Amelia Merlin and the Songs of the Elves

Chapter Four: The Feasts

The Feasts and Festivities of the Coronation of Amelia Merlin as Queen of Kalishterya and Majka of Okamila, Emrys of the North and Mother of Wolves was a four day event. There were meals that lasted four hours each and in between there was dancing, orchestras, live art performances, trapeze artists and once the queen herself gave a display of magic to be remembered for decades to come. 

Amelia herself was constantly surrounded by people. She didn't mind really, she liked talking with people and she liked listening to them as they talked to her. Oliver seemed to be enjoying himself too. Every now and then he would come up to her with some fantastical story of someone he had met. 

"Amy!" he gave a small quirky grin she loved to see. "I've been thinking-"

"That's always a dangerous thing." she smirked. 

"Shut up," Oliver laughed. "I've been thinking-"

"Excuse me." a petite woman wearing white robes with long white hair and pointed ears came up to her. "May I present, his majesty, King Littera of the High Elves." 

Oliver immediately stepped back as a crowd of prestigious elves approached Amelia. They all had that same poised look on their face that demanded a certain respect. She smiled at them and King Littera stepped towards her. He looked like the rest of them but there was a thin crown of silver and diamonds perched on his white, braided hair. He bowed and Amelia returned the gesture. 

"Your majesty," she said, "Thank you for coming. It is a great honour to have the High Elves here."

"We would not miss it for the world, your grace." King Littera gestured to a nearby door. "May we speak in private?"

"Of course." She looked back at Oliver and gave him a look that promised to return to their interrupted conversation. Oliver nodded and waved her forward. They walked towards the door and Amelia could hear a crowd of people burst into laughter, she turned and saw Fred entertaining them. He waved obnoxiously when he caught her staring and she blushed before entering the door to the side of the hall. 

It was a dimly lit and quiet part of the castle that would do well for their private conversation. King Littera glowed in the dark hall and Amelia was struck by his beauty. 

"May I start by congratulating you on your victory?" he bowed his head and she thought she caught a smile tracing on his lips. "Defeating the lizards and the Lattantio's while uniting the kingdom is no small feat."

"Thank you. But I had a lot of help along the way." she said humbly. 

"That may be true of the past but I'm afraid it will not be the case in the future."  his tone changed and Amelia felt a shift in the air. "May I offer you some advice, your grace?"

"Please do." she replied carefully. 

"Now that you are queen it is important you remember that you alone rule the kingdom. You were anointed, not appointed which means you answer only to the gods, not the people. Only the gods can punish you for your actions." King Littera looked at her with a tired ferocity only a monarch could possess. "You are no longer Amelia Merlin, you are Queen Amelia now and everything you do must be for the crown. Do you understand?"

"I do." she said. "Thank you for your advice, King Littera. I truly do appreciate what you have said." and it was true. For the years to come, those words would be her counsel and comfort. Not a day would go by that she was not reminded of the gravity of her position. 

"I do hope you succeed, you've brought so much to this kingdom already. And when the rivers rise there will finally be peace from the lizards." he bowed to her again and before she could ask what he was talking about he took something from inside a pocket of his pearl white robes. It was a thin white box with a silver latch. "These are some of the most sacred stones to my people, I would like you to have them." 

She took the box and opened it to reveal a heavy set diamond necklace that she placed around her neck. The weight was surprisingly heavy but the beauty of the stones was incomparable. 

"Thank you, King Littera. For everything. I can't thank you enough." Amelia said fervently. "This is so kind."

"You are the queen now." he bowed. "I've seen hundreds of wardens come and go since the time of your family and I must say, I know you will do fantastical things for this kingdom."

They entered back into the feast and she was immediately swept up by Fred. His hand found her waist and he pulled her to the dance floor. 

"Pretty looking necklace there, love." he grinned. "You look ravishing."

"I saw you chatting up all those lords and ladies. They seem to like you." Amelia chuckled. 

"I think they're just sucking up to me because they've seen the way you look at me." he shrugged. "Not that I'm complaining. I have to admit, I do love the way you look at me."

"Then I'll do it more often." 

"You sure about that?" he leaned in closer to her and the music seemed to fade away as they talked. "You seem so distracted by all these people, Amy."

"I'm the queen. It's my job to be distracted by these people." she replied firmly. "But that doesn't mean I don't have eyes for you every second of the day."

"Come on, love." he sighed. "I'm not going to spend my life following one step behind you and waiting for everyone else to have their turn before I can even speak to you. That's not who I am."

"I'm the queen, Fred. Everyone has to be one step behind me." she shook her head. "It's just about perception, that's all. It doesn't mean anything, not anything real." 

"I have the joke shop, Amy. And I have a million things to do in our world back home. Voldemort is still rising, I can't afford to just stand behind you and look pretty while you shake hands." he argued and Amelia stepped back. 

"You think that's all I do here? I've fought a war, I've won a war, I've united an entire kingdom. Don't you dare belittle me, Fred." Amelia retorted. 

"I'm not. But you can't expect me to live in your shadow." 

"You're right." she nodded. "That's not who you are. But you can't expect me to stop being a queen because that's not who I am." 

"Seems like we're in a bit of a pickle, love." his voice sunk and she felt a sharp pain push through her. 

"Can we pretend, just for a little while longer, that we're just dancing and there's nothing else to think about?" Amelia stepped softly towards him. "Just for a little while longer?"

Fred paused before that same old grin spread through him. "Anything for you, love." 

A/N: Vote and Comment if you enjoyed! And please tell me your predictions for Fred and Amelia, what do you think is going to happen to their relationship? Can they survive the tension of Lord Voldemort's war as well as Amelia being queen? 

Love always, Charlotte