The Future King and the Commander's Daughter

****Disclaimer for this book - if the ages are going to hang you up wait until they are older to join us here. These are not how we think about ages so while I put Bjourn's age in the chapter it's not what you would think of as a ten year old. To your mind he'd be around 16-18 years old. The hackura realm IS NOT the human realm. So, if the age will mess you up or you'll want to send me nasty messages about how kids that age aren't ready for the things we see in this book I'll go ahead and tell you I agree. So keep in mind these are fictional, fantasy children from a race of people I made up. The are phsyically and mentally more deveoped than their ages. I will be putting this in the beginning of the book beucase I know people will come for me. I was tempted to take the ages out all together, but I knew people would ask. So in conclusion, the Hackura are not on the level age wise of what you'd compare to kids you know. So, I'll just say it again - they aren't human. Say it with me ;) NOT HUMANS. AMANDA IS NOT TALKING/WRITING ABOUT HUMANS. I'll get off my soap box now. ***** This book can be read as a standalone if you haven't read the others :) Prologue Veronica watched Bjourn and Marcus playing with Astrid and Aaron. Tierra, Remington’s mate, and Astrid’s mother laughed and told me, “I’m glad our kids get along so well.” I watched Bjourn and Astrid together. Ever since she’d been born Bjourn had been protective of her. She was only eight months younger than he was, but even then he was still protective. Now, at six he was even more so. I told Tierra, “I’d be surprised if they were not mates.” Tierra laughed, “Time will tell. I think the same, but Remington always tells me we have to wait.” I turned around to help Tierra finalize the plans for Astrid’s birthday party. She was turning six tomorrow, but it was a school day so her party was today. Bjourn had even bought her a present. He insisted on using his own money that he gets from his allowance. Titus thought it was cute. I heard a commotion and ran outside. My eyes widened at what I saw. Astrid was crying and there was a little boy Bjourn was standing over with clenched fists. I yelled, “Bjourn Rollo Cambridge, What on earth?!” Marcus interjected, “It’s not his fault mommy! Rhett was mean!” I frowned, ordering, “I repeat what happened.” Bjourn’s jaw clenched much like his father’s does and he told me, “He made Astrid cry.” I asked, “What did he say?” Bjourn said, “I don’t know, but he made her cry so I punched him.” I bit my lip to force myself not to laugh. If Bjourn and Astrid were not mates I knew who my sons off period woman would be. I was fairly certain they were mates though. I said, “Bjourn, you are the future king. That means you get the facts before you act.” Bjourn argued, “Not when it comes to Astrid.” Oh boy. My stubborn future king. I said, “Go see your dad.” Bjourn declined saying, “I won’t leave Astrid here with him.” He spat out at Rhett who cringed. Bjourn had been training to fight with Titus since he could walk, as had Aaron with Remington. Rhett would probably be starting training next year. I’d stay on the ground if I was him too. I told Bjourn, “Astrid will follow you in a minute. Go see your father.” Bjourn sighed. He turned and hugged Astrid. She told him, “I can punch him all on my own, you know?” Bjourn laughed and replied, “I know. He’s lucky I hit him before you did.” Astrid smiled and Bjourn walked inside. I asked, “Now, you two what happened?” Astrid answered, “He said my dress was ugly and Bjourn was a joke.” I tilted my head. Rhett insisted, “I was joking!” I told him, “You do not call our Princes jokes, let alone the crown prince. Astrid’s dress is very beautiful. Why would you want to hurt her feelings?” Rhett frowned and cried, “All she does is play with Bjourn. It’s always him!” Astrid stomped her foot and yelled, “He’s my best friend!” Rhett shot back, “You can have more than one friend.” Astrid scoffed, “I do. Why would I be friends with someone who is mean to me like you are?” It was a valid point. Rhett was clearly jealous. He liked Astrid too. I said, “Astrid, you’re right. You know your worth and you know that someone who is mean to you is not a good friend. Go inside please.” Astrid sighed but went inside. I told Marcus and Aaron, “You guys too.” Marcus huffed along with Aaron, but they followed Astrid. I turned to Rhett, “You know in this realm, we are not mean to the girls we like. I despise that in the human realm they teach little girls that boys who are mean to them like them or have a crush. If you like someone here, we are honest. We do not turn into bullies and make them cry. Do you understand?” Rhett sighed, answering, “Yes, Queen Veronica.” I ordered, “Now, go home and get ready for Astrid’s party. When you get here, be sure to tell her you are sorry.” Rhett shrugged, “What’s the point? She’ll only ever care about Bjourn.” I agreed, “She will always care about Bjourn, they are best friends. When you are mean to someone you always apologize. I know you don’t actually want to be mean to Astrid. I do think you want to be her friend. Astrid is a kind little girl who can get past this, but you have to stop acting this way if you want her friendship. I will not watch this realm turn into the human realm. The little girls here will never be taught that being mean to someone means love or that someone likes you.” Rhett nodded slowly and walked away. Titus spoke from behind me, “You always have