41

Margot had left the table without saying another word, and this time, none of the girls stopped her.

The rest of the day passed in a painful blur, and Margot couldn't bring herself to care that she couldn't answer the question the teacher had asked her in History class.

He had looked so sad. His eyes were so vulnerable in his acceptance, as if he had always known that this would happen. As if he had always expected to have happiness dangled like a carrot in front of his eyes and never achieved. Margot knew him well enough to know that he felt being the King was limitative in terms of having a real personal life, and she had just rubbed salt into the wound viciously. She knew that, and she hated that she knew that.

Deep down, she had truly convinced herself that he didn't love her as anything more than a friend, she had validated her own fears and insecurities that way so she could forget that she would be affecting his emotions too. Now, there could be no denying it, his eyes had spoken volumes of truth and Margot couldn't pretend anymore.

"Margot, dear, are you alright? You barely said a word all class." Truthfully, Belle had already been told what had happened by Roze, but she was sure that there was more to it than what the blonde had known.

"I... I'm sorry, Belle." Margot murmured, not making eye contact with her.

Belle's eyes softened concernedly as she ushered the girl to take a seat, pouring her a cup of tea. "You don't need to apologize, everyone has bad days."

"No, I do need to apologize." Margot said, finally looking up, her grey eyes shattered with guilt. "I hurt Ben. I..."

"I'm sure it's not that bad. What happened?"

Margot paused. "He overheard me saying that no matter how I felt for him I would never date him." The last words sounded more like a whimper. "I thought... I hoped he didn't feel that way for me, but Evie was right."

"Oh." Belle grabbed Margot's hand, rubbing her thumb along the top of it. "Do you not feel that way for him then? Because you don't need to feel guilty for not reciprocating."

"No! The opposite." Margot insisted, feeling her eyes well up with tears. "That's the problem!"

Belle's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared at the distraught girl. "I don't really understand. How is that a problem?"

"Because I'm not good enough!" Margot replied emphatically. "I can't be a Queen. I'm not... I'm not enough."

"Oh, sweetie." Belle pulled the girl into a hug, running her fingers through her hair. "I can assure you, all of us think you're more than enough, especially Ben. You're kind, and gentle, and strong."

"No, I'm not." Margot denied in a dead voice. "I'm selfish and a coward, because I know I'm wrong, but I won't change because I'm too scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"To wake up and find out this was all just a dream. That I'm still the lowly tramp girl from the Isle, nothing more than an indentured servant with no spine being abused by her mother." Margot muttered.

"You're not a tramp, Margot, and you definitely don't have no spine. In case you've forgotten, you stood up to my husband the first time you met him for Ben's sake. I think that was pretty brave of you." Belle soothed in a soft voice.

Margot left the hug, despite how warm and nice it was, and stared at the ground. "I'm just... not entirely sure of who I am, so how can I be good enough?"

"Margot, you're not limited by your past, you've chosen to become a lovely, independent young lady."

"I just can't prove that to myself, though."

Unfortunately, the bell rang before Belle could answer, and Margot took the opportunity to grab her bag.

"I'll be late for my next class. Thank you, Belle."

Belle wasn't fast enough to stop Margot from leaving, and she was left frowning to herself as Margot escaped.

The rest of the day did not go any better than the beginning, and the worst of it was during the final meeting about the Isle program.

Both Margot and Ben seemed to be avoiding each other, and it was clear that Margot lacked her usual spark, but nonetheless, the program was finally approved. Margot couldn't bring herself to be truly happy as she finally looked at Ben and saw that his face had still not left business mode. The wall covering his emotions was strong, and Margot hated that she had put it there.

"Lady Margot. You seem... unhappy today." Prince Florian pointed out kindly. "As does the King."

Margot smiled weakly. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I said something out of line earlier, and have yet to fix it."

The older man had a sly grin on his face. "Between you and me, I don't think King Ben could stay mad at you for very long."

Chuckling bittersweetly, Margot managed to smile genuinely. "He's too good of a person to hold a grudge. I honestly doubt he's even close to being as mad at me as I am. That's what makes him such a good king."

Florian's eyes twinkled. "I agree. He's just like his mother. That's why we all voted for Adam to become King, did you know? We all knew that Belle would keep him good."

"More than your own wives?"

"I love my wife more than life itself, but Belle cares so deeply about everything, and not just from an emotional standpoint. My wife hates paperwork with a passion, and she would rather just focus on being friendly with the Kingdom than working on laws and such. Belle loves knowledge almost as much as she loves people, and since we Kings all considered each other good rulers, we chose the king with the strongest Queen." Florian explained.

"That makes a lot of sense. Belle is one of a kind." Margot agreed in a wistful, almost sad voice.

"Not the only one." Florian's eyes sparkled with knowledge. "I see a similar quality in you."

Margot's cheeks flushed as conflict battled in her eyes. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"You're very welcome, Lady Margot."