“What’s going on?” Matthias asked his parents as he walked into the parlor of their suite.

His mother and father were sitting a half-meter apart on the couch. His uncle was also present, standing off to the side. His father held his arms crossed and stared gravely at Matthias. The face expression his mother gave him, one of great loathing, alarmed him. Clearly, something terrible had occurred or they had uncovered some disturbing secret. It couldn’t have been something he had done, had it?

He had been playing his part perfectly. Pandora was opening up to him more with each passing day, and she had kissed him too. Though he was greatly concerned with whatever the situation he and his family were in, he smiled when he thought of that tender moment between them.

His Uncle Martel spoke up for them. “A family meeting has been called.”

“For what purpose?” Matthias asked. “And say something specific!” He stared firmly at both parents.

“Don’t speak to us in that manner!” His father scolded him.

Matthias nodded respectfully. Oftentimes both of his parents spoke to him as if he were a child, though he was twenty-two. But it wasn’t his place to talk back. They were his parents, and as long as he was under their authority, he would respect their wishes no matter what. Only when he married into the royal family would he be free of the Moargan household because he would be of higher station.

“My apologies,” Matthias replied.

“Good.” His father stood from the sofa. “I am not allowed to divulge information before the meeting. I wish that I could.” For a moment his father’s eye were sympathetic. “The board has requested my silence.”

“I understand.”

His uncle waved a hand to get their attention. “It’s time.”

“Let’s go to the dining hall, Matthias.” His father ushered him toward the burnished silver table in the adjoining room.

His mother Gloria followed them. Once everyone was present, they all sat down at the table, his mother and father at opposite ends and he and his uncle opposite each other. Their holoprojector was situated in the center of the table. Matthias waved his hand in front of the projector’s sensor and turned on the device. The five main divisions of the Moargan family appeared into view. The projector placed all five other groups of the family around in the air equally spaced out from one another. There were five tiny holographs of tables and the people that sat at them. Matthias struggled to remember the last time they had met in person. Most of the family preferred to meet through the Interway.

Matthias hated virtual meetings because he found them to be unnecessarily intrusive. He disliked how difficult it was for him to focus on the small faces or tell who was looking at him. The voices that came through the speakers sounded strange to him. Most of all, he hated how impersonal the meetings were.

“Since all are present, we can begin now,” his Great Uncle Edan announced. He was one of the oldest members of the family present. “Matthias, please stand.”

Oh, this is about me. All about me, he thought. Now, he understood why his parents refused to talk about the meeting beforehand. It was supposed to be a surprise so that he had no time to prepare beforehand. They underestimated his proficiency with improvisational speaking.

Matthias stood as his great uncle had requested, and he bowed before his family. He would remain silent until he was asked to speak.

“We have been informed of your plans for a charity with Princess Pandora. It appears as though none of us were told of these plans prior to you promising her majesty a copious amount of our money. Is this true?” His great uncle asked.

Matthias looked around at the judgmental faces of his family members… if he could even refer to them as such. He turned to the real faces of his parents. They both watched him with empty faces and disappointment. He should have known everyone would find out so quickly. He had been watchful for the Moargan spies since he arrived at the castle. Clearly, he hadn’t been watchful enough.

“It is true. Although, I wouldn’t use the word copious. It’s a small amount in comparison to the magnitude of our wealth. I thought that the goal here was her hand in marriage. That was why I thought I would be supported in this decision,” Matthias said.

“May I interject?” His father asked.

“Go ahead, Delano,” their great uncle replied.

His father stood from his chair and kept his eyes on Matthias. “How could you be so careless, Matthias? You might have your reasons, but you should have known better than promising something that will affect the entire family.”

Matthias clenched his fists. “I was told to convince her to marry me by any means necessary. The investment in the princess’s charity is a small amount. Think of it as an investment in the family’s future. I’m closer than ever to her—”

“You didn’t ask to speak,” someone interrupted. Matthias couldn’t tell who had spoken because no one stood up.

