A Chance for the King

King Valentine of Thallasia was a coveted man. His royal blood, the His country's wealth and her beauty saw to that. He had been an angelic child and an incorrigible, precocious adolescent. There had been a time, in his early twenties, when his reputation for being a wild man had deterred all but the most seasoned women. At twenty-eight, he had become engaged to a very presentable blue-blood heiress with many virtues. He had been pressured to prepare for her due to his father's failing health, and he had liked her well enough. She had met all the court's requirements; she was well-born, well-built, and knew how to mix with the elite of society and observe royal protocol. Above all, she had made him look good. The night before, he'd broken off their three-year engagement, and she hadn't hidden her pity as she returned his mother's ring, kissed him on the cheek, and told him to take care of himself. His ex-fiancée had asked him to wait a day before announcing the breakup to give her time to return to her father's estate. She'd said she didn't want to deal with the press and preferred to leave the details to him so that, given the sensitivity of the information, he could decide what he wanted to reveal and what he didn't. He didn't know yet whether she had been compassionate or cowardly. In any case, he had left, and the Kingdom of Liesendaach's charity polo weekend was in full swing. He could have also claimed an imaginary crisis of some kind and left that morning, and King Theodosius, his host and friend since childhood, would have understood. However, he had decided to stay alone, and Theo, as if sensing something, didn't leave his side. They had managed to find a relatively quiet place to watch the polo match and have a conversation. Theo had undoubtedly orchestrated the whole thing, and Valentine wondered how long it would take him to ask the questions. Perhaps he should anticipate this. Otherwise, he would have to compliment Theo on the beautiful gardens and the well-kept playing fields, and Theo had surely heard the same thing at least a dozen times that morning. Theo's palace was the most beautiful of the four kingdoms in the area. King Casimir of Byzenmaach would often call it, with a smile, the most ornate, and King Augustus of Arun would chime in to mutter that it was pretentious. In truth, their palaces were gray, gloomy, and austere in comparison, and his own couldn't compare to Theo's, despite all the improvements he'd made recently. –I'm not engaged anymore. Theo didn't even blink. "I imagined him apologizing this morning and leaving before breakfast without the ring on his finger. My condolences, I quite liked him." –That's not much to say. "I never thought you liked it that much." Theo shrugged and turned to watch the game. "What are you going to do?" It was a good question, but the answer didn't make it out of his throat. They fell silent, and his childhood friend looked at him as if he had a target on his back. "Let it go," Valentine demanded. "I know that look, and you're up to something." –I'm not up to anything, I'm just thinking. -In what? –Have you noticed that you and Angelique Córdova are never less than 30 meters apart? Is it choreography? Do you rehearse?