The Divorced Queen

Chapter 8

OSRIC

In the following weeks I continued to see Samara, in secret of course, I didn't want to draw too much attention to us before I was sure what it was I wanted from her. As King a lot of eyes were on me so if I publicly went out with Samara that would put her in the spotlight. Which would be an uncomfortable position to be in, especially if I was only going to be seeing her for a limited time.

So far the safest place for us to have our dates was in my wing of the castle late in the night, when rarely anyone moved around except for the guards on duty. But the biggest challenge was how to navigate around Duke Remdon. As Samara lived with him in the same suite she had to sneak out or come up with an excuse for where she was going each time she came to see me. Meaning I had to speed up my decision before she eventually got found out.

I was also conveniently spacing out my meetings with him under the guise of being 'too busy'. There wasn't too much left to do but if I quickly finished his case then he would have to leave the castle and... so would Samara. Until I made my decision I had to slow things down a bit. However, it was awkward to see him when we had our meetings, knowing I was seeing his daughter behind his back.

I first had to test what exactly my feelings for her were. Initially, I thought it was just pity due to her familys' situation, however, the more time I spent with her, the more I found myself getting drawn to her.

We would either meet in my study, or have a late night tea or go for walks in my garden and just talk. We were opening up to each other quite a bit, especially about our families. We had a lot in common. She was also beautiful, polite and innocent looking. When I was with her I felt at ease, like I could be myself and forget the stresses of being a King. From the enormous work load I've had since the flooding, to dealing with my mother it had been so much to deal with.

Perhaps all I wanted was a distraction from all that and was just using her for my own convenience. However, when I thought I was just using her I would remember when she cried. Both times in my garden and study . In those moments an overwhelming feeling had come over me. Seeing her so vulnerable, I wanted to help her, to comfort her. I wanted to save her.

Growing up I've always gotten attention from women, even after Tanhya was chosen. Those women were probably hoping they could possibly be chosen to be lover one day. However, I knew they were probably only interested in my title and not in me as a person. If I was going to have a lover I really wanted it to be someone I could personally connect with, someone who would understand me. Which is why up until now I hadn't had any loversm I knew it was going to be difficult and time consuming to find someone like that.

Secondly, there was something I had to do before I could get a lover. As a result of that I had planned to wait a little bit longer but then Samara fell right into my lap. Someone who understood my frustrations with my family as she was in a similar situation herself. So just this once I was going to indulge in what I wanted. Whilst the chance was there as I wasn't sure when such an opportunity would present itself again.

It was after about a month of seeing her, that I finally made my decision. I wanted to be with her a little while longer. I was going to make her an offer and, of course, if she refused I would allow it. On that particular night we met in my garden like the first time we'd met. We sat on a bench and talked for a little bit as per our usual routine; about how we'd spent our day or what ever else. Then once we were done a moment of silence passed bettween us. It was then that I thought it was a good time. " Samara." I started then turned to face with a serious look on my face. Samara turned to face me as well but she had a concerned look on her face after noticing my serious expression.

"Samara, with the time we've spent together, I've taken quite the liking to you." I confessed. "I would like to get to know you more and so I'm inviting you to stay here with me even after I'm done handling your familys' case."