Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

You were proof of something that many people didn’t want to admit. A queen doesn’t need a king in order to successfully rule a kingdom. If anything you actually proved that a queen can do better without a king, your kingdom has never been more prosperous.

After the death of your husband you were left to rule alone. All of your advisors thought that you should marry, the people are used to kings having the last say, they never thought that your subjects would be willing to listen to just the queen. At first they didn’t. There were always people ready to start a revolution, you had to start having extra guards on rotation, and there was an increase in arrests during the first year.

Then slowly they saw how your decisions bettered the kingdom. They saw how even the lowest class was flourishing, how the lowest class started to merge into the middle class, how poverty affected a lower percentage of people. It was something that was believed to be impossible but all you had done was change the way taxes were collected and put laws in place to protect the less fortunate. Of course that angered the nobility, they didn’t want to pay taxes, but when they realized that the kingdom as a whole was becoming more influential and powerful which meant they were also gaining money they relaxed a little.

Despite the kingdom running better without a king your advisors were still pestering you to marry. Despite it being years since your first husband had passed they still wanted you to marry. They had different reasons though. You and your first husband had never had heirs, meaning that all of your hard work would likely be unwound when someone who wasn’t raised with your ideals took the throne. So you gave in.

You didn’t want to give in, didn't want to remarry and risk losing the power you’ve gained. You know it’s necessary though. Rulers of other kingdoms don’t respect you without a king at your side, the risk of invasion is always present because they view you as weak. So you set up a challenge. You will marry the man who can string your deceased husband’s bow and shoot through twelve axes.

An impossible task.

Your advisors told you to be sensible, to choose a challenge that’s actually possible. You didn’t want to make it easy. A man who can best another in combat doesn’t automatically make a good husband. A man who can treat your husband’s bow with the respect it deserves but still have enough power to go through the axes shows someone who is strong but knows how to handle things with grace and sensitivity. The perfect husband to rule at your side.

The day of the competition your maids help you dress in your finest gown, making sure you look perfect from head to toe. The competition started at dawn and went through to dusk. Hours upon hours, man upon man. All failed. Some failed to simply string your deceased husband’s bow and others didn’t manage to shoot through the axes. By the end of the day you found yourself hardly paying attention to the competition.

The crowd was thinning, you yourself were preparing to leave when the last man stepped up. He caught your attention, you recognize him as one of your knights. One of the only knights who didn’t have a problem with you ruling on your own from the beginning. He was always in your corner. Simon strung the bow with ease, his large hands moving carefully over the bow. His form was perfect as he drew the bow back, an arrow notched. You watch with bated breath as the arrow soars, piercing through all twelve axes cleanly.

You can hardly breathe as he sets the bow down and turns to face you. You can hardly hear the gasps that ring out from the small crowd. You don’t even notice one of your maids grabbing your arm excitedly. All you can focus on is the man who’s slowly approaching you, his blue eyes piercing yours. When he gets to the base of your throne he bows deeply.

“Your majesty.” He murmurs, lifting his head just enough to look at you as he bows. He stays there, waiting for your instruction. Waiting for you to process your new engagement.