Chapter 11
Being queen wasn't for everyone.
Victoria had known that even before she married Enzo. She'd seen her mother as Queen Consort and knew the kinds of pressure she'd been under. Knowing in a teenager kind of way and actually experiencing it for herself were two entirely different things.
The Queen Consort's primary responsibility was two fold: support the king and produce then raise at least two children.
For now, she only fulfilled one of those roles. It would be a while before she took on the second one.
One thing she hadn't expected when she'd agreed to marry Enzo, was that it would come with term papers.
With her feet propped up on the ottoman and her computer on a lap desk, Victoria typed up three pages - Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced - explaining her understanding of the original founding documents for democracy in Dellisole.
She probably didn't have the deep level of understanding her instructor would expect from her, but she hadn't grown up steeped in the history and traditions of her new country. It would take time for her to have the appreciation for Dellisole's history that she did for Southern Santiero's.
They were only to the 1400s in their deeper dive into history. Thinking about how much longer it would take to make it to the passing of the queen made her almost want to cry.
Enzo walked into from the balcony where he'd been sitting for about twenty minutes. Victoria had wished she could join him, but needed to get this paper done so she could get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
"What are you working on?" He took a seat on a nearby chair.
"Homework." She sighed. "I'm almost done, but I didn't know queens had to do homework." The tinge of whine in her voice annoyed even herself, but she couldn't help herself.
"You know you can't fail, right? If you didn't turn anything in, if you never went to another lesson, everything would be okay. You're not going to get fired or publicly scorned."
"I know, but I want to learn about my new country. I'm not crazy about the research papers, but they will help me internalize and contextualize what I'm learning." The conclusion she'd grudgingly arrived at didn't make her any happier about it.
Her husband laughed, a sound she was coming to love. "I guess I can understand that, but if you don't meet some arbitrary deadline, it'll still be okay."
"I know." Another thought had occurred to her several times. "What do I need to do about citizenship? Will I need to renounce my Southern Santierian citizenship? I'd rather not, but if I need to because of the regulations or customs here, then I guess I'll figure it out."
"No one has said anything to me about it. I’m pretty sure it’s automatic, but I'd think they would have talked to one of us if it was going to be an issue.
" He leaned back and closed his eyes. Victoria could see the weariness etched in his face.
"They also haven't said anything to me about being guardian for my minor siblings, at least not that I remember.
It's possible it was in all of the paperwork I signed that day and I didn't realize it.
I've made a note to talk about it with someone tomorrow.
I'll bring that up at the same time." He took his phone out and made a note.
"We'll get it taken care of, whatever that looks like. "
"Thank you." She typed a couple of concluding sentences then snapped her laptop shut and set the whole tray on the table to the side. "That's done." A yawn escaped despite her best efforts to stop it.
Enzo laughed again. "You need to get some sleep." He stood and held out a hand to help her stand. "I feel the same way."
He tugged on her hand until she could rest her head against his chest. "You're doing amazing, love," he said softly. "You are amazing. I can't imagine walking through this with anyone else."
Love.
Had he said it simply as a term of endearment? Or a declaration?
Victoria couldn't imagine it was a declaration. Not so soon, though she did find herself leaning that direction.
After a moment, he kissed the top of her head. "Go on. I'll be in shortly."
With another yawn, Victoria nodded and headed down the hall toward their shared room. it didn't take her long to get ready for bed, and she found herself slipping into sleep moments after she snuggled under the weighted blanket.
Though she knew she had to have woken up enough to roll over or shift around, she couldn't remember actually doing so. It had been a long time since she'd slept that deeply for that long.
She was facing the side of the bed and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling, trying to recall what her day would bring. More history lessons of course, but what else?
"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" Enzo's sleepy voice had that unused tone voices often had first thing in the morning. She liked it.
"Just thinking about my day, trying to remember what all I have to do.
" Her eyes closed. "We don't get holidays do we?
I know it hasn't been that long since we were at the resort, but it's been years since I had a schedule of any kind.
This being up early every day thing is not my ideal lifestyle.
" She knew the complaint showed how sheltered her life had been.
The years she'd spent out of the spotlight had been funded by the trust left to her by her grandfather.
That meant she'd been able to do whatever she wanted without worrying about needing employment that would necessitate an early morning on a regular basis.
She had done some substitute teaching in the States, Southwest Missouri to be exact.
Pond Creek County Consolidated School District had posted on social media that they needed people to fill in for teachers who were out sick or for professional development days.
It seemed like it could be fun and give her something to do.
The days she went to the high school, her alarm had gone off at 5:30, but she'd always had a choice.
She didn't have to pick up any more days than she wanted to.
It turned out she'd been good at it and soon had some teachers contacting her directly.
Not all of those texts turned into sub days, but some did.
Ten school days in a row was the longest stretch she'd done. That was plenty.
Enzo reached over and took her hand. "We should be able to get out of the city for a couple of days soon.
I won't be able to take time off completely, but I can limit the amount of work I need to do for that long.
A longer holiday will have to wait until things are more settled.
Then I'll be able to keep the work to a minimum. "
He rolled onto his side and propped up on an elbow to look at her. "You've adjusted to this much better than I would have thought anyone would, even with your background."
She couldn't stop a big I'm-not-quite-awake yawn, causing him to laugh at her.
"I'm glad it seems that way. I feel lost most of the time, and I really do miss sleeping as late as I feel like.
Being a night owl means I'd prefer to be up until midnight or one or even a bit later then sleep until ten or eleven.
I am glad I'll be able to have a positive impact in the world.
I know I did as a sub, but this is different. "
A look of confusion flitted across his face at her mention of her job, but rather than asking her about it, he did something else.
He leaned over and kissed her.
At least some of the things he'd been concerned about had been taken care of without delay.
Enzo looked through the paperwork his aide handed over. "I'm legal guardian for my minor siblings and have been since a couple of hours after my mum's passing?" he clarified.
"Yes, sir. The late queen ensured the paperwork would be in the first set of documents signed."
"Thank you for making certain her wishes were carried out as soon as possible." He flipped through the remaining papers. "And the queen's citizenship?"
"There's no clear legal precedent, other than automatic citizenship upon marriage.
" The aide handed over another folder of papers.
"It's always been presumed the partner marrying into the Dellisole royal family would have become a citizen prior to the marriage and renounced their previous one. That, obviously, is not the case here, and likely isn’t as necessary as it would have been a century ago. "
"So what is the best course of action? Is there precedent for her obtaining dual citizenship?"
"Yes, but again, the presumption is that it would have been approved by the Council prior to the marriage taking place."
Another concern crossed Enzo's mind. "Is there precedent for the Council to override the automatic citizenship?" He lifted the page on the right interior of the folder. Attached at the top, it was easier to flip through them than it would have been if they were loose.
"Nothing recent, but it's been close to two hundred years since the monarch or heir married someone who wasn't already a citizen of Dellisole."
Enzo closed his eyes and tried to remember the historical context.
"Prince Alexander wanted to marry a princess from on of the other countries in the Commonwealth of Terra Insula, but the families were feuding at the time.
Neither family wanted the match, but he insisted.
Eventually, thanks to pressure from both families and Councils, the wedding was called off and he married the daughter of a duke from the southern island. "
"Correct, sir."
"So nothing recent and nothing overtly relevant." He tried to think of a way to convince the Council to approve without a fight. Nothing came to him immediately. There had to be a way.
Or maybe, given the circumstances, they would cooperate in memory of the late queen. Perhaps go public with the need for the approval and use the pressure to their advantage.