A Game of Crowns

“Sometimes your mind needs more time to accept what your heart already knows.”

-Pinterest

I could hear Georgiana’s dainty feet shuffling around the room. She was trying to be quiet, thinking I was asleep. Truth be told, I hadn’t slept a wink. I kept my eyes closed, pretending I was asleep to avoid the reality of what had happened last night. If I didn’t open my eyes, it wasn’t real.

I wouldn’t have to come to terms with the fact that my feelings for Tobias were a lot deeper than I previously thought. I wouldn’t have to think about the hurt Rowan felt when I said a name that wasn’t his. I wouldn’t have to deal with the fact that I cared about Rowan but not nearly as much as he cared for me.

Anything to avoid having a certain conversation with Thomas before he left, anything to avoid thinking about my pairing with George, and anything to avoid seeing Tobias with Siobhan.

“I know you’re awake, my lady,” Georgiana called out.

I peeled open an eye but didn’t see her in the room. Where was she? I sat up waiting for her.

She came out of the closet holding my outfit for the day. A simple white dress that fell to just below the knee.

“How?” I asked.

“You weren’t snoring,” she laughed.

I gasped. “I do not snore.”

She held up her hands in mock surrender.

After a quick shower, I slipped on the white dress and flat white shoes. I spent the next half hour drying my hair so Georgiana could style it into a side braid.

“Lessons begin again today, my lady.”

“I don’t want to,” I pouted.

“Cheer up, there are only two trials left,” she smiled.

“Two,” I said shocked.

“Yes, now that Killian is out,” she said, grinning madly.

In all my drama I had forgotten about Georgiana’s happy news.

“Georgiana, I’m so sorry. My mind forgot for a moment. What are you even doing here? I thought you’d be with Killian and his family.”

Her smile faltered a bit. “I’ll be staying for as long as you’re here. I’m not leaving you,” she smiled.

“Georgiana, that’s madness. Not that I don’t appreciate it but you don’t have to.”

“I know but I’d like to. If that’s alright?” she asked.

“Of course, anything. Did everything go alright with Killian’s family?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

Oh no. What did they do to my happy Georgiana?

“What happened?”

“They’re going to disown him,” she whispered.

What?

She continued, “I don’t love him for his money so money is not an issue but I can’t help but feel responsible for it all. He’ll lose his family. If he had never met me...”

“Hey, no, don’t do that. His family is crazy for not wanting you to be a part of it. Killian knows that and his opinion is all that matters. He still wants you.”

Georgiana’s face paled.

“What is it?”

Her bottom lip trembled before she broke out into full-blown sobs.

It took me a second to react. I pulled her into my arms and patted her back a bit awkwardly. I loved the girl but I still didn’t know how to console people.

“Penelope,” she whispered. “I’m pregnant.”

Oh.

She fought to control her sobs. “How can I bring a baby into the world without a family to love it?”

“Hey, no. You and Killian are this baby’s family. You don’t need anyone else but if it helps I’m here for you. I’ll be your family. You’re like a sister to me, Georgiana.”

She smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Penelope. You’re like a sister to me too.”

“Georgiana, does Killian know?”

She shook her head. Her eyebrows furrowed. She was worried about his reaction.

“I plan on telling him later today.”

I nodded.

“Well, congratulations, Georgiana!” I pulled her in for a hug, trying to distract her emotions.

She pulled out of my hug as she dried her tears. “Breakfast?” she asked.

“No, I have an apology to give,” I sighed.

“Good luck.”

***

I went to Tobias’s room but no one answered and I was glad for that. I wasn’t ready to go back into that room. He rejected me there...I hurt him there. There were some other places he might be but I decided to check the place that was ours, the glass room.

I strolled in not expecting to find him here but he was here, with her. They sat shoulder to shoulder talking. I cleared my throat, announcing my presence. They turned, both surprised.

Siobhan’s mouth lifted into a sly grin as she placed a hand on Tobias’s back. I bit my lip. I would not let her bait me.

Tobias’s shock quickly faded. His cobalt blue eyes turned steely. “Can we help you?”

I didn’t like them being a ‘we’ but it was the hard truth. If they won, they’d be getting married.

I sighed, “Yes, I was wondering if I could speak with you, alone?”

Siobhan answered, “We’re busy.”

I didn’t look at her. Instead, I gazed into the eyes of the man I cared for. No, into the eyes of the man I loved.

The realization didn’t do me any good, though. His decision would still have been the same. He still would have chosen the game. The only difference now was I loved him enough to let him go and accomplish his task. I understood his reasoning behind it, even though I wished I didn’t.

“Please,” I whispered.

The aloofness in his eyes faded. He nodded and whispered something to Siobhan. She left without a word, but if the look on her face told me anything, it was that she wasn’t happy about leaving us alone.

I took Siobhan’s vacated seat. Tobias and I sat shoulder to shoulder in silence. I wanted to enjoy this quiet moment with him before he went back to her.

I gently laid my head on his shoulder. His body stiffened at my touch but I didn’t let that stop me. A moment later he relaxed his shoulders and laid his head on mine.

The room looked different during the day. We’d always come here at night. The sun shone brightly through the roof, feeding the plants in the room.

“What are you doing here, Penelope?” he asked.

“You brought her here.” I stated.

He ignored that and asked, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

I guessed the moment was over. I removed my head from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes.

“I came to apologize,” I said.

His eyes roamed my face.

I continued, “for saying such a hurtful thing to you. I didn’t mean that. You hurt me and I wanted to hurt you back.” I looked away from him, ashamed of what I just admitted.

He turned my face to look at him. His hand moved to caress my cheek for a second before he sighed and let his hand fall.

