Chapter 2 The Taste of duty

"I am abdicating the throne" the words were not what Ashlayin had thought he would hear so soon.

He stared at his father trying to puzzle him out, the king was not too old and he was as fit as an ox, so why he was giving up the throne was not quite clear to him.

"Is there a problem" he asked softly and Tyrone glared at his son

"I am fine Ashlayin, I just want more time with your mother" he said grumpily which drew a snort making him aware of his brother,the flirt of the family who had escaped the responsibility of the throne by one minute, one freaking minute,Gabriel. Most days that thought did not bother him, Ashlayin enjoyed the challenge– most days.

"You want to get more lovey dovey with mum" Gabriel taunted earning his father's scowl, " We'll all pretend you didn't just say that and sound like a fifteen year old girl while at it" he scoffed causing his brother to scowl. Gabriel wasn't lying though , their parents had been a love match.

After the death of his first wife princess Anna of England he'd met Renee Benedict the only daughter of a French congressman,one visit to Agryll and she had refused to leave not the land and not her husband,

"You Gabriel will have the full weight of the company on your hands" their father said forcing some seriousness to the room and his brother shrugged

"I have been handling Ash's duties for a while" he said which translated into since Ashlayin had begun his training in ernest.

He had know this day would come, but had hoped to avoid it longer.

"Very well, when is the coronation" he asked leaning towards his father, Tyrone looked a thin face unreadable

"A month from now" he answered, Ashlayin nodded, it was too soon but he could not show discomfort.

" Is there any reason we can't move it further" he asked

" No there's none, " his father deadpanned.Tyrone was a good man a wonderful father and husband but he was also a ruler, it came with a certain level of confident arrogance, one that he and his brother had inherited. He stood

"Is there any thing else" he asked and his father shook his head, bowing low, he turned to the door, " Ashlayin" his father called and he turned back slightly

" I wouldn't give you the responsibility if I wasn't sure you were ready" he said, Ashlayin smiled slightly, that much was true

" Thank you father" they shared a silent message before he turned to leave. He heard Gabriel make a joke before hurrying to join him, they walked in silence for a while before his twin said

" your poker face is getting better"

he laughed " not as good as I thought if you could figure out"

" You could never hide from me" Gabriel replied, he nodded in acquiescence

They strode across the hall at a moderate pace

"You know you can count on me, and a dozen others- you know that right" Gabriel asked and he nodded, brow wrinkled. "I know" Of course he did, but the throne was his duty and his brother knew that but he would still offer and reassure and that was more of a comfort than Gabriel could ever know. Their family was close that way and he would not ask for better.

They continued walking in silence, in a hall filled with rich history of their people a history he would uphold, one his children would uphold as well, a maid scurried towards them and curtsied. He grimaced at the formality

"Jane ,that's enough" he admonished, he was a part of the monarchy but the protocols made him – uncomfortable, that would not change the fact that many would stick to those protocols.

" Yes your Highness. The queen request your presence in her office" she answered,he smiled softly mother never requested, she demanded as subtly as possible.

" I will go there now" he replied turning to meet his brothers gaze, "Well, I guess we part here now" Gabriel said, tapping his back he turned

"Don't keep the queen waiting,she has a temper" he called out and Ashlayin chuckled ruefully as he strode through the halls of the castle.

****************

Ashlayin strode to his mother's office, it was opulent like all the rooms in the castle but was tailored to her taste in shades of sky blue and white.Nodding to her assistant Clara,he waited to be let in. Although she was his mother, it was rare that she discarded protocol for his sake.

