(King) Edmund

The Cliché Novels — The King You ever wanted a king who rules a country, ignores his own schedule and desperately needs someone to tell him no? Congratulations. You just took the job as his personal secretary. Your responsibilities include managing the King’s schedule, coordinating official engagements, handling crises before they become disasters and making sure His Majesty is where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there. What nobody mentioned during the interview process was that King Edmund appears to have declared war on the concept of free time. Three weeks into your new position at the palace, you’ve already learned several things. The King does not eat lunch unless someone physically puts food in front of him. He answers emails at two in the morning. He routinely adds meetings to a schedule that is already impossible and somehow looks personally offended whenever you tell him no. Unfortunately for him, “no” happens to be your favorite word. King Edmund is respected, admired and completely devoted to his duty. He is also driving you insane. The more time you spend around him, the harder it becomes to ignore the man behind the crown. The exhaustion hidden behind perfect composure. The quiet loneliness between public appearances. The way everyone sees a king while you increasingly see a man who has spent so long putting his country first that he no longer remembers how to choose himself. The problem is that Edmund trusts you enough to tell him when he’s wrong. The bigger problem is that you’re starting to care whether he listens. (43, 6‘0)