Chapter Text
“I don't think anyone has noticed,” Eddie whispered to Christine.
“I think we still have to greet our new monarch,” she pointed out
They'd largely avoided showing their faces the first seven months of their marriage. There had been a few invitations they'd taken, but not many, preferring to settle and live a life free of duties they'd been bound to for so long. What it took to maintain his estate was simple compared to his previous position.
But now Jace was king, and while Christine had done some careful hiding with a mourning veil at the past king's funeral a month back, helped that Jace had zero desire to see Edward under such circumstances, there was no way to hide her face now, nor any way to avoid giving well wishes to their new king at his coronation celebration.
They'd been given precise instructions on where to sit during the ceremony, they were family after all, but Edward doubted Jace had so much as looked at them yet. Whether Jace even remembered their marriage was questionable.
“I suppose we should get it over with,” said Eddie.
“It's not as if he can argue at this stage.” She laid a hand over her stomach, the curve still small, but unmistakably a pregnancy.
Eddie smiled. For so long he'd planned to let his line die, but now that they were expecting he couldn't be happier. Christine had breathed new life into him and she'd bloomed into happiness at his side, as kind as ever, but laughing louder and smiling readily. Their home was a happy one, and while they were still in tentative plans about how to best repair Edward's reputation, Christine at his side made him think the task possible.
They made their way to the King, waiting patiently as he received well wishes from another set of nobles. When they walked away Edward and Christine stepped forward and perhaps Eddie's grin was smug.
They bowed and curtsied to their new king. “Your majesty,” he smiled through the flash in Jace's eyes. “We come with respect and well wishes on this happy day. I know your reign will be wise and fair.” His free hand reached to pat Christine's where it hung on his arm.
“We wish all the best for the future of the kingdom under your rule,” Christine added and the Prince’s eyes turned to her for the first time.
Jace blinked. Then his brow furrowed, then his mouth opened about to speak but no words came out.
Eddie glanced to Christine and her sweet smile was a fake one. A beautiful fake, but Eddie knew what a real one looked like.
“We will not distract you, there are so many you need to see today,” said Christine.
Eddie and Christine made their exit, but as they stepped away the demanding voice of his new King cut through him like a knife.
“How?”
Eddie turned back to see Jace’s anger plain in his face. “Perhaps I'll tell you someday, but I think you're a little busy right now.”
Without waiting for an answer Christine tugged him away and Eddie laughed as they ducked into the crowd.
“What do you think the odds are we can never tell him?” he asked.
“I think we better not or he'll find a way to charge you with treason.”
“Then we will never tell him,” he promised as they came to a stop hidden among other guests.
“Our story is not for him.”
No, it wasn't. Eddie pressed a kiss into Christine's elegant hairstyle and knew it was best that way. They'd found each other, that was all that mattered.