Though he was only defending himself, Matthias had broken the rules of their family meetings. “I apologize.”

His grand uncle stood. “You will be given a chance to explain yourself after we thoroughly discuss the error of your ways.” He turned to Delano. “You may continue, unless you are finished.”

“I don’t have anything else to say,” his father said.

Soon after his mother stood up before the family. “I was under the impression that you were doing this for us and not for you. Everything that we have done for you to give you this opportunity was never just for you. I don’t understand why you thought it acceptable to make a decision like this without at least your parents’ consent.”

How he hated the way his parents were so comfortable in criticizing him in front of everyone. He wished they would have brought this to his attention prior to this ridiculous meeting. He should have asked for permission, but the deal with the king was sprung on him suddenly. And because of how unexpected the deal had been, Matthias didn’t have time to run any of the agreements he made with the king by his parents and certainly not by the rest of the family. He wanted to do something more for Pandora than give her gifts like flowers and jewelry. While she was appreciative of such trivial things, that was no way to impress her. The plan he and the king had made was rather brilliant and working out much better than he’d ever imagined. So far, it didn’t seem like his family was aware of the deal in its entirety, only the donation, and it would remain that way for the entirety of the meeting. Matthias didn’t need to add to his awaiting punishment.

His mother continued. “We never raised you to keep secrets from us. You have brought shame to your father and me. It was someone else who told us of your plan to donate money to the princess. You never mentioned it to us! Don’t you understand how that makes us look? And why would you think they would need our money?” She returned to her chair, which meant that she was finished speaking.

His grand uncle spoke next. “We have drafted a few questions we would like you to answer before you are allowed to defend yourself.”

“That’s fine,” Matthias said. No, nothing about this situation was fine, but this had been the way his family always handled problems and disputes. It held the family together longer than the current royal dynasty.

“How much money were you planning on giving to the princess for her charity? You may answer now, Matthias.”

He straightened his posture. “I never clarified an amount with the princess yet.” I’m surprised you were unaware of this since your spies are always watching me, he wanted to add. But that comment wouldn’t have been appropriate to say in front of his superior. “I was thinking about ten million, but I never mentioned that amount to her or anyone actually.”

Matthias remained on his feet as the other five groups present virtually talked among each other. He noticed they were all muted. Perhaps, his family didn’t have enough to do in their own lives. All of this over a small amount of money. Their private meetings went on about ten minutes.

An aunt of his stood up this time. “Did you consider what we would think before you promised money to an outsider?”

“No. Pandora— her majesty,” Matthias corrected, “isn’t an outsider. She’ll be family one day soon.”

Her eyes narrowed sharply. “The king will never see us as part of the family truly. You will be recognized by him, but the rest of us will be seen as separate from them. Lesser than.”

“You don’t know that for certain,” Matthias replied, hoping to calm her anger. He hoped that the king wouldn’t recognize the rest of his family as part of the royal family. He hoped it was only him and maybe his immediate family. He wanted to have more control over his own life. Then he wouldn’t be regularly forced into interrogation by his entire family.

His aunt seemed offended by his comment. “Always remember where you came from. Never forget that you’re doing this for our name. This has little to do with you. You are nothing without us. You were just fortunate that the king was drawn to you out of the rest of our eligible sons.”

“That’s enough!” His great uncle interrupted. “Anita, sit down right now. You are finished speaking and are forbidden to speak for the rest of the meeting.”

His Aunt Anita huffed and crossed her arms. “Very well.”

“Now, do we have any other questions, or should we let Matthias have the floor?” After his great uncle had snapped at his aunt, everyone else’s faces appeared stunned and their voices quiet. “Since no one is speaking up, Matthias, it is your turn.”

