Making a Friend

A surprised chuckle escaped from Charles' lips and his forehead creased in confusion. "What?" he asked, thinking he misheard Katherine.

"If you didn't have to be a king one day, who would you want to be?" she asked again.

He blew out a quick breath and ran his hand through his curly hair before he shook his head and looked back at her. "Honestly I've never thought about it before, but I've seen how the people in my lands live, and I have yet to find someone I'd be willing to trade with. As difficult as our lives are as royals, they have it worse."

Now Katherine was the confused one. "What do you mean? Because they are poor?" she asked him. It made her think about when Jasper told her about his life before becoming a guard, and how his family was so poor that they could not afford food or housing.

Charles nodded his head and said, "Our grandparents, and even our parents, have made it impossible for people to support themselves. They are at our mercy at all times, and honestly I don't know how most of them survive and live past middle age. I've been trying to convince my father to implement changes for the betterment of our people, but he refuses to listen. He, like most royals, loves that we have total power over the people."

He shook his head in disgust, and Katherine could see how passionate he was about this particular topic.

Personally, she didn't understand it. "Why would you want to help people who try to kill us and take us down all of the time?" she questioned him. She could feel anger bubbling up within her. After all, the people are the ones responsible for killing her dad and taking her mom, who was still missing.

"And why do you think they try to take us down all the time?" he retorted. "If you had someone who worked you nearly to death everyday, and then took what little money you made for themselves even if they had no use for it, how would you feel? Have you ever in your life felt hungry or felt without?"

Katherine understood what he was trying to say, but she struggled to believe it truly was that bad for the people. "You mean to tell me that everyone struggles? How is that possible?"

Charles scoffed at her. "Have you ever actually gone into one of the cities you rule over? Or have you ever sat in on a meeting with your parents before?" he asked her. The anger that had been laced through his voice was starting to turn to disbelief.

"I've never left the castle, it's not safe. And I've sat in on a couple of meetings, but I never really paid attention. I didn't expect to be Queen this soon." She spat out the last part, still hiding her pain in anger.

Charles' eyes never left hers, but he sat all the way back in his chair and let out a big breath. When he spoke, his voice was softer than before, "The people in my lands, the people in your lands, and I would assume the people in Selene, all struggle and live without. The Kingdom of Titanus is a cruel one. People like you and me are truly the only ones who benefit. I only hope that I live long enough to change it. And I hope you're willing to work with me to change it. You asked me what I want to be? I want to be a just King who cares for his people. You can help me do that, Kit. We can do that together. We can change Titanus and our lands for the better. Let's be the rulers our people deserve."

The passion in his eyes was unmistakable, and Katherine felt moved by what he said, but she still struggled with the thought of helping people who hated her as much as her people did. "They killed my dad," was all she could respond.

"The rebels killed your dad, not the everyday people you would find in the streets. If we work to make positive changes, hopefully there wouldn't even be a need for rebels or an uprising. It will take time, but it will be worth it in the end. Please just think about it," he begged her.

This dinner had taken a turn that Katherine was not expecting. She figured it would be dull and they would barely speak, but this was the most intense conversation she had ever had with Charles. And to think that she always thought he was soft spoken and a pushover.

Katherine still had no desire to help the people after what they had put her through, but if it meant they were less likely to try to kill her all of the time, she would consider it.

"Will you take me to one of the cities?" she asked, "I'd like to see for myself." She was hoping that doing so would help her gain insight to where her mom might have been taken to and held captive, not that she would tell Charles that small detail.

Charles' whole face lit up in excitement, and he quickly nodded his head and said, "Of course. It's still not safe for you to go out in your lands, but we can fly to my lands and go out there. Our people are treated the same from what I've seen and heard, so it won't be drastically different."

"Let's do that next week then," she casually replied as she started eating her steak again.

The room stayed silent for a moment before Charles spoke. "Kit?"

Katherine typically only let Jasper and her parents use pet names with her, but something in the way he spoke to her made her feel a deeper connection with him. It sounded natural to her when he called her by that name, so she did not correct him.

Instead, she looked up at him, expectantly.

"Thank you for hearing me out. I truly do believe that we can change our Kingdom to build a more prosperous future for everyone."

She gave him a quick nod, and Charles knew then that the door to that conversation had been closed. At least for now.

"So what about you?" he suddenly asked.

"What?" Katherine answered, full of confusion.

"Dream life. Go," he answered.

Katherine was grateful for the change in subject, and she smiled to herself thinking about the perfect life she could create for herself. "I'd live in a beach house with a husky named Blue, and every morning I would start my day by going for a walk on the beach or a swim in the ocean. Maybe during the day I could be a candle-maker, or something," she said with a laugh, "and then I'd end my day with Jasp--" she immediately cut herself off.

Even though it was painfully obvious to anyone who paid attention, no one officially knew that she and Jasper had more than a friendly relationship. It was especially not something she wanted the man she was betrothed to to find out. God only knows what Charles could have done to Jasper to get him out of the way.

So she tried to think of something quickly to cover her tracks. "Umm, I'd end my day with a nice glass of wine." She internally cursed herself for being so reckless. So much for not letting her guard down.

Charles nodded his head and smiled, but Katherine could see in his eyes that he had caught her little mishap and was trying to decipher it.

Instead of calling her out on it, he simply said, "Well we have tons of beaches in Eos since we are on the pacific coast. When we go out into one of the cities, maybe we can go to one of my beach houses after so you can see it."

"One of your beach houses? As in, you have more than one?" Katherine asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I've got a few," he said nonchalantly. Charles hated the fact that most of his people could not even afford rent for a studio apartment, yet he owned multiple houses in addition to his rather large castle.

They spent the rest of the time talking about all of the fun beach activities that they had in Eos, and it made Katherine more and more excited about going to visit in the future.

Charles was easy to talk to, and the more time she spent around him, the more at ease she felt. It was as if she had momentarily forgotten about their marriage contract, and that she truly was just having dinner with a friend.

In fact, he made her forget about all of the horrible things happening in her life right now. For the first time, she was able to just enjoy the moment without the pain of losing her father, her mother's kidnapping, or the rebel attacks.