"Darling, wake up." Eya ran her hand over George's cheek, tracing his jawline until she reached his dark hair. "It's a beautiful day," she said, a smile dancing at her lips as she twirled a straight strand of hair around her finger. Hope danced through her eyes as she sat on the edge of the bed, shifting to rub her husband's shoulder.
"Eya, please," George muttered, pulling his shoulder away and shifting the blanket to cover the area instead. "I am exhausted and have hardly slept. My sleep is burdened, and my week has been as stressful as this forsaken headache that refuses to leave me." He groaned and sat up, bringing his hand to his forehead to rub below his hairline. Pushing his hair back, he shook his head and closed his eyes. Each breath was deep, slow, and deliberate, trying to ground itself to the moment.
"I know it has. If you would just let me-"
"Let you what, Eya?" George's head snapped towards his wife, and he straightened, his gaze darkening for a moment. "Let you do my work for me? I did not ask for any of this, and I will certainly not place my burden of ruling on your shoulders," he spoke, rising from the bed and throwing the blanket to the side. "I have told you this over and over. How many more times must I say it? I have enough on my plate, yet you refuse to listen and choose to aggravate me further."
"You cannot go through life believing you must have the solution to every problem. It is impossible for any one man! Even a whole council of men could not find the answers to every challenge. But it is easier to bear the weight when you allow others to help you," Eya insisted, following George to the window. She pressed her hand to his back, blinking her lashes to push away the moistness that came with the same reminder she tried so often to give her husband, and yet he always refused to hear. Was she not enough? Did he not trust her to carry this burden with him?
George stiffened at her touch but kept his place, his gaze wandering to the world outside the palace window.
"Look."
The royal city spanned around the glistening palace, alive with the morning sun that illuminated the streets and canopies of the shops opening for the day. The light bounced off the reflective, crystal-like surfaces that made up the city and palace itself, while levitating vehicles raced through the pathways in the far distance. The walkways closest to the palace gates vibrated with the sounds of laughter and voices shouting across the ways while shop owners tried to entice the early birds to buy their goods. Children dashed around the morning crowds as a dog raced after them.
"Look at everything. The children, the people. That used to be us," George sighed as he placed his hands on the windowsill. His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes once more. "We didn't have a care in the world. We had fun. We ran free. Especially you..."
"George," Eya's voice softened, her arm moving to wrap around his side as she leaned closer. "It wasn't so free for me. That was us because of you, because you had been given choices only royalty could afford. And it is better that we are nothing like that now. I remember all too well, and any one of them would love to be in the position you're in right now. Life isn't simple for anyone, my dear, trust me. We are far above what they will ever be, and you must understand that. Do not wish for what was when we have all this now."
For a moment, George afforded Eya a gentle look before pulling away and walking towards his dresser. He threw the doors open and began to pull out his royal garb. Every motion was slow, and he often paused to rub his head. Eya watched as she picked up her hairbrush and ran it through her light blonde hair, gazing over him as he went from a disheveled man to a proud standing king with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"You look quite handsome, my love," she complimented, her smile warming her face as she moved to his side at the door. "A king ready for his day. I'll accompany you-"
"No." George suddenly stiffened and sucked in a breath, his hand resting on the door handle. "No," he softened his tone, looking at Eya with exhausted eyes. "You shouldn't have to listen to my boring meetings. You're a queen, not a king. Go out, enjoy the city, take time to enjoy everything." He hesitated, pulling his gaze away from the pained expression Eya gave him.
"All I do is see the city! George, how many times must I just go into the city or stare at these walls? I am going mad!" Eya took a step away and threw her hands in the air with a scoff. "All you are is distant, never around, and pushing me away when all I am trying to do is help you! What happened to you? You're like a different person! You can't even afford time for your own daughter!"
"Enough!" George's voice reverberated against the walls. "How dare you bring Kia into this. I give her every moment I have free. You knew what my life would become when you married me. You knew I would be a king and the responsibilities that holds, and yet all you can do is complain and push me when I am already at my wits end! Is this what being a wife and a queen is to you?"
"What about me, George? Huh? Where is the time you give me? Where is your responsibility as husband?" Eya bit her words back as her cheeks flushed dark against her light tan skin.
"My responsibility is to my kingdom, this great Mother Planet, first and foremost!" His eyes flashed as he yanked the door open, his accusatory gaze pinned on his wife. "Need I remind you we are the epitome of power that the other five planets rely on. You know that well. I have to hold all of us up, and I have to give our people the freedom and respect my father stole from them. After them comes our daughter. And then, only then, do you-"
Before George could finish, Eya shoved past him, slamming her shoulder against his arm as she strode down the hall. Her shoes clicked against the floor, echoing in the silence caused by her sudden departure. For a moment, she hesitated before turning to face that man she now felt repulsed by.
"You say I knew what to expect, but never once were you as cold to me as you are now. Never once did the expectations include turning your wife into some- some trophy, good for nothing more than everyone to look at!" She pointed her finger towards him, her nose scrunching as she fought the heat burning against the back of her eyes. "You're as bad as everyone else!"
Eya's hand tightened into a fist and she sucked in a gulp of air. Spinning on her heel, she stormed around the corner, the pain of her own words burning in her throat. Was he truly as bad as everyone else? As bad as her father who had abandoned her mother? As bad as all the monarchs who ruled before, forcing their wives to do nothing except sit pretty as though they were incapable of taking care of the kingdom? Maybe... maybe she'd been blinded by her love for him. And yet... Eya couldn't bring herself to believe George was the same when he'd walked among the commoners and chosen her to be by his side. He'd shared a bed with her, and they had a beautiful daughter who he treated with such love.