17. The Queen Pt 2

The queen eyed him flatly. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know her name," he admitted after a pause.

"Is she nobility?"

Silence.

"Is she from one of nearby villages?"

Still he didn't answer. 

The queen sighed, shaking her head to cover her laughter as she asked "does she look like anyone we know?"

His response was quiet, but firm. "I don't know. She hasn't taken off her mask. I couldn't very well ask her to remove hers without expecting her to request the same thing. I don't know why she hasn't asked me to, but I'm grateful." He chuckled to himself and smirked. "We've spent the last two nights talking about everything from farming techniques to war to the great philosophers, and yet I don't know anything about who she is. I know what she thinks and feels, but I don't know what she does with her days. I feel like our souls know each other intimately, but our faces remain a secret. Isn't it odd? So many of the people I meet as the royal heir only let me see a facade. I have no idea what is hidden behind their faces. And yet, with her, I have seen her heart, and her face is a mystery to me."

She considered her son for moment before answering. Here he was. The future king. Her baby boy. But he wasn't a baby anymore, she realized. He had grown up and was beginning to shoulder the responsibilities of his role. 

"You're so much like your father," she said. He smiled at the compliment and she sighed again, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Alright, so you've found your queen. You do know you'll have to tell her who you are eventually if you want her to marry you."

"I know that," he replied. "I'll tell her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" She questioned. "Why not tonight? There is the possibility, however small, that she may not wish to marry the prince. If she refuses you, you'll not have much time to find someone else if you really don't want to marry Gianette. You know your father wants to see you married before..." She choked on her words, unable to finish.

"I know," he said placing a hand in his mother's shoulder. "And I will. No matter what she says. But I can't tell her tonight. She's already gone."