The Locket (36 page)

The crowd’s eyes followed Savannah as she treaded down the aisle. Adrenaline, anger, and fear all washed into her like a flood. She had never stopped a wedding before, let alone spoke out at one to make an entire crowd stare at her with awe. Well, there was no turning back now. “You know, quite a few years back my mother volunteered to serve this kingdom when it was in its greatest need. So they let her, not expecting her to do well. But when she succeeded, unlike the many soldiers before her, what did she get?” Inviting anyone in the audience to challenge her, Savannah found the courage to look a handful of them in the eye one by one. “She got run out of town. Chased away because she dared to love someone of her choosing rather than follow a—forgive me—stupid law that hasn’t seemed to make anyone around here very happy. Just look at your future king,” she said, gesturing a hand to Christian. All at once, the audience turned their attention to the front of the church. “Does he appear at all pleased with the fact that he has to marry someone that he may never learn to love? Just to make his kingdom happy?”

Christian smiled, suddenly realizing that things were going to change for the better. Even if his kingdom never accepted Savannah, he wouldn’t care. She was here, she was his, and she was fighting for him, which was something even he couldn’t do for himself. “Your prince has traveled through the Mysterious Forest, found your much-needed general, and saved your kingdom. But does anyone care about what he wants?”

The crowd was growing restless. Who was this young maiden? Did the royal family know her? Did anyone at all know her? The king and queen remained silent, most likely still in shock from such an unanticipated outburst from one of their subjects. People were glancing back and forth from this mysterious girl, to the prince at the altar, to the king and queen, and back to the girl. The enthusiasm to see what was going to happen next was causing the crowd to squirm in their seats. They moved this way and that to get a better look and hung on every word that this strange girl was saying.

“But the thing is—and this really irritates me—I realize that at least when my mother saved your kingdom, she got this gift of gratitude.” Holding up the locket, Savannah allowed everyone the chance to gawk at it before she put it back around her neck. “And after facing hungry ogres, enchanted ponds, angry water sprites, and everything else that lies in that forest, which for your information is not an easy task, I get nothing! Not a single ‘thank you’ or gold metal! Okay, so I left in a bit of a hurry and didn’t allow much time for any gifts or forms of gratitude. But seriously, if you think that what my mother and I did was easy, then why don’t you go into that forest, the one that you all are so desperately afraid of, and see if you come out alive.”

Already exhausted from the constant, undivided attention, Savannah felt physically out of breath. Somehow she had developed the audacity to get in front of a church full of an entire village and yell at them. Everyone was expecting her to come to a point, and fast. Of course she had one. In fact, it was one that she was exceptionally eager to make. It might get her kicked out by the royal guards—by the way, where were they?—yet it would be well worth it. Finding herself only a few feet now before Christian and Princess Adelaide, her heart hammered in her chest with excitement.

“So,” she started again, her mouth dry. “I think, given the circumstances, that it is only fair that I am at long last given my payment.” Finishing her words on a whisper, Savannah threw all rules and logic out the window as flung her arms around Christian’s neck and gave him a long, hard kiss on the lips.

Taking less than a full second to get over his initial shock, Christian wrapped his arms around her in response and brought her closer to him to deepen the kiss. “I’m so sorry for everything, Anna. I never should have lied to you.”

Placing a hand to his cheek, she let out a contented sigh. “It’s okay, I understand. You were protecting yourself and your family. You’re not the only one to blame though, and I should’ve listened to you when you tried to explain. The thing is, I was scared about everything that was going on, the changes that were happening around us. But the more I thought about my life without you, the more I realized I couldn’t do it. I’m not afraid anymore.”

Christian took her hand, giving her a warm smile that made her heart pound. “I love you.”

Grinning back, she brought her eyes to his. “I love you too,” she whispered as she gave him another kiss.

At that moment, the town erupted into wild shouts and gasps, not knowing what to do with this new and scandalous situation. The crowned prince locking lips with a strange girl who clearly had no respect for the royal family and who was not his betrothed? Her mid-length black dress clung tight to her body, showing off her girlish figure … much too disrespectful and not at all appropriate for a possible future queen. No one really understood what was happening, so to compensate, they all came to their feet yelling and arguing with each other over one thing or another.

Everyone was so busy wrapped up in their own gossip and disbelief that no one noticed Lance-a-Lot make his way to the front of the room. Surprising the audience for the third time that day, Lance yelled out over the crowd. He might have had a little body, but his voice was anything but. “Hush! Hush!” If for nothing else, the crowd fell silent and everyone turned to him in pure curiosity. “Savannah is right. I cannot believe those words just came out of my mouth, but she is.” A mixture of astonishment and intrigue caused the audience to begin making their way back to their seats. It was one thing to have Lance defending the royal family, and it was another entirely to have him defending such an act of disgrace.

“If the crowned prince wants to choose his own bride, he should be able to choose her without so many rules and laws and time limits. Would it not be better if we were to have a king proud to sit on his thrown and overall happier than one who wishes nothing more of himself then just to pass by each day simply to get through it alive?” Some of the members of the crowd nodded their heads in agreement, while others could do nothing more than stare in amazement. “Well, I say that he should have that choice!”

At his words, the majority of the audience began to cheer and shout in protest over the law. The church had never been so energized, and its people had never been so full of zeal and recognition for what was happening before them. The prince in love with a commoner and leaving another woman at the altar? How extraordinary. “Lance-a lot!” A booming shout came from above, quieting the crowd.

