet, a bride and a groom.
 
The groom wore a dark tuxedo and his dark hair was ruffled by the wind swirling through the maze.
 
I crawled closer and looked down into the dead blue eyes of Will, their sparkle dimmed and lifeless.

A keening cry broke the silence and I knew it was me.
 
I clutched at Will's chest, trying to put pressure on the wound and my hands were coated in his sticky, cold blood.
 
I begged him to live, I pounded on his lifeless body demanding he not leave me until I finally threw myself across his body and sobbed.

The fluttering of white out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.
 
I turned to look and saw the second body lying beside Will.
 
Their hands were clasped and I saw the sparkle of a diamond ring on her finger. My gaze drifted up her arm and over her shoulder, finally falling on her face.
 
My face.

I sat up in bed, dragging in a deep, cleansing breath.
 
Movement across the room startled me and I was just about to scream when I saw Meredith's face peering into mine.
 
She clicked the bedside light on and sat on the bed next to me.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, grabbing me and checking me for injury.

I took a few more deep, ragged breaths and let her presence soothe my jangled nerves.

"Nightmare," I finally croaked.
 
I grabbed her, throwing my arms around her and pulling her to me.

"God, Lys, you're crying," she whispered as she returned my hug.

I sobbed into her shoulder as the illusive wisps of my dream faded and scattered.

"What the hell did you dream about?" she asked when I finally let her go.
 

She handed me some tissues that were on the bedside and I wiped my eyes and blew my nose.

"I-I don't..."
 
I couldn't seem to grasp any of the fleeting pictures.

"Jordan was there and, and Will," I said.

"Lord Darkly?" she asked, frowning, "Did he hurt you."

I scrunched up my face and shook my head, "No," I said, "I think he was hurt or...Oh God, I can't remember."

"Shh, it's okay," she said, rubbing my back, "It was just a dream."

My pulse rate slowed, but the awful feeling of fear wouldn't let me go.
 
I needed to know what happened in my dream, it felt like a warning of some sort, not that I had ever put any stock in dream theory before.
 
But this had felt different, had felt more real, more urgent.

"Stay with me," I pleaded with Meredith and she smiled and climbed into the massive bed with me.

"Are you okay, Lys?" she whispered as we huddled together under the covers.

"Yeah," I said, blowing out a breath, "I think so.
 
It was just a dream, right."

"Yeah," she whispered and I shivered.

Chapter Sixteen

I was back into the swing of things the next day but the strange pall of the dream still hovered around me.
 
It was a Saturday, which didn't really mean much to my workload, but it did mean that there was an afternoon tea in the garden.
 
Afternoon teas and garden parties were generally reserved for weekends and leant a more festive air to the palace than the usual Monday to Friday operations.

But first on the agenda was a very awkward staff meeting with my entourage and Jordan.
 
I had to do some damage control.

They sat in the conference room waiting for me.
 
I took a deep breath to steel myself and twisted the silver bangle on my wrist three times before entering and taking my seat.
 
There was coffee and morning tea set out along the side board and one of the servers automatically placed a full cup and a plate of food in front of me.
 
I picked up the cup and took a fortifying sip of the scolding beverage before I called the meeting to order.

"First off," I said, "I want to apologise to you all."
 
I could tell by the stunned expressions around the table that they had not been expecting that.
 
"I should never have run off without letting someone know where I was going or what I was doing.
 
I understand that a lot of you were out in that storm searching for me when it was discovered that I was missing and I shouldn't have put your lives in danger like that.
 
It won't happen again."
 
I made eye contact with Benjamin and he inclined his head in acknowledgement.
 
I had never done something as foolish or reckless before and I didn't want him to think that I was going to make a habit of it.
 
"Secondly," I went on, "What to tell the press."

"There are already rumours, Your Grace," Jeanette said, "The media know that the doctor was called."

I nodded in understanding, "Okay, I figured as much.
 
Let's just say that I went riding and had a minor fall but that I am fine with no injuries."

I watched Jeanette make a note on her tablet and then her eyes lifted to mine again.

"And what do we say about the engagement?"

I clenched my teeth together and stared at each of them until I reached Jordan.
 
His cheeks reddened and he looked away from my gaze.

"I thought I told everyone to kept that quiet until we had spoken today."
 
My voice was steel.

"There was a leak," Jeanette said, "Unidentified source, close to the palace."

There were rumblings of swearing from he security team and some unhappy faces from the rest of the assembled group.
 
Nobody liked a leak.
 
I shot a look at Jordan again, but he kept his eyes steadfastly down, refusing to meet mine.

"Considering I have no memory of a proposal let alone agreeing to it, I think it is a tad premature to make a formal announcement to the press."

"So, you're not engaged?" Margaret asked.

"No," I said shaking my head, "The group in this room will be amongst the first to find out if that ever happens."

Jordan clenched his jaw and his cheeks reddened, but he still didn't look up at me.

"So what do we say to the press?" Jeanette said.

"Ah, no comment?" I replied, unsure.

She made a noise in the back of her throat and shook her head, "No, we need to say something.
 
Let me work on it."

"Make sure you run it past me before you post anything.
 
For all the rest of you, if the press asks, it's no comment."
 
I waited for everyone to nod in ascent before going on.
 
"Lastly, if you haven't already heard, the House of Lords denied my petition for ascension.
 
I have thirty days to appeal their decision."

"Or show intent to marry," Jordan spoke softly, but in the quiet room, everyone heard him.

I rolled my lips between my teeth and exhaled before I spoke.

"Parliament don't think a female can handle the office of Head of State and want me to abdicate to my husband."

It wasn't a surprise to those assembled, so I assumed that Priscilla had told them the gory details.

"So what are you going to do?"
 
This from Alex.

I sighed and fiddled with the handle of my cup, "I'm not sure," I said, "I don't want to abdicate.
 
If I'm going to be Queen, I want to be Head of State.
 
I believe that we need change in Merveille and I think that the boy's club days are over.
 
But, I don't exactly know how I'm going to be able to do it."

The room was quiet as we all thought about the challenges ahead.

"We believe in you, "Alex said.
 
She looked around at the rest of the group, "And I think we'll all support you in whatever capacity we can."