Winterfall

This was the final day until the formal celebration. Which meant I had to prepare my speech. I was quite nervous about giving the speech despite going over the basics with Fredrick this morning.

“Just go over a few points you will address within the first year of being our Royal Head.” Fredrick taped his finger against the wooden chair as he stared at me intently. He seemed like he was getting annoyed with me asking questions. I, however, just wanted to do a good enough job to impress all of them.

“The impact of the weather change, revisiting the revivification rule, and crimes in the inner rings.” I repeated for the tenth time. Now how was I going to write all of that into a speech that will “wow” them.

“Speaking of the weather, are you ever going to tell us what caused that?” Fredrick’s brows furrowed, as his eyes stared straight at me. As he shifted his body slightly in the chair.

“Thinking about it.” To be fair, I thought about telling them about the lair in my speech. I just had not figured out how to address it to them or to Théoden yet.

Fredrick leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his lush vibrant hair. “To be fair Maria, you are withholding information that we require.” I soon began to hear another tapping sound as I saw his leg begin to shake. I swear, if his brow could brow even more, it would.

“Look, I will inform all of you when it is necessary.” I knew now, it was necessary as the apparent changes were clear. However, figuring out a way to tell them that a dragon resides in the kingdom was going to be difficult. Even more so, that I approved of that said dragon to mark the kingdom as its own.

He let out a long sigh and leaned forward in his chair. Clearing his throat, “Princess, I’d advise you to consider informing us of everything relevant that you may know about the environmental changes.” His voice was more firm than before. More, orderly.

I leaned forward, almost touching his forehead with mine. Mimicking him, I cleared my own throat, “And I will.”

I felt his breath against my face and heard a grinding sound as he stared intently in my eyes. We both remained in this position unmoving.

A wave of relief washed over me as Fredrick slowly moved back in his seat. And I soon did the same. “Look, Fredrick, I mean no disrespect but I do hope you can trust me.”

“For the most part, I do. However, with your past, there have been things that have come up that made all of us think twice.”

I arched my eyebrow, “Like what?”

His mouth twitched as I could tell he was holding in laughter, “Disclosed information, Maria. Though I am sure you can come up with a few ideas on your own.”

I slumped back in my seat and crossed my arms, “Right. You want me to share information, but you will not share information?”

“Information given is information received.” Fredrick said with a smirk. “Now, let’s go over the pledge one more time.”

I sighed, “Fine.”

I stood up from my chair and walked slowly to the middle of my office. Standing tall and proud, I began to recite the pledge for the twentieth time. As I recited the pledge I recited it precisely and consistently. My voice was sharp and firm as I delivered a pledge that was written well over six centuries ago.

With the pledge being as old as it is, I couldn’t help but question if some of the information was relevant any more. Things like, “I henceforth will order the proper decrees to noble families.” and “Upon the unclaimed lands of The Isles.” Considering by this point, all the land on The Isle was pretty much claimed except for treacherous territories.

However, no matter how much I protested that the pledge needed a rewrite, Fredrick and the rest of the Council refused. As it was a mark of history and they dared not to change it.

After giving the speech I sighed in relief. As Fredrick seemed pleased, “Good. Now do it just like this and we should not have a problem.”

I nodded and walked back to my chair and sat down, resting my body against the leather. “Glad to be of service.” I smiled as I grabbed my mug from the desk and took a drink of warm tea.

“Do you have everything in order for tomorrow?” Fredrick asked as he stood up, stretching his arms and legs.

“I should, yes. I have to pick my outfit up from Caroline today and my speech is coming together.” The part about the speech was a lie. It was nowhere near complete but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Good. I look forward to seeing you at the celebration tomorrow.” Fredrick said as he began to walk towards my office door.

His footsteps sounded heavy against the wooden floor. His hand twitched as it rested against his side. He still seemed nervous or anxious about the ceremony. I couldn’t help but question why.

As he reached the door he stopped before he placed his hand on the brass knob and turned and faced me. “One more thing Maria.”

“What’s that Fredrick?”

“Don’t fail us.”

With that he turned and walked out of my office, letting the door slam shut behind him. “Thanks for that…” I muttered beneath my breath.

I felt my breathing begin to quicken as Fredrick’s words tore through my ear canal and into my mind. “Eh, so much for no pressure.”