The Queen

Chapter 2

"Atraya, is this really necessary?" Greta asks me, one of the older maids in the house, with whom watched me grow up and pays no attention to a title, except when it came to my parents. "I have to impress him, don't I?" "He would have worked hard to become a knight, especially if his family was poor and yet you want to send him at least a hundred different outfits that are made of the finest silk?"

"The man most likely wears cotton or wool and you want to put him in a fabric he's unfamiliar with?" I see that Greta has a point as I send out someone to also get a hundred outfits of cotton and wool. She shakes her head at me as I start cooking him something to eat. I may be useless in a lot of ways but cooking is something my mother taught me because she said basic skills are a must, especially when travelling outside the palace.

I make him some crepes, with fruit and a berry jam to put on it. I'm feeling excited about today as I twirl in my polka dotted dress. I may soon be queen but at home, I'll always be regular twenty five year old me. "Where is the kitchen!?" I hear Cirian grumble from the second floor.

I laugh under my breath as I run up the stairs and find him down a different hallway, near my parents quarters. "I hope you don't intend on exploring my parents room." I say as he turns around and storms past me. "You were only a few doors away." I try to joke with him as I turn and catch up with him.

"Tell me where it is." "The kitchen?" "I was about to bring you there, especially after the meal I made you." "You made me?" He seems less angry as I say that, while I link my arm through his and bring him to the kitchen.

He looks in awe over all the food but looks away nonchalantly as I catch him gawking. I set a plate for him as I take in his clothes. "You haven't changed out of your clothes." "I don't plan on staying and none of my clothes are here." "Did you look in the closet?" "Why would I?" "I had someone get you clothes and they're all inside the closet now." "You mean to tell me someone snuck into my room while I was asleep?" "Yes..."

He frowns again as he starts digging into the food, while trying to ignore my presence. I can't take it as he does this, so I walk around the table and sit next to him. I reach out as his hand tightens on the fork.

I know he's watching me from the corner of his eyes, waiting to see what I'll do. I rub more of the blood off his neck. "You washed your face but not your body." I pull away as he places the fork down.

"You seem to not comprehend that I'm a knight and not a prince." "I used to shower once a week if I was lucky and it never bothered me, now I go a day without bathing and you're the first to notice." His tone is rather harsh as I stand up and walk away.

I go into my private garden, loving the feel of the grass as I look at all the flowers that are starting to bloom. It seems spring is just around the corner and I should really start tending to the garden now. No, I can't.

Cirian should be my priority as of now, even if he'd rather he wasn't. I can show him Dacras knights and troops, while also letting him go back to Abria to pack his things and to see his men. I must start from the past, to build our future.

I walk back inside and see that Cirian is done eating and is about to leave. "Where are you going?" Cirian looks around before sighing and sitting back down. "Honestly I forgot that I don't have a place to go to." "I'll change that, wait for me here." I quickly go to my room, throwing on a more elegant dress and a pair of heels.

Once I'm back in the kitchen, Cirian stands, while looking me over. "You seemed more comfortable in the other dress." He comments with a small smile as I tell the staff to get the car.

They do so as we step out and I see Harold in the drivers seat as we get in the back. "Where to first your majesty?" "I lean away from Cirian as I tell Harold the airport. It will be at least a eight hour flight, especially in the helicopter we'll use but we'll get there before dark, as long as the refills we'll need along the way don't take too long.

I then decide to call for Greta to pack us some food as we wait in the car. "What do you have planned?" "Something you'll appreciate." Greta knocks on the window as she hands me a basket with food. We're soon driving to the airport as Cirian gazes out the window, avoiding me once again.

It isn't until we arrive at the airport that he turns to me to ask again. "Where are we going?" "Come on." I take his hand and lead him out of the car, with a basket as guards surround the airport.

We get on the helicopter and I shake slightly as I've always hated travelling, yet at this point I'm willing to do anything to make Cirian smile. It takes us hours before we finally arrive at Abria and Cirian gives me a curious look. "Why?" "To make you happy?" I answer honestly as he looks away, not before I see a hint of a smile.

