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“She makes it look effortless,” Phillip observed, and Hawkeye glared at him. He shrugged in the face of that anger as he had done for years now, almost as long as Hawkeye had known him. “You cannot argue with me. It is true.”
The queen never seemed to show fatigue despite the many courtiers and commoners that had come to see her that day. For Hawkeye's brother, this would already have been the time when he would have given into his anger and cast everyone out—if they were not already beaten or executed before then.
Hours of tedium, and yet the queen looked serene. She might not be smiling, but she was civil. She seemed to bear the weight of leadership without feeling it. She was untouched, unaltered, as though nothing could hurt her. Hawkeye knew that was not true, but even with his personal knowledge of how she could be damaged, he could believe that nothing could touch her.
“It is, perhaps, another reason why you do not want to take the kingdom from her. She manages to lead with grace and wisdom,” Phillip said, watching as the queen interacted with a small girl from the outer villages. The girl smiled through tears, started to courtesy, and then threw herself at the queen instead, hugging her.
Hawkeye waited for the woman's response to the girl's actions. She smiled, combed back the child's hair, and the girl bounced away happily, going to her mother and taking the woman's hand. With tears in her eyes, the mother picked her up and smiled back at the queen before leaving the court.
“Strange, considering that she is a killer and was never trained for the role.”
Hawkeye grunted. “What do you want, Phillip? I thought you wanted me to take the throne for myself. Why should I when she rules better than I ever could?”
“You miss my point,” Phillip disagreed. “If she can do it with no preparation, then surely you can as well. You were born to do it.”
“I am the younger son. I was never born to do it.”
“Just because you were the 'spare' does not mean you were not born for it,” Phillip said, and Hawkeye looked at him.
“Would you like me to shoot you?”
“No, but I think it is now your turn for an audience with the queen.”
Natalia watched as Hawkeye approached. She had made him wait until after the others had their turns, curious about his patience. She knew that he had a considerable amount—if only because he had not yet killed her—but she wanted to know where its limits were.
“Lord Hawkeye.”
“You summoned me?”
She inclined her head. She had asked for his presence. He had not surprised her by answering. He was typically not far from where she was, waiting for the moment when he would act, prepared to kill her if she gave him reason.
More reason, that was, than killing his brother.
“I did. Now that you are here, there is something that I wish to discuss with you.”
“If it is about the masquerade, I have said all I intend to say on that matter,” he said. “Perhaps next year there should not be one at all.”
She smiled, amused. “Do you despise all social occasions that much, my lord, or is it only the ones where I am also in attendance?”
“All of them, so you need not flatter yourself.”
She laughed. “I have no need of your flattery.”
“No?” He asked, his eyes bright with mirth. He was a different man when he smiled, and she saw why the people liked him. He was more open than he thought he was. “Then why am I here?”
“I have a task for you,” she said, watching his reaction. It was more than she had expected. She knew that he would have several responses—anger and disbelief among them—but she had not thought they would show so clearly.
“You do?” His voice carried an edge to it, one full of all the danger she knew he carried within him. “And what is that?”
“Calm yourself, my lord. I do not think you will object when you know what it is I am about to ask of you,” she said, leaning back on the throne. “I know you are familiar with the details of Lord Stark's disappearance. I want you to find him.”
“What?”
“He was your friend, was he not?”
“That is... not quite the word for it,” Hawkeye said, choosing his words carefully. “Stark could be... difficult.”
“Nevertheless, he was a man of intelligence and value to this country,” Natalia said. She did not mention Lady Virginia's fondness for the missing man, though she had considered it when she made her decision. “I want him found. Even if he is dead, we should know.”
“If I leave, taking with me those that I would need, the kingdom will be vulnerable.”
She stood, walking down until she faced him. “Let there be no mistake, Lord Hawkeye. I will fight any who come against me. I am not unequipped for battle or for war. Those who underestimate me will regret it. Or they would if they lived.”
He nodded. “I am sure my brother would share that sentiment.”
“Do you wish to—”
“To join him? Not particularly.”
She laughed. “That was not what I was going to ask. I simply wanted to know if you would start your search now or if you would wait until morning.”
He smiled, giving her no answer as he turned and left the chamber. Still, she allowed a smile of her own as she returned to the throne.