Chapter 15

This chapter has not been edited and is posted as originally posted. Typos and bad grammar has not been fixed.

~*~

“Liam, I-” he heard the door bang open to his quarters. “I need you.” Anwyn started to tug him out of bed.. He had just returned home, and she was in her night dress. Her hair was down, and she looked like she was in a state. She tried to calm herself, and she wiped her palms on her nightgown. “I was with the king and he demands that I bear him a child, but I can’t do that, he can’t do that-”

She was on the verge of hysterical and talking far too loudly for these thin walls. The other officers would hear easily what they were saying if they continued here. “Anwyn, be quiet for a moment. Let’s go somewhere we can talk a bit more privately.” he hushed her.

They tiptoed through the halls and up to the second floor, turning left at the top and entering the old queen’s quarters. Her previous handmaid's still slept in at the end of the hall, but the queen’s room was unoccupied, and as the door was unlocked they slipped inside. The storm still raged on outside, and Liam was still damp from his patrol around the island. He lit a few lanterns and took Anwyn by the shoulders and tried to center her. “Anwyn, start again from the beginning. What’s the matter?”

Anwyn shook and then sunk to one of the stools. “The king will harm my family if I don’t bear him a child, but the cook at the manor made it so that he couldn’t be the father of any children for a year. I need to bear a child and have him believe that it’s his.”

“I’m so sorry…” Liam consoled. “That’s terrible. That monster. If I could, I would kill him myself. How are you going to proceed?”

Awyn looked at him as if she couldn’t believe he hadn’t put the two ends together yet. A look of realisation came over his face.

“But Anwyn, we just met a few months ago. We don’t even know if we like each other that much. We see each other maybe once a week, add that up and that’s… like 16 weeks? I’m not sure you want to-” he was grabbing for straws at this point, trying to wrap his mind around the concept.

“Liam, I have never met anyone like you and felt the same way. You are very special to me, and I want you to help me now.” she urged.

But you may not be the only one I’ve ever had feelings for before now… He looked at Anwyn, considering, his heart beating much faster than it has been even out in the storm. “Are you sure about this? I- I didn’t expect this. Not from you, not like this...” he said, feeling defeated. He flopped into a stool besides her, putting his head in his hands. “I don’t think I’m ready to be a father. I don’t know what I could do for you and the child. How would I help to raise it? How could I be responsible and do the right thing?”

“One thing at a time. I’m not pregnant yet.” she said, slowing herself down. She became more somber, her face softened. She smiled a bit, and took a breath. “Liam, I- I think I-”

“Not now. Please.” he said, freezing up. “I don’t want to associate that with this memory. Anwyn, I- I fell the same way, but I can’t say it when we’re fighting for your family’s lives. Don’t say it because you feel like you have to save it for when we’re not in danger.”

Anwyn kept the smile on her face, though her eyes looked a bit more wild now. More frightened. “Alright. Liam-” she looked for words to commemorate what they were going to do, “I can’t think of anything to say.”

“For once, she’s quiet.” he smiled, and took Anwyn up into his arms.

~*~

Sir Romeo stood at the front gate on patrol. He wished that they at least had a chair for him to sit on. The day was a muddy one as the nights always seemed to rain now, and that meant that he would have to clean his boots later, adding to another hour of maintenance on his armor… What a boring day…

The gate squeaked open and Sir Romeo turned his head sharply to see who had opened the gate. The new maid looked at him with a smile on her face. “There you are! You’re hard to find. I needed some company.” she said, leaning against the wall, looking out at the trees.

“There are far more people inside than there are out here. If you wanted company, you went out of your way to find it.” he claimed.

“Well, I try to look for the best looking people of the bunch. You seem far more interesting than the rest of the staff any how.” she flattered.

“I seem to doubt that. You’ve been here for a few days, not very long, how could you have met everyone already?” he asked.

“It’s not hard to meet everyone, but it’s hard to make relationships with them. You seem like an easy going guy, and I was wondering, what does a person do around here for fun?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

He seemed a tad taken aback by this. He surely wasn’t expecting her to make advances on him. It had been a very long time since he had anyone take an interest in him, and he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He was out of practice.

“Well, there’s a ship ruin down on the beach, and there’s a bit of wildlife on the island. We have lots of books, you can play any instrument you like, painting-”

“I’m more of an extrovert and I like to move. Is there anything you do for fun?” she asked, stressing the word fun.

He eyed her carefully. She had a jolly figure, nicely padded and not boney like he imagined Anwyn would be. She obviously came from a well off family if she showed no sign of ever going hungry, probably a lower nobleman’s or a lucky merchant’s daughter. She looked vaguely familiar, but her couldn’t place where he had possibly seen her…

“There’s a bar in the guard’s lounge, and a dart board. I think there’s a horse shoe corral on the island somewhere, and a little pond from old ruins we can swim in. If you go swimming. I’ve never seen a woman swim before.” he nearly blushed.

“Well, I don’t sink if that makes you feel any better.” she said coyly and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

“Otherwise, we have a little get together once a month in the guard’s lounge. It’s super informal, but it’s nice to relax.” Romeo wasn’t sure if he should tell her about that, but the girl seemed nice enough. She had just moved to the isolated palace, had no friends here with her, she should be included as a member of the staff.

