Chapter 10

This chapter has been transferred as-is without further editing.

~*~

“I have matters that I am being called back to the palace for, we must return home. I thank you for your hospitality.” the King said with a faint grimace to Lord Ludovico.



“I see, my king. May I help you with it in any way? Added escort perhaps?” he offered.

“Unless you have a brigade you’ve been hiding under the rug, I doubt your page would be able to add any aid to my journey home.”

“I could rally men from the village, they could protect their sovereign!” he said.



“Men who have undoubtedly heard that I have taken one of their young women to be my mistress and thus would wish to over power me and my guards on our journey. Do you think at all, Ludovico?” the king berated.

“I apologize, sire. Please forgive me.”

“The act my party leaving this place will be penance enough. Please have your cook prepare us food for the journey.”

~*~

The journey was oddly uneventful. The king made no advancements on while on the road, probably because there wasn’t much privacy between mere pieces of fabric and the night air. They didn’t stop in many villages on their way to the palace, and the queen and Anwyn’s guards didn’t leave their sides for a moment. The queen was being ‘protected’ by Sir Romeo, while Sir Rhayde was constantly vigilant of Anwyn. The first few nights he had to be stopped from entering Anwyn’s tent to ‘make sure she wasn't out of his sight’. Sir Romeo insisted that she would be fine if he watched outside of her tent, and Romeo kept an eye on Rhayde to make sure he kept to his righteous ways.



The two weeks were soon over and the whole party was tired and dirty from their journey. Anwyn missed having a friendly face, and even Sir Reed seemed to have turned from her for some reason. He would only meet her gaze, then look away.

They left Sir Rhayde on the mainland as his part of assignment was done and he had to report to the Templar, but after a short boat ride to a secluded island, they were finally at the palace. It gleamed white against the sky and it seemed to shine. The manor they had come from pales in comparison to this beautiful building. It was true, the king did live in a palace.



“Ah, I’m very happy that you invited me to stay, Galant. For some reason I always found this to be a second home for me.” The Duchess oozed as she walked towards the front door before the king had led them, but he didn’t seem to mind. The queen eyed her with shock as if she had just disgraced her family line. How dare she walk before the king and queen into their home in which the Duchess didn’t live?



“I’ve had a suite set aside for you, and your son has also been brought here so that you wouldn’t miss him. I want you to be comfortable and happy here, after all. Anything for a guest such as yourself.” he smiled. Anwyn wasn’t sure she had ever seen the king smile before.



The king started walking down the walk and the rest of the party followed along. The entrance hall of the manor was furnished with expensive furniture and the walls gleamed with copper leafing. Doors branched in every direction, and the king dropped his bag at his feet, and walked over to Lady Malice. “Shall we see your suite? I’m sure your son will be happy to see his mother as well.”





“Of course.” purred the Duchess as the pair and her advisor exited through a door to the left.



“Ladies, let us return to our chambers. I cannot stand this dirt on me for one more second.” The queen addressed her ladies. She was followed by her two “Yes ma’am”-ing women and Sir Romeo. He was assigned to her to keep her ‘safe’.

That left just Sir Reed and Anwyn standing in the foyer. Sir Reed was either so tired that he couldn’t think of anything to say, or he had nothing to say. Either way, Anwyn didn’t know where to go or what to do.



“Is there a way I can be helpful, perhaps?” she asked, breaking the fallen silence.



“Doubtful.” Sir Reed answered, not at all surprised by her speaking. He must have expected her to speak. Anwyn looked at him, waiting for him to look at her or explain further. He exhaled and went on. “The chef is extremely particular about his kitchen, and you’re no longer a simple maid. You’re the mistress of the king. That’s a position of luxury.”

“I don’t want a position of luxury, I want to be useful!” Anwyn urged. “Please, I need something to do.”



“May I recommend taking up painting?” he suggested dryly. “Let me show you to your room, miss.”

Anwyn was starting to get a shaking feeling in her chest. It was a mixture of anger and worry. Why didn’t Sir Reed look at her anymore? She had touched his arm, it was such a small thing, why had it affected him so much? Had she done something else to bother him? He knew that he was the only one who she could tolerate here, why was he shutting her out? It would be hard for that to be the case for long, surely, since he was the replacement for Sir Rhayde as her guard.