"Your Highness she is waiting for you" he smiled softly ,and crossed the short distance to her door

"Mother" he called as he entered the office,there was a thud,a crash and then soft swearing that made him chuckle as he walked in

"Ashlayin, come my boy, " she encouraged as she walked round her desk, her blond hair was coiffed perfectly, her eyes sparkling with energy "it seems that the older I get the more balance I seem to lose." She grumbled. He grinned kissing her cheeks,

"You don't look a day over twenty" she laughed,pulling him into a hug, " I better look older , or people would wonder if your father was a cradle robber." " Come, sit" she gestured as she sat as well

"Father is stepping down" he said leaning on the couch "Yes. Your father is getting wanderlust and plans to drag me along with him" his mother said with humor making her cobalt eyes glimmer, it was her eyes that made her so appealing always brimming with emotion and it had been passed on to her children

"I don't think I am ready" he offered stoic, and she smiled

"My sweet Ash. you were born for this,it's in your blood." " And besides your father and I will be here until you are settled" she said softly taking his hand in hers

"and his wanderlust?" he questioned

"He can wander round the garden a little longer" she shrugged and he couldn't help but laugh

"I love you mother" "I love you too and because I do I hope you understand what comes next"

"Well, I prepare - I guess" he answered wryly, she smiled sipping at water he knew she did not need. She begun

"Your father is - stepping down and you will be required to take his place" she reached for a cup and the kettle near it going through the motion of preparing a cup of tea "to do so you will need to get married" she whispered and took a sip then set the cup down and looked at him squarely. He straightened

"Why do I need to get married" he asked hoarsely, marriage had not been in any of his immediate plans.

She sighed

"Love -you will need some one to run the house and to run some other affairs especially with charities, then there is the matter of children" she replied

" I am not ready for marriage" he exclaimed

"You are twenty eight, that's more than old enough" "And you can do the charity work" he argued further and she snorted

"I plan on joining your father on his trips sometime before he or I for that matter go to the beyond " " Stop that, your not dying" he mumbled and she sighed " Children are not, cattle. I can't just breed them" he said in despair

"well, thank God for that. I doubt the parliament would be welcoming to calf's as royal princes" she tossed, lifting a hand to stop his next tirade

" you are a capable young man, I raised my children well enough to know that, but you need a wife "

"what about love, don't you want that for me" he asked. A last resort. Ashlayin had never been under the illusion that he could find the kind of love his parents shared, it was rare and not easily built but he'd hoped to at least like his partner. She smiled palming his face

"I do want that and you can have that -" when he likely didn't look too convinced she muttered under her breath about fairy tale romances and false expectations. She faced him with a stony expression "I hated your father" she mumbled and he started

" what-"

"I hated your father, he was a no good brute and an insufferable neanderthal, at least that's what I remember calling him"

"We met, twice before our engagement and I never met him in proper terms, never in proper terms always fleeting gatherings " she whispered softly

" he liked to tease me , called me prissy miss, not the worst of insults mind you but I was enraged for weeks" she had a fond look on her face, as if she were replaying the memories

"Later my father told me that he asked for my hand and had been accepted, " she whispered, this was a surprise to him, they had heard stories of their parents love even seen the reality but this had never been a part of it

"What did you do" he asked when she was silent for long

" I married him and proceeded to make his life as miserable as I could, and then you were born and I saw how he was with you and your brother and the attraction that I felt which was one of the reasons I hated him, turned slowly to respect because he was not a brute-" she said fondly her gaze misting with memories

"No man could look at a child the way he did you and your brother and be a brute, when I saw that it was quite easy to love him"she finished shrugging slightly

" so my love,you can fall in love, it just might not come to you how you expect it"she said taking his hand in her own she kissed it

"Go somewhere,relax, and look for some one who you are compatible with.Marry her or the throne goes to Gabriel" she said smugly,frozen in shock Ashlayin looked up to his mother and laughed hard and long.

"Alright I will find a wife, how long do I have" he questioned "Until the coronation" she answered and he nodded.

"I will see what I can do" he conceded rising from the couch. He kissed her again but she held his hand

"Ash, I think London will be good this time of year,I think I have tickets to a concert " she said and he nodded

"Send it to Wini " he answered referring to his assistant. She nodded , he strode out of the office Behind him the Queen smiled and indulging and smug smile as she watched her son wander off.