Chapter 219

Violet’s POV

I turned from where I sat on the couch in the royal dressing room as the door to the hallway opened.

“Queen Violet, may I present Master Remy.”

The steward scooted out as my old friend entered. “You wanted to wait a week for me to come see you?” he chided playfully by way of greeting. I met him in his outstretched arms for a hug.

“I would expect this from you,” he said over my shoulder to Theo as we pulled out of our hug. “But you,” he directed at me, “should know better. Can you imagine a queen without a royal wardrobe for an entire week?”

I laughed as I moved out of the way for Theo to hug him next. I had called Master Remy the morning after the coronation ceremony, asking if he would be available sometime in the next week or so to come take measurements for a new set of Royal Robes. I wanted to be respectful of his schedule after all.

“Not to mention,” Master Remy continued, “that I’ll need the time to actually create the outfits.”

Apparently, when I had called him, he was already on his way. As he’d put it, it wasn’t presumptuous to assume that the new high queen and her king would only want the best tailor for their garments. Granted, he lived a couple days away from the palace.

He had arrived last night ready to work, but I had insisted on a good night’s sleep for everyone first.

“Technically,” Master Remy went on, leading us to the two little platforms in front of full-length mirrors, “I could have done the work from my shop since I have both your measurements, but what fun would that be?”

Theo and I chuckled as Master Remy clapped Theo on the back, then offered me his arm for balance while I stepped up onto one of the platforms.

“Besides,” Master Remy said, making eye contact with me in the mirror, “your measurements are going to be changing, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t help the grin that took over my face. Confirmation of my pregnancy had hit the news the same day as the coronation.

Master Remy kissed my hand, then shook Theo’s. “Congratulations to you both.” He ushered Theo onto the platform next to me.

“Now, I understand the importance of tradition,” Master Remy said as he meandered around the room that was basically one huge walk-in closet with hanging outfits on every wall, “but how do you feel about modernizing a bit?”

Theo’s head spun to me. “Can we do that?”

I chuckled at his excitement. I hadn’t realized how much he apparently hated the royal robes. Honestly, so did I.

“Your High Queen says you can!” I winked. Theo rolled his eyes. I’d been playing that card for three days straight as a joke.

If Theo asked if he could help me with something or if he could try a bite of my dessert, the answer was the same: “Your High Queen says you can!”

There were variations of course.

“You dare accuse your High Queen of using your toothpaste?”

“Your High Queen disagrees with your music taste.”

“Your High Queen is exceptionally pleased.”

That last one had been particularly fun in bed.

They were all in good fun, all done the more Theo seemed annoyed by it, all jokes to help me adjust to the fact that being High Queen was not a joke but my new reality. Theo clearly understood that it was helpful for me, so he kept playing along with the little game.

“Now I have some ideas…” Master Remy began as he examined a traditional royal dress.

“Master Remy?” He turned toward me as I addressed him.

“I am in a new position that is going to require me to make a million decisions ranging from trivial to possibly life-threatening every second of every day. Would you be comfortable creating a new line of royal outfits for me that are a modernized take on tradition based loosely in my personal style without me having to make any more decisions on it? I trust your taste in fashion implicitly.”

Theo raised his eyebrows, head swiveling toward Master Remy. “Uh, me too, please.”

Master Remy raised an eyebrow at Theo. “Uh, me too, please?” he repeated disapprovingly.

His gaze shifted to me. “I suppose you’ll be working on his public speaking.”

“Technically,” Theo interrupted, “we’re not in public.”

Master Remy smiled. “Point for the king. And to answer your question, my dear,” he returned his attention to me, “it would be my honor to create a new wardrobe for you both.”

“Thank you,” Theo and I said in unison.

Master Remy startled at our identical words.

“Cute,” he smiled. “Now, despite my earlier comment, I will actually need to take both your measurements again, especially you, Queen of a soon-to-be prince or princess. May I?”

I motioned Master Remy over. “I did call for our Betas. Do you mind if we do some business while you take our measurements?”

“Of course, my dear,” he said as he extended a measuring tape. “I’ll start with you, so you can sit down, King Theodore.”

“Please,” my mate said as he stepped off the platform and sat on the couch. “Theodore is just fine.”

“Oh, good,” Master Remy said as he measured my waist, then pulled out the tape to where it might be at varying stages of the pregnancy. “I didn’t want to call you ‘king’ anyway, but formalities and all.”

I laughed loudly at his impertinence. “I suppose you don’t want to call me Queen Violet either?” I joked, though I never intended to require that of him.

“Don’t be silly,” he replied, measuring my shoulders. “You’ve always been my little queen.”

He winked at me, and I smiled, remembering the years as a child of waiting in his shop while he tailored my father’s suits. We had a lot of history between us.

I looked over his head into the full-length mirror as a comfortable silence fell over the room. I stared at the reflection of my forehead, the bare skin still foreign after all those months with the glowing band along it.

Theo and I had woken the morning after the coronation to bare foreheads for the first time since our wedding. The current working theory was that they had been an omen that we were to be the next royals, a symbol we no longer needed once the true crowns were placed atop our heads.

We worried that people would twist the change into meaning the Goddess had retracted her blessing. With everything we had to do, we had decided it was an issue we would handle once it came up.

I fingered my token hanging at my collarbone as a knock sounded on the door. “Come in,” I called.

Kincaid entered before Dahlia. He was technically now High Beta before all other Betas in the country, followed closely by Dahlia as a Royal Beta.

That slight distinction meant things like Kincaid entered rooms before Dahlia and had the final say on Beta matters. He had already asked my permission to revise such traditions, and we had agreed that he would present a specific proposal to me at his earliest convenience.

Until then, they would follow tradition.

“Perfect timing,” I said, motioning to them to sit on the couch as Dahlia closed the door behind her. As expected, they ignored my invitation, opting instead to stand in front of the door, hands folded in front of them. “Let’s begin.”