Tie It With a Ribbon

“I can’t say I like this very much,” Zanzibar griped, tugging at the fabric of his burgundy, button-up shirt and messing with the loose fabric of his black dress pants. He glanced over to me as I laughed softly at him. “You, on the other hand, are as gorgeous as ever.”

“Once this is over, you can get out of those clothes, assuming there isn’t a riot,” I mumbled worriedly, stepping up to him and embracing him thoughtfully.

“I’m sure everything will be fine, sweetheart.” He kissed my forehead. “But I’m holding you to your promise that I can get out of my clothes later,” he purred suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows as my face turned bright red.

“Now I did not mean it like that, you scandalous lion!” I shrieked, only half joking. The other half dwelled on Alexandros’ words.

He smiled. “Of course I do not mean to offend your virgin ears, but I would love for you to bear me at least one child before ten years have passed.” The smile slowly disappeared as he looked entirely serious.

“Zanzibar, that is certainly not a real concern, I should hope.” He smiled resignedly, shaking his head as he gently kissed my lips. “Good. Besides, I have been told that I am to give you sixty-two children.”

His mouth dropped. “Alena! I would never expect that many. I only want sixty-one,” he teased, kissing me softly.

“Oh, that’s so much better.” I couldn’t help but smile as he smiled that lopsided grin that always made my day that much better. “Be strong, my unbreakable man, and try not to cry to the audience about your hatred of formal attire.”

“My lips are sealed. I must tell you that this will be difficult, as I have been told that I abuse the privilege of being capable of speech.” He slipped out of my arms and sighed as I walked towards the door. “If this is half the fun I expect it to be, I should hope you will make up for it once we are out of the prude birds’ views.” I think my mouth must have dropped at the use of his adjective choice. “Oh, forgive me; there I go speaking of sex again. I will behave now, Alena, I promise. No talk of love-making or nudity for the rest of your coronation.” He smiled harmlessly.

“I think my mother would have a heart attack if she knew how you talk to me,” I muttered, making a strange face as I glanced towards my balcony, which was where the Leonian guard stood alert.

“Your mother will have a heart attack if she realizes who you are declaring your King,” he reminded me, following me through the hallway.

A few guards glanced to us as we walked silently, not daring to step within two feet of each other out of fear that another scene could be caused. Zanzibar appeared as unwavering as stone as he undertook various scrutinizing gazes, and it was an absolute shock to me that no one seemed to realize that he was not only a Leonian, but he was the King of them! Then again, I supposed very few of my people had ever seen him up close.

We reached the large set of doors, and I turned to look at him. He looked so calm, so ready, whereas I was shaking at the thought of someone throwing a punch.

“It’ll be okay, Alena,” he murmured, glancing around quickly before pulling me into his arms and kissing me gently. “Be strong.”

“Don’t tease me,” I mumbled, slipping out of his arms. “I guess we should go in there, huh?”

He gave me a gentle push as he opened the door, pulling his hands back to himself and following me wordlessly onto the raised platform. We stood before hundreds of people, who seemed to be staring at Zanzibar in wonderment. They were probably confused that they had never seen the man before, and instincts were presumably screaming at them to run far away from him. Zanzibar, on the other hand, looked perfectly at peace as he tried to appear perfectly harmless by not meeting any gazes with piercing gold.

My mother was nowhere to be found, even as I searched the crowd endlessly! I casted a glance to her guard, Reginald, who only offered a small smile in return. Chastity grinned at me as I caught her gaze, and she looked ready to explode. I smiled nervously, daring to glance over to Zanzibar. He offered a neutral, Aquilan stare, though I could see how much he wished to speak.

“I honestly do not know what to say to you,” I started quietly as my voice echoed around me, “or where to even start. I suppose I could begin at the, well, beginning. As you know, I have been roaming the bloody fields for as long as I can remember, but I don’t wish to remember those painful years anymore. Now, I want to think about the peaceful years ahead of us. Peace talks may have only recently started, but lately I decided to take matters into my own hands.

“I have never been a fragile Queen who hides under the table as people die in her honor, and I would like you to know that I will never be that Queen for as long as I live. You may wonder why I insist that the war is behind us, and I will tell you. With all of my heart, I hope that you will accept everything that I am about to tell you, because I have told no one about the man I will soon call my King.

