The next day

Rozi wakes up the next morning to a pounding on her door.

"Open the door your majesty, there has been an incident"

"What incident" she groans, rubbing her eyes.

"Just open the door, we have things to discuss"

Rozi rolls out of bed and opens the door.

"Well?" she asks, leaning on the door frame.

"I'm sorry, but the king has died"

Rozis eyes widen, testing her acting skills.

"How?"

"It appears to be an ****. He was stabbed in the throat. They suspect a servant or guard but there's no proof"

"So, there's nothing we can do?"

"There is one thing we can do, the royal council must be called"

"Fine, let's call them."

The Royal council consists of the 5 most powerful and rich nobles in Turkey. They were all close friends of the king to be.

Rozi is escorted to the palace entrance where the 4 noble men show up to the castle within a few hours. They all greet each other and shake hands.

"We are just waiting on 1 more?" Rozi asks.

"Ah, no, Maximus of the Castellan family is already here. He was with the king to be."

Rozi frowns.

"I didn't know that"

"Well, no one did. Maximus and the king to be were close"

"I see"

"Is he the one from last night with the camera!??" Rozi thinks to herself.

Rozi turns around and is greeted by the lanky, pale man.

He has brown curly hair and deep blue eyes.

Maximus locks eyes with Rozi, smiling.

"Well, this should be fun" she says under her breath.

"Rozi"

"Maximus"

Rozi extends her hand to him and he shakes it.

"A pleasure" he says, kissing the back of her hand.

Rozi forces a smile.

"Let's take this to the meeting room"

The 5 head into the meeting room and take their seats.

Rozi sits down first, followed by the 4 noblemen.

Maximus sits beside Rozi.

"As you all know, the king has died. There are a few things we need to discuss"

The men nod their heads in agreement.

"First, we need to figure out who will take over the throne"

"I'm pretty sure that's obvious. The princess has to be crowned officially."

"But she has not yet married the king. That means the crown will pass on to the next eligible royal. In this case, it would be Maximus"

"Yes, that's right. We cannot have a queen who is not wed. We would have to crown a king and he would have to be married."

"You know that's not how it works" Rozi snaps.

"That is the way of our country, my dear. The royal family has always followed these traditions"

"Well, I'm not about to follow tradition."

*Aheemm* "If I may inteject for a moment" Maximus interupts.

"Yes" Rozi looks at him, annoyed.

"I believe the Aziz name is necessary to keep the kingdom strong." Maximus says.

"Thank you, I'm glad someone is on my side" Rozi crosses her arms.

"I did not say that. I am merely stating that the Aziz family has ruled for 500 years, and it would be a shame to let that go."

"Then what do you propose?"

"I propose we allow you and the Aziz name to have the throne now, and in 6 months hold a vote of confidence hearing to determine if your rulings are good enough. If they are, you will stay queen. If not, you will be dethroned."

"6 months! That is not nearly enough time."

"If you are truly an Aziz, it should be no problem at all" Maximus says with a devilish smirk."

"Fine. 6 months it is. We shall announce the kings **** and my coronation within the week."

"That sounds good" the noblemen agree.

"We are done here" Rozi declares.

The noblemen leave the room, leaving Rozi and Maximus alone.

"That was quite clever of you"

"Why thank you" he replies.

"I didn't think you'd have it in you"

"Oh, trust me, there is a lot you don't know about me"

"Would you meet me in my quarters before the advisor meeting so we can get to know each other a bit better?" Maximus asks.

"What makes you think I would do that?"

"Well, you seem to not like me, and I would like to change that. I would hate to have bad blood between us. Plus, I think I know who killed our beloved king to be..."

Rozi freezes. "You can't be serious"

"Oh, I'm dead serious. Meet me in my chambers at 3:00."

Maximus leaves the room, leaving Rozi all alone.

"I'm fucked"

Rozi sighs.

"I don't have a choice"

"If he knows what happened last night, then I'm in big trouble."

"He's not going to rat me out. I'm a valuable asset."

"There has to be a way to make him not spill the beans. But what could it be"

Rozi heads back to her chamber and prepares for her meeting with Maximus.