Blood Royals Book #4: Long Live The King!

Chapter Thirty: Saine Neane

King Relian's POV
I can see a smile of Renée's face. She's pretending now and then that she's not smiling but she is. It had to do with where we are. We made a lot of memories here, some bitter but others very sweat. Our intimacy really bloomed here in Saine Neane. I think she likes coming back here. I have the sweetest surprise for her. After i have checked out everything on my to-do list, we are going back to the hotel suite to rekindle some of our memories. I'm more than eager. She thinks we will go back home. I can't wait to see her face. The hotel staff are setting up something special.

I glanced at my wrist watch slightly trembling at the cold winds of Saine Neane. It's unheard of for the king to wait for anyone. I show up just when the meeting is about to start but never late. People wait for me, I don't wait for them. But today I have made an exception because the man I'm meeting is as old as Dargan would be. He's an 80 year old man who was a close friend of my grandfather. He is the one who made the gold armor and the silver ones worn by the 1500. I think he also made the scepter. I guess I'll find out.

Renée sneaked her hand into mine. We are both wearing gloves but I can feel her warmth. My beautiful queen. I can't help but return her smile. I leaned close and we shared a tender kiss.

"That's different!" An old man spoke.

We turned. He has come from a different direction than we expected. He is smiling at us. He took off his hat to approach me. "You must DC."

"And you must be his ghost. Look at you... I can't help but remember the days he would sit over there..." He pointed to wooden box. "...he was quite the chatter box if you knew him well. He talked about anything while I worked. I miss my friend." His eyes teared up. "Good man he was. Good man."

There was a long moment of silence where he just looked at the wooden box while leaning on his walking stick. "DC, his majesty would like your help with a few things."

"Can I call you Reli?" He asked me directly. ",I never called him his majesty."

"Yes you can." I agreed.

"And who is this pretty little thing?" He pointed at Renée with his walking stick.

"DC, this is my wife Renée."

"Dargan and Nesrin never stood close to each other. They always left room for bad intentions. That is what they used to say. The gap between them was room for bad intentions. I never understood what that meant but... I saw you two kissing and I thought that's different. You are a little shorter than him. Just a little. You don't exactly resemble but there's definitely something about you... Yes. Something. I don't know what but the familiarity is there. Forgive my rumbling. I am excited to be in your presence. What can I do for you?"

"Should we sit down? I have a few a questions only you can answer." I addressed him.

"You sit there." He pointed to the wooden box. "Young lady get me a chair."

Renée looked around but it was Barlowe who swiftly found a chair and gave it to her to present to the old man. A bodyguard dusted the wooden box. I got comfortable. Renée found an old metal bucket. It made the old man laugh when she sat on it. It's an old warehouse, completely abandoned.

"This is nice." He noted with his eyes on me. "When he was alive, he would bring whiskey. He loved whiskey. He said it beat Saine Neane weather. Do next time,bring whiskey." He laughed. "Enough of small talk. Ask away Reli."

"Did you make the scepter?"

"No." He answered.

"Where did it come from?"

"He made it himself. He was a very gifted blacksmith. He particularly loved making sharp pointy things." We all laughed. "He came in one day... before he became king and he said he wants something that defines him. It was a puzzling statement. He often thought of things that made sense in his head but not when he out them in words and he would matter to himself a lot. He called it a self thought process. I told him to make it himself. He was my father's apprentice so he knew his way around. In a few weeks, he presented the scepter. When he was coronated, he made sure he had it."