Chapter 1 #2
The castle was enormous, with tall spires and a moat with a wide bridge across it.
Members of my staff bustled all around as they went about their afternoon duties.
Several men and women toiled away in the expansive gardens in the grounds, and guards marched in pairs as they went about their patrols.
Footmen and grooms from the stables had already hurried over to begin taking care of the horses after the long journey, and Betsy, my head housekeeper, bustled over to greet Yori and me.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” Betsy said as she dropped into a shallow curtsy. “I trust your journey was a success?”
“Yes, thank you,” I said. “The village is doing very well, and the aqueduct plans are moving along perfectly.”
“That’s wonderful to hear,” she said with a warm smile.
Her salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back in its usual tight bun that always made me wonder how she didn’t suffer from daily headaches, and her white apron was snug around her plump frame. A brass ring with about three dozen keys hung from her skirts, and they were as tidy as always.
She was a woman of routine and steadiness, and those traits had made her the perfect choice to take over the role of managing the castle.
The household had been managed well enough under Oberis’ reign, but I’d decided to reorganize things.
There hadn’t been a specific person in charge of managing the household, and that had caused issues in the day-to-day operation of things.
As it turned out, Betsy had been unofficially keeping things running in the past from her role as a kitchen maid.
She had intricate knowledge of all the ins and outs of everything that happened in my home, and it had been an easy choice to officially promote her.
She’d been delighted by the new title, but the raise in her salary had made her nearly faint into my arms when I’d told her.
“Do you know where Tanell and Serra are?” I asked.
“They’re in the courtyard, Your Majesty,” Betsy said. “They’re with Lady Carissa.”
“Great, thank you,” I said.
“Will you be wanting dinner in your apartments this evening?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”
“Very well.” Betsy nodded and dropped into another curtsy.
I took Yori’s hand and led her around the side of the castle toward the courtyard.
Since becoming king, I’d been slowly working to make improvements and changes to my new home. Oberis had had a very specific sense of taste that I didn’t always align with, and the more I learned about his greed, the less I wanted to live in a place with his touch all over it.
The first order of business had been to completely redecorate my private apartments where I lived with my women, but I’d also had the groundskeeper begin a pretty big overhaul on the gardens and pathways that surrounded the castle.
A lot of the flowerbeds and hedges had been preserved because they’d been chosen by my queen, Tanell, but the courtyard was a new addition that had never existed before. It was a beautiful open space in the rear of the castle where my ladies and I spent most of our downtime on nice days.
Yori smiled and raced ahead when the open area came into view. The ground had been leveled and covered in wide stone pavers to create a massive outdoor patio. Three small tables with four seats each had been set up on one side, and the rest of the space was open.
Serra had taught me the steps to several dances in the space, and now Carissa Blake was working with Tanell and Serra. The dark-haired noblewoman from the Kingdom of Basstrum had slipped right into a comfortable position in the castle, and she’d quickly developed a strong friendship with my ladies.
She’d been integral to stopping her father’s power grab just a month before when we’d gone to visit the King and Queen of Basstrum in the hopes of forming an alliance with the nation.
As it turned out, her shitty father had plotted to overthrow the royals, assassinate me, and take over both countries.
He’d forced Carissa to train her entire life in the hopes of wielding her like a weapon, but her kind heart had made it impossible for her to follow through on his orders.
She’d turned on him and helped King Enken, Queen Doria, my ladies, and me to foil his plot.
Now she was living under my roof as our diplomatic guest because she didn’t really have anywhere else to go. The fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous didn’t hurt either, but I wasn’t sure she saw me as anything other than the man who’d helped her escape a horribly abusive father.
“And you jam it right into the throat,” Carissa finished saying as we approached.
“That’s so violent,” Serra said with a little shudder.
My tall, willowy lover visibly shuddered, and she looked down at her open palms. Her silver-blonde hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders, and she was wearing a stylish gown despite the physical nature of the activity.
“Yes, that’s the point,” Carissa said with a playful smile. “I’m not teaching you how to do needlepoint here.”
“And delivering a violent attack to an attacker is much better than the alternative,” Tanell pointed out.
Tanell was the only one of my lovers who carried the title of queen, and she carried herself with all the grace of the position. She was fierce but dignified, and she had a sense of practicality I’d always admired. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a thick braid that hung down her back.
“I suppose,” Serra sighed. “I despise the idea of having to use such techniques, but you’re right. We need to be able to defend ourselves.”
“Chances are…” Tanell put a comforting hand on Serra’s arm. “The guards will be there to keep us safe, and we’ll never have to use these techniques.”
“But it could be the deciding factor in an emergency,” Carissa said.
“Besides!” Yori jogged over to join the other women. “It’s fun to learn to fight, even if it’s just practice.”
She slammed her open palm up into the throat of the practice dummy next to Carissa so hard, the whole thing toppled over onto the paver stones.
“Goodness,” Serra gasped.
“Hello, Yori,” Tanell laughed.
“Ken,” Serra breathed and hurried over to embrace me. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“How was the journey?” Carissa asked. “Your Majesty.”
She added my title in like she’d almost forgotten about the societal niceties our respective positions demanded, and I gave her a friendly smile.
“It was really good,” I said, and I gave the women a rundown on the developments in the village. “We’ll share the plans with the three next closest villages. I’m hoping to have their aqueduct systems up in the next month.”
“That’s amazing,” Tanell said, and she reached up to kiss me. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” I said. “How’s the training session going?”
“Very well,” Carissa reported. “Tanell has a natural ferocity. I must say, I was surprised to discover her strength.”
“I’m not surprised.” I smiled at my queen. “And I bet Serra is impressing you, too.”
“She is.” Carissa grinned.
Serra blushed a deep red all the way up to her hairline.
“I don’t know about that…” she mumbled.
“No, it’s true,” Carissa insisted with kindness. “I know you find all of this very distasteful, but I’m certain you have what it takes to keep yourself safe, should the occasion arise.”
“I’m grateful to you,” Serra said. “It’s hard to admit… but I never felt strong or very capable, at least not in anything outside the sort of high society etiquette I was raised in. It feels…”
She waved both of her hands through the air in a vague gesture, like she was trying to pull the right words out of the air.
“Empowering?” I offered.
Serra’s smile softened as she gazed at me and nodded.
“Yes,” she said.
I pulled her in for a kiss and then turned to look at Carissa, and I was surprised to see a glint of what looked like envy in her green eyes. It must have been a figment of my imagination because it was gone before I could even blink.
“What else have you been teaching my ladies?” I asked.
“Oh, uh…” Carissa blushed slightly, and her eyes darted away from my face. “We were, uh–”
“We’ve been working on self-defense and stealth,” Tanell answered.
“She’s shown us how to make our footsteps nearly silent,” Serra explained. “I never knew I could make my high-heeled shoes so quiet, even on the stones.”