Page 3 of The Queen's Crown
“I’m marrying someone else.”
There was no one else. Alina had never looked at any man the way she looked at Albert. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ve accepted the proposal of King Rainer Manfred of Lynk. I leave next week. The wedding will take place in his kingdom.” She said it as if stating simple, undeniable facts.
Sabine laughed. “Don’t joke about something like that.”
“I’m not.” Alina pushed Sabine’s arm away. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m exhausted and need to sleep. I don’t want you in here tonight.”
Sabine sat up, a stab of pain pressing on her heart. “What’s going on?”
“Our kingdom will benefit greatly from an alliance with Lynk.” Alina rolled over onto her side, away from Sabine.
“So you’re going to sacrifice your own happiness?” None of this made any sense.
“I’m not sacrificing anything. I am a princess of Bakley, and I have a duty to our people.”
“Our people?” Sabine crawled out of bed and began pacing. “Father is the king. Karl is the crown prince. Karl’s two sons are his heirs. You’re not going to sit on the Bakley throne. What you do doesn’t matter.”
“But I am a princess,” Alina whispered. “And King Rainer needs to marry.”
“Tell him to marry someone else!” Sabine yelled. “You’re in love with Albert.”
“Bakley is in trouble,” Alina replied. “Lynk can help. By marrying King Rainer, I will be helping our people.”
Sabine shook her head. “That’s for Father to figure out, not you.” This wasn’t fair. Alina shouldn’t have to fix their father’s problems. He was the king, he made all the decisions, he could solve this mess without using his daughter as a bargaining chip.
“Sabine,” Alina said, “I’m tired and wish to sleep. Leave me be. Please.” Her voice wobbled, as if on the verge of tears.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“I only have a few days left here,” Alina whispered. “I don’t wish to waste it fighting with you.”
“Then don’t do this.”
Silence filled the room.
“Fine.” Sabine left Alina alone and returned to her own bedchamber. Tomorrow she would talk some sense into her sister.
When Sabine awoke the next morning, the castle was filled with activity. The servants were packing Alina’s things, four seamstresses had arrived with yards and yards of material to make dresses fit for a queen, and a handful of sentries were being prepped to travel with Princess Alina to Lynk.
Sabine found her mother in the great hall, talking with the servants about how she wanted the room decorated for the ball that was going to be held in a few days to bid Alina farewell.
“Mother,” Sabine said, “we need to speak.”
The queen stepped away from the servants. “Honey, there is much to be done. If you wish to help, I can give you a job.”
“No, I do not wish to help.” She refused to aid in this madness. “Alina loves Albert.”
“Hush, don’t say such things.” Elsa wound her arm around Sabine’s, leading her out onto the balcony overlooking the large pasture behind the castle. “Watch what you say in front of the servants. They love to gossip.”
“Mother.” She slid her arm free. “What’s going on?”
“Your sister is going to be a queen.” She smiled. “I suggest you go to her and see what you can do to help her prepare.” She turned and strode away from her daughter, going back into the great hall.
Standing there, dumbfounded, Sabine didn’t know what to do to talk some sense into her family.
A thought occurred to her. Since her family wasn’t seeing reason, she could talk to Albert and get him to help. She quickly made her way to the stables. Albert only lived a few miles away. She could ride her horse to his house and fix this mess.