a way with words, my dear.” I turned and smiled, “I sent the children to you.” Titus laughed, “They are with my dad and Zader. Bjourn is quite upset.” I chuckled, “Yes, well I’m sure you heard why.” Titus nodded, “I’m sure here in ten years they will be mates.” I agreed, “I’m sure they will be. I don’t know how to get Bjourn to pause for the facts when it comes to Astrid.” Titus grabbed me around the waist and said, “You can tell him that, but you will not get through. I don’t wait for facts when someone has hurt you or your feelings. I act. Just as you do with me. It’s the way of mates, my dear.” I snorted, “They aren’t officially mates.” Titus said, “But we all know they are mates. Bjourn has been trying to impress that girl since he was one. Which was just funny because she was a baby. He believed he could burp her the best and calm her down the best. He always wanted to hold her, and got mad when he was told no.” I snorted, “Don’t remind me.” Bjourn was always insistent when it came to baby Astrid. Not that he wasn’t now. He’d peeked at the plans for her party and had told the staff everything had to be perfect. I said, “He’s a stubborn little boy and he gets that from you.” Titus roared with laughter, “My dear, I’m afraid he got it from us both. He had no chance.” I argued, “I’m not stubborn.” Titus smirked, “Veronica, my love, you are the most stubborn woman I have ever met, and I do love that about you. You are a fierce and loyal queen. You are the heart of this realm.” I smiled, “As Astrid likely will be one day.” Titus agreed, “She does have a lot of the qualities the Queens of this realm often do. She is a fierce fighter already. She keeps up with Aaron and Bjourn; however, she has such a kind heart. She is a lot like you.” I sighed, “I wish we had a little girl of our own.” Titus laughed, “One day my love, we still have time.” I shrugged. I felt boys were in the cards for us. Titus and I did not often go on off periods, but he’d never had a child outside of our marriage. I was beginning to think that would be our hope for a little girl. Titus refused to have a Hackura off period woman. For some reason, he felt it was disrespectful to me. I don’t know why, but he felt so strongly about it. I shrugged off those thoughts. We still might have a girl ourselves but it didn’t feel right. Part of me felt we would have a little girl, just from one of Titus’ off periods. He’d never tried for a child with anyone else so those feelings didn’t exactly make sense to me. It’s just how I felt. Titus tugged gently on my hair and asked, “Where did you go?” I smiled, “Just thinking about little girls.” Titus kissed me hard. He pulled back and asked, “Would you like to try for one?” I felt his lust rising. I told him, “Tonight, yes. I do think I would. Right now, we need to go make sure our oldest son doesn’t burn down the realm because Astrid cried.” Titus laughed, “Of course, you are right. The work of a Queen and King is never done.” I told him, “In this case, it would be the work of a parent.” Titus kissed me again. We walked inside with our hands intertwined. Bjourn was hovering around Astrid who was getting annoyed with him. She might want to get used to that. Astrid huffed, “Bjourn, I’m fine! Let’s just play.” Bjourn felt annoyed in our bond, but he sat down and did as Astrid asked. Tierra walked over saying, “I feel like I missed something doing final touches.” I explained, “You missed a bit of a fight.” Tierra groaned, “Who did Astrid punch? I told Remington when she started training she’d be a hellcat.” I laughed and told her, “Bjourn punched Rhett for making Astrid cry.” Tierra frowned then turned to look at her daughter. She faced me, “Astrid doesn’t cry easily.” I smiled and admitted, “I think it was the comment about Bjourn that made her cry, but he did tell her that her dress was ugly.” Tierra considered my words. She agreed, “I’d imagine it was about the Bjourn comment then. I picked out the dress.” I laughed, “You just have to love how adorable they are together.” Tierra smiled and asked, “What more could a woman want for her daughter than the future King? They would match each other well, and I know my daughter. She’s been in love with your son practically since she was born.” I told her, “Then they are even because my son has been in love with your daughter since she was born.” We both smiled knowingly before I left to go get ready for the party. The evening went really well. Bjourn was never too far away from Astrid, but he was letting her have space with her friends. Titus, Remington, and Zader were off in a corner drinking whiskey and laughing. Rashe, Zader’s mate and my sister in law, came over to me. She bumped into me, “Those two are just so cute.” I agreed, “Yes, they are.” Rhett came in and Bjourn tensed. Rashe chuckled as Bjourn took several steps and ended up right behind Astrid. He glared at Rhett who gulped and apologized to Astrid. Astrid nodded and told him it was fine. Bjourn muttered, “It’s really not.” Astrid swatted him on the arm. She repeated it was ok, but added, “But it better never happen again or I’ll be the one standing over you as you’re on the ground.” Rashe smiled, “That’s one smart little girl.” I nodded. She was. She was going to be a great queen. I knew that she and my son would do great things together. It was only a matter of time. Welcome to Bjourn and Astrid's story! This is a little novella before we jump into H&K's story. Join my F B group The Ribbon novels to have more insights and chats!