Nathaniel is first to greet us as he walks straight to me, taking my hand and kissing it. "My princess." I try not to scoff as I give him a small smile. "Did you bring a bag?" "I'm afraid you'll need to stay the night." I take a look around and realize it is getting late as the sky is dark.

"I should show you to your quarters..." Nathaniel drifts off as Cirian is no where in sight. He may not have noticed but I saw him going to the left part of the palace, I'd assume to see how Ren is doing and the other men.

"It seems your fiance has disappeared on us." "Let him be." I say as Nathaniel smiles. "Shall I show you to the dinning hall?" I want to turn him down but we had eaten all the food that was packed on the way over here.

I stifled my displeasure as I nod my head as he leads me into his palace. "I'll have the cooks prepare a few more dishes, to your liking that is." I look at the table of food he has and it's more then enough to feed me and everyone in this palace, though I'm sure he doesn't feed everyone.

It's a waste of food. We may be royal but the money comes from the people and it's better to be responsible with it, especially when it comes to buying and supplying food. "This is more then enough, lets eat." I tell him as he's about to go to the kitchen.

I sit down and watch as he sits right next to me, instead of further away. "You look gorgeous today." He says to me as I start dishing out my food. "I could have had someone serve it to you." He grumbles as I'm not responding to him.

I bite my tongue as I want to tell him that I have two hands and so does he, especially when one of the cooks starts serving him. "I do wish you would have visited during the day, then we could have taken a stroll around the palace."

"It is a shame." "We'll do it next time." I'm starting to get suspicious as the rude, perverted and angry man is suddenly gone and is replaced by a man who's trying to show me kindness and manners. "You even did your hair up for me."

He reaches and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear as I hear footsteps. "Do come in Cirian." "Cirian." I say as I turn and see him coming in. He looks clean and refreshed as it appears he's showered and changed into clothes I did not buy him.

I'll soon need to send the clothes I've gotten him back or will donate them to the second hand shops in town. I may have spent unwisely but I assumed he'd accept some of the clothes I had bought him. I frown as he sits next to me.

I'd normally be happy about this but it seems he's only doing it because the only other seat that seemed appropriate is beside Nathaniel. "How is everyone?" Nathaniel asks Cirian as Cirian seems nervous to speak.

"Ren will make a recovery and the men would throw their hats in for you to give him my spot as a knight." "Do you really think you'll be gone that long?" He says as a snarky remark before smiling again.

"I'll see to it that it gets done." "How about your family?" His family, I never even thought to ask about his family or whether or not he told them about his engagement to me. "They're well, my parents say that they'll miss me and to invite my... um bride to be over some time." "They're more then welcome to visit Dacra but I'm sorry to say we'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Why the rush?" Nathaniel asks, yet I won't say it's because his company makes my hair stand on end. "I have plans tomorrow, as does Cirian." "We'll see about that." It's hushed under his breath as he takes a sip of wine.

"What about your sister?" Nathaniel asks Cirian as he smiles at the mention of her. "She was packing to move into her now husbands home." "She looks very excited at the new journey in her life and I can't be happier for Fraya."

"It sounds like everyone is doing well, for now." "Lets hope it stays that way." I say pointedly at Nathaniel as he smiles once again, before drinking the last of his wine.

"I should show you to your quarters now." He gets up and leads Cirian and I to two rooms across from one another. "We're engaged." I remind him as he leans in to whisper in my ear. "Not to Cirian." He laughs as he pulls back and walks away.

Cirian doesn't question anything as he goes into the room and shuts the door. I do the same as I see my bag sitting on the bed. I get into one of my night dresses and wrap myself in a robe as well as I think about where I am. I don't trust Nathaniel as I go towards the door and put a chair against it.

It's only then that I get into bed and close my eyes, waiting for sleep, when I hear something from across the hall. "Who are you?!" I hear Cirian say as I push the chair out of the way and walk into his room.

I see a woman sitting on the ground in a red dress, that's clearly transparent as you can see her body. "Who is this?" I ask him as he looks from her to me. "I was sleeping, when I felt something or someone hovering over me and it happens to be this woman." "I shoved her off and then you walked in."

His eyes showed enough fear to be telling the truth as I take in the situation. I then walk towards the woman, grab the hair on her head and yank it hard as I drag her out. "Filthy." I say to her when I finally let her go as Cirian tells me to.

