The queen was exquisitely beautiful. She had light blond hair pulled up into some intricate style and a crown on her head. She had blue eyes that were very similar to Arthur's, but while his made me feel warm and loved, I felt coldly observed as her gaze met mine.
"Hello, Mother," Arthur said.
I did a shaky little curtsy as we approached. It was not great, but I did try.
"Hello, Arthur and Anne. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Your Majesty," I said, desperately hoping I was handling this right. Instead of spending time with my loved ones and packing I should probably have spent my two days studying some book of royal manners, if such a thing even existed.
If it did not, the how to industry certainly had some big blind spots. Who cares about all the little details if you don't even know how to talk to your new future mother-in-law properly? My hands felt clammy.
<Let me take control and I'll talk to her for you,> my wolf offered silkily.
That sounded like her worst idea ever. <No thanks,> I responded quickly before turning my attention back to the queen.
"Please, sit down," she offered smoothly.
Arthur sat opposite his mother and brought me down with him.
"I truly am delighted to meet you at last, Anne. We were starting to worry that Arthur would not find his mate without an extensive undertaking."
"Oh. I'm definitely glad that I just happened to walk by at the right time," I said.
"We all are. I'm glad that his motorbiking hobby proved beneficial. Mates are the bedrock of our society, don't you think?" she asked, her blue eyes gazing into mine.
I considered, "Well, I agree that good relationships do help everything work out for the best."
Arthur added quickly, "Her parents are as devoted to each other as you and father are."
"Well, that is indeed good to hear, Arthur."
Her attention swung back to me. "So, tell me about your background."
"Um, well, Your Majesty, I went to public school and graduated with pretty good marks. I was taking a year off to earn some money for post secondary. I was thinking of maybe going into accounting. When I was younger I babysat on weekends, had a couple of summer jobs. I played soccer, but mostly for fun because I'm not that good, but I really like running. I have two best friends who are each other's mates. I lived with my parents and my older sister Ellen before I found Arthur. There's not too much else to tell you."
It all sounded so terribly mundane and common. I was absolutely out of place.
The queen was watching me with a strange expression that seemed to confirm my inner doubts. I felt so awkward I rather wished the fabric of space would split open so I could simply fall out of the situation, perhaps into some other nonexistent universe where mate bonds could not put me in such an awkward situation.
Of course, I would not have Arthur there, either, so maybe this was the best of all possible universes for me. I looked over at his glorious frowning face and felt my heart beat its agreement with my conclusion.
"What's wrong, mother?" Arthur asked. He sounded defensive on my behalf and I felt my heart swell with affection.
"I don't know. She just seems so... Normal."
"There is nothing normal about Anne."
That was not precisely true. I was extremely normal in my opinion, but the way he looked at me made me feel special like I had never felt before. I could also feel my wolf's satisfaction at his assessment.
The queen paused and carefully considered me. I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass in the hot sun. "What colour is your fur?" she asked.
"Mix of grey and brown."
"Your wolf eyes?"
"Amber."
"And they never turn any unusual colours?"
"Never," I said. Was that a problem? I never thought that was a problem before.
"Do you have any powers beyond that of a normal werewolf?"
"No, sorry, Your Majesty," I said, feeling increasingly inadequate.
She paused. "And you're not adopted?"
"Mother," Arthur protested. He seemed less relaxed than usual. I held his hand firmly to help calm him down.
I shook my head. "No, I'm sure my parents would have told me if I was. Plus I kind of look like them and like my sister."
"But you weren't treated poorly?"
"No, I had a happy childhood."
My mate began to rise from his seat. "Mother, I really don't think—"
She silenced her son's protests. "Arthur, I understand that you wish to protect your mate and that is admirable, but I am attempting to puzzle something out. She seems incredibly stable, no doubt a few simple questions will not cause her to collapse."
She turned her attention back to me. "Have you ever been kidnapped?"
"No." Although that was probably going to change now, I thought dourly.
"In a feud? Have an arch enemy?"
"Nope."
"Were you bullied?"
"Not much."
"Addicted to illicit substances?"
"Never."
"Worked as a stripper?"
"No!"
