The World Walkers: Unknown World: Thalia: Meeting the King (part 4)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Queen Mother smiled at Thalia, although it quickly faded. “Unfortunately now you need to learn how to fill the role of Princess, and current heir to the throne, which isn’t going to be easy. I have a feeling you will know enough about our history and why I married my husband, but now you’re in the same position I was when I was young, because Felix may be able to use you to cement alliances.”

“No, Mother, I won’t.” Surprised, Thalia stared at her brother. “Thalia is her own person, even though I dragged her into this, and I will not be the sort of brother who uses her in any way.”

“Felix, don’t be an idiot.” Thalia wasn’t sure entirely when she’d decided she could be so blunt with the King, because he could still execute her if he really wanted to, but she was coming to believe what he’d told her. “If you need to you will use me.” She took a couple of steps closer to him, staring into his eyes. “Being a Princess isn’t what I wanted, but it’s better than the alternative, and I will do whatever you need me to.”

A hand rested on her shoulder. “Your sister understands the position you’ve put her in better than you do, son, and it’s really time you realised that we need her. I hate it, but we need her.”

“Your alliance with the West will fail if you don’t marry me off to one of the sons of the King.” Thalia bit her lip. “Before I existed, Felix, you could have got away with marrying off one of the daughters you will have, but now…” She did everything she could to stop herself from shuddering, but she knew the Queen Mother could feel it. “Choosing to bring me here is going to change things. The first thing we need to do is plan some way of introducing me to your allies, probably a dance, and then we need to work out which son would be the best one for me to marry. I know I’m not marrying his eldest.”

Shaking his head, Felix reached a hand out and took Thalia’s. “No, Thalia, that is not what we need to be doing. We need to be getting to know each other and then we can think about the next steps we need to be taking. That’s what I brought you here for. Not to cement alliances I’m not even sure that we need.”

“We do need it.” Thalia sighed. “Felix…” She shook her head as she tried to work out how to explain things that he should have already known to him. “If the alliance with the West fails then we will be trapped between two states that could easily make war on us, and our relationship with the East is so bad that they may actually decide that we are worth invading. At the moment it’s only the West that are actually stopping the East from doing that.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

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