August 15th, 1983
She was staring out of the window down to the gardens below her. Amalfi Estate, was a nice place, and she was more than happy to spend the rest of her life there, but the circumstances surrounding her move were not pleasant. It really was a beautiful estate. The outside was covered in brick and sprawling ivy. There was a fountain, a pool, and a literal garden. Rose bushes, baby's breath, sunflowers, dandelions, lilacs, every single flower you could think of was in that garden a long with several statues. Knock offs of the Venus De Milo and such. The floors were tan tile the walls, were a cream color. 7 bedrooms, and nine bathrooms, complete with servants quarters in what would have been the pool house, but she put her foot down on that one. She DID NOT want to have servants. There was a little back patio with a fire pit and a grill, balconies and arch ways. The main floor had a ballroom with two thrones in it. There was a room designated for meetings. But not the traditional boardroom, it was more like a family room with elegant gold satin furniture and oversized mahogany tables and fixtures an unfortunately ugly green mural on the far wall-but that was the only downfall to the house. Then of course there was a kitchen, formal dining room, and actual living room. Upstairs her master suite could be classified as an apartment. There was a little sitting area that was sunken in from the main part of the room. It had double arch ways leading to the bedroom part of it. The bathroom and the closet where the same size. She had a jacuzzi soaker tub and a walk in shower. Everything was perfect. Absolutely perfect. For her anyway.
"Your majesty, we have to discuss some things." It took her a moment for Mick Fleetwood, her royal advisor to get her attention as she still wasn't used to that title yet. It had only been bestowed on her for five days.
"Yes, Mr. Fleetwood." She looks at him.
"You and your father were setting up a ball to find you a suitor as you are 35 years old...His intention was to have you married before you took the crown. But given the circumstances, you now are queen so you can change the rule. You don't have to be married before your coronation if you don't want to." Mick looks at her.
She thinks about it for a moment and turns her attention away from the window. "It was my father's last wish."
"Was it?"
"Yes, he wanted me to find love and be happy before I took the crown, to build a steady foundation...I wasn't originally happy about the set up, because it's essentially an arranged marriage. But I'm going to do it. For him...It shall be my first royal function after my six week mourning period...Save for the funeral." She bites her lip.
"Yes ma'am, I'll get right on the arrangements." He nods.
"I want it here. Not at Brentwood." She shakes her head.
"Of course ma'am." He tells her.
Brentwood was the castle her father, the former King Jess Nicks, and her mother, former queen-now queen-mother-Barbara Nicks inhabited. She was living in Anmar with her brother. Anmar was an estate, but it wasn't a single family estate. It had about seven apartments in it.
Now that she was queen she had been given the option of moving into Brentwood and taking up residence there, or she could move into Amalfi. Wanting a fresh monarchy, she chose Amalfi. All her work would be done from this estate and she liked it, it felt homey so she thought she could be the best queen possible from the new environment.
***
September 2, 1983
The Monarchs funeral would always be slated for three weeks after death. That left ample time for mourning, as the members of the royal family could not show any emotion at the funeral, they were supposed to walk stone faced behind the casket. It also left time for embalming, and arrangments for the funeral to be made.
Her alarm clock woke her up and she slowly sat up int he giant king sized bed. She ran her hands along the white silk sheets and the tan bedspread before she blew out a breath. Her prep team would be there in about forty five minutes and she really needed to get on with her day.
The walk in looked, mostly empty. 3/4 of it was full, but there was still a glaring empty section that she knew would eventually belong to her husband. She adverted her gaze and she found her dresses. She grabbed a short sleeve black sheath dress and her black six inch heeled pumps and she set them out. She stripped out of her black silk and lace-the lace was the only thing covering her breasts-chemise and she tightened her black silk bell sleeved robe over a black lace thong and a black lace bra. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, before going in and brushing her teeth and hair. She couldn't stomach the thought of breakfast, so she just went downstairs and sunk into her red velvet couch in the private living area and waited for the bell to ring.
***
The funeral was somber and desolate as one can imagine. The kingdom of Everfi, was mourning the loss of their king and even the weather was gloomy. They walked behind the casket. They made it through the church ceremony, and then they privately did the burial. That was how it went. The king's tomb, housed in the resting place of the rulers, would be open for the public in a weeks time. Stevie was the first one to place her rose down onto the casket and she was the first one to drop the dirt in the ground. King Jess' tomb was essentially a marble little building, there were two resting spots in it. One for himself, one for Barb. The marble had a giant square cut out of it, encased by gold railings so no one could potentially fall in and hurt themselves and the casket was lowered into the ground. New dirt would be brought in and that would be shoveled on top of him. After the dirt had been poured the marble slab that was cut out of it, would be dropped back in and then a monument of Barb and Jess would be erected after she passes and would be placed onto the slab to seal the tomb completely. Until that day, there would be armed guards standing at the entrance of the tomb to deter grave robbing.
When the whole family communed back at Stevie's place, her younger brother Christopher, looked at her. "So mom said you were going ahead with the courting ball."
"I'm only doing it for daddy. That's it...as far as I'm concerned the marriage is just for the public. After we have one heir to throne, I cannot guarantee that lovey-dovey happenings will still occur." She shakes her head.
"I think you'll be surprised." Christopher nudges her sipping on his wine.