The king, who had been observing the entire scene in thoughtful silence from his seat on the church balcony, could not take any more. It had been interesting to see his son’s wedding be interrupted by the Morgan girl he’d met not so very long ago. He had high respect for the woman, especially after she not only saved his dear kingdom but had also brought his son back to him. He had also known that his son had gone through some major changes the past few days for which he did not fault the forest. He had known, as a father knows such things, that his son had fallen in love. Once he learned of Savannah’s hasty escape back to her own world, the pieces all fit together rather well.

However, that did not excuse the near mutiny that was taking place in his beloved church. “Have you no admiration for the royal family and the kingdom’s customary values? Do you wish to go against my demands and the irrevocable law that has been set even before me?”

Lance took his stance next to Savannah and Christian, keeping his eyes firmly on the king. “With all due respect, Sire, Christian is a part of the royal family, and I believe that I am showing the exact courtesy that he deserves. If no one other than an outsider will stand to defend our crowned prince’s happiness, then I will.”

Quite taken aback, King Fredrick did not know how to respond. First a woman not of this world interrupts an important ceremony, then his son defies his kingdom by showing public affection toward someone who is not his betrothed, and now his loyal assistant is speaking out of line. “You know the law, Lance-a-lot. As much as I do not particularly care for it, the law is the law as tradition is tradition.”

“Yes, but Your Majesty, it is Christian’s choice, is it not? The prince is not breaking any laws if he has chosen his bride. Sure, she may not be the princess from the kingdom next door, though she is of noble blood, for she is our late general’s only grandchild.” To this the crowd burst out into gossip and shocked murmurs. This peculiar girl might not be known to anyone in town, but she was the only living relative of their late general, and that changed matters considerably.

The king sighed in defeat. Glancing at his wife for any shred of sympathy, he saw the queen nod in Lance’s direction and let her lips twitch in understanding. “Fredrick,” she said softly, “Listen to him. He is asking you to help our son to be happy.” Rising from her throne, the queen glided to her husband’s side and placed her hand gently on his. “Can you open your ears to someone else’s voice but your own?”

Considering his wife’s words, King Fredrick clucked his tongue in indecisiveness while he watched as his son laid a protective arm around Miss Morgan’s shoulders. He really did care for her. Though was it enough to prove his son worthy of the crown? To let a woman into his life was one thing. To have her take over his heart and mind and to cause him to make rash decisions that could be problematic for their kingdom was another matter altogether. He saw no other solution but to give the prince an ultimatum. “Christian, if you go against my wishes, then I will have no other choice but to appoint Rupert as the new future king.”

Christian was not at all surprised or threatened. In truth, for the past two days he had considered this option, knowing fully that if Anna decided to come back to him he would be given this decision at one point or another. Without flinching, he gave his response. “So be it. If having to live the rest of my life with whom I choose to marry means having to give up the throne, then fine.”

A mutual silence filled the room. There was not one soul in the church that was not in awe by this reply. Even Savannah did not know exactly what to say, suddenly unsure if coming back was the right choice now that she knew what the consequences were. Clearly, no one wanted Rupert to be their solitary hope for a ruler. Christian was by far more suitable for the job, and Rupert was … less capable. It was said that he couldn’t even make up his mind for what he wanted to eat for breakfast every morning, often leaving the decision for his servants.

King Fredrick took a pace back. Not for the first time today had Christian made him question whether he was doing the right thing for his son. Uncertain of what was the proper course to take on this particular circumstance, the king furrowed his eyebrows in incomprehension and, when he spoke, was talking to himself more than his son. “You would give up your right as king just to spend the rest of your life with this maiden?”

Christian didn’t miss a beat in his reply. “Yes.”

King Fredrick turned to his wife a second time, receiving the same face of encouragement. If it were any other woman, he would have had to take another minute to review the situation. But he knew his wife and he knew her heart as well as her intellect. This was the woman who always gave him his most valued opinion and the greatest advice. This was the woman whose face he had learned to read year after year, well aware of the fact that she had become wise far more and far faster than he had. This was a woman he trusted with his life and his kingdom. “Very well then.” Giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts, he finally switched his attention over toward the audience before him. They waited patiently for his decision.

“Today, my son has exposed a great, yet rare sense of courage and determination as well as compassion for what he believes in. Those qualities are also the mark of a terrific king and a magnificent leader. Over the years, our son has revealed winning characteristics that my wife and I proudly unleash to the rest of the world. We admire his charisma to the public, his love and generosity, his serious attitude toward his work, and his excellent judgment …” He glanced over to Savannah and smiled, “In all aspects of life. I know that a new generation is dawning and we should and must embrace it, not cower from it. Tradition only takes us so far before we realize that things should change once more. It is high time for new rules, new laws, and new traditions.”

He held the townspeople by a thread, his each and every word lingering and eventually settling in their minds. “As of right now, I am abolishing every marriage law present in our kingdom. It is time that we realize that even the crowned prince should be able to determine the right person for himself. And as I stand before you now, I recognize that no one wants to or should have to marry against his or her will. So, as a conclusion to this ceremony today, and as a beginning to a new lifestyle, I proclaim the marriage laws terminated.”

A cheer exploded from the public. Some raised their hands in the air in gratitude, while others hugged their neighbor in enthusiasm. A joyful and long-awaited change had just occurred, and it was all thanks to this strange girl from another world.

Christian was not unlike his subjects and grinned in satisfaction for the sudden proclamation. Placing a quick kiss on Savannah’s lips, he rushed off to discuss logistics with his parents and thank them for the greatest gift he could ever have hoped to receive. In the meantime, Savannah was going to thank Lance for his contribution to their celebrating when she caught Princess Adelaide moving in the corner of her eye. Wondering if she should walk away for fear of the no-longer-bride making a scene, Savannah opted to accept the costs of her actions and met the princess in the middle.