A King's Tale

Meeting the King

Aurora could not believe what was happening right now. She was riding with the famous King Henry Alastair of Dunnottar Castle. The man who just saved her earlier from being captured was a King.

She remembered how she looked, and how he offered his own handkerchief to her. He might have mistaken her for a pauper. She hasn’t bathed in days. What she looked like was not fit when meeting a King.

Aurora was not speaking since she entered the carriage. But now, it was even harder for her. She was afraid to even breathe.

Henry felt uneasy. It has been several decades since he had been with a lady. After years of jumping into temptation, he had found solitude in being alone, on staying away from complications. And by the look of this young girl beside him, it looked like he entered into a big complication that he would regret sooner or later.

But how can he say no to those dark emerald eyes?

A deafening silence took over the carriage. The only sound Henry and Aurora could hear was the sound of the horses' feet hitting the path to the castle.

When the carriage arrived at the castle, Silverio immediately opened the door. Aurora was quick to leap from it and ran away from the gate. Silverio was about to run after her but Henry held his shoulder and shook his head.

Henry got out of the carriage and shouted. “So this is how you repay my kindness? By running away.”

Aurora heard him loud and clear. She stopped running. It was so ungrateful of her.

“You could at least say thank you by joining me for dinner,” Henry added.

Dinner. Just the sound of the word made her stomach grumble. When was the last time that she had dinner? Three days ago? She was uncertain.

“And you could use a nice dress and a shoe. Your feet might be hurting with the condition of your shoe right now.” Henry continued.

Aurora took a deep breath and turned around. She started walking back towards the gate of the castle.

Henry smiled.

“Silverio, prepare the guest room by the beach for her. Make sure the bath has hot water. Give her clothes to wear and comfortable shoe. We will have dinner after.” Henry began walking towards the door.

Silverio waited for Aurora. “Let us go inside my lady, I will prepare your room.”

Aurora followed Silverio to the long hallway. They went upstairs where several doors were lit in another long hallway.

Silverio led her to the last door at the end of the hallway. It was located considerably further than the other doors.

Silverio entered the room. He immediately removed the white cloth that covered the bed and the furniture.

“Please sit here my lady, I shall replace the sheets for you.” Silverio pointed at a chair near a table. It was a study table facing a window. Silverio opened the curtains of the window. It featured a view of the cliff that leads to the North Sea.

Aurora entertained herself while Silverio went around the room. A lady servant arrived. She introduced herself as Diana. She looked like she was older than Silverio. She brought several dresses and filled the cabinets. Diana continued cleaning and tidying up the room while Silverio started to boil water inside the bathroom.

She silently observed while watching the sun begin to set at the cliffside.

Silverio came back with a pitcher of juice, a glass of water, and bread. He placed it on top of the study table.

“Please, help yourself, my lady. Dinner will be available in an hour, maybe less.” He filled the glass for her.

Aurora could not help herself but drink up the juice after Silverio finished filling it up. She was so thirsty. She took the bread and took off pieces to eat. She felt her stomach warm-up water starving for several days. “Thank you,” She told Silverio. He smiled and went back to the bathroom.

Aurora finished the bread in just a few minutes. Silverio came outside of the bathroom and took the empty tray. She finished the bread and drank up the juice too.

“You can now use the bath my lady, Diana will assist you. She doesn’t speak but she can hear and serve you well.” Silverio informed her.

“Thank you again, and please call me Aurora.” She told Silverio.

Diana walked towards her and assisted her to the bathroom. Silverio let the door shut.

Diane helped her remove her dress. When she was stripped down to her camisole, Diane left to give her some privacy.

She undressed and allowed her body to dip into the warm water. It felt so good to lather her skin with soap and water. She hasn’t taken a bath for days since her escape and it was a pleasure for her to finally clean herself up.

After almost half an hour, Silveriogently knocked on the bathroom door. “My lady, we need to get dressed. Dinner will be served in a few minutes''

She got up from the bath and took a towel to cover her body. When she went out of the bathroom, a dress was already prepared on the bed.

“Silverio already left, he hopes you like the dress he picked up for you,” Diana informed her.

Aurora smiled at Diana.

Diana helped her with her dress. It was a complete dress, with petticoats, underlayer and over-layer sleeves, and a gem-decorated bodice. It was almost like the dress that she wore earlier but in Royal blue. This dress looks more expensive too.

Diane helped her brush her hair too. When they were done, Diana assisted her from the bed chambers to the great hall. There was a long table there, filled with food enough for 10 persons. The smell made her stomach grumble a little. Clearly, the bread was not enough to satisfy her hunger.

When she was seated, Diana did a curtsy and left her in the room. The food served at the table was so tempting. But of course, she didn’t want to act like a pig and eat ahead of everyone else. She waited and entertained herself with the paintings on the wall.

She looked around. The place was extremely massive. It was well lit, clean and everything seemed to be in order. After a few minutes of observing the area, Henry appeared, followed by Silverio. Aurora immediately got up from her seat.

“Good evening, your highness.” She greeted Henry.

“Please, sit, and call me Henry.” The son of the Lion of Dunnottar Castle took his usual seat.

Silverio carried a bottle of wine and poured Henry a glass. Henry took a sip. Silverio then served him with his usual steak. Silverio took a piece and placed it on Aurora’s plate.

Aurora looked at Henry, he was not starting to eat yet. He was still enjoying the glass of wine in his hand. He seemed to notice her awkwardness.

“Please, begin, enjoy the food while it is hot.” He then began cutting his steak.