She was sounding much less self assured as she continued questioning me.
"Been abducted by aliens?"
"No, no aliens."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. "And you're certain that neither of you rejected the other outright without even considering talking about your problems?"
"No!" Arthur said, sounding extremely annoyed with his mother. "What is the meaning of these absurd questions? Do you intend to interfere in our relationship? I will not tolerate that. I've found Anne and I never intend to let her go. I'll abdicate before I let you stop me from being with her."
The queen watched the prince silently as if she were a bit stunned.
I could see his wolf flashing in his eyes as he continued. "So if you and father think that you can force me to marry some terrible girl of the nobility who looks perfect on the outside, but is rotten to the core, you've got another thing coming."
She blinked quickly as if coming out of a daze. "No, of course not. That never works out well. Obviously you should be with your mate, son. She seems exemplary. I'm simply confused."
I was having trouble following the thought process of the woman before me. Perhaps it was a royalty thing, but on the other hand Arthur seemed gloriously sane. "Why, Your Majesty?"
"Well, it's not how things usually go. Mate matters never work out this smoothly. There's always something to make life difficult for high ranking couples. Take the matter of the Evergreen Pack, just a few weeks ago. The alpha found his mate, but her childhood friend was convinced that he was in love with her, and Arthur tried his hand at mediating. And the silly girl would simply not just explain to her old friend how matters now were to make a clean break. Instead, she kept giving him hope."
"That's the one I was telling you about," Arthur mentioned to me. He glanced at his mother. "She thinks the friend is being short sighted."
The queen smiled, but seemed a bit exasperated. "As should we all and yet these problems abound. Look at Alpha Brandon's mate, Luna Serenity, is constantly causing trouble. She's intelligent enough, but it seems she has no control over that wolf of hers."
<More likely that wolf does not have proper control over her human,> my wolf added helpfully.
"And then there's all the Blue Moon Pack drama again, Fleur is staying here at the palace again for a while since Xavier is just..."
She seemed to collect herself and looked at me. "I do not object to you in the slightest, dear. I just have trouble believing you. You seem too good to be true."
I smiled a bit uncertainly. "That's how I feel about Arthur."
"Well, then I dare say the two of you are very well matched and I'm delighted he was paired with such a reasonable young lady. This kingdom can use all the practicality it can muster."
She turned her attention back to Arthur. "You'll need to talk to your father soon after he gets back, Arthur. The Blood Mourning Pack is causing a ruckus again."
Arthur exhaled as if the matter weighed on him heavily. "When will he get back?"
"Tonight, although he probably won't be able to see you until tomorrow. Perhaps he'll be able to meet Anne soon as well. He's going to adore you, dear."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"You'll be my daughter-in-law soon, you can skip the formality in private, dear. You can simply call me Cindy. However, I suppose we'll have to get you some tutors for all the formality matters you'll have to deal with, I recall how overwhelming it was at first. We'll also have to set you up with our clothier, I suppose. And our royal media consultant, of course."
The queen continued rattling off a number of things on her mental list. I felt rather overwhelmed. Arthur squeezed my hand.
"Mother, I was thinking we could have a welcoming celebration for Anne before we handle any of the other formalities."
"That sounds delightful, Arthur. I'll have matters organized shortly."
Arthur nodded.
She smiled and looked at me and then Arthur. "Now, you should probably give your new mate a tour of the palace and kingdom, son. We'll set up Anne to get new clothing befitting her station in short order, but first I've got some other matters to attend to."
"Thank you, mother."
"It was good to meet you," I told her as evenly as I could manage considering I was speaking to the queen of the kingdom.
Arthur got up and I followed him out of the rooms. "Now, what would you like to see?"
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Author's Note:
When I googled "how to" looking for ideas for something Anne could be dismissive of, a suggestion on my browser popped up titled, "Three ways to address royalty". Too bad Anne never wrote a book that made her question such things. (I'd totally be fine if I got dropped into werewolf royalty like Anne. Pfft!)
I toyed with a bunch of how to book ideas, learn C++, make a koi pond, build a barbecue pit or a book shelf... Then I just went vague. 🤷♀️