Chapter 381

The servant led Nicholas and I to a sitting room where the King stood behind the chair his wife was sitting on. A table had been arranged in front of her, with two teacups and an extravagant silver teapot.

The Queen stirred a sugar cube into her tea. The gentle chime of the spoon hitting porcelain was the only sound in the room as we entered.

The both looked up as we entered, though it wasn’t until they spotted Nicholas, that their blank faces shifted to ones filled with annoyance.

I was nervous at their looks. The King and Queen could demand whatever they want, but Nicholas simply stood at my side with his head held high.

“Your presence is neither requested nor required for this meeting, Nicholas,” the King said.

Nicholas lifted his chin even higher. “I’m not going anywhere, Father. Save time and don’t waste your breath.”

The King narrowed his eyes. I imagined he wasn’t often spoken to this way, let alone by his own children. Or Nicholas, at least. Joyce had been brainwashed, who knew how he acted? And Julian had always been somewhat blasé.

Nicholas, though, had been the most diligent of sons. Well, at least until I came around, I supposed. Now he was always standing up to his family for my sake.

The King sighed, and with that sigh, some of his proper, icy façade slipped away. Without it, he looked so much more like the exhausted older man he truly was. The Queen seemed frailer as well, even though her face remained tight.

Stress was clearly weighing on them all. With everything going on, I could at least understand that. I could be sympathetic, while still believing they were making the wrong choices regarding Bridget and me.

At least, I supposed, they seemed to be taking everything else very seriously.

“Very well,” the King said. “I suppose it won’t matter whether you are here or not, and the girl might need some comfort after she hears my words.”

The King was rarely kind to me. This was what really set me on edge. After all that had happened, the King was resigned to allowing me comfort in this moment? What was he about to say?

“We are going to be truthful with you, Piper,” the King said. “You don’t seem an unreasonable woman. If you are given all of the facts, I’m sure you will make the correct choice.”

Choice? What choice? Trepidation began to prickle under my skin, but I stayed silent, waiting. Whatever was to come, I knew I would hate it. Better to put it off for as long as physically possible.

“Despite our best efforts to properly steer the narrative how we would like it, you and Bridget have split the popular vote 50/50. We acknowledge some competition is healthy. The closer the race, the more people become invested, rooting for their favorite. It’s the inevitable outcome that concerns us.”

“Only one can win,” I said, following.

“Correct,” the King said. “And when one wins over the other, it will lead to half of the kingdom becoming very, very angry. You understand.”

I supposed I did though I didn’t acknowledge it. He didn’t bring me here to tell me just this. There had to be more.

“There’s no secret now that the tensions with the Bear People are boiling over. The war is already unpopular and it has not begun yet.” The King rubbed his forehead. “The competition provides distraction for now, but if the competition ends and the war begins at the same moment…”

“The losing side could revolt,” the Queen finished for him. She lifted her teacup to her mouth but did not drink from it. “At the very least, they could cause unrest.”

“We need to be united to face the Bear People,” the King said. “The Bear People are physically strong and hardy, and their armies would push ours to our limits. They might even exceed them.”

Was this why the King was so stressed? Did he truly believe we might lose this war?

“For the sake of providing a united front,” the King said, “I am making a request of you. It is not a command, because I believe you to be a good person. You must be for my sons to both think so fondly of you. I trust you will do the right thing.”

Oh, I really didn’t like where this was going. I had a sneaking, dreadful suspicion that I knew what he was going to ask before he did so. But I kept it to myself, hoping I was wrong.

“To stand a chance in this war, we need all of our people to rally behind a single, strong Luna contender,” the King said. “I’m sorry to say this, Piper, but that is not you. Bridget is the pinnacle of strength and refinement. She is the only one who can unite our nation.”

I opened my mouth, not necessarily to argue, but simply to point out all the terrible, self-serving things Bridget had done.

The King raised his hand, silencing me before I even began.

Nicholas, however, was not so easily cowed. “Bridget is the most disrespectful of all the candidates, if that is what you mean. Also the most conceited, and the most –”

“You were friends in the past,” the Queen said, cutting him off.

“She has changed,” Nicholas said. “She is no longer the girl I knew, if she truly ever was. I’m inclined to think now, she has been playing a game from the start.”

“Nicholas.”

“I’m serious, Mother,” Nicholas said. “Her many attempts on Piper’s live prove –”

“A woman’s wounded heart lashes out,” the Queen said, cutting him off a second time. “Once you have dedicated yourself to Bridget, she will calm down.”

I didn’t believe that for a second. Nicholas grunted, showing he didn’t either.

The Queen ignored our skepticism, seeming pleased with herself for winning an argument. She hadn’t won. We just didn’t know how to keep arguing with someone so delusional.

But, wait, what did any of this have to do with me? Or what the King wanted from me. “Your majesty,” I said, directed to the King. “What would you have me do? You mentioned a choice?”

“Yes,” the King said and cleared his throat. “Piper, it would be best for the kingdom if you resigned from the competition and while doing so, made a statement giving your full support to Bridget.”

My… support? He couldn’t be serious. He wanted me to not only give up on the competition, but to also publically root for Bridget to win?

“If the public sees that you are supportive of Bridget, it will end any dispute and put the full public vote behind the strongest candidate,” the King said. “You can understand, surely. For the good of the kingdom.”

“Absolutely not,” Nicholas said.

“Silence, Nicholas,” the Queen snapped. “This is not a choice for you to make. Your selfish opinions have been recognized already. Let us see if the girl you hold so much affection for is equally as selfish.”

“You wouldn’t want us to lose the war, would you?” the King asked me. “You would do whatever necessary to keep the people safe?”

I would, but…

For me to go along with this, I would have to agree that Bridget would be the best Luna for the kingdom. At this point, I just couldn’t say that.

Though I could see their reasoning as well. If Bridget and I were truly splitting the vote, it could make things more difficult if a war were to break out and half the kingdom didn’t support the royal family.

But to allow Bridget to be Queen?

To let Nicholas commit himself to a life of misery?

“I need to think about this,” I said.

“Piper,” Nicholas started.

“Take your time,” the King said. “You have until the eve before the elimination ceremony to make up your mind.”