Authors: Rob Preece
"Just as well.” Ellie almost suppressed her yawn but it got away from her. “I'm too tired to launch another war right now."
She'd intended it as a joke but it didn't even start to be funny. Constant warfare had weakened the Lubica economy, opened the nation to Rissel invasion, and impoverished thousands of its citizens to the point where they had no choice but to become bandits or starve. Yet she had participated in that warfare, added to the suffering. In her heart, she believed that she'd made the right decisions—that the battle for freedom and civil rights was worth the high cost, but that belief didn't calm her nightmares.
"If I'm going to be saddled with this crown,” Arnold pulled the heavy circlet from his head and tossed it onto a footstool, “I'm not going to do it alone. So, I have a few announcements."
After his victory, Sergius had paid off the troops with looted gold. Arnold did better. Each of his generals, except for Mark and Ellie, got one of the vacant baronies. Each barony had enough land to make independent farmers out of those soldiers who wanted to retire with their generals.
For only the second time since she'd met him, Ellie heard Micael make a sound. He seemed to be laughing as Arnold draped a gold chain around his neck and made him Baron and Lord Mayor of Rotterwood. Barely over a year before, he'd been hunted by the Rotterwood Sheriff. Now, he was that man's boss.
"What about Ellie and Mark?” Micael signed.
Arnold looked to Ellie for translation but Alys beat her to the punch. “He wants to know why Mark and Ellie aren't getting anything. They're the ones most responsible for your victory. Without them, we'd just be a bunch of dead bandits."
Arnold frowned. “You two are a problem, aren't you? I wasn't sure whether you'd want to stay or return to your own universe. I'd still understand if you wanted revenge for what Harrison did to your parents. But I hope you don't stay here for that reason. It'll only eat you inside."
Ellie looked at Mark. She was sick of revenge, tired of fighting, but she didn't have anything to return to on Earth. Still, Mark might feel differently. He'd had his adventure. He could collect enough gold from a grateful monarch to set himself up back in L.A. Maybe he could even become a movie star. A year of exercise and sword drills had turned his body into a tanned and cut machine.
"I'm going where Ellie goes,” Mark said.
That obviously wasn't the answer Arnold was looking for. He winced slightly. “So, what'll it be, Ellie? Will you stay here, the returned princess? Or do you want to return into the land of miracles and legend?"
She met his green eyes. “I'll stay, but I'm not especially interested in being a princess.” A little
dojo
, a
salle d'armes
, would do her fine. Someplace where she could pass on what her father had taught her, and where she could keep an eye on Arnold and keep him from taking the easy way out when democracy's difficulties presented themselves.
She didn't have any ninja left, but she could train ordinary people to defend themselves. Maybe she could spread her father's knowledge far enough that there could never be another massacre like the one Sullivan had perpetrated at Dinan.
Arnold broke into a smile. “Great. In that case, I'd like Mark to take full command of the army as lord and general. Oh, and I don't think it's any secret that either of my sisters would be open to a little courting. That would make you a Prince."
Mark turned beat-red. “Thanks, Your Majesty. I'll think about staying on as general, but I don't think it would be right to court your sisters."
Ellie looked at him. There was something going on here that she was missing. She knew Mark was straight and he'd certainly enjoyed it when Jeneen and Shalla had been throwing themselves at him when they'd first arrived. So why, now that they were princesses, would he turn them down?
Arnold looked as surprised as Ellie felt. “Okay. I'll settle for you staying on as general, for now. Which brings us to Princess Ellie. Because, if I'm stuck being king, you're stuck being the returned princess."
"That shouldn't cause anyone problems,” she said, “As long as you don't go back on your promises. I'm planning to hold you to everything."
"I'm not talking about political stuff,” he said. “And I can't give you what you deserve because you deserve the entire kingdom. But I can give you myself. It would honor me beyond my deserts, beyond my greatest hopes, if you'd consent to be my Queen."
If Ellie had been surprised before, she was dumbfounded now. She liked Arnold a lot. In California terms, he was a certifiable hunk as well. And being his queen would put her in perfect position to ensure that Lubica's road to democracy didn't take a detour.
Her brain told her this was the best deal yet, but a part of her heart demurred. She liked him, thought he was sexy, had enjoyed kissing him, even. But she didn't love him.
Still, maybe she could learn to love him.
There was only one person she trusted for advice, and she turned to him. “Mark. What do..."
She let the question trail off. His face had turned pale.
He swallowed hard. “That's a big step for a woman who was a fugitive only a year ago. Congratulations."
Looking at Mark made her decision easy. “Yeah. It's a big step I can't take."
She turned back to the King. “I'm sorry, your Majesty. It's a great offer. More than I deserve. But you deserve someone who loves you absolutely, who wants to spend the rest of her life with you. And that someone isn't me."
Arnold nodded slowly. “A man can only hope. If you change your mind—"
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"Right.” He looked at her, then at Mark. “I think I'm starting to see the problem. In this case, I have made up my mind on your reward. In addition to being general of our armies, Mark is to be the new Duke of Sullivan. Ellie, you are also the new Duke of Sullivan. I'll leave it to the two of you to thrash out how that can work. But I will give you one piece of advice. Since you're so obviously in love with each other, why not get married and make it legal."
"He doesn't—"
"She doesn't—"
Mark and Ellie stopped talking at the same time. They looked at each other.
Maybe,
Ellie thought. Or maybe they were just two people a long way from home.
"I guess we can explore our options if we're going to be living in Sullivan,” she admitted. “After all, I'm planning on being around for a long time, making sure we get this Constitution thing right."
Mark nodded. “Exploring options sounds like a good start. And I've got the rest of my life."