Finally. He could say something that might dissolve this nonsense. “You all know I’ve always tried to do what was best for our family. I need not mention the sacrifices I had to make to be selected by the king nor the risks that I’m taking right now. My life hangs in the balance between the will of the king and the will of my family. I genuinely believe that donating a sum of ten million to her majesty’s charity will be what’s best for the family. When I mentioned a donation to her, she became overjoyed. She has softened to the idea of marriage to me, primarily because of my supporting her charity work. If we act as though her efforts are important to us, she will marry me and look to us for support when the king doesn’t agree with her.”

Matthias hated how transactional he made marrying Pandora sound. But that’s exactly what their marriage was in the eyes of his family: a transaction. A doorway to power.

He continued. “If we support her here, marriage will come soon. Who cares about ten million? That’s an insignificant amount. You can take it out of my inheritance if it makes you feel better. I genuinely think this decision is necessary to further along my relationship with her majesty. It’s crucial. I do greatly apologize for not bringing this up to you all before I mentioned it to her. That was not intentional. I so wholeheartedly believe in this that I automatically assumed we would all agree. However, I understand that is not the case.” Matthias bowed before them. “That is all I have.” He wanted to keep his words as brief as possible. These meetings had a tendency to drag on and on.

“Thank you for your time,” his uncle said. “You may leave as we converse and make our final decision on this matter.”

Matthias left the table quickly and retired to his room. The high stress levels he faced throughout the meeting had drained his energy. What he needed now was sleep alone.

* * * *

In her bedroom, Pandora rested her chin on her hand and stared at the clear touchscreen on her desk. Though she hadn’t yet heard back from her father about opening the castle, she decided to go ahead and prepare for the possibility of him giving her his permission. She had spent the last hour trying to come up with good questions to ask her visitors. She wanted to ask them questions that showed she cared deeply for them, but they also needed to be as brief as possible. She only had one day a week, and her father hadn’t yet clarified how many hours the doors would remain open. This only mattered if he said yes.

She hoped the conversation Matthias had with her father was fruitful. The fact that someone from the nobility was taking her side was good because maybe her father would be more likely to consider it. She hated relying on someone other than herself for this, but Matthias offered his help. He had his motives, but if the end goal benefited her people, why should she care about why he was going out of his way for her.

Taking her eyes off the touchscreen, Pandora looked over her shoulder at Lia and Kara who were making her bed. They put crisp linen sheets over her mattress and a new pearly white comforter that glistened in the light.

Lia looked up at Pandora. “Perhaps you should take a break from that. If your father hasn’t said yes yet, why rush your planning? I don’t want you to get overwhelmed.”

Pandora turned her swivel chair around. “I probably should. But I want to make sure the moment he says yes that I am fully prepared. I know he’s expecting that of me.”

“How do you know?” Lia placed her hands on her hips. “Have you asked him?”

“Do I need to? We both know how my father is about stuff like this. Like for example, if I were to ask my father for my own ship, his first question would be, ‘do you know how to fly.’” Pandora huffed. “He’s very stubborn.”

“Just like you.”

“I know that. That’s why I have to be prepared for any question he might have about my outreach to the people.”

Kara waved her hand. “Actually, I have a question.”

Pandora turned to her. “Sure.”

“Are you planning on allowing whoever into the castle on a first come first serve basis?” Kara asked.

“In a way, I suppose. Except they won’t be allowed to wait outside the castle. I will set up an application on the Interway that everyone can fill out. The castle’s security will determine those safe to allow inside and those who aren’t based on their records. Then everyone will be put on a waiting list,” Pandora answered.

Kara’s eyes widened. “It sounds like you have this all figured out.”

Pandora covered her face with her hands. “Not at all. I must discuss the security issues with my father and our guards. And I haven’t yet figured out what questions I should ask! It’s a disaster!” She swiveled her chair to face her desk. “Do either of you have any ideas?”

“Pandora,” Lia began, “you need to write the questions. They’re supposed to be your questions. I promise they will appreciate any concern you show them. It could be as simple as asking them how they’re doing or how you can help them. Why complicate it?”

