Blackout
“Your Majesty!”
Tiona was the first person to get to Abram. Her quick reaction wasn’t because she knew what would happen next; it was just a coincidence. She stayed as close to Sion as she could because Mia told her to, but when he started dancing with Mia, she had nothing to do.
What do I do now? Where are the other people from the student council? She heard a voice from behind just as she turned around to look.
“Oh? You must be…”
She quickly turned around, caught off guard.
“Your Majesty?!”
King Abram, Sion’s father, was in front of her. He looked at her for a moment and then shook his head.
“Oh, he’s leaving his friend all by herself like this… It’s clear that my son still has a long way to go. He talked to his group. “I’d like to talk to the friend of my son. Please give us some space so the girl can relax.”
The men around him, who were probably all important Sunkland officials, bowed their heads and moved away. King Abram smiled at her when they were no longer there. At that moment, the air of royalty faded just a bit.
“Now then… Miss Rudolvon, right? Your dad is an outcount of the Tearmoon Empire?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”
Tiona curtsied. It was a little stiffer than she’d really liked. She had been with both Mia and Esmeralda at dinner. Now, she was talking to him alone. There was no way to avoid feeling a little nervous.
“If I were ten or twenty years younger, I would have asked for your hand in a dance, but alas…You and my son are the same age. I’m married. People would be very angry about His Majesty’s out-of-control salaciousness if they saw him on the floor with you. In order to keep my wife from getting upset, I kindly request that we only talk.”
Tiona’s shoulders felt less tense when she heard his joking voice.
“Your Majesty, thank you very much for your kind words. But I am only a noble in name. Because I grew up in the country, I don’t know much about dance.”
“I think the Rudolvons are in the southern part of Tearmoon.”
“Yes, that’s right. My house is a long way from the capital.”
“I see… I’ve heard that newly appointed nobles from faraway places are looked down upon in your kingdom… Is that true?”
“Unfortunately, yes it is. There’s no doubt that people look down on us… The Princess, however, is not like that. She is not bound by conventions. She tried to reach out to me. Talked to me like a friend. And when I was having trouble, she helped me right away.”
Tiona talked about the things that happened to her when she first started at Saint-Noel. She talked about how daughters of high-ranking lords had been bothering her and how Mia had helped her. After that, she talked about the welcome ceremony and the dance party that followed.
“I used to hate the central nobles. That hate shaped me. Because of Her Highness, I no longer have to carry that weight. She cares very much about fairness and won’t stand for injustice. One way to describe her is like Prince Sion.”
Yes, it’s like pyrite and gold, but it’s too bad no one was there to make this clever comment.
“You say they’re alike? I see,” Abram said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the two dancing people. “That boy harbors an unrequited love then. Really a shame.”
“Huh? Um… I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” Tiona said, confused by what was said.
Abram thought about what to say for a moment before he spoke.
“Princess Mia is without a doubt a unique person. The question is whether Sion would be happy to be second fiddle to her. To be with her but hold her up instead of pulling her along? How to be a leader… What it takes to be king… He has everything, from skills to a good personality. His gift may not be as great as Princess Mia’s, but it is still too great to let die. Because of this, he could never accept life in her shadow.”
Abram’s words had the quiet depth of a wise man who had seen a greater truth.
“Sion was born to be king, but he can’t be anything else. His skills would only clash with hers, no matter how hard he tries or even if he were to beat her through sheer determination and hard work.”
At that point, Abram’s face showed a hint of surprise. “You look… upset. Why?”
“I…” Tiona’s lips got tighter. “That’s awful, in my opinion. I feel bad for Prince Sion.”
Tiona Rudolvon had worked hard her whole life. She worked hard to improve herself because she wanted to get back at the central nobility. She hoped for at least some recognition that her hard work was worth it. That it meant something. And Mia had given her that.
Then what about Sion? From her spot on the island of reward, she could see him swimming and struggling in vain across the seas of endeavor. Realizing that all of his hard work would never pay off… It was way too much.
Abram gave her a soft smile when he saw the pain in her face.
“I can tell you have a good heart… Do not put that much thought on it. The heart of boys are meant to be broken. By putting the pieces back together, they grow and mature.
That’s when Abram’s eyes got narrow and his face turned grim.
“That has to be…”
His words turned into a long sigh.
A conflicted Tiona was left behind when Abram left. She looked back at Sion and Mia and watched them finish their dance while she thought about how she felt. She saw Sion turned down Echard’s offer of a drink because he wanted to dance one more number. Abram took the glass and drank from it. Then she watched as the king walked slowly toward the balcony. His steps seemed to float in the air.
She noticed that he walked in a strange way because she had been studying him. As he reached for the handrail, time seemed to slow down. She saw that his center of weight moved and that his body began to tilt outward, into the air.
“Your Majesty!”
She quickly ran to his side just in time for her to wrap her arms around his waist. She tried to hold on to him, but his bigger body pulled her forward. Both of them started to fall.
“Liora!” She yelled the subject’s name, who she trusted the most.
“Miss Tiona!” Liora Lulu, her maid and friend, answered. She was right next to Abram in the blink of an eye, her feet firmly on the ground and her fingers tightly around his clothes.
“Hnngggh!”
As Liora heaved the king back over the wall, she could almost feel the strong muscles in her back getting stronger. Things got worse, though. As they put the king back on the solid floor, they saw that his face was like ashen dead!
“Do not move him!”
There was a sharp voice in the hall. When Tiona looked up, she saw a girl coming toward her through the crowd. She recognised the floral air.