“His name is Zanzibar.” I paused for a moment, watching the crowd carefully. Only Reginald seemed a bit rigid as he scrutinized the lion in the room. “He does not belong to this kingdom now, though he will in a few moments. I met him while traveling with my mother and two of our guards. We traveled to the Gryphes’ homeland, in the hopes that they might help us come to terms with our neighbors, the Leonians.”

There were a few murmurs in the crowd, but I held up a hand and silence fell over the cloud like a blanket.

“He spoke to me after everyone else had given up on the idea of any form of peace ever existing. He begged me to think about all solutions to our problem, no matter how strange they sounded, and one of those suggestions included getting to know each other. I spoke to him nearly every night, just trying to get a sense of who he was, and then I realized it: he was a man who would do anything for those he loves. I don’t know when it happened, but I fell under that category along the road.”

Quite a few people looked away from me, almost blushing, as I spoke about something as private and intimate as a declaration of love. I took in a deep breath, trying to control myself more carefully and becoming quite annoyed at the fact that I had to even think about my words.

“Yesterday, I travelled to the Den.” There were gasps and outraged calls, but I raised my hand again. “I am alive, am I not? Years ago, the next Aquilan Queen would have been killed on the spot if she had done such a thing. But I have come to know the Leonians not as merciless killers, but as people as desperate for peace as we are. The man standing beside me has proved on various occasions that he wants it just as much as I do.

“The man standing before you,” I told them, almost holding my breath as I gestured to Zanzibar, who stood with his arms crossed firmly over his chest, “is Zanzibar Giovanni of the Leonian empire.” The crowd erupted in murmurs that grew to the level of contained hysteria.

“You can’t trust him!” someone shouted angrily, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

“But I can. And I do. This is your King, sir, and I am your Queen. Do you wish to go against us? I will kindly show you to the prison cell where traitors reside, if you wish.” He stepped back, shaking his head quietly. “I understand that you are afraid, but I know this man to be a devoted King with certain devotion to his people—and that includes all of you. He has shown me so many things, and all of these new things are peaceful. It is all I have ever asked for, and to be able to give you peace so early… I only hope you will not force me to watch this slip between my fingers.”

Chastity smiled hopefully, clasping her hands together happily as everyone around her shifted timidly from foot to foot. Reginald’s face twisted up in disgust, and he made a spectacle of himself as he stormed out of the room, slamming the doors behind him. I bit my lip as I realized that he must have gone out to tell my mother the news…

“Please! I understand that this is entirely strange to you, but I am begging you to just give this a chance,” I beseeched them, shaking my head feverishly. “If you wish, I will get on my knees and grovel at your feet until you accept my choice. He is everything a man should be, I can assure you, and everything a King must be. I just want you to give him a chance.”

There were more murmurs, and I bit my lip hopelessly as they refused to listen. I gasped when a hand took hold of mine, and I looked up to see Zanzibar staring out at the crowd, not caring about looking quite so harmless.

“This woman has given up everything for you people, don’t you understand that?” he asked, his voice booming. A silence fell over the crowd yet again, but this one was much more definite. “I will never understand the customs you have here, but I am willing to try anything for this woman, if she wishes me to. I will never share the skies with you, but I will wait with my feet planted firmly on the ground and my arms outstretched, praying that I should never have to catch you if you fall, and yet prepared for the moment if it should arise.

“I understand that our people are completely different, but I like to think that we are all civilized enough not to spend pointless hours bickering when a solution is handed to us. Are you so willing to turn down a chance at happiness? And for what? All you will gain is the loss of more brothers or daughters, or even your children! I have lost countless loved ones to this pointless war, and I refuse to believe that you actually enjoy bloodshed and warfare, but right now you act as though you do. I don’t expect you to ever love me as one of your own, for I have Alena and she is the only one from which I need love, but I should hope that you should at least not be so against me trying to save your family and friends.”

I stumbled to find words as I watched him hopelessly, my grip on his hand only tightening. He glanced down to me, the proof of his words easily seen.

“I love you,” I whispered very quietly, not wanting to cause an uproar or accusations of my corruption.

He smiled in understanding, glancing back to the crowd. I shook my head, forcing myself to be pulled back into reality.

I smiled sheepishly. “Well, I think now would be a nice time to wrap this up. Guards?”

“Do you really think they will swear their loyalty to me?”

I watched as the guards stepped forward, and I smiled to Zanzibar. “I think they will.”