"You go to war and kill men, yet you're scared of hurting this woman, let alone letting me hurt this woman?" "You didn't have to do that." "You don't realize what she was doing, do you?" "I uh, perhaps she got the wrong room."

"She didn't." Nathaniel says as he suddenly appears as he sees us in the hallway, while the woman is still rubbing her head from me pulling on her hair. "Go." He says to her as she takes off.

"You planned this?" Cirian says as I turn to my fiance. "Go to my room." It seems like he's about to object, yet the look in my eyes must convince him not to. I don't turn back to Nathaniel until the door shuts.

"This was your plan?" "It seemed simple enough but who knew your finance would be able to resist such a beautiful woman?" "It does raise some questions, does it not?"

"He may not even feel attraction to women." "You don't know anything." "It's you who doesn't know anything about a knight you met just a few days ago." "I will be here when you come to your senses and want a real man." He walks away as I groan and lean against the wall.

My anger is still inside my heart as it races. I look down the hall to where the woman went and wish I could have done more then pull on her hair. That is until I here a bit of rustling in my room.

I walk back inside and see Cirian fixing the broken window that did bring in a chill as I tried to sleep. "Get the blankets from your room." I tell him as he leaves and I grab my blankets and put them on the floor.

He walks back in and sees my blankets on the floor as I take his blankets from him and put them on the bed. "What are you doing?" "I'm setting up the bed for you." "You'll stay in here tonight." "Why and why will you be on the floor?'

"It isn't safe and I want you to sleep well." "Safe?" "That women wasn't going to harm me." "I place the last corner of the blanket down as I sigh. "She wasn't but she would have seduced you if you had let her." "Seduced?" "How can you not understand what she was trying to do?" I say angrily as I turn towards him.

"I know of your innocence and that she planned to take that away from you tonight." "What do you mean?" I see him blush as if he knew exactly what I meant but needed to make sure. "She was trying to sleep with you."

"A woman wouldn't do that." "She would, especially if a man that has power over her, ordered her to do so." "You don't know that." "It was clear as day as I walked in, can you understand now?" "She could have been lost." "In your room?" "On your bed?" "In those clothes?"

"You may understand battle, commands, your own people and troops but you know nothing of seduction." He doesn't say anything as I tell him to get in bed, while I take the floor.

"You said you knew of my innocence, you mean...?" "Yes I know." I answer for him and am about to close my eyes when he asks his next question. "What about yours?" It was a question I dreaded ever since I found out from my parents that I should be pure up until my wedding night.

"I had once fallen in love as a teenager." "He was a farmer that used to bring us fresh vegetables and fruits every summer and soon I feel in love with how kind he was." "He soon started paying more attention to me over the next couple of years and then one night we did the unthinkable, in the barn no less..." "It wasn't awful and I didn't regret it, only that he seemed to only want it, to brag about what we did to his friends."

"No one believed him of course but my parents had changed out the farmers in the years to come." "They never asked and I never told them, yet they told me from then on to stay pure, to never say otherwise." I waited for his reaction, yet he didn't say anything.

"You can't break the engagement over this and you can't tell anyone either." I was confident that he wouldn't say anything since his loyalty runs deep but there may be a chance that he could break the engagement if it's a stipulation in the rules of Dacra.

"I wouldn't, not over that." He says to me. "I'm sorry that he did that." "It was my fault really for believing in the first boy who was kind and wasn't afraid of me." No more words are spoken as we sleep.

It's the middle of the night as I feel myself being lifted before I'm snuggling back into my blanket. I awake to find myself in the bed as Cirian is one the floor. I gently shake him awake as I tell him to pack everything he wants to take with us and to meet back at the helicopter.

He doesn't argue with me this time as I change and pack my own bag back up before heading out. "Leaving so soon." Nathaniel asks as I pass him in the hallways and he chases after me.

"Thank you for your hospitality." "Any time." He says as I get into the helicopter and soon see Cirian with a few bags in his hands, running to get in as well. Once inside, I wave to Nathaniel on the ground, even though I'd rather not. He's still someone I'll need to deal with in the future. "What are these plans that you have?"