I look straight at Ryder. A tear tracks down my cheek.
I never wanted to be queen
Never wanted anything but you
Now the kingdom’s torn up at the seams
And this is too much pain, too much pain
For nineteen…
Everyone in the audience has pulled out their cellphone and lit it up. Their arms sway to the beat, a sea of stars, as I serenade them with my darkest secrets.
Crying here, the world aflame
No one but ourselves to blame
A heart of holes
A soul of sorrow
No amount of time can tame…
I sing the chorus again, louder this time, my voice going ragged as the words pour out in a flood.
I never wanted to be queen
Never wanted anything but you
Now the kingdom’s torn up at the seams
And this is too much pain, too much pain
For nineteen…
Ryder never looks away, but his face is taut with tension. He knows what’s coming next.
The last part.
The hardest part.
Dying here, can’t make a sound
No trace of our crowns around
Cursed my throne
Since that day I
Buried our heir in the ground
My voice decrescendos to almost a whisper. The audience leans in, enraptured, shattered. I can see the girls in the front row wiping tears away as I sing the last lines.
No king, no prince
Just a broken queen
At nineteen…