Queen's Play

7. Sweet Dreams

Theo

I finished washing my body in the bath, making sure to rid my face and HANDS of the any lingering excrement. I didn't think too much of the girl as I recounted the events of the day; I did remember her vulgarity as well as her features.
They were pleasing to the eye if one cared for things like that but her helmet made them immemorable.
It was the last time I would see her. By the end of my bath, my mind had already drifted elsewhere.

"Theo?" My father knocks before coming in and taking in the room. Bright candles were lit along the entryway. I was getting ready for bed but my farther knew better than I.
Celia would soon be here to warm my beds.

"Ahhh what an eventual day." My father smirks, taking a comfortable position in my bed. Two servants rub my body with oils and fragrance.
"I was thinking of the gladiatrix. Wasn't she was intriguing?"

I remain silent. Hopefully this conversation wouldn't take long.

"She had a disposition that made me curious. Don't you think son?"

"Sure" I grumble sarcastically.

"You liked her? "

"Like is a misappropriated word father." The servants know moved on to dressing me.

"And what is a better word?" He hums suspiciously.

"Hate
Loathe." I ponder and think of something even worse to describe her. "Vulgar? Uncouth?"

He let out a lazy chuckle and called.
"Well. I have news for you son.
She is your new Queen"

I looked at him and laughed.
It was the first time I had laughed in a very long time. I push my head back as my laughter rolls from my stomach. What a funny man he was.
Me? And her?

I wanted to partake in another set of laughter but stop when I see my fathers rigid face. Gone was his once playful demeanor.

"Father you're joking right?
Now be serious !" Clarity quickly enters my mind.

"I am." he stood for my bed, walking over to grab my shoulders, "that is your Queen."

"Father! Be sensible!"

"I am the soundest of mind."

"You can't be serious!
She has hair! And her clothes! Her launch of respect for authority!
Anyone but her!  Father, I beg of you"

"Too late. I issued an announcement in the herald of a bright new prospect for the prince! An invition has already been delivered to her residence, inviting her over for your banquet in three days."

"She will refuse it!"

"Not if I give her a tempting offer.
Her freedom" my father walks to the candles scattered around my room.

"She is a slave?"

"A Prisoner of the system!
She inherited the debt of her father.
Her mother was a common whore. Father died a drunkard.
The debt was passed to her but she couldn't pay so. Usually women work in a brothel or chose to be a gladiatrix. It is rare, but it does occur."

"Obviously" I retort. "Lowlifes. You want me to marry into that!"

"I dont but my rule was clear. I get to choose your future queen. know you will never love her. You are to selfish."

"Says who!" A spirit of defiance rises within me.

"Let's see how badly you want the crown son."
He smiles before walking to take his leave, "Who knows, she may be charming under her hardened exterior."

"This has no gain! I tarnish the blood line if I marry her! She is not of nobility! You would risk it all just to prove me wrong?"

He stops in his path and turns to face me. "I am banking on your pride Theo. I will win because of it. You will never love her.
You will never give that ring to her.
If you do gift it, it shows me that you care about someone other than yourself and that is simply not true." He smirks and walks to the door, "sweet dreams son!"

He finally leaves me alone. I plop onto my bed, thinking of my dismal reality and bleak future. There was no getting out this one.

F**ck
F**ck
F**ck

"Servant!" I called. One of them came and bowed at my knee.

"Call for Celia. I desire her presence"

_____

Theo

Celia presses her soft lips against my chest, taking in every scent of my skin. "Why must you be so electric" she complains, lifting her chin to face me.

"Blame my father and the father before him and generations of men who passed before him" I smirk, pushing her hair behind her ear. She smirks and stares into my eyes.
There was a hint of sadness behind hers as she thought back to the news.

"She means nothing Celia. It's a test of strength or valor on my fathers end. A year. And then I am done"

"I am not content that your heart will be with someone else, even if it is only for a year.

I pull her waist close and kiss her cheek. "Don't tell me you feel threatened?"

"By a dirty gladiatrix?" she laughs and tosses her head back haughtily. "Never" She smiles giving off an unconfident smile.
So she was?
Pity her for thinking something more than a platonic relationship would grow between me and that abhorrent gladiatrix.
I itched for a chance at the throne. It was long overdue and I would claim it by whatever means necessary, even if that meant marrying her.