The Queen

Chapter Three

Katie nodded as Mark approached them. Together they headed out towards the limousines awaiting them and all the other contestants arriving. Katie glanced around at them with their find coats, luggage, and servants.

Mark studied Katie's expression, "What's wrong? Cold feet?"

Katie sighed and hung her head in dismay, "Oh, Mark, why did I do this? This was a mistake...how can I ever compete with them? Look at them — they're beautiful and rich with noble families and titles — and I'm just a maid."

Mark placed a hand on her shoulder, "A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms. So don't worry about them and just be yourself, Katie. Just bloom."

Maxwell opened the door of the limousine and ushered Katherine in with one swift motion. Mark was taken to a smaller car behind the group of ladies.

Katie's eyes followed him until he was out of her view. Maxwell placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, but for now it is best no one knows that you are related...it would seem as if the king were playing favoritism and we can't afford a scandal."

Clenching the strap on her bag just a little bit tighter, she nodded. She was scared. More scared than she had ever been in her entire lifetime. "Tell me about the king." Her voice cracked as the words left her tongue.

Watching her demeanor change, Maxwell's eyes softened. She was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He cleared his throat and turned from her, reminding himself that she was here for the king, and the king alone.

He settled back in his seat and adjusted his coat tail, "What would you like to know?"

"Anything you can freely share."

He sighed and laced his fingers together, "Well at thirty-three years of age, he is the richest man in the entire world. His father is dead, so is his brother. He has no other siblings and his mother lives in the summer palace, but she visits from time to time."

"What happened to his father and brother?" She asked, almost as if the rest of what he had mentioned to her was not important. "His father died from a cardiac arrest."

"And his brother?" She asked again, not content without the answer. His gaze drifted down to his shoes.

He didn't speak for a brief moment, then with a heavy breath, he replied, "Eric was the oldest of the two brothers. They were pretty much inseparable. The three of us grew up together. My father was the King's head butler as was his father before him. So as a child, I played with the princes. Since Eric was the hire to the throne, Alexander was able to be much more carefree back then..."

He glazed out the window, lost in memories of days gone by. When the king was just a boy and they were best friends. Finally, realizing that he had stopped mid-story, he continued, "Prince Eric never wanted to be king. He said that he always felt his brother was a much better fit and was born for the role. So on his twenty-first birthday, he abdicated his title as the Crown Prince...and he died in a car accident that very night."

She shook her head in dismay, "That is so sad...how terrible for you both."

Maxwell nodded, "I still think of him often...as does the King. Things were much different then."

"Do you think he wishes things would have been different? That he hadn't been forced to become king?"

Maxwell pondered her question, then shook his head, "No, I think he knew that it was inevitable, but I am sure that he wishes he could change the circumstances."

The limousines came to a halt in front of the palace doors. One by one the women exited and stood to await their fate. Maxwell smiled at Katie and placed a gentle hand on hers, "I believe King Alexander would want me to tell you welcome home, Katherine."