“Really? How interesting! When’s the next one? It’s been forever since I feel like I could talk freely.” she admitted.

“This friday night. I’ll have you come along, if you like. I’m sure we can fit you in.”

“I can’t wait!” she smiled at him, and his stomach did a somersault. “I’m a bit chilled, so I think I’ll be going back inside now, I’ll see you later, Sir Romeo.” she curtsied and walked back into the walled courtyard.

~*~

“Have you met the new maid? She seems…” Romeo fished for words.

“Perky? Available? What you’re looking for?” peppered Sir Reed.

Romeo shoved Liam lightly. “You laugh, but you have a girl who likes you already. How am I supposed to find one that you won’t laugh at me about if I don’t try all of my very limited possibilities?”

“You know, if someone looked at us and asked which of us they thought was in a relationship, they wouldn’t guess me. They would guess you, but I think you try too hard.” he said simply.

“I’m not a try hard!” Romeo acted offended. “I prefer the term desperate!”

Liam laughed at him and exited the room. The week had progressed quickly, and he had been on island patrol for many of the nights. The king had been trying in vain to create an heir, but Anwyn and Liam had been trying nearly just as often. The poor girl must have been very tired, but she was desperate to protect her family and not let their harm be her fault.

Liam was going to be a father.

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Anwyn wasn’t even his wife, and yet he had taken her to bed and was actively trying to aid her in having a child. What would his parents think if they were alive to see this…

Anwyn shouldn’t have to give up her life to save the lives of her family. She shouldn’t have to worry that her sister would be hurt by a tyrant. They shouldn’t fear the king at all, but his reach was long and far. If they ran, they would have to run to the ends of the earth to escape him. And even if they did, would they ever feel at rest? The king would hunt them for sport…

And where would he draw the line with the people that he would save? If her siblings had spouses, do the spouses’ siblings come with? Their parents?

Liam's stomach dropped out from inside him and he braced himself against the wall. The stress and lack of sleep was getting to him. The sneaking around, the fact that his girlfriend was being abused by her husband, the most powerful man in the kingdom, and the fact that it all balanced on a very thin wire, ready to fall and be destroyed at any moment.

He couldn’t live this way. He couldn’t have his child living this way, it needed to be different.

~*~

Friday rolled around and Anwyn tiptoed down the stairs to the guard’s wing. She was looking forward to the relaxing evening ahead, but she heard a different voice beyond the door before she entered. A chill ran down her spin as she thought that the duchess may be just beyond the door.

But the duchess has been drugged for the evening, she’s fast asleep. She can’t be in there. I must be mistaken… Anwyn pushed open the door and entered the brightly lit room. The duchess wasn’t there, but her new maid was, chatting amicably with Sir Romeo and Alice. Liam sat at one of the benches talking to Amelia about the different birds he’d seen on his patrols around the island. The other three guards were at the bar, sharing a conversation too quiet to hear.

Liam didn’t rise to meet her, but gave her a friendly wave when she entered. She smiled back at him, and went over to the bar. She didn’t trust the Briella, and she didn’t need the duchess knowing about her affair she was having. She would play it cool tonight, and not get too drunk to let anything slip. She only hoped that everyone no one else would slip up and mention it.

“My queen, I didn’t expect you to associate with the staff. What are you doing in here?” Briella detached herself from the group, but they seemed to follow her over into the new conversation.

Anwyn smiled. “I am from a working class family, and I still like to relax with people who aren’t diplomats or have hidden agendas.”

“But what will the king think?” she asked breathily, as if it were the biggest gossip around.

“Why does the king have to think anything about it, Briella? Why does he need to know?” Anwyn asked, passively asserting her dominance. The king didn’t have to know, but Anwyn felt that this would probably be her last night in the guards’ lounge if she kept asking questions.

“Hey, we’re here to have a good time, not to pick fights. Bri, the higher-ups don’t know about this, and no one is going to ruin it by telling them. They’re fast asleep from their big day and planning to go North. We all came here to relax, so unwind. Have a drink.” Romeo interfered.

Anwyn smiled, as drank her drink, going to sit over by Ameila and Liam.

“Of course, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any waves, I just want to get along with everyone. Don’t worry my lips are sealed, I won’t tell a soul beyond these doors.” Briella vowed.

Anwyn turned away from her, and after a few moments Liam reached to bring her closer and cuddle her, but she carefully acted like she didn’t notice. She whispered in his ear, “I don’t trust her. Act casual, we aren’t an item tonight.”

Liam just nodded, and after a bit more discussion about a funny squirrel that Amelia had seen on one of her walks, Anwyn was challenged to a game of cards.

“I have a great poker face, I’m sure to win!” she playfully gloated.

“Please, your poker face is terrible,” said Romeo. “You give yourself away all the time. Your eyes shine bright, you stop breathing normally, and forget how to act natural.”

Briella stood up from the table to make room for Anwyn. “I think I’ll get to know the handsome guard in the corner over there, don’t miss me while I’m gone.” she claimed, flirting with Romeo.

“Not a chance.” he promised.

Anwyn watched as she made her way over to Liam and Amelia, completely ignoring Amelia and only paying attention to Liam, flirting with him, touching his hand on accident, being too close, laughing at his simple phrases as if they were high comedy. It made Anwyn tense and feel like her heart was boiling.