Amy was at a loss as she stared down at the headlines on her phone. From her peripheral vision, she could see that AJ was sitting stoically, staring at the screen in front of him. He had been doing that for the past thirty minutes. She did not have the heart to tell him that it was clear he was not working but was simply lost in thought.
Slowly, she read the article that had been updated a few minutes ago," Out Hearts Are Broken- The country of Leland is now set to go deep in mourning for the next ten days as our beloved King William has died peacefully this morning. As messages of mourning arrive from all over the world for our beloved sovereign, King Aiden is already on his way to the palace to bid his beloved grandfather goodbye and also to lead the tribute to the Nation's father, before he addresses the people. Many await his presence at the Airport to pay him their respects as well as sympathies."
'Meanwhile, Prince Nicolas has issued a statement," We mourn profoundly the passing of my father and request everyone to not address anyone else other than the Late King William as our King."
Amy could only shake her head. What was wrong with Prince Nicholas? Why would he tell everyone not to address anyone else as King at a time like this? After the passing of a ruler, Leland needed stability the most. Any hint of unrest and political instability could endanger the sovereignty of the nation. Also, AJ had been the crown prince since he was eight when Prince Nicholas had given up his right to the throne so there was no question of not being addressed as the King.
But considering the fact that she had been cornered into signing a prenuptial agreement with AJ and the discussion that she had heard about his inheritance, it seemed there was some disagreement brewing about the throne.
However, even if there was, she knew there was no more perfect time and no more the worst time. The coming days were going to be a challenge for AJ and she had no idea how she was going to be of help to him.
Sighing, she turned her head towards the lawyer who was responsible for ultimately dragging her here. Noel Bing. This man seemed to be one of the staff that was usually following the prince but over the past few weeks whenever she had met AJ, Noel Bing had been by his side. Either the man was the only friend AJ had or if he was inclined the other way then the only lover. She had not been able to decide that yet though judging by that one kiss, he would be exceptional either way.
Unfastening her seat belt, she approached Noel and questioned," Is he in shock? Shouldn't you be consoling him? I don't know what I am doing here."
Noel jerked his head in his friend's direction and then stared at Amy. He did not know why AJ had ordered him to bring her along. With the ice that he had been giving off, one would assume maybe he wanted Amy to console him but even she did not dare to approach him.
"You are his fiancé as far as the Queen is concerned. So you need to be there. Why don't you go to him now?"
As Noel gently pushed Amy in AJ's direction, she felt at a loss. Even she was having trouble accepting that Grandfather William was dead! How was she supposed to console him?
Under the watchful eyes of Noel and the other assistant staff, Amy sat next to AJ. Even though he did not turn his head, she could see from the slight stiffening of his shoulders that he knew that she sat next to him. And yet, words remained stuck in her throat as she tried to think of what to say. She knew the platitudes and all those words that one spoke. She had heard enough of them after her own mother's death. But no words had been able to ease the pain and loss.
With no words to say, Amy did the only thing that she could think of, she held his hand between both her hands. His fingers curled around her palm and she watched as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His hands were ice cold and she was sure that she could feel their slight tremble.
They spent the next sixty minutes like this as AJ closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat until the pilot announced their arrival not at the Leland International Airport but at a small military airport.
It was then that AJ finally spoke," We will be landing outside of Leland due to the massive crowds there. I do not wish to introduce you to the masses at this time but Grandmother would derive comfort from your presence. You will be leaving the aircraft as part of my assistance team."
Amy nodded in understanding and slowly tried to extract her hands from his, "I have some of my formal wear in my bag. I'll go and change into that."
But instead of letting go of her hands, AJ clutched it tighter for a moment before letting go," One more minute."
Slowly, he leaned into her making her wonder what he was up to now. Surely, he was not thinking of doing anything at a time like this. Just before she would have pushed him away, she felt the coldness of metal against her skin and he moved back. Looking down, she noticed the small circular band against her skin. It was inscribed with two 'A's and on the inside was her birthday.
"Place this on my finger." AJ showed a similar but slightly wider ring in the box and extended his hand. She wanted to protest the need for such a symbolic object but he simply cut her off," It is needed for the future. Put it on me and let the world know I belong to someone."