Two weeks after the coronation, the kingdom had finally settled.
Atheline had learned that "settled" was a word politicians used when disasters became organized enough to fit into schedules.
His life had become remarkably predictable. He wakes up at almost the same time, eats breakfast with Lilith, attends meetings, signs documents, attends more meetings, reviews reports, and then attends even more meetings.
Occasionally he would remember how blissful his life had been when he was merely the Queen's husband, the good old days. Then attend another meeting.
Atheline was beginning to suspect the true rulers of the world were not monarchs but paperwork. He truly came to respect Lilith. She handled everything on her own most of the time, he'd taken half the burden off her but it still felt like a lot to him. All the training had really not prepared him for it.
Hands-on experience really hit differently.