They turned to the right and went up a flight of stairs. Thankfully the palace was only two stories tall so she wouldn’t have to walk up three flights of stairs every night.



They took a sharp right again and Sir Reed opened the door. Inside was nearly unimaginable. The furniture was forged out of gold, the walls had gold foiling, even the floor had gold inlaid into it in intricate designs. It was the king’s personal sitting room. A large, bright yellow curtain adorned a large portion of one of the walls, but otherwise the room was arranged fit for an emperor.



Sir reed walked through the room as if it were any other hall of the house, and stood outside the door at the far end. “This is your room. It has been arrange by a skilled stylist based on what the king thought you may like.” he said robotically. Had he said it before?



He opened the door and guided Anwyn in. The room was simple compared to the room they had just come from, but even based on the manor’s standards the room was of fine quality. There was no dirt to be seen, no cobwebs, and the fireplace was clean.

“Your private bathroom is just beyond that door. When you wish to bathe, a servant will come and help you with the water. Now then, I will be seated outside your door.”

He said it so matter-of- factly that Anwyn had nothing to say. “Oh, and you’ll probably want to change your clothes. You’re on the court now, you’ll want to dress like it. The king has assigned you special clothes.”

Of course he has, thought Anwyn.

~*~



It wasn’t her fault. He shouldn’t be acting this way towards her, and yet he couldn’t think of a different way to distance himself. How many times had the room at the end of the sitting room changed since he had arrived here at the palace? He tried to keep track…



The girl with the red hair, the girl with red skin, the girl with gold hair, the girl who walked around without clothes, the girl who… there were becoming too many to count. But Miss Cupshire was different. The king was different, and she wasn’t as unique as the rest had been. Something was off, but Liam was going to try and not mess this one up too badly. The last girl, the girl with sun-kissed skin and chestnut hair. She was a fighter, and they caught her anyway. Liam didn’t want to remember the feeling of betrayal she must have felt towards him when they were stopped before they had finished their escape. That wouldn’t happen this time. He wouldn’t get involved, he would protect, but he couldn’t save her. No one could.



“Hey man, is the new girl in there? Can I see?” a familiar voice piped up from behind the bookcase. Sir Wilson went on, “What is it this time? Blue hair? Four eyes?”



“I’m not sure.” Liam answered honestly. “She doesn't seem too different from the other women he’s brought back with him, She seems ordinary in every way I can think of. She talks too much, has curly hair, a simple family life, no fortune…”



“She must be a palate cleanser then. Something to make the king feel like he’s extravagant and better than the peasants. She sounds like a simple wench to me. I bet she hasn’t bathed in a year.” giggled Sir Wilson.

Liam bristled. “Doesn't seem like you have either after you eat garlic for every meal. She works hard at home, though I’m sure that she’s found time to bathe twice since the last time you did.”



“Ooo, Sir Reed has a crush on the girl.” Sir Wilson teased. “Just don’t let it happen that you try sneaking her off the island again. You know how that turned out last time.”



“You don’t need to remind me.” Sir Reed turned coldy towards his fellow guard. “Have you seen the front lines? The freezing winter storms, the snow turned red from people bleeding out and dying? Burning villages on both sides with poor families who have no other place to go but to wander the country side hoping not to starve before they find food to give to their freezing children? I don’t wish to return to that place for as long as I live, so you can stop saying I have crush on the girl in that room. I wouldn’t fall for a girl here unless you told me I’d be dead tomorrow.”

“Whoa, dude, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that many words before. But I totally get it. Hey, if you want to go and take a bath and a nap, I’ll sit outside her door while you’re gone. Montoya says we should let you and Romeo relax for the rest of today so that you’re better rested for tomorrow.”

Did he hear a word I said? wondered Liam. “Yeah… sure. I’ll do that. But don’t let yourself into her room, or I’ll be flying you from the flagpole.”

“Yes, sir!” he said agreed, watching Liam go down the secret entrance and to the guards quarters below.