Adalynn stood atop the eastern parapet looking out over the rolling hills that were slowly being covered by snow. The falling snow gently drifted down in swirls, allowing her to release some of the tight stress built up inside of her.. She had always found watching the snow fall relaxing. It never failed to remind her of the many times her father had taken her up there just to stare out into the sky full of snowflakes dancing. Yet today she was achingly alone, her father having died when she was still young.
A large, warm, yet familiar hand came to rest on her own on the chilly stone wall. Knowing who it was, she didn’t pull her hand away as quickly as was deemed proper, drawing slim comfort from the few extra seconds of his touch. After another minute with her childhood confidante silently standing beside her she took a step back and looked over at him.
He stood there, tall and immovable, the epitome of what the kingdom’s captain of the guard should look like. So official. Merely the echo of her childhood friend for they had not been friends in a long time. She was mildly surprised when he had touched her hand for more than a brief moment. John acknowledged her with a low bow. “My Queen.”
“Ever proper.” Adalynn sighed sadly. He had no response to her resigned complaint other than his own resolved sigh.
“The council has summoned?” She finally asked when he didn’t speak further.
His curt nod clenched at her heart. The council was down there ending a centuries-old monarchy and at the same time shipping off the last relic of what they thought long past necessary–her.
“I gather I will be leaving for Lystand in the morning.” Squaring her shoulders she practiced her regal and uncaring facade. Tonight she already knew she would be formally stripped of all possessions and titles except for the title of queen. All so the council could have a peace treaty to stop Lystand from attacking. Adalynn was the peace offering. She was to be the bride of some noble of a foreign court while her throne was taken apart and distributed to the uncaring council members. To the council, her status as a royal was all that she was good for now.
“And you will not be going with me.” Adalynn sternly informed him.
At her soft declaration John jerked in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me John. I am not allowing you to come. I can’t stand it.” She put out her hand, silently entreating him to understand why. “Tomorrow I travel to the border where my own guard will desert me by simply handing me over to whatever Lystandian contingent they deign to send for me. I can’t bear the thought of you being there. It is better for you to stay here, where duty binds you.”
“Adalynn no!” He started, ready to do battle. She stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“It has been a long time since I’ve heard you address me so informally.” Another sad smile graced her features. A very long time.
“Not since your coronation.” He agreed. Head down, he didn’t look her in the eye.
“I was only 16, John. Your refusal to call me by my own name from that moment on stung more than any of the rules they piled on me.” She easily admitted. Dropping her hand back down to her side she looked out and over the parapet once again. The view gave her a little of the peace she sought, but not enough to qualm her fears for her own future and that of her people.
“But you understand now though.” He grimaced, his voice telling her that he was close to begging for her understanding. “I had no choice.”
“It took years for me to understand and even longer to forgive you…and my father.” She added her father as an afterthought. John had been different. He had left her alone when she had needed him, for she’d had no one else. Her father had died, so there was nothing she could change with him. He was gone and while she still wished he was there to help and guide her, she was not going to hold death against him.
“Adalynn.” John let out an agonized sigh.
It was in that instant that Adalynn’s sadness became anger. Even though as queen she could not ever allow her anger to show, it was still there. It burned within her as she looked placidly at him. “You can no longer call me that. Now, when I am about it leave. I have wanted you to call me by name for years and yet you haven’t. Now that I know I am giving up everything, you choose now. Do you realize how selfish you are being in this moment, when once again I need you to be strong? Why make this so much harder for me when I am about to lose everything that I have ever known?”
John stopped her deceptively calm tirade as he took both of her hands in his and tugged. She did not fall willingly into his arms. Adalynn was first and foremost queen, not simply a girl to fall blindly into a man’s embrace. John had been the one to show her what being a queen truly meant after her coronation, when he had completely withdrawn and become the impersonal captain of the guard.
He did not stop when she did not budge. Instead he stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in for a kiss. She wanted to melt, wanted to simply be a girl in love with the handsome man in front of her. Yet duty had her in its grip and she knew she was destined to a life in exile.
Pulling back she demanded, “Is the peace treaty official and signed?”
John simply looked down at her. “Yes, my queen.” He answered solemnly.
Adalynn faced the door leading down to where the council waited. As she opened the door she glanced back at the man she could have loved her whole life long. “Goodbye John.”
Click here to read Part 2 of Adalynn’s story.