“I’m sorry too, Penelope. I wished things were different for us,” he said looking at the ground beneath his feet.

That was the final nail in the coffin for us, it seemed. A sob fell from my lips. I looked away from Tobias, not wanting to see pity.

I managed to speak once my throat was no longer constricted. “I understand, Tobias. I get why you chose the game. I can’t imagine the pressure you feel in trying to win back your families thrones.”

He took my hand in his and turned to face me, his lips a few inches away. “I’ve missed you, Penelope.”

My breath hitched and my heart threatened to physically break into a million little pieces.

He looked down at me with so much warmth I could feel it in my soul. His eyes burned with a passion I recognized. A spark would ignite the energy between us, engulfing us in flames that could burn everything in its path.

Instead of closing the distance between our lips I broke the trance between us. I stood up and faced him. “I love you, Tobias,” I blurted out.

His eyes widened and his mouth formed the cutest circle.

“I know I shouldn’t be saying that to you, but I needed to tell you, at least once. It may be selfish of me but I don’t care.”

His chest rose and fell in beat with my thundering heart. The blue of his eyes burned brilliantly.

“Penelope, I...”

The doors smashed open.

Thelonious was surrounded by six armed Guardians. What was this?

“I see you’re working your womanly wiles on another male in this palace,” he sneered.

What?

I looked at Tobias. He looked as shocked as I felt.

“What’s going on?” Tobias questioned.

“Guardians, grab her,” Thelonious ordered.

“What? No,” I cried, as Opal and Diamond took hold of me. They were gentle with me. I knew if it had been anyone else, I would have been handled roughly.

Tobias protested and tried to pull me from Opal and Diamond but two other Guardians held him back.

“What’s the meaning of this, Thelonious?” Tobias yelled. “You have no authority to do this.”

“The hell I don’t,” he growled. “This harlot was seen coming out of Rowan’s room in the middle of the night, in a robe. Sexual sounds were reported to have been coming from that room while she was there.”

I turned to Tobias. His face turned hard. “Is this true?” he growled.

“Tobias,” I pleaded. This wasn’t the way for him to find out about what happened last night between Rowan and me.

He looked away from me. The muscles in his jaw strained as he worked to control his anger. “You don’t have the authority to remove her from the palace.”

“Boy, you know nothing. In instances like these, the council takes precedence over the ruling of the Trinity. I have the final say,” he laughed. “There was only one rule in the game and all of you knew it. No consorting in any sort of sexual relations with anyone. Your body did not belong to you anymore.”

I almost scoffed at his antiquated words. Nearly every one of the participants had broken the rule. Heck, Tobias had broken it more than once.

Tobias grimaced. He knew everyone was guilty of breaking that rule.

Thelonious motioned for me to be taken out of the room. Tobias continued to fight off his Guardians but it was pointless. I had been caught. I’d be disqualified.

“Tobias, find Rowan,” I yelled out before I was pulled out of the room by Diamond and Opal. I hated sending Tobias to Rowan but he was the only one that would be able to help me, if there was any help to be given.

A few servants who were passing through the hall stopped in surprise. The news would undoubtedly spread quickly. I looked around and realized where we were going. The main entrance was in this direction. I was being escorted out without being able to grab my things. I wouldn’t even get to say goodbye to Georgiana.

Instead of going straight towards the entrance we stopped in front of a familiar maroon tapestry. Another Guardian moved the tapestry to reveal the narrow door. I had followed Thelonious here before. The day he had a secret conversation.

I looked at Thelonious who held a knowing grin on his face. I squirmed, trying to get loose from Opal’s and Diamond’s grips.

They shook their heads. Why were they allowing this to happen? They were my friends or at least I thought they were.

We walked down the dimly lit hall at a hurried pace. The circular room with eight doors was nearly the same as from my visit before. The only difference now was the furnace was on. A raging fire danced in the pit of the old heater. A steel chair with straps sat over the dark stain in the middle of the room.

Opal’s face turned steely when she saw the chair. What were they going to do to me? The blood in my veins turned an icy cold, panic gripped me. I yanked away from Diamond and Opal, putting a wall at my back.

Thelonious’s evil chuckle vibrated through the circular room. A few more Guardian’s shuffled in.

Thelonious pulled an iron poker from the belly of the fire. The glowing iron pulsed with heat. The letter H throbbed, daunting me.

I shook my head from side to side. This couldn’t be happening to me. A Guardian I didn’t recognize jumped at me and I hit him in the face. He bent over, holding a gushing nose.

Opal yelled. She obviously didn’t agree with what was about to happen here and Diamond did what her sister told her. They stood in front of me facing eight Guardians and Thelonious.

Thelonious didn’t look worried. The numbers were in his favor. I took the familiar fighting stance that Opal now held, ready to fight.

A few punches and kicks were all we could get in. We were outnumbered.

Opal and Diamond were restrained by a pair of Guardians each. A burly man grinned at me as he grabbed me.

I yelled until my throat felt hoarse but I knew my screams would not be heard. They’d be sucked into the void of this place.

The man strapped me to the iron chair and ripped open the front of my dress, exposing my chest to the group. I continued to yell and resist as much as I could. I would not make this easy for them.

It seemed the burly man had had enough. He slapped me roughly across the face. My head turned with the force of his hit. Stars danced in front of my eyes and the darkness threatened to take hold.

My eyes lazily found Thelonious. He walked towards me, smugly holding the pulsating iron letter. The burly man held me by my shoulders as Thelonious pressed the iron into my skin, right above my left breast.

The pain was excruciating. The smell of burnt flesh assaulted my nostrils before the darkness pulled me...