THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 7 Episode 7

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.”

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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?

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“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?