In Which Anna Is Around to Say

May 24, 1179

"Uh... hello."

Embarrassed, Adrius slouched, his new silk tunic catching on the corner of the couch. That soft blue suited him, contrasting his olive skin and bringing out his startling eyes, but if not for his insecure posture he hardly would have looked like himself. Anna knew Adrius as a man who dressed as a shadow, as if out of hope that he might pass for one. "Probably should've hidden at the training grounds."

He sniffed out a hollow chuckle at his self-deprecating joke, but Anna didn't laugh. There was nothing laughable about his not being a warrior, and certainly not about his need to run off. "You didn't have to hide anywhere."

Adrius sighed. Mona's betrothed was a few years older than Anna--officially four as of today--clever and intellectually mature, but there was more scared little boy in him than most men cared to admit. She'd learned that not much brought it out quite like a large party. "They're talking about me, aren't they?"

Anna joined him on the bench and shook her head, though she wasn't sure he was watching. Perhaps that was for the best. What could she tell him? That the Carvalli nobles hadn't noticed their king's absence from his own birthday feast? Whatever confidence he had would be crushed. "They're just mingling for now. It's early enough that they think you might want to make a big entrance."

"Hmm. Well, thank you for attempting to spare my feelings, but I should probably tell you that I spent all of my last birthday up here. No one even bothered to look for me."

His head tilted downward, eyes to his lap and mouth a firm frown. Conscious of his vulnerability, Anna inched a little closer. Even her own birthdays as a working-class orphan had been met with a sweet rolls from the kitchens; someone had always known, even if it was their job to do so. "Maybe they thought you wanted your space."

It hadn't been a well-aimed shot and she'd known that when she'd let fly. It flew past the target and lodged itself in a nearby tree. "No one gives me space when I want it. The guests don't seek me out because they don't care. I don't have the charisma to hold attention on my own birthday." He pushed back his hair, nervous eyes flickering toward her as his chin turned somewhat. "I'm sorry. I'll never be a good king. I should have told you that sooner."

I should have told you sooner. And he thought he was the one who had secrets. He'd never lied to her, not really. "You will, though--be a good king, I mean."

Adrius's eyebrow crooked, but for all he didn't believe her, he seemed to be listening. Was it an intrusion to elaborate? It wasn't her place, was it?

But she supposed it didn't matter just now. There was no one else around to say it. "You're smart, but you know you're not as smart as you could be, and you realize that that's not a bad thing. You love to learn, so you learn all you can. You grow smarter by the day; a lot of kings don't do that because they're too concerned with appearing kingly to learn anything new.

"That and you're sensitive, and you're generous, and you have a good heart. A king needs those things more than he needs presence." Did he? Did she know what she was talking about? Presence was important for a king--she knew that much. But... "I mean, I wouldn't want to live under a charismatic ruler who didn't have all the rest of that. And you're young; you have a long reign ahead of you, and at some point, something will happen that requires you to be exactly who you are. And your people will love you for it."

He blinked. Was he agreeing with her, or dismissing it all as utter bullshit? Or did he have any more of an idea than she did? "You really think so?"

Anna nodded. "I know so."

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