The Convert Queen: Prophecy Fulfilled

Chapter 9: The King of Mynythia

One Month Ago

Petor had tried to get Aleyna to accept an escort home, but she refused .She wanted to be alone. There was so much she needed to think about, at the forefront of her mind, what she was going to say to Eyvan. Besides, she knew Petor was concerned, so he would send someone to follow her to ensure she was all right, whether she wanted him too or not.

Once outside the palace, she stopped and breathed in the cool night air. From her vantage point on the hill, she could see the whole south of the island spread out before her. Lights twinkled across Lyknisia, and down in the city square, the clock tower chimed ten o'clock. She still had nearly two hours before Eyvan would arrive at her home after his shift at the hospital.

Her gaze travelled further, reaching the darkness that was the sea which cut Lyknisia off from the mainland. In the distance, on the far shore, more lights twinkled. She scanned the bay. Was it her imagination, or did everything look so much more beautiful tonight? A lone tear coursed down her cheek.

'My lady?' The voice came from out of the shadows to the side of the gatehouse. The words were spoken in the same accent she had heard that afternoon, outside the Academika.

Wiping her face, she turned slowly to see the same tall, broad man step out from the gloom and into the light of one of the torches hanging in a bracket on the outside of the palace wall. The look on his face was unsure. There was concern there also. Maybe even regret.

For a moment, Aleyna just stared at him without seeing him. Then, from some deep recess in her mind, she remembered this man was a king. She curtsied, lowering her head to him. She heard him step closer.

'Please...There's no need... Aleyna, may I call you Aleyna, or would you prefer Professor Rienenska?'

'Aleyna will do.' Her voice was so flat, so devoid of emotion.

The man nodded. 'Aleyna... Has Petor told you?'

Aleyna nodded. 'He has.'

Again he stepped closer. 'I'm sorry. I truly am. I didn't mean-'

'I'm going home.' The words were heavy, like stones falling through water, and just as lifeless. They were cold, and Aleyna, surprised herself to hear them, was stunned by her own rudeness. She had just cut off a king mid-sentence.

'Will you let me walk with you?'

'You're a king. You can do what you like.'

He fell into step beside her, although her pace was slow. There was no denying she felt dazed.

'How rude of me. I've not properly introduced myself,' the man was saying. 'My name is Arnerstrom, but most people call me Arner.'

'I assumed most people would call you "king".'

'I've not been king for very long, my lady. Only four years. I did not think it was my fate to become leader of my people. To be honest,' he added conspiratorially, 'I was perfectly content not being king.'

'Let me guess. It was a prophecy which changed everything.'

Arner was quiet for a moment, and Aleyna had wondered whether her caustic comment had overstepped the mark. She was being flippant, and she knew it, but she just couldn't seem to stop herself from saying it.

When the King of Mynythia spoke again, there was a sadness in his voice. 'I know what it's like to have something I have no control over change my life, with no warning. My life changed because people I cared about, members of my family, died.'