Pandora lay her head on the desk. “I don’t know. I’ve never done something like this.”

“You need a break,” Lia reminded her. “I’m going to draw you a bath. Right now. Come, Kara.”

Her two handmaidens went into the bathroom. She could hear them turn the water on for her. They always knew what she needed exactly when she needed it. She waited for a few minutes until they called her into the bathroom. They added her favorite oils and salts to the water. She thanked them, and both Lia and Kara left to go home to be with their families for the evening.

She undressed in front of her tub and left her shorts and shirt in a pile. She touched the water with her fingertips. It was the perfect temperature. She sat on the edge of her tub and put her legs in first. The ivory marble of her tub was too cold to sit on for long. She sat down in the tub and laid back. The water surrounded her with its warmth, and as time passed, she began to calm down. With her mind clear, she could think about something other than opening the castle. She needed a break from that uncertainty.

Her mind wandered more freely than it had in a long time. She thought of what she might have in the future. Maybe she did want a family. A part of her did wish to have one in the far future, although she wasn’t too concerned with that currently.

She saw herself walking into the kitchen. At the round breakfast table in the corner, her little daughter waited for her. Her daughter had dark brown hair and big blue eyes. Pandora hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. Hearing food sizzling over the stove, Pandora turned around. Her husband was cooking breakfast for her in his nightclothes. Silently, she approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked away from his cooking and instead looked at her with his blue eyes. He hugged her and told her good morning.

She saw Hale in her daydream. Why was she seeing him again? She had decided to let him go. He never wanted to have a family anyway. The man in her life who did wish to have a family with her was Matthias. She sank her head under the bath water to wash her thoughts away. Every image of Hale in that daydream, she replaced with Matthias.

* * * *

Matthias heard a low voice. At first, he couldn’t determine what the voice was saying to him. With the passing seconds, he realized someone was calling his name. He rubbed his eyes and blinked them a few times, his vision incredibly blurry. He faintly saw someone hovering above him. Another blink later and his vision cleared. He saw his mother standing beside him.

“What’s going on?” Matthias asked.

“A decision has been made,” she replied coldly.

He sat up on his bed. He realized he must have fallen asleep. “Do I need to go back to the meeting?”

“No, your father and I were instructed to tell you. Come into the parlor when you’re ready.” His mother left his room and shut the door loudly.

That was strange to him. Most times his grand uncle would announce the decisions. Perhaps, everyone had to leave early. Regardless, Matthias preferred not having to participate in the meeting again. He despised every aspect of it.

Matthias got up from the bed. He stopped in front of his mirror to straighten his clothes and adjust his hair. Then he went to the parlor where his mother and father were waiting for him.

He sat down across from them one of their soda’s. “I am assuming they voted against the donation.”

“You won the majority vote.” His father paused. “But only by sixty percent.”

“I see.” Matthias made fists with his hands. “I appreciate your telling me the results. Have a goodnight.” He made sure to leave before his parents could respond. They probably perceived his behavior as disrespectful, but it was better than him acting out in the anger that he held inside.

He didn’t retreat to his room this time. He left their suite entirely. Thankfully it was late, and the halls were empty. When he reached the end of the hallway, he sank to the floor and held his legs against his chest. He hid his face between his knees as he cried. His pants absorbed all his tears before they could reach the floor.

He knew he wouldn’t convince them. Hoping even for a moment that he would get enough votes was stupid. He needed 80% to get an approval. From the looks he garnered during the meeting, he knew what the result would be, but that didn’t make his loss less disappointing. What would he tell Pandora? If he told her that he couldn’t help her with starting her charity, she wouldn’t believe he was a man of his word. That was what made his loss painful. Things were turning around for him and their relationship, but because of his family, the progress he had made was in jeopardy.

Matthias needed to fix this. He couldn’t go back on his word. Somehow, he would find a way to get the money. First, he needed to speak with the king. He would go first thing in the morning.