The Dominant Species
9

I remembered when I was seventeen and my parents sat me down to talk. We were sitting in one of the many huge rooms in the castle. The castle was so big that it took me months to explore it when I was sixteen. I had decided that I lived in a wonderful place, rich with history and interesting rooms and I explored every inch of it. I documented everything I could in rock, so I would remember the different stories from the generations that used to live here and so I would finally be able to memorize an outline of the castle. And I did.

“What’s up?” I asked my parents.

“Your father and I have been thinking about something for a while,” Mom began. “We don’t want to be king and queen anymore,” Dad said.

I was shocked.

“Come again?” I said.

“We want to explore the oceans and land,” Mom told me. “We want to know as much as possible.”

“You want to read from all of our libraries?”

“Yes, but we also want to explore for ourselves.”

“Why?”

“For the same reason you explored the castle, honey. We replace the world fascinating and it has been our passion to learn as much about it as possible for the last few years.” “Why can’t you learn and stay king and queen?” I asked, desperately.

“Because we don’t have nearly as much time as we would like to explore and learn,” Dad explained.

“Besides, there’s another reason,” Mom continued.

“I’m listening,” I said.

“Your father and I have shared this passion for years and we want to learn and explore together.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We want to bond and get closer.”

“Is your marriage in trouble?” I asked.

“No,” Dad said. “Everything’s great. But we want it to be better.”

After I developed feelings for Alastair I understood why they wanted their relationship to be the best and strongest it could be.

“So, what do we do?” I asked.

“When you’re of age we will step down and you can take over as queen,” Dad explained.

“What do you think?” Mom asked. My heart stopped.

My eyes were wide.

“No,” I responded immediately. “Why not?” Mom asked.

“I can’t be queen.”

“Why would you say that?” Dad asked.

“I don’t have what it takes.”

“Yes, you do,” Mom responded. “You learned a lot about how to be a queen and we will teach you more. By the time you reach the age of twenty you will be great.”

I wasn’t sure.

“I don’t think so,” I argued. “I don’t want to be queen. I’m afraid I will do something that will hurt one of my subjects or the entire kingdom. It’s a huge responsibility and I don’t feel ready for it.”

But I felt better knowing that my parents believed in me. I wanted to believe in myself. “Do you feel like I’m ready?” I asked.

“Not yet,” Mom admitted. “But you still have time and we will help you get ready.”

I had very little hope that they would be right, even though most of me thought I would fail.