Aurora followed and could not help but express how delicious the food was when the soft and warm meat touched her mouth.

They both chewed in silence before Henry spoke. “So could you at least give me a name, so I can address you properly?”

She looked at Henry, a little bit surprised. Her attention was on the food. Aurora has been starving for days. “Aurora.” She timidly replied.

“Aurora,” Henry repeated.

They continued to eat in silence. You could only hear the sound of their spoon and fork, occasionally creating a sound against the plate. Silverio was busy serving them tonight’s dinner.

After a few minutes, Aurora was already full. She did not hesitate to drink the wine that Silverio offered. She needed something to help her calm her stomach which was adjusting to the amount of food that she ate.

“Thank you, your highness,” Aurora took the courage to say,

“Henry,” The King corrected him.

“Henry, thank you for earlier. I would not want to abuse your generosity but if you may, could I spend the night here? I will leave tomorrow as soon as the dawn breaks.” She said It was true. Although the castle seemed to be a welcoming place for her to stay, she wouldn't want to be an inconvenience for anyone, especially to a King.

“Or you can stay, there are plenty of rooms here. This castle could use a few more people in it.” Henry replied and got off from his chair. “Excuse me, enjoy your night.” He said and then left.

Silverio stayed to attend to her. She took a glass of water. “Thank you for the delicious meal..” Aurora paused, she didn’t know the servants' name.

“Silverio my lady.” He smiled at her.

“Thank you Silverio for the great meal. If it is not too much to ask, could you help me get back to my room? I can’t seem to remember the way back.” She revealed. She was never good at directions.

“Of course, please follow me.” Silverio guided her back to her room.

She tried to remember the way from the great hall to her room. Her room. She just told the King that she will be leaving tomorrow. But why is she calling the room she is using?

But he invited her to stay. Well, not exactly invited. But he suggested that the castle could still welcome a few more people. Maybe It was enough for her to stay.

She looked outside the window and tried to enjoy the calm breeze of the sea while enjoying the star-filled sky.

She removed her dress and just left her camisole on. She laid on the bed and felt at ease when her back touched the soft sheets in the bed.

Maybe it was too early to go tomorrow. Maybe she can stay for a day more, or two. She could think about that tomorrow. For now, she will try to get her strength back and enjoy the good bed that she is in right now.

After a few minutes, she fell asleep.

Henry was in his room. He was taking a hot bath while sipping wine.

“Aurora.” He whispered.

It has been several decades since he allowed a woman like Aurora to get close to her. He drowned himself in reading, learning languages, and other skills for the past couple of decades. Henry was tired of the women, of flirting or sleeping with women.

But how come he allowed a complete stranger into his carriage, his home. And now he even suggested for her to stay longer.

“You’ll be in trouble for this.” He told himself, slightly smiling.

He got out of the bath and dried himself with a towel. Afterward, he went to bed, naked, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, just like his usual habit, Henry took a small tower and covered his manhood before he went to the back gate of the castle.

As usual, he took the narrow path to the cliff. When he got there, he removed his towel and did a few stretches. It was his morning ritual. He took a deep breath and jumped into the splashing waves of the North Sea.

Aurora woke up early, even before the sun started to appear. She felt rested. She needs to decide whether she will be leaving today or would she postpone it for tomorrow.

But if she leaves today, where shall she go?

She was pacing back and forth when she noticed a shadow that seemed to move from the cliff.

She looked outside and saw a man, naked, standing at the edge of the cliff.

Aurora turned around, her cheeks turned red after seeing a man in all his nakedness. Although it was several meters from where she stood, she was able to see things that a lady like her should not be seeing unless married to a man.

But she had to look again. Why is a man standing so close to the edge of the cliff? Who in their right mind would do such a thing?

She tried to look at the man despite the warm feeling she had on her cheeks. Then Aurora realized that he knew the man. It was Henry.

Just right after he realized who the man was, he jumped. Henry jumped naked from the cliff.

Aurora let out a surprised gasp and covered her mouth after seeing what Henry just did.

She immediately went outside her room, barefoot, trying to find a way to get to Henry.

Aurora ran towards the great hall. She saw Diana there.

“Cliff, where is the cliff?” She hurriedly asked.

Diana pointed towards the left where she immediately ran.

After several minutes, she saw a door that led to the outside.

She ran outside and saw the ocean. It was a rocky path but she tried to run as fast as she could. Maybe she still had time to find Henry. She was a good swimmer. She continued running.

When she was about to make a turn to the left, where the sea was covered with a wall of rocks, she bumped into Henry who was walking back to the castle.

“Ahh!” She gave out a yelp, surprised to hit someone on his way to find Henry.

“What’s wrong, where are you going?” Henry asked.

Aurora recognized Henry’s voice and looked up. Her face hit Henry’s bare chest earlier.

She moved back a little, “You jumped!”

“Yes,” Henry replied, confused.

“You jumped on a cliff!” She was a little bit hysterical.

“Yes, I did,” Henry replied once more.

Aurora could not help but punch him in the chest. “You scared me, I thought you did something bad.” She said,

Henry took her hands, “Calm down, I do that every day.”

Aurora realized what she was doing and tried to calm down. Then involuntarily, he looked at Henry’s chest, down to the rest of his body, then to his face again.

She took her hands from Henry’s grasp and covered her eyes. “Oh dear Lord, you are naked.”

“I am,” Henry said and began walking back to the castle.

Aurora still covered her eyes, embarrassed by what she saw, of what just happened.

She heard Henry shout.

“Come in and be ready for breakfast in half an hour.” He continued walking back to the castle with a grin on his face.